The biggest bank holiday weekend festival is in Westman Islands
Þjóðhátíð Festival in Westman Islands is by far the largest of the Verslunarmannahelgi bank holiday weekend with between 10.000 to 16,000 people (nearly 4-times the island’s population) attending each year.
Officially, Þjóðhátíð starts on Friday (August 1st 2014) and last until Sunday that same weekend. A number of people like to get a headstart on the festivities and arrive up to five days in advance to hangout, guarantee the best camping spot, and enjoy the things the Westman Islands have to offer.
Downtown Reykjavík music festival
If sleeping in a tent is not really your thing, Innipúkinn just might be. The title of the music festival is loosely translated as ‘couch potato’, and geared towards people who prefer staying in Reykjavik, i.e. ‘staying in’, rather than wanting to go camping in the potential rain. Innipúkinn Festival is being held for the 13th time this year, and stretches from Friday to Sunday evening (August 1st-3rd) where bands will be playing at Húrra Bar and Gaukurinn Bar.
More about Innipúkinn festival
Mud-football and music in the West fjords
Mýrarboltinn, or Mud-Football is a weekend-long event in Ísafjörður town in the Westfjords of Iceland. It is a 6-a-side football match, but played in a quicksand of mud. Teams are generally made up of groups of friends, many of whom who have put serious effort into creating team uniforms to show up in. But if you’re without a team, it’s no problem! You can either just be a less-muddy spectator, or send a quick email to the organizers and ask to join a catch-all team, as they call it, “a collection of oddballs both from Iceland and around the world”. In addition to the football there are numerous concerts and live music acts during the weekend.
More about Mýrararboltinn festival
Herring adventure family festival in Siglufjörður town
The build up to the Síldarævintýrið, or The Great Herring Adventure in Siglufjörður town starts a week before the first weekend of August, with various activities in the town. The offfical festival kicks of on Friday August 1st and last until the Monday 4th.
The weekend is packed with entertainment for the whole family, and camping-sites and guesthouses are available for guests in the town. For a break from all the herring, Siglufjörður is home to a beautiful golf-course that will be open over the weekend for those who want to enjoy some midnight-sun (or daytime) golfing.
More about the Great Herring Adventure
The first weekend in August is a long-weekend and jam-packed with events across the country. The largest event, without a doubt, is in the Westman Islands, where more than 10,000 people come together to enjoy a variety of performances by the famous and the less famous; sing and dance; and be generally merry. But the biggest doesn’t always have to be the best, and for that reason, we’ve created a list of the various great festivals over the Verslunarmannahelgi weekend.
The biggest bank holiday weekend festival is in Westman Islands
Þjóðhátíð Festival in Westman Islands is by far the largest of the Verslunarmannahelgi bank holiday weekend with between 10.000 to 16,000 people (nearly 4-times the island’s population) attending each year.
Officially, Þjóðhátíð starts on Friday (August 1st 2014) and last until Sunday that same weekend. A number of people like to get a headstart on the festivities and arrive up to five days in advance to hangout, guarantee the best camping spot, and enjoy the things the Westman Islands have to offer.
Downtown Reykjavík music festival
If sleeping in a tent is not really your thing, Innipúkinn just might be. The title of the music festival is loosely translated as ‘couch potato’, and geared towards people who prefer staying in Reykjavik, i.e. ‘staying in’, rather than wanting to go camping in the potential rain. Innipúkinn Festival is being held for the 13th time this year, and stretches from Friday to Sunday evening (August 1st-3rd) where bands will be playing at Húrra Bar and Gaukurinn Bar.
More about Innipúkinn festival
Mud-football and music in the West fjords
Mýrarboltinn, or Mud-Football is a weekend-long event in Ísafjörður town in the Westfjords of Iceland. It is a 6-a-side football match, but played in a quicksand of mud. Teams are generally made up of groups of friends, many of whom who have put serious effort into creating team uniforms to show up in. But if you’re without a team, it’s no problem! You can either just be a less-muddy spectator, or send a quick email to the organizers and ask to join a catch-all team, as they call it, “a collection of oddballs both from Iceland and around the world”. In addition to the football there are numerous concerts and live music acts during the weekend.
More about Mýrararboltinn festival
Herring adventure family festival in Siglufjörður town
The build up to the Síldarævintýrið, or The Great Herring Adventure in Siglufjörður town starts a week before the first weekend of August, with various activities in the town. The offfical festival kicks of on Friday August 1st and last until the Monday 4th.
The weekend is packed with entertainment for the whole family, and camping-sites and guesthouses are available for guests in the town. For a break from all the herring, Siglufjörður is home to a beautiful golf-course that will be open over the weekend for those who want to enjoy some midnight-sun (or daytime) golfing.
