Shetland, Up Helly Aa and Viking

Up Helly Aa: A fiery celebration of Shetland's Norse Heritage
Residents of Shetland in the UK celebrate their Viking heritage at the Up Helly Aa fire festival, held in Lerwick.
Up Helly Aa - the roots and Viking traditions of the Shetland celebration
Up Helly Aa echoes the long rule of the Kingdom of Norway over Shetland and the return of the sun following the darkest winter days.
UK: Shetland celebrates Viking heritage with Up Helly Aa
On Tuesday, the Up Helly Aa festival brought fire and tradition to the Shetland Islands as costumed participants, known as guizers, marched through Lerwick wielding flaming torches. The festival, which dates back to the 1880s,
Everything you need to know about Up Helly Aa in Shetland
Here is everything you need to know about Up Helly Aa in Shetland as the fiery festival returns this week for 2025.
Residents celebrate Shetland’s Norse heritage at Up Helly Aa fire festival
Residents on a remote Scottish island have been celebrating an old Viking fire festival. More than a thousand people, dressed as Vikings, marched through the town of Lerwick, in the Shetland Islands,
Up Helly Aa fire festival lights up Shetland
Up Helly Aa - the biggest fire festival in Europe - is held on the last Tuesday in January in Shetland The celebrations culminate in a torchlit procession and the burning of a replica Viking galley. Welcome to our coverage of the spectacular Up Helly Aa.
Europe's biggest fire festival lights up Shetland
The streets of Lerwick are once again filled with fire and smoke as Shetland holds its world famous Up Helly Aa fire festival ...
news.stv2d
Annual fire festival Up Helly Aa returns to mark end of Yule season
An annual fire festival celebrating Shetland’s Norse heritage has kicked off in Lerwick to mark the end of the Yule season. Up Helly Aa is held on the last Tuesday in January in the main town in the ...
The Shetland Times2d
Viking tales and bawdy jokes – convener has town hall in stitches during civic reception
Viking tales and bawdy jokes were among the highlights of the speeches at the Up-Helly-A’ civic reception. Shetland Islands ...
Daily Mail12d
Shetland in the winter, anyone? Not for the faint-hearted!
There are around 100 islands and skerries within Shetland ... Of those people, 7,500 live in Lerwick – Shetland’s only town, where I stayed – and the largest local industry is seafood.
Public Radio International1d
Viking fire festival continues ancient tradition
The northernmost settlement in the UK celebrated “Up Helly Aa”, an annual fire festival with ancient origins. Last night, a thousand people, dressed as Vikings, marched through the town holding ...
heraldscotland3d
Up Helly Aa: The story of Shetland's Viking festival
Up Helly Aa is returning to Shetland this week, seeing thousands of people across the islands come together ... According to the organisers of Lerwick's Up Helly Aa, the event is a "relatively ...
Check out this fiery Viking festival in Shetland
It was an un-fire-gettable night in Lerwick this week as their world-famous fire festival filled the streets with flames and ...