Park rangers in South Iceland say they have had to intercept numerous Justin Bieber fans attempting to recreate one of his most notorious music videos.
Readers may recall when the video for Justin Bieber’s I’ll Show You came out in 2015 and caused a small uproar in Iceland. This was primarily due to the assorted romping and cavorting in the Icelandic wilderness depicted therein, which included Justin Bieber running around on protected moss in the Fjaðrárgljúfur gorge of South Iceland.
RÚV now reports that nearly four years later, park rangers in Skaftárhreppur, the South Iceland shire where Fjaðrárgljúfur is located, are still having to fend off groups of people from walking into the area. The Environmental Agency has even gone so far as to extend the closed period for the area until June 1.
Daníel Freyr Jónsson, a specialist at the Agency, told reporters that the damage done by foot traffic in the area can be directly attributed to Justin Bieber’s influence.
“This gorge used to be fairly little known,” he said. “But I think Icelanders have known about it for much longer. The great increase in foot traffic there began after Bieber came. There has been an increase of 50% to 80% between the years 2016, 2017 and 2018.”
Rangers reportedly stop anywhere from 100 to 200 cars a day attempting to enter the area. Not that tourists, or Justin Bieber, are entirely to blame for conditions in Fjaðrárgljúfur; a particularly wet winter has also taken its toll. By all accounts, Fjaðrárgljúfur should be open again come summer.
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