History / 2026

2026: the crown crosses the Atlantic

150corgis registered

9countries, the UK for the first time

7contests, 2 of them new

2American guests

Our 2025 success was truly something. For a whole week the world talked about the corgis racing in Vilnius, and we became perhaps the most talked-about event in the history of the Baltic states. The day after the main event we met on Town Hall Square and waved through the Portal sculpture to our corgi friends across the Atlantic. The idea turned out to be too much fun to stay a side act to the main event, so in 2026 we gave it a date of its own.

On June 4, Vilnius celebrated World Corgi Day for the first time. A parade of fluffy low-riders flooded the Old Town, Town Hall Square hosted racing contests, and on a video call corgis from every continent greeted each other. Some owners stayed up past midnight just to join. That’s what we call true dedication!

Before every event we briefly turn into an advertising studio ourselves. We create content and videos that help set the festive mood and give our sponsors the attention they deserve. We are truly proud of this work, but this year someone beat us at our own game. The Lithuanian Embassy in the UK has a new colleague, Širšė the corgi. And the video they made together was simply brilliant:

The fifth Corgi Race Vilnius became a true transatlantic meeting. Two stars of American corgi racing flew to Vilnius, and for the first time in history corgis crossed the Atlantic to compete on the same track.

GG from Seattle, full name Gustave the Girl Dog, has won America’s biggest corgi race at Emerald Downs two years in a row. She got into it by pure chance, by winning a lottery. Mr. Corgington from Palm Springs is a sprinter returning to the track after an injury. His team even had T-shirts with the Lithuanian flag made for this trip. From Stuttgart came Ziggy, Chief Bark Officer of Little Stumps Racing and a veteran of 14 NFL halftime shows, now living in Germany. She came to Vilnius not for the wins but to say hello to everyone, with a 360-degree camera strapped to her back. And from Druskininkai, Moka entered the fight: two-time champion and all-time leaderboard leader.

Ziggy’s corgi cam

Mr. Corgington’s tour

From the homeland of the breed itself came Duke, the first British contestant in Corgi Race Vilnius history. This twelve-year-old Pembroke, born in Wales on Boxing Day, made the long journey by car from Sedbergh in Cumbria. His family heard about our event after seeing a video on Facebook. At his venerable age Duke was in no hurry to hit the racetrack and went straight for the Mightiest Voice contest instead. As his owner put it, he had been preparing for it his whole life. And one more royal coincidence: the British royal family’s very first corgi, who arrived in 1933, was called Dookie.

This year 150 corgis registered from nine countries, including, for the first time, the UK, Czechia and the USA. The number of contests grew to seven. The race, Solo Sprint, Costume Parade, Smartest Nose and Mightiest Voice were joined by Run Return duels and an agility course introduced by a professional trainer. Every registered corgi received a collectible card with EXP points calculated from previous years’ results. And for the first time, the races could be watched live on national TV, and by viewers around the world on LiveNOW from FOX.

Run Return duels and agility at Corgi Race Vilnius 2026

The hero of the day was still Mr. Corgington. He won the Solo Sprint and Mightiest Voice and finished second in the final of the main race. GG crossed the finish line first, so the champion’s title left Lithuania for the first time. Moka finished third, but she is still at the top of the all-time leaderboard.

GG, Mr. Corgington and Moka at Corgi Race Vilnius 2026

This year the Costume Parade became the most impressive show we have ever seen on the runway. The contestants were judged by a four-person jury that included the UK’s deputy ambassador Dan Hunt. The audience could vote too: all it took was a like in our Facebook costume album. Amigo, this time transformed into the iron fox from Grand Duke Gediminas’ dream, charmed the jury and the public alike. That made him the Costume Parade winner for the third year in a row.

Our Latvian friends gave the runway even more international charm. Vėtra from Riga, dressed as Miss Chanterelle, took second place. Riga, Jūrmala, Mārupe, Jēkabpils and Daugavpils also brought other colourful characters: a belly dancer, a cowboy on his horse, clowns, a leopard lady and the Quattro Turisti. From Warsaw came Hilton 3000. The Lithuanians had no intention of being outdone either: the runway saw a corgi yacht, a firefighter, Džekė Djokovič – Queen of the Court, Ron Weasley in Gryffindor colours, a corn dog, the Phantom of the Opera and, naturally, plenty of pink soup.

Costume Parade at Corgi Race Vilnius 2026

This year we also set up a children’s zone for the first time. One of the tasks for our youngest visitors was to draw a corgi that could join the famous Paw Patrol squad. Meet the future rescuers:

Children’s drawings: a corgi for the Paw Patrol squad

We also had Yorgi, a giant corgi who joined our team just a short while before the event. His job was simple: to greet every person and dog arriving at Vingis Park. Yorgi took this mission very seriously. Hardly anyone walked past him without a photo, so he became the best media wall we have ever had.

The world fell for us again. The 2026 event was written about and shown by The Guardian, NBC News, Al Jazeera English, CBC, Euronews, NPR, Good Morning America and EFE. Across 2025 and 2026 we gathered more than 3,800 publications in over 40 countries.