RSS feed from Icelandreview.com
Icelandreview.com on your mobile (Nokia)
A karaoke marathon and song festival dedicated to Iceland’s nature as part of Björk’s campaign to win back the country’s natural resources will begin in the Nordic House in Reykjavík at 3 pm tomorrow, Threttándinn, which is the official Last Day of Christmas.
The Nordic House. Photo by Páll Stefánsson.
The Nordic House will be transformed into a fancy karaoke club with an open bar. The goal is to sing from 3 pm to midnight for three days, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, not only in the Nordic House but also in other locations around the country, Selfoss, Akureyri and Bolungarvík.
Many of Iceland's best known musicians will perform, including Björk herself, who will sing a duet with Ómar Ragnarsson, a press release states.
“Elves, hidden people, sportspeople, hobby musicians and professionals… everyone who cares for Iceland, come and join forces and perform a powerful ode to the nature of Iceland. Let’s bring our natural resources back to us with song,” it reads.
In an interview with Fréttabladid, Björk said it is no coincidence that Threttándinn was chosen for the karaoke marathon. She believes the country’s spirits will help further her campaign and persuade more people to sign the petition she launched.
Threttándinn is considered a magical day in Icelandic folklore when supernatural beings came out from their hidden world and walked among humans. The day is traditionally celebrated with bonfires and fireworks shows.
Björk said in the interview that Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurdardóttir had declared that if 15 percent of voters (approximately 35,000 people) sign a petition revoking Canadian Magma Energy’s acquisition agreement of Icelandic energy company HS Orka, it cannot be ignored by the authorities.
More than 20,000 people have signed the petition already and Björk is certain that the remaining signatures will be gathered during the karaoke marathon. The petition demands: "Icelandic natural resources shall be owned and governed by the public."
“For 100 years good people protected our natural resources and public interest. In the outvasion period the sale of natural resources and irresponsible access to them began. Now it is time to stop that unfortunate development,” the press release declares.
People can register on site or by emailing ddrgrimur@gmail.com or thuridur@nordice.is.
Click here to read more about Björk and her campaign and here to watch an audio slideshow of a Last Day of Christmas bonfire.
An international group of divers recently traveled to Þingvellir National Park in Southwest Iceland to explore this unique diving destination. A Polish guide, Michail Zinieuricz, who works for the DIVE.is, led the team of North Americans and a French couple.
more
Iceland’s northernmost island is no longer one island. In a recent surveillance excursion to the Kolbeinsey, the Icelandic Coast Guard discovered that the island is now divided in two.
more
Iceland is among the top five OECD-countries where immigrants help to boost the economy and increase nation-wide production by approximately 1 percent, according to a new report from the OECD.
more
Neither Prime Minister of Iceland Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson nor Minister of the Interior Hanna Birna Kristjánsdóttir have responded to Edward Snowden’s request for a political asylum in Iceland, as spokesperson for Wikileaks Kristinn Hrafnsson wrote in a letter published in Fréttablaðið today.
more
The 2013 June-July issue of Iceland Review is out. Themed ‘We Are Young’ the magazine celebrates the arrival of summer by interviewing young energetic Icelanders who excel in art, sports, business and politics—and Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson, the youngest PM in the republic’s history and the world’s youngest ruling state leader. Click here to take a look at a selection of the current issue and here to subscribe to the magazine.
more
REVIEWS
amiina
The road to Höfn, a 1,690-person harbor town by the fjord Hornafjörður, is lined with reindeer. Whole herds of the wild horned animals rest peacefully on withered pastures, grace next to sheep and horses and bounce along the road. Soon, Vatnajökull, Europe’s largest glacier and the region’s biggest attraction, comes into view. Looming over Höfn, its outlet glaciers flow down from the mountains on which the bright white icecap rests.
more
Sin Fang will celebrate the release of his third album with a release concert in Iðnó on June 12. Flowers was released in February by Morr Music and has been well received by music enthusiasts and critics alike. The concert will be supported by Vök, this year’s winners of the Icelandic Music Experiments.
more
){kind=link}