There are a number of events in and around Anchorage leading up to the Iditarod start, such as the Mushers' Banquet, various Iditarod educational seminars featuring mushers and race officials, and even a competing annual festival and parade in Anchorage, the Fur Rondy.

CNN: Iditarod: A spectator's guide

Hannah Miller, an American who has lived in Shanghai for five years and was one of the main organisers, knew better than even to think of staging something as brazen as a parade.

ECONOMIST: The long march out of the closet