Share your Iceland Secret!

Do you have a special place in Iceland you want to tell everyone about? Let's collect secrets...

In a new marketing campaign video by Promote Iceland ‘Share Your Iceland Secret’ locals and Iceland enthusiasts are encouraged to tell others about their favorite spots in Iceland in an effort to boost winter tourism.

The project was presented at a press conference on Wednesday. Chair of the Icelandic Tourist Industry Association Árni Gunnarsson stressed the importance of spreading foreign visits over different seasons to create employment opportunities and revenue for the nation, visir.is reports.

Iceland has experienced a vast increase in tourism in recent years. In the 2012-2013 winter season, 71 percent more tourists came to the country than in the 2009-2010 winter season. It is likely that a new record in foreign visits will be set this year.

Source: Inspired by Iceland + Icelandreview
Iceland24, September 2013

Sigur Rós to appear in 'Game of Thrones' season 4

The upcoming season of Game of Thrones has taken a turn for the ethereal. Iceland24 is reporting today that Icelandic post-rock group Sigur Rós will appear in the fourth season of HBO's hit fantasy series, which is scheduled to air in spring 2014. According to HBO, band members Jón Þór "Jónsi" Birgisson, Georg Hólm, and Orri Páll Dýrason are currently shooting on location in Croatia, though it remains unclear what role (or music) they'll play in the upcoming season.

The decision isn't a huge surprise, considering that Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss are fans of the band's music — which they listened to extensively while shooting in Iceland — and the show's history of casting musical acts.

Members of Snow Patrol and Coldplay have made guest appearances in earlier seasons, and HBO tapped indie band The Hold Steady to arrange a Westeros tavern song that played over the closing credits of an episode last season.

It’s been a big television year for Sigur Rós. The band was also featured on “The Simpsons” back in May in an episode titled “The Saga of Carl.”

Icelandic weightlifter Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson, who placed third in the World’s Strongest Man competition last month, will play Gregor Clegane, or ‘The Mountain,’ in the fourth series of Game of Thrones.

"Game of Thrones" returns to HBO in Spring 2014.

Peter, Iceland24
September 2013

Iceland's Prime Minister - The Stream Full Interview

Iceland's Prime Minister, Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson, was on Al Jazeera's show The Stream yesterday. Watch the full interview below.

They talk about the country's economic rebound and various other subjects. Check it out:

On 17 May 2013 Icelandic media reported that Sigmundur Davíð, as chairman of the Progressive Party, would become Iceland’s next prime minister while the leader of the Independence Party, Bjarni Benediktsson, would take up the position of Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs. 

He is the youngest prime minister in the history of the Icelandic Republic and the world's youngest democratically elected head of government (born 12 March 1975).

Iceland was one of the hardest-hit countries in the 2008 financial crisis. The government's response was heavily criticised, yet it ultimately pulled the country out of a recession. Iceland's story of recovery is often portrayed as a strategy that bailed out the people, contrary to other Western nations that chose to assist their financial institutions.

But admiration for the government's economic policies is not shared by all Icelanders. After dealing with years of rising debt and higher costs of living from inflation, citizens voted out their centre-left government in April, and replaced it with the centre-right parties largely blamed for creating the country's original economic disaster.   

The new government has promised to improve living standards by reducing taxes and homeowner's debt.

Source: Al Jazeera

Iceland24, September 2013