Finally the referendum is over. While this is written before the votes have been counted, we can pass some preliminary judgement on how Iceland as a society and as a democracy fared. In short, not well. Icelanders are collectively suffering from refe...

Icelanders call the roof box for storage that sits on top of the car the “tengdamamma box” or the “mother-in-law box.” The place where the mother-in-law is supposed to travel, rather than sit in the car with everyone else. Now, jokes about in...

On Saturday 29 August Iceland held a referendum on whether or not to restart negotiations with the EU on joining that entity. The result was that 52,8% of the voters, 118.040 people, said no, and 47,2% or 105.339 people, voted yes. The vote was broug...

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.  "A diverse group of outstanding reporters, production staff and ...

In the wake of a stunning defeat on the international stage, we revisit our cover story with Kristrún Frostadóttir. As readers will note, and to our surprise at the time, Kristrún stated in September 2025 that joining the European Union was not he...

During the recent municipal elections, we noticed some of the great local civic accomplishments weren’t celebrated — or seemingly even noticed. For example, the local libraries. Throughout the summer, we’ll highlight the more notable programmes...

Arriving at the echolalia festival feels like entering a competition of who is best dressed against the rain. Raincoats with octopus heads, reindeer antlers, masks made of algae and huge flower headwear all make an appearance. A friend jokes that it ...

The Nordic Noir – for reasons that are completely beyond me – has become an increasingly popular genre in recent years. I reckon it is a combination of the perceived coldness of the Nordic countries and the associated chill, both figurative and l...

Reykjavík may be one of Europe’s smallest capitals, but when it comes to coffee, it punches well above its weight. Icelanders rank among the world’s biggest coffee drinkers, and cafés are woven into the rhythm of everyday life. Whether it’s a...

On Thursday, August 27, 2026, the Áfram Ísland movement held a rally at 17:00 at Austurvellir. If you’ve been living in Reykjavík, you’ll have seen Áfram Íslands ads everywhere. “Nei, takk!” is their slogan. Even though the meaning of �...

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. The formerly outspoken supporter of Iceland’s EU membership claimed the country ...

If you had one hour to do something related to birdlife, what would you do? Find a local green space and open your ears? Feed gulls by the harbour? Build a birdhouse? For the past few weeks, I have been trying to answer a version of that question mys...

I arrived in Reykjavík, Iceland, a year ago thinking I would now be living in the world’s most peaceful country. Now I’m not so sure. Geopolitical more than economic influences loom ominously over the August 29 vote for Iceland to begin negotiat...

One of the first concerts I attended when I had just moved to Iceland was in Catalína, Kópavogur. Together with an artistic crowd, some drunk men and downstairs gamblers, this concert provided my first impression of the Icelandic music scene. I lat...

Tragedy at Stuðlagil On August 24, a man died after he fell into the Jökulsá á Brú river by the Stuðlagil canyon. The man was a foreign tourist in his thirties who was visiting the popular canyon with a group. Around 200,000 people visit Stuðl...

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. Focusing on electronic and improvisation, the festival began in force in Snæfellsnes, but whe...

In 1955, Halldór Laxness became Iceland’s first and only Nobel laureate. On that occasion, he gave the banquet speech at the Stockholm City Hall, and, as so often when Icelanders look at the achievements of their nation’s history, he reached for...

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). “These ideas have been with m...

In this episode we sit down with Pan Thorarensen, musician and organizer of the annual Extreme Chill Festival. We discuss the festival's 17-year history, and beginnings as an album release show in Hellisandur, Snæfellsnes, to its evolution into a hi...

We were unprepared for the large-scale layoffs announced August 26, 2026. We are running a guest contribution op-ed online that addresses some of the repercussions of the  announcement. -BC Youth Centers at Risk: Austerity Cuts Threaten a Vital Huma...

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. An accidental touch, locking eyes and dancing closer. The ventilation fans don’t do much to kill the heat of the dancefloor at Nekt. It is the night of Pride, August 8, a...

The difference between Icarus and former Landsbanki chairman and majority owner Björgólfur Guðmundsson is that Icarus only flew once too close to the sun, but not Björgólfur, who kept doing it for several decades. But his final trip into the str...

Ever since Sir Richard Grapevine began printing The Reykjavík Grapevine in 1873, this distinguished paper has been at the forefront of the Icelandic business press. Deeply committed to the profit motive, we offer you these words of guidance from Fre...

During the recent municipal elections, we noticed that some of the great local civic accomplishments weren’t celebrated — or seemingly even noticed. For example, the local libraries. Throughout the summer, we’ll highlight the more notable progr...

