A raucous Copenhagen crowd cheers Denmark’s 2026 Mullet Championship

COPENHAGEN (AP) — Business in the front, party in the back.

A packed Danish crowd celebrated on Saturday the much-maligned but enduring mullet hairstyle, defined by very short hair at the front and longer hair at the back.

Denmark’s raucous 2026 Mullet Championship, presented on an outdoor stage in central Copenhagen, attracted 12 well-coiffed competitors and more than a thousand spectators to the evening’s “mane” event.

Organizer Steffen Stiw Weber, a 37-year-old electrician, said the championships, now in their fourth year, began after he had a hair transplant and chose to grow out a mullet.

After realizing he couldn’t compete in a mullet competition in the United States because he wasn’t a U.S. citizen, Stiw Weber started his own in Denmark.

“I was like, OK, I have to do it on my own here in Denmark,” he said while smiling.

Competitors in Saturday’s championships were evaluated on their cuts’ style, uniqueness, and overall performance and “mullet moves,” explained judge Bobby Agren.

Contestants were given 60 seconds each to perform on stage to showcase their cuts.

“I like the finesse, the twist, the nostalgia. I like it if it looks ridiculous or maybe ugly in a beautiful way,” said Agren, who owns two hair salons in Copenhagen.

“I think in our culture, when everything must … be perfect on social media and everything like that, I think that’s why people have to stand out from the crowd,” said Stiw Weber.

The event featured an array of over-the-top performances, including beer-swilling, body-popping, and a live saxophone show. One competitor even wore a mullet haircut styled to resemble the Danish flag.

The crowd screamed and chanted with their energy seemingly feeding directly into the various performers on stage.

After every performance, judges held up scorecards to distribute points to the competitors.

Forty-three-year-old construction worker Thomas Berg eventually took home the top prize after wowing judges by frantically jumping on a trampoline while clad in neon green gym wear. He completed his mullet haircut with an orange headband. “I think it’s just funny. It’s just a big party,” said a smiling Berg after collecting his prize. “It’s just nice to be a bit outside the box.”

Though mullets have likely been around longer than there have been barbers, the Oxford English Dictionary cites hip-hop legends the Beastie Boys for helping popularize the term mullet with the song “Mullet Head” on their 1994 recording “Ill Communication.”

The short-in-the-front, long-in-the-back coiffure was popularized by ice hockey players and ’80s musicians, but later fell out of favor.

Fashion magazine Vogue reportedly once described the mullet as “history’s most divisive hairstyle.”

But in recent years, the mullet has seen a global resurgence — British magazine i-D declared 2020 “the year of the mullet” as the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered hair salons and lockdown-weary citizens let their locks flow.

Numerous mullet competitions are now staged around the world. Belgium hosted the European Mullet Cup last month.

“It comes back every 20-30 years. There’s always a circular motion in fashion,” said Agren, the Denmark mullet competition judge.

Competitor Aksel Toft points to his mullet, styled to resemble the Danish flag, at Denmark's Mullet Championship in central Copenhagen, Saturday, June 6, 2026. (AP Photo/James Brooks)

Competitor Martin Sedolf performs as character pro wrestler "Benny Bacchus", at Denmark's Mullet Championship in central Copenhagen, Saturday, June 6, 2026. (AP Photo/James Brooks)

Competitors at Denmark's Mullet Championship in Copenhagen, Saturday, June 6, 2026. (AP Photo/James Brooks)

Judges hold scorecards at Denmark's Mullet Championship in central Copenhagen, Saturday, June 6, 2026. (AP Photo/James Brooks)

A competitor looks on during Denmark's Mullet Championship, in Copenhagen, Saturday, June 6, 2026. (AP Photo/James Brooks)

An attendee at Denmark's Mullet Championship looks on in Copenhagen, Saturday, June 6, 2026. (AP Photo/James Brooks)

CINCINNATI (AP) — Masyn Winn hit a home run and doubled twice and Kyle Leahy gave up three hits and struck out six in five innings as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Cincinnati Reds 3-0 on Tuesday night.

Riley O’Brien pitched the ninth for his 32nd save. It was the 12th time the Reds have been shut out this season and the Cardinals' ninth shutout win.

It's the first time Winn had two doubles in a game since July 28, 2025 against the Marlins.

Cardinals left fielder Joshua Báez went 0 for 3 with an RBI on a sacrifice fly. He’s now 0 for 17 with seven strikeouts since his three-homer day at Wrigley Field on Saturday.

Leahy (10-4) threw 90 pitches. It was his 10th straight start allowing two earned runs or fewer.

Winn's homer off left-hander Andrew Abbott (6-8) in the fifth put the Cardinals ahead 1-0. It was Winn's fifth homer of the season and his first since July 3. It was also the first homer allowed by Abbott in 23 1/3 innings dating to July 26.

Winn's second double came with one out in the seventh. He scored when José Fermín followed with a double to make the score 2-0.

Abbott, who surrendered one hit and didn't walk a batter through the first 4 1/3 innings, allowed two earned runs on four hits. He walked two and struck out six in 6 1/3 innings.

Jordan Walker singled and scored on Báez's sacrifice fly to extend the Cardinals' lead to 3-0 in the eighth.

Cardinals LHP Matthew Liberatore (5-10, 5.07 ERA) will face Reds RHP Chase Burns (14-2, 2.47) on Wednesday.

See AP’s full MLB coverage here

St. Louis Cardinals' Masyn Winn rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run in the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Cincinnati Reds pitcher Andrew Abbott throws during the second inning of a baseball game between against the St. Louis Cardinals, Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Kyle Leahy throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

St. Louis Cardinals' Masyn Winn hits a solo home run in the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)