Peace Walk Down Laugavegur on December 23

The annual peace march with torches will take place at Laugavegur, Reykjavík’s main shopping street, on Thursday, St. Thorlák’s Mass. This is the 31st time that pacifists in Iceland have organized a peace march on this day.


Laugavegur.

“It is a beautiful moment of togetherness in the middle of the Christmas hustle and bustle and focuses on the matters most important in the call for peace at each time,” Stefán Pálsson, one of the walk’s organizers, told Fréttabladid.

Pacifists want to raise awareness of the fact that their cause is as important now as it was 30 years ago, although the emphasis may have changed. “When people started this around 1980, the Cold War was at its peak,” Pálsson explained.

Walkers will gather at the Hlemmur bus terminal at 5:45 pm and begin the walk from there at 6 pm. At the end of the walk, on Ingólfstorg square, there will be a short meeting, Morgunbladid reports.

Pálsson said speakers are free to address the issues they want to emphasize. “There has been tension in Korea and around the nuclear weapon discussions. The speeches will have an international focus.”

A peace walk will also take place in Ísafjördur in the West Fjords on Thursday. Walkers will march from the local church at 6 pm and head towards Silfurtorg square.

A peace walk of a similar nature has also been organized in Akureyri in the past years.