Embassy of Iceland - London, UK

The biggest ever Eurovision Song Contest party will take place at London's Scala nightclub on Friday 25th April. Paul Oscar, who previously represented Iceland at the competition will perform live and Iceland's current entry Euroband will also be there. www.ukeurovision.com

Britain’s first IceTölt competition (Icelandic Horses competing on ice) is to be held at Basingstoke’s Planet Ice on Saturday 19^th April 2008 at 6pm. Tickets are now on sale (Tel: 01256 355 266).  www.icetolt.co.uk

Icelandic author and poet Sjón will be speaking at the Royal Festival Hall in London's Southbank Centre on Saturday 12 April, as part of International PEN's celebration of world literature - Free the Word!

The Egill Skallagrimsson Fund is a registered charity in Britain under the auspices of the Embassy of Iceland, providing grants for artistic endeavours which promote the culture and art of Iceland in the UK. Click here for further details and application info.

Icelandic tenor Gardar Thor Cortes has been nominated for Album of the Year in the Classical BRIT Awards 2008. Click here to vote online for his album Cortes.

Icelandic singer-songwriter Eliza's new single Change my name / Return to me is out now on digital download and is available to buy from all major download stores. www.myspace.com/elizanewman

The well-known Icelandic troubadour KK and his sister Ellen Kristjánsdóttir will hold a concert at the Swedish Church in London on Sunday 9th of March.

The Icelandic Society in the Netherlands hosts its annual Þorrablót (Icelandic midwinter feast) on Saturday 8th March 2008, at De Amstelzaal in Amsterdam. For further information click here.

The Nordic Translation Conference will take place 6th-8th March 2008 at the Institute of Germanic and Romance Studies in London. The first conference of its kind, it will focus solely on the Nordic languages and their translation.

The Icelandic Society in London hosts its annual Þorrablót (Icelandic midwinter feast) on Saturday 1st March 2008, at the Millennium Hotel London Mayfair. Please see www.ifelag.co.uk for further information.

The Icelandic mezzo soprano Sigridur Osk Kristjansdottir will be giving a recital at St. Martin in the Fields, Trafalgar Square London, on Friday 15th of February at 1pm. Entry is free of charge.

Icelandic Band Dýrðin plays at the Spice of Life Club in Soho on 1st February and at the Grosvenor on the 2nd of February 2008. www.myspace.com/dyrdin

Icelandic gold and silversmith Pétur Tryggvi exhibits his work at the Collect art fair at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, 25-29 January 2008.

Icelandic tenor Jónas Guðmundsson, with young artists from the Georg Solti Accademia di Bel Canto, celebrates Sir Georg Solti, Music for the Maestro, Sunday 20th January 2008, 7.30pm at Wigmore-Hall. www.wigmore-hall.org.uk

Renowned Icelandic tenor Finnur Bjarnason performs the role of Castor in the opera Castor and Pollux, a De Nederlandse Opera production, from Friday 18th January 2008 at the Het Muziektheater in Amsterdam.

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On the 23rd of December there will be a Christmas Service for the Icelandic congregation in London at 3pm in the Swedish church on Harcourt Street (nearest tube station Edgware Road). The Church's Christmas choir will be singing at the event and Rev. Sigurður Arnason will be preaching and leading the service.

Ólafur and his string quartet will be performing live on tour around the UK in December. www.olafurarnalds.com

Icelandic artist Katrín Friðriks’ exhibition FACEBOOKER is at the Design Centre Knightsbridge in London until 14th January 2008. Katrin, an Icelandic artist living in Paris, has received much praise for her work in France, Germany and Iceland and is now on show in the UK for the first time.

On Monday 3rd December 2007 at Leighton House Museum, Icelandic musicians of the Valley Group will preform Iceland´s most beloved romantic poems by Jonas Hallgrímsson set to music by the composer Atli Heimir Sveinsson.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs and External Trade, Mrs Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladótir, has delivered her first foreign policy speech to Althingi, the Parliament of Iceland. In her address, Ms. Gísladóttir discussed Iceland's foreign policy challenges with a special focus on Iceland's role in a globalized world.

Launching in Liverpool at the end of November as a prelude to the City's year-long 800th birthday celebrations, ICE 2007 will be a four day festival of Icelandic culture...

