Reykjavík Pride on August 9, 2025
Yesterday was an eventful day – it was the "norræna rósahelgi," the "Nordic Rose Weekend." One of our neighbors had at least 30 rose-growing friends here, who expertly admired their roses. The other neighbors apparently had their motorcycle club visiting. And we were back at the Gleðiganga, the annual Pride Parade in Reykjavík .
The Icelandic word "gleðiganga" translates as "walk of joy".
The "hinsegin dagar", the "queer days", have been celebrated in Reykjavík since 1999. The Pride Parade is the culmination of Reykjavík Pride. It brings together lesbian, gay, bisexual, pansexual, transgender, intersex, and other queer people, along with their families and friends. The march is both a march for queer people, demanding equal rights, the elimination of discrimination, and raising awareness in society, and a platform to celebrate what has been achieved so far in this struggle. The first parade here took place in 2000, with around 12,000 visitors. Today, the hinsegin dagar regularly attract around 100,000 people; several tens of thousands of visitors join in the celebrations along the Pride Parade route.
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| Frelsi til að vera þú - The freedom to be yourself |
A minister also participated in the Gleðiganga this year: Hanna Katrín Friðriksson, Minister of Industry and member of the Viðreisn party (= liberal and EU-friendly "Reform Party", founded in 2016 by former members of the "Independence Party").
The minister told reporters that "Reykjavík Pride has rarely been as important as it is today". Both in Iceland and around the world, she said, "setbacks are happening, so it has rarely been as important as now to come together and show solidarity", "to show that here in Iceland we respect everyone's freedom and know how to have fun." "We want a free, open society."
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| Reykvaík - Borgin okkar allra Our city |
Iceland is considered one of the most LGBTQ+-friendly countries in the world. In terms of legislation, Iceland has repeatedly been a pioneer in ensuring full rights for queer people. Social acceptance is also higher in Iceland than in most other countries. But even in Iceland, there are setbacks, and hostility is increasing.
This makes it all the more important to reaffirm solidarity and support for queer people and their freedom. Says Páll Óskar, queer Icelandic singer and icon, and Eurovision Song Contest singer for Iceland in 1997, who took part in the Gleðiganga again in 2025 and sang his version of "I am what I am" (= "Ég er eins og ég er") in the parade. Says Hanna Katrín Friðriksson, the Minister of Industry. Says the roughly 100,000 people who stood in the procession and cheered the parade. Says we, too.
We were at Hallgrímskirkja yesterday just in time for the parade to begin. Here, we were able to watch the participants preparing and the floats being maneuvered, all under a bright blue sky and absolutely gorgeous weather.
The city had also prepared and dressed up - even the flowerbeds in front of Hallgrímskirkja church were planted with flowers in rainbow colors. Truly beautiful!
After the church bells rang at 2 p.m., the parade began.
In front, two police officers on motorcycles and behind them a sea of rainbow flags, cheerful, colorful and loud.
Heaven and people were on their feet - and that's a good thing!
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| Öll velkomin - everyone welcome! |
As we walked back to the car after the parade, we encountered a sweeper cleaning the street and a construction vehicle removing the roadblock on Skólavörðustígur, which was still closed.
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