Hinsegin Dagar 2014

When I was teaching at the University of Iceland in 2011, one of the things that my students told me about was the annual LGBTQI Pride celebration in August, which they said had become an even bigger and more well-attended event than the annual national holiday celebration on June 17.  So this year I was able to schedule our visit to Iceland during Hinsegin Dagar, which was held August 5 to 10. We went to many events though not nearly all; if we had not been so tired from our flight it would have been fun to see the Diving Divas, for example.

According to the Grapevine, about ninety thousand people attended the parade on August 9, making it the biggest crowd ever, and constituting about one quarter of Iceland's population.  The highlight at the end of the parade was Iceland's gay icon, Páll Óskar, in a huge white swan float that periodically cast pink confetti over the crowd.  We enjoyed the celebrations. Here are just a few photos.

One of my favorite things about the weekend was that the shops throughout downtown dressed themselves up in rainbows for the occasion.

Even the polar bear participated.

The Hinsegin Kórinn (Queer Choir) was wonderful.

We finished the weekend on Sunday with a trip to the family festival sponsored by the Association of Queer Parents--and enjoyed the magician.