Race For The Baltic turns 10 years – How it all started

This year is a special year for us because it marks the 10th anniversary of our foundation. It all began with a cycling tour through all 9 countries around the Baltic Sea, and 25,000+ collected signatures calling on Environmental Ministers to fulfil the goals agreed upon in the HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan. Join us on a trip down memory lane as we celebrate a decade of Race For The Baltic's history.

Our journey started with an awareness campaign in the summer of 2013, uniting more than 100 organizations, businesses, municipalities, and NGOs. Together, we called for concrete political action to preserve the Baltic Sea. The awareness campaign consisted of a 3,700 km cycling tour spanning 3 months, during which we visited 9 countries and 50 cities along the Baltic Sea coastline. This allowed us to witness firsthand the evolving conditions of the Baltic Sea and its impact on the people living around it. The culmination of our efforts was the presentation of 25,000+ collected signatures and a Call for Action, aligned with the Baltic Sea Action Plan, to Environment Ministers in Copenhagen on October 3, 2013, coinciding with the HELCOM - Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission Ministerial meeting. The campaign was a collaborative effort involving the FishSec - Fiskesekretariatet, Coalition Clean Baltic (CCB), Oceana and Zennström Philanthropies. 

“The time to act is running out and we are truly in a race to save the Baltic Sea”. 

— Race For The Baltic 2013 

We take pride in our journey and remain committed to accelerating solutions to ensure a healthy Baltic Sea for future generations by 2030! 

You can delve deeper into our history by visiting this link: https://www.raceforthebaltic.com/history