Pride Month brings our Pride Flight
It's August, and that means Iceland is again celebrating diversity and equality. The rainbow flags are out and proud, decorating various businesses and institutions across the country. It's a clear sign: LGBTQ+ Pride Month is here!
Reykjavík Pride is not cancelled!
Like many events these days, Reykjavík Pride has adapted a new shape, not that unfamiliar in these strange pandemic times. The much-anticipated Reykjavík Pride Parade will not take place this year, but the organizers plan to stage an extravaganza of events that fit within the current restrictions.
The Reykjavík Pride program is as fabulous as ever – from educational lectures and discussions to dance classes based on choreography from RuPaul's Drag Race. There are queer-themed downtown walks, a harbor cruise, comedy shows, a drag brunch, intimate concerts, and much more.
The official Pride event days are August 3-8, but being one of the most LGBTQ+-friendly countries, Iceland celebrates diversity and inclusion the whole year round.
If you can't join the celebrations this summer, add Reykjavík Pride to your calendar for next year, or consider a winter visit to coincide with the cozy winter Pride festival known as Rainbow Reykjavík.
Above image (and banner photo) from Icelandair's Pride Flight 2019.
Icelandair's Pride Flight
This year on August 4, we mark our continuous support of equality by dedicating flight FI528 between Keflavík and Berlin, and FI529 between Berlin and Keflavík to the visibility of the LGBTQ+ community. The cabin crew and pilots on our "Pride Flight" are all proud members or allies of the LGBTQ+ community. The service on board is themed accordingly – we serve treats, rainbows, and a festive mood.
Above images from Icelandair's Pride Flight 2021.
Inclusive Iceland
Every year many families, businesses, organizations, artists, and politicians take part in the Pride festivities and express their support and recognition of the LGBTQ+ community. From an international perspective, Iceland has a prominent role in advocating for LGBTQ+ rights, and that is widely felt across the country.
At Icelandair, we are proud to be part of a community that values and supports equality.
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Above images from Icelandair's Pride Flight 2021.
The colorful spirit of Iceland
To honor the rainbow celebrations, we want to do our part to help amplify queer voices. We met with a diverse group of people and spoke with them about the history of Pride in Iceland, the state of queer rights today, and the interplay between the spirit of Iceland and the spirit of Pride. The result is "The Colorful Spirit of Iceland" that we proudly present.
A land of rainbows
Rainbows are everywhere here in Iceland: whether it’s a sculpture right outside Keflavík airport, a street permanently painted in rainbow colors in a remote fjord town or in the capital, or even misty rainbows seen in the Icelandic landscapes, it all sends a message of equality.
A rainbow graces Stuðlagil canyon.
A few facts
These are some of the milestones reached in Iceland on the path to equality:
1996: Same-sex couples are legally allowed to register as living together.
2006: Icelandic law gives equal access to adoption and IVF; adopting a partner’s child has been legal since 2000.
2010: Same-sex marriages are legalized. It's worth noting that the prime minister at the time, Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir, and her wife Jónína Leósdóttir were among the first same-sex couples to be married in Iceland.
2019: A law simplifies the process for trans people to obtain the needed medical resources plus adds a third gender option – X – to the National Registry.
Reykjavík rooftops seen from Hallgrímskirkja church.
Travel resources
If you're looking for more information, check out:
Samtökin ‘78 – the National Queer Association of Iceland
A rainbow brightens Skólavörðustígur street in downtown Reykjavík.