What we covered. The top ten local news that define 2015 in Iceland.
1. The first central pagan temple for 1000 years
The Icelandic Pagan Association set in motion its plan to build the first central pagan temple in the Nordic countries in nearly a thousand years. The temple, or “hof” as it’s called in Icelandic began this year and is to be completed in 2016. The news was received with international interest and some foreign practitioners of the faith expressed their dismay with the liberal beliefs and attitudes of their Icelandic religious brethren and sisters. However, the dissidents were soon completely overrun with international support for the Icelandic Pagans, which warmed the hearts of all people of reason and tolerance.
2. Bad year for bankers: 29 bankers sentenced to a combined 77.5 years in prison
2015 was not a very good year for Icelandic bankers, as many of the most senior bankers of the pre-2008 financial crash have been sentenced to prison for crimes committed in the lead-up to the collapse of the Icelandic banking system in 2008. On February 12 the Supreme Court of Iceland sentenced the three top bosses of failed bank Kaupþing, and the largest individual shareholder in the bank, to 4-5.5 years in prison for market manipulation during the year preceding the 2008 crash. This sentence was followed by further sentences of the top managers of Kaupþing and the other two big Icelandic banks, Landsbankinn and Glitnir.
On October 8 the Supreme Court sentenced the three top managers of Landsbankinn to prison, including the former CEO of the bank, who was sentenced to three years for market manipulation, fraudulent loans and breach of fiduciary duty. Then just before Christmas, on December 21, the district court of Reykjavík sentenced the former CEO of Glitnir, along with two other high ranking bankers to 2-4 years in prison for market manipulation and breach of fiduciary duty. At year’s end the total tally is 29 bankers, having been sentenced to a combined 77.5 years in prison.
3. The historic Holuhraun eruption came to an end
The eruption in Holuhraun lava field, in the central highlands, was declared over on 27th February, 181 days after it started on August 31st 2014. It was the fastest flowing lava eruption on earth in two centuries, leaving a new lava field covering 85 square km (32.8 sq. mi). For scale, imagine an area roughly 1.5 times larger than Manhattan island, covered with fresh 7 to 30 meters (21–90 feet) thick lava.
4. Icelandic women kicked off a powerful #freethenipple campaign on Twitter
In March Icelandic women launched on Twitter an emotional and powerful “Free the Nipple” campaign that made the headlines around the world. Led by young women, it all kicked off after a 17 year old student at Verzlunarskóli Íslands, The Commercial College of Iceland, tweeted a picture of her nipples as a response to her male friend who had posted a photo of himself bare chested after she had tweeted news about the upcoming “Free the Nipple” day at her school. When some idito on Twitter tried to body-shame the girl, flocks of other young women rose to her defence posting their own nipples on Twitter. Soon older women, among them a member of the Icelandic parliament, joined in leading to a campaign that included several events over the next few months.
Downtown digging The archaeological dig took place in what was until recently a parking lot in the centre of the capital. Photo/Andri Marinó Karlsson
5. Ruins of one of the largest Viking longhouses ever discovered in Iceland dug up in a downtown parking lot
This summer archaeologists working in a downtown parking lot made an unexpected discovery when they uncovered the ruins of one of the largest Viking age longhouses in Iceland. Pedestrians and passers-by could observe the archaeologists working just off one of the main streets of Reykjavík, uncovering one of the most important Icelandic archaeological finds of recent years.
The ruins had been partially damaged by previous construction work, making it impossible to determine the exact size of the longhouse, but the house is believed to have been more than 20 metres (67 feet) long. Perhaps more importantly, the find has forced archaeologists to reconsider the extent and nature of the Viking age settlement in Reykjavík. Instead of one or two farms we are seeing a small village slowly emerging.
6. The fight to save the central highlands from encroaching development
As tourism has become Iceland’s most important business, nature preservation has finally hit the mainstream. The reason is simple. The most important resource for tourism is Iceland’s unspoiled nature and now we have the environmentalists and the capitalists joining forces in the fight to save the highlands from encroaching development.
Iceland’s central highlands forms one of the largest area in Europe, south of the Arctic Circle, that has never been inhabited or cultivated. The area is renowned for its unparalleled geology and geomorphology with pristine oases in the midst of an exceptionally contrasting landscape that is formed by a unique combination of fire and ice.
