In 2012 the idea of building a trampoline bridge over the River Seine in Paris virally spread around the globe. The guys at Dunking Devils Squad took note of the buzz. 9 years later and inspired by their 2019 viral video of the world’s biggest trampoline, the one that got featured by the likes of CNN, Fox News and Ellen Degeneres, they now successfully merged both concepts to create the world’s first ever functioning trampoline bridge! The bridge featured the world’s biggest trampoline and 3 other professional trampolines that set the stage for the world’s best freestyle trampoline performers to battle it out in a unique and electrifying competition to the delight of the gathered crowds! DD Squad also built a second trampoline bridge that the general public was able to use to bounce across to the other side of the Ljubljanica River.
LJUBLJANA, LIKE PARIS, IS KNOWN FOR ITS NUMEROUS BRIDGES
There are 25 bridges in Ljubljana that cross over the Ljubljanica river. They carry cars, cyclists, and pedestrians from the left bank to the right. Some are very pretty, with the Triple Bridge designed by Jože Plečnik being the centerpiece of the city. But from the viewpoint of DD Squad they are all somewhat boring… inspired by French design firm Atelier Zündel Cristea 2012 Paris trampoline bridge concept art and their very own 2019 world’s biggest trampoline video project they came up with a rather original idea. To build 2 new bridges side by side from enormous trampolines and turn the occasion into an extraordinary event called Bridge Bounce Ljubljana 2021.
THE EVENT | BRIDGE BOUNCE LJUBLJANA 2021
Event agency Extrem and the DD Squad joined forces to make this event a reality. They designed the event around the idea that everyone should be able to take part! Supported by the tourism boards of Ljubljana and Slovenia, Woop! Trampoline park and Akrobat, a Slovenian trampoline maker and numerous smaller partners the project got the backing it needed to become a reality despite Covid restrictions.
The 75 foot long (22m) “pedestrian” trampoline bridge was open to the public and anyone could jump over to the other side. More than 5000 people recorded over 80.000 jumps in the 2 days the bridge was open to the public. The bigger “professional” trampoline bridge hosted competitions on olympic grade trampolines, a professional freestyle trampoline and of course the Supernova biggest trampoline in the world measuring a whopping 42 x 42 feet (13m x 13m). Both bridges together took over 5 days to build, consisted of 10 metric tons of aluminum framing, 1600 square feet (150m2) of trampoline bed and 15 cubic yards (10m2) of safety padding..
AN EXTRAORDINARY SHOW BY THE WORLD’S BEST FREESTYLE TRAMPOLINE ARTISTS
Europe’s entire freestyle trampoline and acrobatic community with athletes coming from Switzerland, Sweden, Netherlands, Denmark, Austria, Germany, Hungary, France and Slovenia got a chance to compete and show their skills at the Bridge Bounce Ljubljana 2021 event. Performing triple and quadruple flips with multiple twists and grabs flying up to 35 feet (10,5m) into the air their jumps pleased the thousands strong crowd that gathered to witness the event in person. A 15 year prodigy from Sweden Sebastian Wennmalm won both the highest jump and freestyle trampoline battle with Gašper Novak of DD Squad winning the Supernova Best Trick.
PARIS’S EIFFEL TOWER AND DUBAI’S BURJ KHALIFA FOR 2022?
True to their nature, Dunking Devils Squad is already dreaming of taking their event abroad. Paris as the city that inspired the idea would be an awesome city to host the event next year. The concept can even be upgraded into a flying trampoline bridge and positioned inside the Eiffel Tower mid deck. Another awesome setup would involve the trampoline bridge accompanying the Dubai Fountain Walk Bridge in front of the towering Burj Khalifa.
View their website here: WWW.ODBITONALJUBLJANICI.COM