About

Up Helly Aa - Shetland's Fire Festival Season

Between January and March every year, communities across Shetland come together for a series of spectacular and unique fiery celebrations. The largest and most famous is the Lerwick Up Helly Aa, always on the last Tuesday of January.

Shetland's Up Helly Aa festivals are partly a celebration of Shetland Viking past, but also a triumphant demonstration of islanders' skill, spirit and sense of community. They are true community endeavours, bringing together people from all generations and backgrounds, from across the islands, to plan and celebrate. Run entirely by volunteers, each of these northern Mardi Gras last just one day (and all the following night). They take several thousand people 364 days to organise.

Lerwick Up Helly Aa proudly boasts ‘There will be no postponement for weather'. You might think that was somewhat optimistic for a festival held in mid-winter, on the same latitude as southern Greenland - but it's true. Gales, sleet and now have never stopped the Up Helly Aa guizers of Shetland from burning their Viking galleys, and then dancing the dawn away.

We'll be sharing the highlights from across the season on this page. Keep checking in to see the latest stories, videos and images. Or if you'd like to plan your own Up Helly Aa experience, head over to Shetland.org to find out more.

UpHellyAa.com

This page is brought to you by NB Communication, as part of the Promote Shetland contract.

Our aim is to enhance your enjoyment of Shetland's Fire Festivals by bringing you the best live content, video and social media activity in a single place.

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