Þjóðhátíð (, "National Festival") is an annual

outdoor festival A music festival is a community event with performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre (e.g., rock, blues, folk, jazz, classical music), nationality, locality of musicians, or hol ...

held in

Vestmannaeyjar Vestmannaeyjar (, sometimes anglicized as Westman Islands) is a municipality and archipelago off the south coast of Iceland. The largest island, Heimaey, has a population of 4,414, most of whom live in the archipelago's main town, Vestmannaeyja ...

, Iceland, on the weekend before the first Monday in August. Locals and guests gather in Herjólfsdalur valley on the island of

Heimaey Heimaey (), is an Icelandic island. At , it is the largest island in the Vestmannaeyjar archipelago, and the largest and most populated island off the Icelandic coast. Heimaey is off the south coast of Iceland. It is the only populated isla ...

for four days of various events, most prominently big stage

concert A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variety a ...

bonfire A bonfire is a large and controlled outdoor fire, used either for informal disposal of burnable waste material or as part of a celebration. Etymology The earliest recorded uses of the word date back to the late 15th century, with the Catho ...

fireworks Fireworks are a class of Explosive, low explosive Pyrotechnics, pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a l ...

displays and the festival's signature Sunday night crowd singing. The crowd singing is the single event of the weekend which draws the most attendees. In 2010 there was a record attendance of between 16,000 and 17,000 on the Sunday night. The local sports district association ÍBV (Íþróttabandalag Vestmannaeyja) organises and runs the festival. Most participants stay in tents in and around the Herjólfsdalur valley. Hotels are also booked out as well as homestays being rented out for the weekend. Transport to and from the island is provided by the Herjólfur ferry to Landeyjarhöfn and flights from

Vestmannaeyjar Airport Vestmannaeyjar Airport ( is, Vestmannaeyjaflugvöllur ) is a two-runway airport on the island of Heimaey, in Vestmannaeyjar (Westman Islands), a small archipelago off the south coast of Iceland. It is also known as Westman Islands Airport. Opera ...

. Private companies also operate smaller boat trips as well as flights to Bakki Airport.

History

Þjóðhátíð was first held in 1874 when islanders were prevented by bad weather from attending the celebration on the Icelandic mainland of the millennium of Icelandic settlement. The festival has grown to become the largest multiday festival in Iceland, and one of the largest annual cultural events in the country. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the festival was not held in 2020 or 2021, the first time it has not been held due to WW1 in 1914 and 1915; Þjóðhátið was held in 1973 despite the eruption on the island. After a 2-year break, the festival took place in 2022 with around a 15,000 participants on Sunday.

Brekkusöngur

The festival's signature Sunday night sing-along is known as brekkusöngur (lit. hill-song), named after the hill that forms the natural amphitheater from which visitors watch the main stage. From 1977 until 2012, the sing-along was led by Vestmannaeyjar local

Árni Johnsen Árni Johnsen (born 1 March 1944) is an Icelandic former politician from Vestmannaeyjar, who represented the Independence Party in the Althing as a member of the South Constituency. In 2002 he was convicted of paying for personal property using ...

, a member of the

Althing The Alþingi (''general meeting'' in Icelandic, , anglicised as ' or ') is the supreme national parliament of Iceland. It is one of the oldest surviving parliaments in the world. The Althing was founded in 930 at ("thing fields" or "assembly ...

(Icelandic parliament), with the exception of the 2003 Þjóðhátíð when

Róbert Marshall Róbert Marshall (born 31 May 1971) is an Icelandic politician. In April 2009, he was elected as a Member of the Althing for the Reykjavik Constituency South, representing the Social Democratic Alliance (''Samfylkingin''). On 12 October 2012 he ...

filled in as Johnsen sat in jail. From 2013 the sing-along was led by

Ingólfur Þórarinsson Ingólfur Þórarinsson (born 31 May 1986), commonly known as Ingó Veðurguð (''Ingó the Weather God''), is an Icelandic singer and songwriter and a former footballer. He plays with the band Ingó og Veðurguðirnir, best known for the 2008 h ...

, another Vestmannaeyjar local. Þórarinsson was slated to lead the sing-along again in 2021 but the organising committee cancelled after anonymous allegations of sexual harassment, assault and inappropriate behavior towards underage girls, despite him denying the allegations. There is an ongoing defamation case in the

Court of Appeal A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...

from Þórarinsson after having lost his case in the Reykjavík District Court. Magnús Kjartan led the sing-along for the 2022 Þjóðhátíð.

External links

Official festival site

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thjodhatid Music festivals in Iceland Vestmannaeyjar Annual events in Iceland 1874 establishments in Iceland Recurring events established in 1874 Folk festivals in Iceland Music festivals established in 1874 Festivals established in 1874 Summer events in Iceland