Iceland review - 2015, Qupperneq 48

46 ICELAND REVIEW
performers representing all genres of music,
including electronic, pop, rap, folk, alterna-
tive and many others. The event’s organiz-
ers divided the festival into several indoor
and outdoor venues, each named after a
character or a place from Norse mytholo-
gy. Concert-goers could walk freely from
stage to stage, switching, for example, to
the soulful sounds of Charles Bradley right
after listening to an all-male choir sing a
traditional Icelandic folk ballad. Iceland’s
music scene was well-represented at the
festival with popular bands Gus Gus, Dikta,
and Samaris giving rousing, memorable
performances.
In addition to its delightful surround-
ings, the Secret Solstice festival provides
an inclusive and easy-going atmosphere for
people of all ages. During the afternoon
line-up, parents sprawled out on the grass
while their kids kicked around footballs,
played with hula-hoops, or took a ride on
a nearby roller coaster. Food carts, mer-
chants, and other vendors set up shop all
over the valley, offering refreshments and
souvenirs. Although the festival is relatively
new, watching how people enjoyed soaking
up and celebrating the midnight sun in
the lush Laugardalur already made Secret
Solstice feel like an Icelandic tradition. *
RECREATION
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“Áfram Ísland!” (“Go, Iceland!”), screams the crowd at Laugardalsvöllur, the national
football stadium, as Birkir Bjarnason heads at the goal in an international
World Cup qualifying match against Croatia in 2013.
At the opening ceremony of
the Games of the Small States
of Europe.
An artwork outside the
Ásmundur Sveinsson
Sculpture Museum, on the
outskirts of the valley.