Andri Steinar Johansen of Setbergsskóli emerged victorious from the final of the Great Reading Competition.

Andri Steinar Johansen of Setbergsskóli emerged victorious from the final of the Grand Reading Competition, which took place this evening at Hafnarborg in Hafnarfjörður. The competition was now held for the 22nd time, but the competition in Hafnarfjörður was the first to be held; now, sister competitions are held all over the country. 

First Lady Eliza Reid and Minister of Education Lilja Alfreðsdóttir were among the guests, along with councillors, the Mayor of Hafnarfjörður, and the proud friends and relatives of the competitors. In second place was Krista Sól Guðjónsdóttir from Áslandsskóli, and third place was taken by Ísabella Alexandra Speight from Öldutúnsskóli.

Students read poems and stories of their own choice, but the poets for the competition this time are Sigrún Eldjárn and Ólafur Jóhann Sigurðarson. The festival was hosted by Ingibjörg Einarsdóttir, former office manager at the Hafnarfjörður School Office, who has also overseen the project in Hafnarfjörður since the first festival was held in the spring of 1997.

The Great Reading Competition began as a development project in the primary schools of Hafnarfjörður in 1996, the same year that Ingibjörg also started working at the School Office. The competition was developed in collaboration with the primary schools of Hafnarfjörður during the first academic year, but since then the number of municipalities taking part has increased. Now, in 2016, all primary schools in the country with Year 7 pupils take part in the competition. Few, if any, projects have had such a wide reach in Icelandic primary schools.