Icelandic singer Lay Low will be on tour in the UK, 20th-29th November 2007, along with Sapmi band Adjágas. Lay Low, who won Best Female Singer and Best Album at the 2006 Icelandic Music Awards, draws on the essence of blues, country and rock.

Promoting the UK release of her new album Empire Fall , Icelandic singer-songwriter Elíza Geirsdóttir performs at London's Heavenly Social on 12th November 2007. www.myspace.com/elizanewman

The Embassy has published its newsletter for October 2007.

The Snorri Sturluson grant is now open for application, the deadline for applications is the 1st of November 2007. for further info see: www.nordal.hi.is

Icelandic chefs and the country and western band Baggalútur will be special guests at the Aberfoyle International Mushroom Festival, held in Aberfoyle, Scotland Thursday 18.- Sunday 21. October 2007. More information at www.visitaberfoyle.com

Icelandic artist Elín Hansdóttir is one of six artists collaborating in the "Frieze Project", an annual event in relation with the Frieze Art Fair, 11-14 October 2007. Elín's work presents a light installation that transforms the entrance to the fair. The other artist's partisipating are Richard Prince, Kris Martin, Gianni Motti, Lara Faverotto og Janice Kerbel. For further information please visit www.friezeartfair.com

In the exhibition "The Thinnest Door I´ve ever Sold" Icelandic painter Anna Guðjónsdóttir collaborates with two other artists, painter Helen Appel from the UK and german sculptor Simon Logan. The exhibition is at Studio 1.1. for further info visit: www.naimad.co.uk/studio1-1

The Embassy has published its newsletter for September_2007.

Reykjavik Nights in London, featuring  Hafdis Huld, Jan Mayen and Motion Boys promotes the Iceland Airwaves festival to British music lovers, on Wednesday 26th September at Luminaire London.

The 18th Reykjavik Jazz Festival will be held in the Icelandic capital between August 29th and September 1st 2007. www.jazz.is

Icelandic baritone Olafur Sigurdarson will be performing the role of Manfredo in L’amore dei tre Re with the City of London Sinfonia and the Opera Holland Park chorus in July and August.

Launching in Liverpool this November, ICE 2007 will be a four day festival of Icelandic culture, as part of the City's year-long 800th birthday celebrations. The website www.ice07.org has now been launched.

Garðar Thór releases a new single Hunting High & Low on July 23rd. The song was originally released by A-ha. The single includes a previously unreleased track.

Björk will be holding a concert in Amsterdam on July 8th at the Cultuurpark Westergasfabriek. Further information can be found at www.mojo.nl Tickets: www.ticketmaster.nl

The Ministry of Justice and Ecclesiastical Affairs draws attention to the fact that the deadline for applying for the re-granting of Icelandic citizenship is 1 July 2007.

Icelandic/English duo FUNI (Bára Grímsdóttir and Chris Foster) will be on tour in England in June 2007, playing traditional songs from Iceland and England...

Reykjavik Nights is a club night celebrating the success of Icelandic music in the UK club scene at the Luminaire in London, June 17^th 2007. Icelandic party band Trabant are headlining with support from Æla.

Garðar Thor will be taking part in a gala evening at The Hampton Court Festival on June 16th.

Utankjörfundaratkvæðagreiðsla er hafin í sendiráði Íslands í London og er kosið á opnunartíma sendiráðsins 09:30 -16:00.

Icelandic skincare product Dr Bragi is now available in the UK. Dr Bragi Age Management Marine Enzyme is a new skincare treament developed using a totally unique and patented Penzyme formulation from Iceland...

Dóms- og kirkjumálaráðuneytið hefur opnað upplýsingavef vegna alþingiskosninganna 12. maí 2007. Slóðin er www.kosning.is

The Embassy has published its Newsletter for April 2007.

Illugi Eysteinsson will participate in Eat London this weekend, where artists come together and recreate London, with food!

An artist's journey in Iceland - Sophia Rizvi's exhibition Fara og Koma / Coming & Going is at the SW1 Gallery, London, 22 March - 21 April 2007. There will be a special Celebration of Iceland evening at the gallery, Monday 16 April 2007.

The deadline for the Icelandic Government's Scholarships for Icelandic Studies 2007-2008 is April 1st 2007.

The Embassy has published its Newsletter for March 2007.

