Reykjavík Grapevine - 02.12.2011, Side 63

15the reykjavík grapevine Xmas special spectacular 2011
Issue 18
unnar helgi daníelsson is the own-
er and operator of reykjavík rocks,
which is a nightlife ‘helper’ com-
pany. they claim to know a thing
or two about partying in reykjavík,
and they sell their purported knowl-
edge and alleged nightlife skills to
tourists who wish to explore the full
spectrum of reykjavík’s partying
options. they say they’ll find you
the best clubs on any given night
and make sure you have a gargan-
tuan time. so we figured: when it
comes to the biggest party of the
year, gAmlÁrskvöld (AkA new
year’s eve) who better to ask?
It is someone's first experience of
an Icelandic new year. everyone
knows that the way you bring in the
new year sets the tone for the rest
of the year, so how should this per-
son make new year's eve a great
night?
Definitely to Hallgrímskirkja at mid-
night and watch the fireworks, maybe
bring a champagne or something nice,
pop open the bottle and watch the fire-
works. With New Year’s Eve, the police
give a little bit more room for debauch-
ery. The license for bars and clubs is
until 4.30am, but nobody is out until
about two in the morning—probably be-
cause of fireworks and home partying—
so they [the police] give us all a break
to keep the party going. Most clubs are
open until around six in the morning...
the Whole CIty pArtyIng theIr
Ass off
every place has its own new year's
rituals and routines; give us the
lowdown on Iceland's!
The fireworks and the whole city party-
ing their ass off!
so it's basically like a typical friday
or saturday night, but with fire-
works...
Yeah!
how does it differ, though?
People start their drinking earlier, so
the downtown crowd is drunker than
usual. It's crazier than the weekend.
People party, watch the fireworks, etc.
And most popular bands and DJs are
booked to play for New Year’s.
the hIgh Cost of drInkIng
Iceland is pretty damn expensive
when it comes to alcohol. What
happens on new year’s regarding
the cost of drinks? And what about
other costs, like taxis and getting
into venues?
Drinks cost the same, the bars are just
busier. That's the bad thing about New
Year's. It's really busy and hard to get
drinks. For the taxis, it is twice the price
compared to normal. The venues are
of course more expensive. But there is
more value also; there are more things
to do and more attractions at each
venue.
What sort of people go where?
Esja is a good lounge bar to start the
night. All sorts of people there. b5 and
Austur have a mainstream look and
girls are dressed really sexy. So it's per-
fect for bachelor groups, but they are
really crowded. Bakkus is kind of an
‘artist bar’ and has really nice dubstep
music at late night. Prikið is for the hip
hop people and Kaffibarinn has actors
and people in the film/music industry
go there.
just drInk more then
not all people are into partying.
What if someone wants something
a little more gentle but still wants a
good time?
That's quite a hard question. Most
people are drinking. You have to put up
with it, because that's just Reykjavík.
There are still the fireworks though!
finally, how might a person survive
the next day and the almost inevi-
table hangover? And is there any-
thing special people should be do-
ing or going to see?
There is more partying...it's the first day
of the year! For most people, the day
itself is spent being hungover. Then
meeting friends, having food, drinking.
new year | PARTY!
How to party like a pro
Reykjavík On The Rocks
by Clyde bradford photography by hvalreki
photography by matthías Ásgeirssonby Anna Andersen
to celebrate the new year,
Icelanders buy hundreds of tonnes
of fireworks and shoot them off in a
completely haphazard fashion. you
can imagine that it makes for one
hell of a dazzling fireworks show.

In fact, Kiefer Sutherland—who
once took down a Christmas tree
in a Reykjavík hotel lobby—claims
that he has never witnessed a more
extraordinary fireworks display than
when he was in Iceland on New Years.
But who knows how many fireworks
displays he’s witnessed or remembers
witnessing, and the numbers speak for
themselves. Icelanders reportedly set
off 500 tonnes of fireworks last year,
which is equivalent to almost two kilos
of TNT per person.
While the fireworks show has
become somewhat renowned, it is
perhaps a lesser-known fact outside
of Iceland that the country’s volunteer
rescue team ICE-SAR is behind the
bulk of these fireworks sales.
For thirty some odd years, ICE-SAR
has been importing fireworks primarily
from China, and selling them during
the allotted four day window, between
December 28 and December 31, to
fund their operations.
While the teams are made up
of volunteers, the rescues can be
expensive and the fireworks sales have
become critical to their operations.
“For many rescue teams, fireworks
sales make up ninety percent of the
budget,” ICE-SAR representative Jón
Ingi says. “So it’s very important.”
The organisation has 100 rescue
teams and 40 accident prevention
teams around the island, and it gets
roughly 14.000 callouts per year,
which ICE-SAR representative Jón
Ingi Sigvaldason says translates to an
annual 640.000 man-hours of work.
“We get all kinds of calls,” he
says, “from rescuing people in snow
storms to looking for people who are
reported missing—such as patients
with Alzheimer’s—which happens more
often than people know.”
Every year, the rescue team is also
sent to look for tourists who venture off
into Iceland’s often-unforgiving nature
without being properly equipped. Last
month, there was the case of a Swedish
photographer who lost his way on a
glacier. In total, five hundred people
from the rescue team participated in
his search, ultimately finding him in a
crevasse, regrettably dead.
Thus purchasing fireworks from
ICE-SAR is definitely supporting a
good cause and the fireworks show
is, yes, amazing. At the same time, you
can imagine that it results in a ton of
pollution and a number of accidents
too. If you mix hundreds of thousands
of inebriated Icelanders with hundreds
of tonnes of fireworks, it’s bound to
happen.
To this end, Jón Ingi says the
organisation does its best to prevent
accidents. “We spend a lot of money
trying to prevent accidents,” he says,
“giving out 150.000 pairs of safety
goggles every year.”
In any case, the show will go on
and it will be spectacular, so you might
as well enjoy it and support ICE-SAR
while you’re at it. Just remember to be
careful and don’t forget to wear your
safety goggles because as great as it
is, it will never be worth losing an eye!
new year | Snap, crackle and pop!
THE FIREWORKS
EXTRAVAGANZA
It’s perhaps a little bit ironic, but it’s for a good cause!