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The Mayor Left In The Cold: An Interview With Heiða Björg Hilmisdóttir
This New Year’s Eve, as the nation bonded over the annual comedy show Áramótaskaup, one skit caught particular attention: in a spoof game show, the contestants are asked to name the mayor of Reykjavík. No contestant can answer. The host has no…
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The Last King Of Iceland: Coming To Terms With Davíð Oddsson’s Legacy
In early 2003, Prime Minister Davíð Oddsson and Foreign Minister Halldór Ásgrímsson added Iceland to George W. Bush’s Coalition of the Willing, giving whatever minor support this country would muster to the invasion of Iraq. Notable Icelanders bought a full-page ad in…
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Overflowing With Talented People: Alaska1867 And digital ísland On Hard-Won Success
Four Grapevine Music Awards winners take the pulse of the scene Piling into Prikið’s backstage loft, Alaska1867 (Kolfreyja Sól Bogadóttir) — simply Alaska to her friends — and the trio forming digital ísland (Arnar Ingi Ingason, Tatjana Dís Aldísar Razoumeenko, Þórir Már Davíðsson)…
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Iceland, We Have A Lifestyle Problem: The Bad News Keeps Coming
Despite large amounts of clear-eyed data, no systemic solutions In December 2025, we published a news piece with the headline “Icelanders Are The Heaviest Of The Nordic Nations.” The body of the article did not get any better. Icelanders are getting fatter,…
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Why We Light Fireworks: Remembering Sigurður Kristófer McQuillan Óskarsson
The quiet selflessness of Search and Rescue On December 31, countries throughout the world will literally light money on fire to pretend to have a sense of community. You can line up all your devices on your lonely couch and watch Boston,…
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For Björk, There Is No Map: How Björk Guðmundsdóttir’s Journey Brought Iceland To The World
Local critical institution Arnar Eggert gives his impressions of a career without precedent or parallel Sitting calmly in a nondescript room on the upper floor of downtown Reykjavík’s legendary Iðnó venue, Björk describes herself as a gentle gardener. It’s autumn 2011, and…
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Fifty Years Later, Push For Equality Continues: Remembering The Strike That Stopped The Nation
On October 24, 1975, 90 percent of women all around Iceland went on strike. Twenty-five thousand of them gathered on Arnarhóll hill in Reykjavík to show how undervalued their contribution to society was, both in the labour market and at home, and…
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A Prime Minister At The Precipice: Kristrún Frostadóttir’s Case For The Boring Centre
Iceland’s youngest-ever prime minister understands what’s at stake “I worry about the public’s declining trust in politics in general. That was my sense when I first went into politics. One of the first things I did was to travel the country on…
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Across Borders And Decades, múm Carries On
Era-defining experimental group múm release their first LP in 12 years It’s been 25 years since múm released their debut album Yesterday was dramatic, today is ok. Ushering in a new era of independent electronic music, múm quickly took the world by…
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Death At Reynisfjara: Devastation On The Beach
Another horrific reckoning with modern tourism Yukio Mishima crystallised the empty pathos of life in a once-proud nation dealing with rapid hyper-modernisation with his story collection Death at Midsummer. The haunting title story presents a mother dealing with the death of her…
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Taking The Bait: Inside Grímsey’s Fight For Its Future
“Do you want one? You know… for the nausea?” The Frenchman holds out a blister pack of motion sickness tablets. He and his companions, all laden with huge telescopic cameras, have all popped some. But I politely decline. The sea looks calm;…
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Children Of Nature: Norse Paganism’s Comeback
An ancient way of life is having a moment right now. Why? Spend any amount of time in Iceland, and you are going to be reminded of the country’s pagan heritage. Frequently. This may come in overt, conscious choices such as putting…
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Sustainability Wonderland™: Renewable Energy Does Not Absolve All Sins
The Blue Lagoon, that Instagram-perfect geothermal spa where millions soak away their jet lag between the airport and Reykjavik, wasn’t originally designed as a luxury destination. It began life as industrial runoff from Svartsengi geothermal plant. Wastewater. An accident that clever marketing…
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The Summer Ring Road: Around Iceland In 12 Days
Route One is Iceland’s main highway. It circles the country over a distance of 1,321 km, rolling over mountain passes, undulating fjords, deep tunnels, and narrow roads hewn into the sheer coastline. Driving the Ring Road never gets old — under the…
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The Big Vibe Shift: Inside The Icelandic Brosphere
For reference, read this article for a deep-dive character analysis of the Brosphere’s main players. It was very clear in the early hours of December 1, 2024, that there had been a vibe shift in Iceland. The shift hadn’t happened overnight —…
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The Race For A Great Summer
In the summertime, Icelanders do anything for a good time Before we left our stinky turfhouses (some as late as the 1960s), winters were a time of quiet consolation when us farmers and fishermen stayed indoors. Ideally, everyone had worked their asses…
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A Poisonous Story Of Corruption
The biggest bribery scandal in Icelandic history The story of the Samherji case is not only the largest bribery scandal in Icelandic history, but also a global tale of corporate malfeasance, political corruption, journalistic tenacity, and artistic freedom. It unfolds like an…
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Is Eurovision Still A Good VÆB? A Divided Iceland Approaches Eurovision 2025
Iceland’s 2025 Eurovision entry, VÆB, made up of Hálfdán Helgi Matthíasson and Matthías Davíð Matthíasson, two 20-something brothers with a penchant for shiny silver suits and sunglasses, take the stage in Basel, Switzerland, on Tuesday, May 12. Instead of competing in an…
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Undoing The Romanticisation Of The Starving Artist
Examining the realities of making a living as a professional artist in Iceland Typical party conversation, any evening at random between 1997 and 2025: Random guest: So, what do you do for a living? Me: I’m a professional visual artist. Random guest:…
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Iceland At A Crossroads
A shifting world order presents Iceland with the opportunity to forge a new path (or not) When this magazine finds its way into the shops, cafés and cultural institutions of Reykjavík, it will have been a mere 46 days since the inauguration…
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The Long Crossing: Hirtshals To Seyðisfjörður On The Last Norræna Sailing Of The Year
“Do you see that big rock over there?” the hotel reception manager gestured out into the remarkably sunny day on the northern tip of Denmark. “That’s where the bus normally stops.” I nodded to indicate my understanding — my eyesight being what…
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The Reykjavík Grapevine’s People Of The Year
It has been a year of transformation in Iceland. The land on Reykjanes has continued to renew itself with an ongoing series of eruptions, while necessitating the evacuation of an entire town. Icelandic politicians took a turn to the nationalist, ramping up…
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The Seven Year Itch & The Coalition Of Contrasts
As Iceland prepares to vote on Nov. 30, the dysfunction and ineffectiveness of the outgoing government is laid bare On November 30, Icelanders will head to the polls 10 months ahead of schedule. The snap election became an inevitability on October 13…