7. Justin Bieber released a fantastic music video shot entirely in Iceland
Canadian pop icon Justin Bieber came to Iceland in September and spent his time visiting some of the countries natural wonders. When leaving the musician declared his love for Iceland and said: “Best trip ever”. On 2 November the singer then published a new music video to his single I'll Show You, shot entirely in Iceland during his visit. The video received rave reviews and had, late December, been viewed on YouTube more than 106 million times.
In December it became obvious that a large part of Icelanders love Bieber fiercely back when almost 20.000 tickets, to his forthcoming concert in Reykjavík in September 2016, sold out in less than 30 minutes.
8. The Icelandic national football team secured a place in the EURO 2016
For the first time in Iceland’s history the national men’s football team advanced to a major tournament finals. Highlight of the campaign came in Amsterdam, beating Netherlands 1-0 in the UEFA qualifiers on 4 September letting the Dutch taste first defeat on home turf in the Euro qualifying history. The EURO finals will take place in France in 2016.
9. The most dramatic outburst flood from the Skaftárketill calderas
On September 29 the Icelandic Meteorological Office announced that a glacial outburst flood from the eastern Skaftárketill caldera had begun. The flood was the most powerful on record. Usually floods from the eastern of the two Skáftárketill calderas come once every two years, but this year‘s flood came full five years after the last one. The longer delay between the floods meant more water had collected in the caldera, leading to a larger flood. Scientists believe future floods are likely to be larger as well, as the eastern caldera seems to have grown, allowing for more water to collect.
The 2015 Skaftárhlaup outburst flood caused significant damages to farmlands and fields and washed away roads in its path, permanently turning lava fields in its way into sand- and mudflats. It also washed away unexplored ruins, believed to date to the Viking age.
10. The Icelandic Pirate Party surges in the polls
In March the Pirate Party surged ahead in public opinion polls, becoming the most popular political party in Iceland. The party, which had received 5.1% of the vote in the 2013 Parliamentary elections, enjoyed the support of 23.9% of voters according to an mmr poll released on March 18. Since then other public opinion polls have consistently shown the party as enjoying more support than other parties, repeatedly registering with more than 30% support. These poll numbers show the party is solidifying its support among the voters, who have at the same time lost faith in the government.
What we covered. The top ten local news that define 2015 in Iceland.
1. The first central pagan temple for 1000 years
The Icelandic Pagan Association set in motion its plan to build the first central pagan temple in the Nordic countries in nearly a thousand years. The temple, or “hof” as it’s called in Icelandic began this year and is to be completed in 2016. The news was received with international interest and some foreign practitioners of the faith expressed their dismay with the liberal beliefs and attitudes of their Icelandic religious brethren and sisters. However, the dissidents were soon completely overrun with international support for the Icelandic Pagans, which warmed the hearts of all people of reason and tolerance.
2. Bad year for bankers: 29 bankers sentenced to a combined 77.5 years in prison
2015 was not a very good year for Icelandic bankers, as many of the most senior bankers of the pre-2008 financial crash have been sentenced to prison for crimes committed in the lead-up to the collapse of the Icelandic banking system in 2008. On February 12 the Supreme Court of Iceland sentenced the three top bosses of failed bank Kaupþing, and the largest individual shareholder in the bank, to 4-5.5 years in prison for market manipulation during the year preceding the 2008 crash. This sentence was followed by further sentences of the top managers of Kaupþing and the other two big Icelandic banks, Landsbankinn and Glitnir.
On October 8 the Supreme Court sentenced the three top managers of Landsbankinn to prison, including the former CEO of the bank, who was sentenced to three years for market manipulation, fraudulent loans and breach of fiduciary duty. Then just before Christmas, on December 21, the district court of Reykjavík sentenced the former CEO of Glitnir, along with two other high ranking bankers to 2-4 years in prison for market manipulation and breach of fiduciary duty. At year’s end the total tally is 29 bankers, having been sentenced to a combined 77.5 years in prison.
3. The historic Holuhraun eruption came to an end
The eruption in Holuhraun lava field, in the central highlands, was declared over on 27th February, 181 days after it started on August 31st 2014. It was the fastest flowing lava eruption on earth in two centuries, leaving a new lava field covering 85 square km (32.8 sq. mi). For scale, imagine an area roughly 1.5 times larger than Manhattan island, covered with fresh 7 to 30 meters (21–90 feet) thick lava.