Benedikt Jóhannesson is an Icelandic publisher, businessman and politician. He is the founder and former chairman of Viðreisn and served as Iceland’s Minister of Finance from January 11, 2017, to November 30, 2017. We are publishing an essay he p...

Many of the most notable events in Icelandic history took place in what is not much more than a city block in downtown Reykjavik, from the arrival of the Vikings to the Pots and Pans Revolution during the economic crash. Join two historians and forme...

On August 22, Reykjavík’s annual Culture Night festivities will take place for the 30th time. As per usual, the city’s programming for this day is staggering, and to help you navigate the endless options, we present you here, with our highlights...

That's all.  

David Byrne reinvented the concert film in 1984 with director Jonathan Demme. The Talking Heads’ Stop Making Sense became iconic for its opening boombox providing the backbeat and the lead singer’s big suit costume. As a solo act over the past de...

On August 22, nearly one-third of Iceland will once again come to Reykjavík to celebrate Menningarnótt (Culture Night). This is the day where every street turns into a block party, every garden becomes a stage and teenagers have their first drink(s...

You know the rules. Name that sheep. Tell us the name of this specific sheep. Email us at: sheep@grapevine.is. If you get the right name, and you’re in Iceland, you win a hot dog, made in part with sheep. One guess per email address please. Not in ...

So, let's talk about Rabbi Shmuley Boteach. He came, he agitated, he got exactly what he wanted. This is what he does. While his visits to some countries go unnoticed, he got a lot of attention in Iceland, and he's still milking it on social media. U...

Less than three hours after leaving Iceland, I’m descending over a maze of tiny islands and icebergs scattered across impossibly blue water and land in the brand-new airport in Qaqortoq, South Greenland’s biggest town. Qaqortoq is home to around ...

Iceland has long cultivated an image of exceptionalism. Its purported uniqueness has been both a source of pride and a useful political argument. The idea that the island has always stood apart from the rest of Europe has repeatedly surfaced in debat...

“Find the Oystercatchers, and you’ll find the Little Auk.” This was the SMS instruction I got from one of my good birder friends, as I set sail from Dalvík on a Monday morning at nine, having driven from Reykjavík just past midnight. My trust...

A total eclipse of the sky West Iceland experienced a total eclipse on August 12. For those trying to glimpse this celestial event from the ground, most of west Iceland was however blanketed by a thick cloud cover, the exception being a few locations...

My first open mic in 2010 was a complete and fantastic disaster. I immediately forgot everything I had planned to say as I stepped onto the small stage in a cafe in Virginia. I gulped and closed my eyes, hoping that I could recall anything. But nothi...

In a sense, stepping into Kolaportið in the old customs building across the street from the harbour in Reykjavík is like a trip back in time, not just because of the antiques they sell, but because it harkens back to a slower, less fancy society. W...

Time and Water (Um tímann og vatnið) premieres on August 27 at Háskólabíó, in Icelandic with English subtitles. The next night it will be shown on a regular schedule at Bíó Paradís, which is serving as its local theatrical distributor. The f...

To live is to suffer. One way to deal with the pain is to find elaborate ways of expressing it. To take an example: it’s a little-known fact that the Danish language was designed to express the emotion of pain at all times; when the language is spo...

“It is getting a bit darker, but that could be the rain clouds,” my wife said as we stood with our kids in the Laugarneskirkja churchyard. The clouds did not part for Reykjavík during our once-in-600-years eclipse. In fact, it rained. And it was...

On August 12, 2026, Reykjavík was on the receiving end of a total eclipse. Inside the city limits, we received about 55 seconds of total eclipse 17:47. As one of many who gathered, it did indeed get dark, and quiet, during the eclipse. Like a bunch ...

My first exposure to Icelandic politics was watching the country’s prime minister bristle and flee a live TV interview when asked about his former partial ownership of an offshore company. Just a day earlier the organisation I had worked for at the...

We’re a fortnight away from a referendum on restarting accession negotiations with the EU. According to the polls, the result will be a coin toss. While much ink has been spilled on the timing of the referendum and the sitting PM’s lack of enthus...

In this episode we sit down with Icelandic musician, drummer, and cultural figure Sigtryggur Baldursson. We discuss Sigtryggur's tenure from 2012 to 2024 leading the Iceland Music export office, during which he lobbied Parliament to establish an inte...

For generations, Vitastígur sported stunning views of Faxaflói bay and Reykjavík’s mountain Esja. But that was then. Now anyone walking the old downtown street is greeted by the most hideous blight in the neighbourhood. A bleak, monstrous, 17-st...

If you choose to brave the roads west and risk the once-in-a-century congestion, you would be well-advised to make the trip about more than the two-minute eclipse. The longest time on offer is the two minutes, 13 seconds at the Látrabjarg promontory...