HELSINKI, Sept 1 — Hundreds of dance music fans dressed in red and raced round Helsinki, echoing the video of Finnish DJ Darude’s hit Sandstorm 25 years after its international release.

The crowd ran past landmarks in the film, where a woman in a red hooded top was seen carrying a metal briefcase and trying to get away from two security guards.

“We had no idea how many people would actually just throw themselves into the whole thing and be goofy,” Darude - full name Toni-Ville Virtanen - told Reuters after the event yesterday.

“I know the track, every millisecond of it, but I don’t know why it has this effect,” he added. “The longevity is just almost unheard of and I’m just kind of along for the ride.”

The 50-year-old signed signatures and played tracks for fans.

Sandstorm became an international hit in the early 2000s. In March, Billboard magazine recognised it as one of the 100 best dance songs of all time, saying its simple arrangement “takes one hard-hitting melody and loops it to high-energy heaven”.

“When I hear it, I have to dance. I don’t have any other choice,” Finnish school teacher Mirva Voutilainen, one of the runners, said.

US fan Daniel Erikson took the challenge one step further and dressed up as Helsinki Cathedral, one of the sites in the video. The instrumental track had been “a fun part” of his high school years, he said.

“I probably wore the CD out in my car CD changer, driving around suburban Ohio where I grew up.”

More than 800 people braved the drizzly Nordic weather to take part, organisers said. — Reuters