Reykjavík Grapevine - 24.08.2007, Side 8

14_RVK_GV_13_007_OPINION
The town of Akureyri, considered to be the northern
capital of Iceland, is known for its charm and calm
beauty. It has even been said that while Reykjavík
looks like an excited teenage girl, Akureyri resembles a
mature woman. The town has acquired the reputation
of a family-friendly place; however, the presence of
a college and a University brings certain energy into
the town’s nightlife. The motto of the town has been
chosen Öll lifsins gæði – All good things in life, obviously
emphasising the friendliness, peace and good spirit of
a charming northern Icelandic town.
Still, once every year, Akureyri changes completely,
and for one single weekend it makes even the capital
burst with envy. This is the first weekend of August is
known in Iceland as Verslunarmannahelgi, or Versló
for short – the Merchants’ Weekend. Its boisterous
reputation brings to Akureyri thousands of people
annually and fills it with wild fun for three days. The
green light for endless entertainment seems to be
turned on for representatives of all professions and
ages; still, it is the matter of age that our today’s saga
is about.
The news that anyone aged 18–23 would not be
allowed to place their tent on the designated camping
sites, unless they are accompanied by families, came as
a shock only three or four days before the celebrations.
People must had made their plans and made certain
arrangements by then; what was even worse was that
the town has far less guesthouses at its disposal than
the greater Reykjavík area, and it’s natural to have
them fully booked long before such a popular event
starts. Besides, even if though there were any spots left,
biting prices would leave no chance to young people
of this very age group – camping places are intended
for them first and foremost. Indeed, now it’s hard to
say whether the town authorities were concerned
about young people’s degree of soberness during the
weekend, or did their best to guard the good night’s
sleep of those locals who they most frequently interact
with for the rest of the year, but one thing is obvious:
the holiday was disrupted for exactly those who are
meant to enjoy it to the full. Destiny has successfully
exercised its malicious powers over Versló 2007.
In an official statement available in Icelandic at
the Town of Akureyri website, the Mayor Sigrún Björk
Jakobsdóttir claimed that “in the recent decades… the
family fun has gone over the limits and many people
were concerned about it.” She obviously tries to say
that Akureyri has maintained its reputation of a family
town, and that a holiday which, to put it mildly, is
quite opposite to the goal the town authorities are
trying to reach, can hardly be tolerated. She claims
to have received a positive feedback from the town
dwellers, and that ‘for the first time in a long period of
time the holiday could be called a family one’. Those
banned away from the camping sites are referred
to as ‘unglingar’ – this word is usually used to refer
to adolescents in Icelandic. It’s an indeed interesting
reference to the people of full age, those who are
officially allowed by Icelandic law to purchase alcohol
and smoke.
It has to be noted though that the main festivities
have always been held in the downtown area, around
Glerátorg the shopping mall and KA and Þór sports
centres in the middle of town, so that peace of quiet
family neighbourhoods placed further to the mountains
has never really been affected. Be that as it may, the
authorities seem to have decided not to trust their own
citizens. A similar decision could possibly be justified in
a state that embraces communism, but in Iceland, such
an open and free society with a truly sky-high level of
trust, it looks ridiculous and somewhat hasty, as if the
authorities were afraid not to be able to provide due
order in the run of celebrations.
Verslunarmannahelgi is also widely celebrated in
the Westman Islands, but there all the camping sites
are placed outside the urban area. Such a solution
could perhaps do for Akureyri, if the City Council’s
wish to provide the locals with their deserved good
night’s sleep was so acute. But banning a particular
group of people away from a camping site obviously
lacks common sense. Later on, when the holiday was
over, someone posted his comment to a blog entry
dedicated to the ban issue that only one case of drug
consumption was registered during the weekend and
referred to a person in his forties. Clearly, peace and
quiet require banning everyone and prohibiting the
very holiday as the most radical means. By the way, the
method of how the age limit was determined remains
mysterious – no one has really explained why the upper
limit was set to 23 years of age, but not 24 or 25 or
else.
Akureyri is indeed a sweet and peaceful place for
family, where people don’t lock the doors at night or
worry about their kids playing outside. But exceptions
are always here, whether the authorities like it or not.
They thought that banning some fun could be a useful
means to secure peace and quiet, but what they got
was a storm of criticism. They say they will see what’s
going to happen next year, and whether banning full-
aged “adolescents” from their legal right to rest was
effective. Until then, we have to admit that we live in
a society where true democracy is somewhat out of
reach. This case brightly illustrates why.
All Things in Life – Not for All Though
Text by Alena Krasovskaya
The news that anyone aged
18–23 would not be allowed to
place their tent on the designat-
ed camping sites, unless they
are accompanied by families,
came as a shock only three or
four days before the celebra-
tions.
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