The Reykjavík Grapevine

In 1995 I was turning 17 and had plans to attend Þjóðhátíð í Eyjum – a notoriously boozy outdoor festival in Vestmannaeyjar – with two of my friends.

Reykjavík locals love to complain about how tourism has taken over downtown, with puffin shops replacing stores of actual utility, but the truth is, it isn’t all bad.

The Reykjavík Grapevine's Iceland Roundup brings you the top news with a healthy dash of local views.

Driving through a deliberately out-of-focus countryside, an old man in a wool sweater tells his adult son that “you don’t know what you got until it’s gone.”

Produced and recorded entirely from the bedroom, Una Mist released her debut album KUÐUNGUR on September 1.

On September 10, 2026, RÚV reported that Bjarni Benediktsson received a telephone call from President Elect Donald Trump stating an intent to make Iceland a 51st US state.

The EU referendum is over; now it’s time for the hangover.

“What does ‘vonandi’ mean?”

Jón Gnarr served as Mayor of Reykjavík from 2010 to 2014.

September 7 was another busy day for U.S.

To me, Icelandic designer Sævar Markús Óskarsson has always borne a striking resemblance to a young Yves Saint Laurent.

If you listen to Icelandic music, you listen to Magnús Jóhann Ragnarsson, stage name Magnús Jóhann.

World-renowned Polish tango group Bandonegro comes to Gamla Bió Sunday night, September 13, for the first time at the invitation of Tangófélagið, the local tango club that meets twice a week on Mondays at IÐNÓ and Fridays at Kramhús.

Recently a video went viral of Maggie Gyllenhaal during the inaugural press conference of the Venice Film Festival.

When I read the song titles on Þórir Georg’s new release, Cheer Up, I worried he was having an emotional crisis.

The Shakespeare of our age, Dav Pilkey, who writes Dog Man and Captain Underpants, created another indelible character, The Fair Fairy.

On November 26, four days before Iceland's 2024 parliamentary elections, then-Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson was greeted by a phone call when he entered his home.

The Reykjavík Grapevine's Iceland Roundup brings you the top news with a healthy dash of local views.

Gerard Butler, Bubbi, Michael Brook & Infinite Guitar, Björk's infamous TV appearance in the 80's and so on.

Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir publicly chided the actions of President Trump today.

On September 7, 2026, at 22:00, Northern Lights were clearly visible from the heart of Reykjavík.

“Gird up now thy loins like a man,” said God to Job.

You know the rules.

“That autumn there came an agitation and a plague brought on by an evil spirit or a ghost… it seemed to rush down into their throats, so that they were seized by violent belching and a great swelling… It afflicted those women who were still virgins.”

Weeks of dark omens.

Time caught up to me at this year’s Menningarnótt in ways I wasn’t expecting.

Finally the referendum is over.

Icelanders call the roof box for storage that sits on top of the car the “tengdamamma box” or the “mother-in-law box.”

On Saturday 29 August Iceland held a referendum on whether or not to restart negotiations with the EU on joining that entity.

From a tiny island restaurant that captured the world’s imagination to a geothermal retreat in South Iceland, one of Iceland’s most celebrated chefs is once again redefining Icelandic cuisine.

In a press release from Sýn to the Icelandic Stock Exchange, the largest private media company in the country announced it was ceasing its TV news effective tonight, August 31, 2026.

In the wake of a stunning defeat on the international stage, we revisit our cover story with Kristrún Frostadóttir.

During the recent municipal elections, we noticed some of the great local civic accomplishments weren’t celebrated — or seemingly even noticed.

Arriving at the echolalia festival feels like entering a competition of who is best dressed against the rain.

The Nordic Noir – for reasons that are completely beyond me – has become an increasingly popular genre in recent years.

Reykjavík may be one of Europe’s smallest capitals, but when it comes to coffee, it punches well above its weight.

On Thursday, August 27, 2026, the Áfram Ísland movement held a rally at 17:00 at Austurvellir.

Based on her comments in Reykjavík meeting minutes, we requested an op-ed from city councilor Silja Sóley Birgisdóttir.

Recently Hilmar Veigar Pétursson, the CEO of the video game company Fenris Creations, creator of EVE Online, made headlines as he came out as an anti-EU spokesperson.

If you had one hour to do something related to birdlife, what would you do?

I arrived in Reykjavík, Iceland, a year ago thinking I would now be living in the world’s most peaceful country.

One of the first concerts I attended when I had just moved to Iceland was in Catalína, Kópavogur.

Tragedy at Stuðlagil On August 24, a man died after he fell into the Jökulsá á Brú river by the Stuðlagil canyon.

Founded by Pan Thorarensen and his father Óskar Thorarensen in 2009, the Extreme Chill Festival has become the dominant cultural force in the music scene.

In 1955, Halldór Laxness became Iceland’s first and only Nobel laureate.

Thor Sigfusson first devised his business-clustering rationale for his new book, The Incredible Coffee Machine, over a quarter century ago when he was doctoral student at Háskóli Íslands (the University of Iceland).

In this episode we sit down with Pan Thorarensen, musician and organizer of the annual Extreme Chill Festival.

We were unprepared for the large-scale layoffs announced August 26, 2026.

New geothermal bathing destination Reykjaböð is set to open near Hveragerði at the end of this month, combining a geothermal lagoon with a ten-stage, Nordic-inspired bathhouse, cold plunges, saunas and an Arctic room filled with real snow.

Glittered eyes, bare chests and sweating bodies dancing against other bodies.