Ljubljana - The 64th Walk along the Wire, an annual event commemorating the 9 May 1945 liberation of Ljubljana, attracted over 23,150 hikers and 2,670 runners of three-member teams between Thursday and Saturday as the event returned to the city after a two-year coronavirus-prompted break.

Almost 6,160 kindergarten kids walked parts of the 35km circular trail around Ljubljana on Thursday, followed by 9,465 primary and secondary school children on Friday.

Others joined in today, with almost 6,150 participants registered until 2pm at various entry points, said the organisers, the city and the Timing Ljubljana association.

A total of 890 three-member teams took part in the Run of Trios, with 62 of the teams braving the toughest, 29km route, and 300 teams of school kids also taking part.

The 29km race was won by the Blue Racers among men, New Equation among women and Trisport for mixed teams.

The Blue Racers - Janez Mulej, Andrej Mikelj and Tadej Osvald - were the only team to finish under two hours - in an hour 56 minutes and 51 seconds.

However, the purpose of the run is to not so much competition than cooperation, so the time of the slowest member is recorded as the team's finishing time.

The three-day event concluded with an awards ceremony and culture programme in Congress Square this afternoon, with the Partisan Choir giving a performance as is tradition.

The Walk along the Wire is one of the biggest recreational sport events in Slovenia, with over 30,000 usually running or walking the trail.

It remembers the period during WWII when the Fascists wired off Ljubljana in February 1942 to stop supplies to the Partisan resistance movement.

Ljubljana was the only European capital during WWII to be wired off in this way, with the regime lasting 1,170 days until the city was liberated.

The Walk along the Wire annually runs between Thursday and Saturday before 9 May, which is the local holiday in the city of Ljubljana and Victory Day in Europe.

In 2016, the Culture Ministry entered it into the Slovenian register of living cultural heritage.