Justin Timberlake Chided For “Hello, Reykjavík!”

Justin Timberlake held his first concert in Iceland yesterday, and some Icelandic media sources have reported primarily on Timberlake getting the name of the town he was performing in wrong.

Singer Justin Timberlake performed to a standing-room-only crowd at the stadium Kórinn in Kópavogur last night. At the start of the show, thousands of Icelanders were greeted by Timberlake with a cheery, “Hello, Reykjavík!”

This did not go unnoticed by Icelandic media sources. “Justin Not Aware Of The Existence Of Kópavogur”, reported Vísir, followed by a string of tweets from some prominent Icelanders remarking on the name mix-up. Ármann Kr. Ólafsson, the mayor of Kópavogur, also commented on it, light-heartedly saying, “Of course I noticed this. I was wondering how disappointed I should be,” laughing. He added that he considers Timberlake to be “a genius”.

Public broadcasting service RÚV also mentioned the mix-up, albeit not in the headline.

It should be noted that Kópavogur, while not being Reykjavík, is located right next to Reykjavík and is amongst the municipalities comprising the greater capital area. Furthermore, as former Reykjavík city councilperson Gísli Marteinn Baldursson pointed out, “Overseas, even Keflavík is called Reykjavík”, referring to the name of the city that is usually printed on a plane ticket to Iceland – despite the two towns being about half an hour’s drive from each other.

Those readers who were not amongst the lucky thousands to see him live can watch highlight replays here.