Two of Iceland's most exciting young musicians perform works by Icelandic composers that illuminate Iceland and its dynamic elements in Oxford, Wednesday 28 March & London, Thursday 29 March 2007.

Icelandic electronic band Gus Gus have just released their 5^th studio album Forever in the United Kingdom. They will be performing live at Glastonbury in June.

Hafdis Huld's debut album Dirty Paper Cup has won the Pop Album of The Year at the Icelandic Music Awards. Her new single Diamonds on My Belly is out in the UK on 19th March 2007.

The National Theatre of Iceland's production of Peer Gynt is now completely sold out at The Barbican Centre!

Icelandic tenor Garðar Thor Cortes will perform his first UK solo concert at the Barbican Centre on 2nd March.

The Embassy has published its Newsletter for February 2007.

The Embassy has published its Newsletter for January 2007.

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An exhibition by this year's resident artists of Florence Trust Studios and Open Studio, including Icelandic artist Guðrún Sigríður Haraldsdóttir, 27-28 January 2007.

Icelandic Mezzo-Soprano Sigríður Ósk Kristjánsdóttir will be singing in the Brandenburg Sinfonia's Mozart Requiem by candlelight, St Martin-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square, London Thursday 25 January at 7.30pm.

Icelandic band Dikta will be 'Hunting for Happiness', playing at the Hope & Anchor, Islington, Thursday 11 January and at the Brixton Windmill, Wednesday 17 January 2007.

The latest film from Icelandic filmmaker Dagur Kári, Dark Horse, is on exclusive release at Ciné lumière, Institut français London, 5th - 11th January 2007.

Garðar Thor Cortes is currently touring the United Kingdom with Katherine Jenkins. For further information regarding dates and locations please visit www.katherinejenkins.com. Please note that Garðar Thor will take part in all her scheduled concerts on this tour.

Icelandic band Perla will be competing at the Global Battle of the Bands at the London Astoria on Tuesday 12th December 2006.

A new exhibition at the Stephen Lawrence Gallery, University of Greenwich. November 15th to December 6th 2006.

Tickets are now available for an evening of Icelandic Christmas Carols, featuring Icelandic opera singers and the Icelandic Church Choir on Monday 4th December 2006 at Leighton House Museum, London.

The Icelandic Society celebrates Independence Day at the Icelandic Embassy in London on Saturday 2nd December 2006 from 4pm. The programme includes presentations of work by a playwright, filmmakers and musicians.

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Athygli Íslendinga er vakin á fréttatilkynningu dóms- og kirkjumálaráðuneytisins varðandi kosningarétt íslenskra ríkisborgara sem búsettir hafa verið erlendis lengur en 8 ár.

London's The Luminaire presents 1,200 Miles, an evening of new Icelandic music featuring Benni Hemm Hemm, Flís, Paul Lydon and DJ Apfelblut, Sunday 26th November 2006.

There will be a gathering at Southwark Cathedral on 25th November at 12:00 to celebrate the anniversary of The Porvoo Common Statement, an agreement between Nordic, Baltic, British and Irish churches.

Bringing deliciously hypnotic music from Reykjavik, Kitchen Motors is an Icelandic artists' collective on their first major UK tour. They will be performing during November in Norwich, Huddersfield, North Yorkshire, Oxford, London & Brighton.

Penguin are publishing Hugleikur Dagsson’s groundbreaking work Should You Be Laughing At This? in November 2006.

The Embassy has published its Newsletter for October 2006.

Iceland in the City is a free showcase of Icelandic music at the Life Cafe Manchester, Tuesday 31st October. Artists performing are Eliza, Olof Arnalds, My summer as a salvation soldier, Mammut and Ulpa.

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Art Happens presents an exciting and unique sneak preview to Christie’s newest concept sale, Nordic Art & Design.

The coolest thing to come out of Iceland this year, Hafdis Huld is on tour in England October 24th - December 4th 2006. Her album 'Dirty Paper Cup' is described as fresh, funny, odd, seductive, Icelandic and above all, great pop music.

Icelandic tenor Gardar Thor Cortes will be performing with classical singer Katherine Jenkins at Croydon's Fairfield Hall, Monday 23rd October 2006.

A weekend of video and performance art from Nordic countries at the Courtauld Institute and Somerset House begins with a conference on Friday 20 October. Icelandic artist Ragnar Kjartansson will be participating.