Reykjavík’s annual Culture Night will take place tomorrow, featuring concerts, special events, the Reykjavík marathon, and a fireworks display. Due to road closures, attendees are encouraged to park at the Laugardalshöll sports stadium and use the free shuttle and bus services available throughout the day and evening.
One of the biggest nights of the year
Reykjavík’s annual Culture Night – first held in 1996 – will take place tomorrow, Saturday, August 24. The programme will run from 12:00 noon to 11:15 PM and feature concerts, special events, the Reykjavík marathon, and a concluding fireworks display.
For the benefit of our readership, we’ve compiled a short overview of some useful information pertaining to one of the biggest annual events held in Reykjavík.
Guests advised to dress warmly
As reported by Mbl.is yesterday, attendees of this year’s Culture Night are advised to dress warmly and to bring gloves and a hat. Temperatures during the day are expected to peak at 10-11°C but will drop to around 5-6°C in the evening.
The weather will be partly cloudy with some sunny spells, and a northerly wind of 5-10 metres per second may make it feel cooler. While the wind is expected to decrease slightly later in the day, a light breeze will persist into the evening.
Parking and bus services
Due to numerous road closures, attendees are encouraged to park at the Laugardalshöll sports stadium and use a free shuttle service running from 7:30 AM to 12:30 AM.
Additional free bus services will be available from 11:00 PM to 12:30 AM to help disperse crowds after the fireworks, with regular paid night service resuming afterwards.
Road closures
To ensure the safety of Culture Night guests, a portion of the city centre will be closed to vehicle traffic in cooperation with the Metropolitan Police. Street closures will generally be in effect from 7:00 AM on Saturday, August 24, until 1:00 AM the following morning (unless otherwise specified).
For a map of road closures click Here.
The Reykjavík Marathon
Culture Night begins early Saturday morning with the annual Reykjavík Marathon.
As reported on IR earlier this week, the Reykjavík Marathon is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, and organisers expect attendance and fundraising records to be broken. On Wednesday, over 12,000 participants had already registered.
(Tickets for the half marathon have sold out, and only a few spots remain for the full marathon and the 10-kilometre race at the time of writing.)
The respective races will begin at the times indicated below:
8:40 – Marathon
8:40 – Half marathon
9:40 – 10 km
12:00 – Family Fun Run
Mayor launches Culture Night
Mayor of Reykjavík Einar Þorsteinsson will officially launch Culture Night at Hjartatorg – Laugavegur 22 in downtown Reykjavík – at 12:00 PM. His speech will be followed by a brief aria performance by the performing arts group Óður and a rap performance by Cell 7.
Music has been a defining aspect of Culture Night, traditionally featuring two big concerts: the Bylgjan concert at the Hljómskálagarðurinn public park and RÚV’s Tónaflóð concert on Arnarhóll hill.
Bylgjan annual concert
The radio station Bylgjan will host its annual Culture Night concert at the Hljómskálagarður public park – near the Reykjavík Pond – starting at 7:00 PM. The event will feature music, food, and bouncy castles for kids.
The following acts are slated to perform:
Stuðlabandið featurign Diljá
Ragga Gísla
PATR!K
Birgitta Haukdal
Emmsjé Gauti
GDRN
Björn Jörundur
Bjartmar og Bergrisarnir
Tónaflóð concert on Arnarhóll
The annual Tónaflóð concert, hosted by the National Broadcaster, will begin at 7:45 PM at the Arnarhóll hill in downtown Reykjavík. The concert will also be broadcast live on the National Broadcaster (RÚV) and the radio station Rás 2.
The following artists will perform:
mammaðín
NUSSUN
PATR!K
Sigga Beinteins and Stefanía Svavars
Ultraflex
GDRN
XXX Rottweiler
Friðrik Dór and guests
Fireworks display
As usual, Culture Night will conclude with a spectacular fireworks display, which can be viewed clearly from Arnarhóll hill in downtown Reykjavík. The fireworks are set to begin at 11:00 PM.
The programme in its entirety
For a full list of events taking place at this year’s Culture Night, click Here.
For a list of answers to some frequently asked questions, click Here.
