Áramótaskaup: Comedy Show on TV Tonight

If you’re visiting Iceland, or if you recently moved here, pay close attention to how the nation behaves tonight. There will be loud and colorful fireworks, shot from private homes, starting sometime after dinner.

Then, at 10:30 pm, there will be silence. No fireworks, not a car in the streets, and the only souls outside will be tourists who haven’t read this article and dog owners, who use the only chance they’ll get during the whole evening to take their dogs out without risking scaring them to death by the noise of fireworks. This silence will last an hour.

Why, you’re asking. What force is strong enough to stop Icelanders in their fireworks frenzy? Only one force is capable of luring the nation inside and placing it in front of its TV sets. This unsurpassed power is none other than the Áramótaskaup — Iceland’s New Year’s Eve comedy show. Here, the nation gets a chance to view the main events of the year in a humorous light — laugh at both the good and the bad that occurred during the year. It is catharsis at its best.

Besides, this is what everyone will be talking about tomorrow, no matter where you go or who you talk to. If you haven’t watched the Áramótaskaup, forget about taking part in any conversation for the coming days. To ensure you can be an active participant in the discussion, here is a link to the show.

It starts at 10:30 pm on RÚV1 and on RÚV2, but only on RÚV2 will you be able to watch it with English subtitles. It is available globally and will be accessible through March 31.

This year, the show is directed by Reynir Lyngdal and written by Bergur Ebbi, Gagga Jónsdóttir, Hugleikur Dagsson, Katla Margrét Þorgeirsdóttir, Lóa Hjálmtýsdóttir and Vilhelm Neto.

Once the Áramótaskaup is over, then, miraculously, you’ll see the whole nation run back outside to shoot the rest of the fireworks it purchased. The sky will be filled with suns and stars of every color — enough to confuse any astronomer.