4. Icelandic women kicked off a powerful #freethenipple campaign on Twitter
In March Icelandic women launched on Twitter an emotional and powerful “Free the Nipple” campaign that made the headlines around the world. Led by young women, it all kicked off after a 17 year old student at Verzlunarskóli Íslands, The Commercial College of Iceland, tweeted a picture of her nipples as a response to her male friend who had posted a photo of himself bare chested after she had tweeted news about the upcoming “Free the Nipple” day at her school. When some idito on Twitter tried to body-shame the girl, flocks of other young women rose to her defence posting their own nipples on Twitter. Soon older women, among them a member of the Icelandic parliament, joined in leading to a campaign that included several events over the next few months.
Downtown digging The archaeological dig took place in what was until recently a parking lot in the centre of the capital. Photo/Andri Marinó Karlsson
5. Ruins of one of the largest Viking longhouses ever discovered in Iceland dug up in a downtown parking lot
This summer archaeologists working in a downtown parking lot made an unexpected discovery when they uncovered the ruins of one of the largest Viking age longhouses in Iceland. Pedestrians and passers-by could observe the archaeologists working just off one of the main streets of Reykjavík, uncovering one of the most important Icelandic archaeological finds of recent years.
The ruins had been partially damaged by previous construction work, making it impossible to determine the exact size of the longhouse, but the house is believed to have been more than 20 metres (67 feet) long. Perhaps more importantly, the find has forced archaeologists to reconsider the extent and nature of the Viking age settlement in Reykjavík. Instead of one or two farms we are seeing a small village slowly emerging.
6. The fight to save the central highlands from encroaching development
As tourism has become Iceland’s most important business, nature preservation has finally hit the mainstream. The reason is simple. The most important resource for tourism is Iceland’s unspoiled nature and now we have the environmentalists and the capitalists joining forces in the fight to save the highlands from encroaching development.
Iceland’s central highlands forms one of the largest area in Europe, south of the Arctic Circle, that has never been inhabited or cultivated. The area is renowned for its unparalleled geology and geomorphology with pristine oases in the midst of an exceptionally contrasting landscape that is formed by a unique combination of fire and ice.
7. Justin Bieber released a fantastic music video shot entirely in Iceland
Canadian pop icon Justin Bieber came to Iceland in September and spent his time visiting some of the countries natural wonders. When leaving the musician declared his love for Iceland and said: “Best trip ever”. On 2 November the singer then published a new music video to his single I'll Show You, shot entirely in Iceland during his visit. The video received rave reviews and had, late December, been viewed on YouTube more than 106 million times.
In December it became obvious that a large part of Icelanders love Bieber fiercely back when almost 20.000 tickets, to his forthcoming concert in Reykjavík in September 2016, sold out in less than 30 minutes.
8. The Icelandic national football team secured a place in the EURO 2016
For the first time in Iceland’s history the national men’s football team advanced to a major tournament finals. Highlight of the campaign came in Amsterdam, beating Netherlands 1-0 in the UEFA qualifiers on 4 September letting the Dutch taste first defeat on home turf in the Euro qualifying history. The EURO finals will take place in France in 2016.
9. The most dramatic outburst flood from the Skaftárketill calderas
On September 29 the Icelandic Meteorological Office announced that a glacial outburst flood from the eastern Skaftárketill caldera had begun. The flood was the most powerful on record. Usually floods from the eastern of the two Skáftárketill calderas come once every two years, but this year‘s flood came full five years after the last one. The longer delay between the floods meant more water had collected in the caldera, leading to a larger flood. Scientists believe future floods are likely to be larger as well, as the eastern caldera seems to have grown, allowing for more water to collect.
The 2015 Skaftárhlaup outburst flood caused significant damages to farmlands and fields and washed away roads in its path, permanently turning lava fields in its way into sand- and mudflats. It also washed away unexplored ruins, believed to date to the Viking age.
10. The Icelandic Pirate Party surges in the polls
In March the Pirate Party surged ahead in public opinion polls, becoming the most popular political party in Iceland. The party, which had received 5.1% of the vote in the 2013 Parliamentary elections, enjoyed the support of 23.9% of voters according to an mmr poll released on March 18. Since then other public opinion polls have consistently shown the party as enjoying more support than other parties, repeatedly registering with more than 30% support. These poll numbers show the party is solidifying its support among the voters, who have at the same time lost faith in the government.
