The heart of Hafnarfjörður attracts tens of thousands of visitors

The heart of Hafnarfjörður is getting bigger and bigger!

Around thirty thousand guests are expected at the music and town festival, Hjarta Hafnarfjarðar, at the Bæjarbíó. The festival is now being held for the eighth time. It grows every year, and around forty musical events will be on offer. The festival colours the town and its atmosphere, bringing more people to the town centre as summer is in full swing.

The singer from Hafnarfjörður, Björgvin Halldórsson, opens this extensive music and town festival this year, as he has done every year before. His concert is sold out. „Björgvin is a son of Hafnarfjörður. He is our greatest musician, ever,“ asserts Páll Eyjólfsson, the manager of Bæjarbíó.

An exciting opening weekend ahead

The festival begins on Thursday evening and at 5 p.m. that day its outdoor area opens to visitors and passers-by. Admission is free and the age limit is 20. There is much on offer there this opening weekend.

• Sóli Hólm, accompanied by a band, is first on the programme in the Bylgjutjaldið at 7:30 p.m. this year, just like last year.
• Hreimur runs the PubQuiz every Thursday from 5pm in the tent.
• Stuðlabandið will make its first appearance on the outdoor stage on Saturday, 29th June at 19:30.

A cross-section of musical life

The festival runs from 27th June to 28th July; a month-long celebration. „It's a cross-section of the Icelandic music scene that will be here,“ says Palli from Bæjarbíó. „Everything from Emmsjé Gauti to Papa. Una Torfa is performing, yes, 40 musical acts,“ he says, describing how the Heart of Hafnarfjörður grows year on year.

„We held the first festival in 2017 with a 20-square-metre tent. 1,500 people came here. Now we have 600 square metres of tents and we welcome many more guests,“ he says.

KK and Mugison are the closing act of this extensive music and town festival. They are excited: „We normally only play together in December, but we couldn't possibly turn down the offer to play in this amazing venue at this brilliant festival,“ they are quoted as saying on the Bæjarbíó website.

20-year age limit

The festival area at Bæjarbíó will be open on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays between 17:00 and 23:00. The programme can be found at Town Cinema.is. The festival has a 20-year age limit. There you can enjoy fast food and drinks, and there are three food trucks on site. The service is expanding.

„Yes, we're meeting the demand,“ says Palli. „We're more about making the space more comfortable than expanding. More room for people, more toilets and bigger tents. Yes, it takes time for a festival like this to establish itself, and we're giving it a decade. We're extremely proud of Hjarta Hafnarfjarðar.“

Preparations are in full swing. Let's enjoy ourselves!