Iceland review - 2017, Síða 10

On March 27, a story was born in German newspapers, under the
headline ‘Baby Boom in Iceland Nine Months after Win over
England.’ The publications quoted a tweet from an Icelandic anes-
thesiologist at Landspítali National University Hospital to back up
the story: “a record was set in the number of epidurals on maternity
call over the weekend—nine months after 2-1 win over England.”
This was a reference to the Icelandic men’s national football team’s
surprise victory over England at EURO2016 in France on June 27.
Icelandic cartoonist Halldór Baldursson was quick to draw an aerial
June 27 picture of Reykjavík with the ‘Húh’ sound, made famous by
the Icelandic fans’ Viking clap, emitting from every bedroom window.
The surprise victory sure would have been ample reason for the aver-
age Icelander to prove that he, too, could score a goal. Once babies
had been counted that weekend, though, their number was only aver-
age and the original tweet, therefore, an exaggeration.
News Roundup
8 ICELAND REVIEW
During the past two months, the Icelandic nation has seen a
decades-old murder case revived, capital controls lifted,
the króna and its strongman remain strong, and read
reports of its fertility in the foreign media.BY VALA HAFSTAÐ.
PHOTOS BY PÁLL STEFÁNSSON AND GEIR ÓLAFSSON.
EUROPE’S STRONGEST
Icelandic strongman Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson,
a.k.a. the Mountain, after his role in the TV
series Game of Thrones, earned the title Europe’s
Strongest Man on April 1 in Leeds, UK. This
is the third time Hafþór has earned the title.
FOOTBALL
AND FERTILITY
PLENTY OF TOURISTS
Iceland can expect 2.3 million visitors this year, according to a fore-
cast by Íslandsbanki. That’s a 30 percent increase over last year, when
1.8 million tourists visited the country. In 2010, Iceland received less
than half a million visitors. Meanwhile, Arion Bank believes the coun-
try may have become the world’s most expensive one, partly due to
the strengthening of the Icelandic króna in the past two years through
tourism earnings.
OUT OF CAPITAL CONTROL
All capital controls for individuals, com-
panies and pension funds were lifted in
Iceland on March 14, after new rules were
enacted by the Central Bank of Iceland. The
controls had been in effect since November
2008, following the banking collapse. At
the time of print in late April, the decision
seemed to have had little effect on the
strength of the Icelandic króna. Pension
funds are now planning to invest abroad,
and wealthy individuals are showing interest
in foreign mutual funds.
P
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TO
B
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E
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Ó
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