Record crowds at Culture Night — Police report calm atmosphere

Culture Night was officially opened at noon yesterday. Reykjavík was full of life, with Arnarhóll turning into the biggest dance floor in the country.

Speaking to mbl.is yesterday, Ásmundur Rúnar Gylfason, deputy chief superintendent of the Capital Area Police, said that everything had “gone very well” so far that evening.

Around 40–50 police officers were stationed downtown to ensure events proceeded smoothly.

Ásmundur said the outlook for the evening and coming night was positive:

“We are hopeful that things will continue to go well. There are a lot of people in town, and the crowd has just been steadily growing through the evening. The atmosphere is very good,” he said, noting also the good cooperation between the police and numerous other parties, such as city authorities, in making the festival a success.

“Peaceful and well-handled” overall

“Overall, Culture Night went peacefully and smoothly,” the police log stated this morning. A total of 140 cases were recorded in the police system between 17:00 and 05:00. Seven people were placed in custody around five o’clock in the morning.

“After the fireworks display, traffic flowed easily out of downtown as people made their way home. There was a lively atmosphere downtown around the Culture Night program, with visible police presence throughout the city center in line with that,” the log added.

The same applied to calls received by the Capital Area Fire Department. In a Facebook post, the fire service said it had responded to several minor incidents related to the marathon and the evening festivities, “but overall everything went very well.”

Youth spat at police

Police intervened with one individual who was clearly intoxicated and harassing passersby by shouting and screaming.

The individual reacted badly to the intervention, behaving in a threatening manner toward officers. He was arrested and taken to the police station, where he was held in custody until he sobered up.

Another incident involved a youth in a bus shelter who was also intoxicated. This person also reacted aggressively, assaulting officers with blows and spitting at them. The youth was taken to the police station, where the matter was resolved with the involvement of guardians.

Large amount of drugs seized

Police also dealt with a man found sleeping in the driver’s seat of a car.

When officers spoke to him, suspicions arose that he was under the influence of narcotics and that drugs might be in the vehicle.

The individual consented to a search, which revealed a large quantity of suspected narcotics and cash in his possession.

He was placed in custody while the case is under investigation.

Here are some photos from Culture Night: