Reykjavík Arts Festival opens tomorrow with a packed program

Ritstjórn
A scene from the opening of the 2024 Reykjavík Arts Festival. Róbert Reynisson
A scene from the opening of the 2024 Reykjavík Arts Festival. A trash monster along the harbor rail line.

The Reykjavík Arts Festival kicks off at the Reykjavík Art Museum tomorrow, Saturday, May 30, at 2 p.m. An exciting lineup awaits, with the festival running through June 14th.

The biennial festival is now in its 35th edition. While serving as a platform for world-class artistic creation from every corner of the globe, the Reykjavík Arts Festival also maintains a vibrant connection with the Icelandic public, inviting as many people as possible to engage with and enjoy the arts on their own terms. Celebrating the diversity of public life, the festival puts accessibility and respect for the environment at the forefront. Artistic ambition, courage, joy, and a bold vision guide the festival's program selection.

A scene from the opening of the 2024 Reykjavík Arts Festival. People dancing inside Hafnarhús as a large crowd watches.
Frá setningu Listahátíðar 2024.

Tomorrow's opening day will feature a wide range of exciting events, and Mayor Heiða Björg Hilmisdóttir will officially open the festival. The opening ceremony begins at the Hafnarhús Museum, home of the Reykjavík Art Museum, where guests can enjoy previews of several festival events, speaker remarks, and light refreshments. A survey exhibit of works by German artist Karin Sander will open concurrently. Reykjavík's school bands will then lead the public to Hörputorg for the world premiere of Loftvægi, a new work by Samúel Jón Samúelsson performed by all four school bands—nearly 600 young people in total.

The premiere of the aerial dance performance The Air Between Us will take place at Hörputorg at 3:30 p.m., with a second showing at 5 p.m. At 5 p.m., the Iceland Symphony Orchestra will perform Mahler's Eighth Symphony—one of the largest symphonic works ever written—while Fischersund unveils the festival's scent world at the Lækjartorg greenhouse. Exhibits by James Merry and Björk Guðmundsdóttir open at the National Gallery of Iceland at 6pm, and the day wraps up perfectly at the Arts Festival Club's opening party at Iðnó, where the dance show Move with Pride takes the stage at 9 p.m.

Everyone is warmly welcome to the 2026 Reykjavík Arts Festival!

  • Reykjavík Arts Festival 2026.
A scene from the opening of the 2024 Reykjavík Arts Festival. Three performers play music on stage—a vocalist, a violinist, and an accordionist in the center. They wear elaborate headdresses.
Frá setningu Listahátíðar 2024.