Þjóðhátíð

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Þjóðhátíð
DatesThe weekend before the first Monday in August
Location(s)Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland
Years active1874–present
Websitedalurinn.is
Not to be confused with Icelandic National Day.

Þjóðhátíð (Icelandic pronunciation: ​[ˈθjouːðˌhauːˌtʰiːθ], "National Festival") is an annual outdoor festival held in Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland, on the weekend before the first Monday in August. Locals and guests gather in Herjólfsdalur valley on the island of Heimaey for four days of various events, most prominently big stage concerts, bonfires, fireworks displays and the festival's signature Sunday night crowd singing.[1] 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.[2][3]

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.[4][5]

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, a member of the Althing (Icelandic parliament), with the exception of the 2003 Þjóðhátíð when Róbert Marshall filled in as Johnsen sat in jail. From 2013 the sing-along was led by Ingólfur Þórarinsson, another Vestmannaeyjar local. Þórarinsson was slated to lead the sing-along again in 2021 but the organising committee cancelled after a wave of allegations of sexual harassment and assault, backed up by a long line of stories of inappropriate behavior, particularly towards underage girls. It is unclear who will lead the 2021 sing-along. [6]

External links[]

References[]

  1. ^ Young, Don and Majorie (2008). Iceland Adventure Guide. Hunter Publishing. p. 484. ISBN 978-1-58843-672-6.
  2. ^ "Metfjöldi í brekkunni í gær". Stöð 2 (in Icelandic). August 2, 2010. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  3. ^ "15 þúsund á Þjóðhátíð í Eyjum". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). August 6, 2013. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  4. ^ "Hvað er að gerast um verslunarmannahelgina?". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). August 2, 2017. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  5. ^ "Um 8.000 manns tóku þátt í brekkusöngnum". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). August 3, 2004. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  6. ^ "Óvissa í brekkukortunum: Hver tekur við af Ingó?". Fréttablaðið (in Icelandic). July 6, 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
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