Independence Day - 17 June 2017

Iceland had been recognised in 1918 as a sovereign state by erstwhile rulers Denmark who put forward the Act of Union which joined the Kingdom of Iceland in a personal union with the King of Denmark. That agreement expired on 31 December 1943 which gave the opportunity for a further push for the complete independence which had been desired since the 19th century. A vote in May 1944 was overwhelmingly in favour of that independence and of a republican constitution. The official date of independence, 17 June, is the birthday of 19th century independence campaigner Jón Sigurðsson.

The commemorations of the 73rd anniversary saw widespread road closures in Reykjavik, some brief, as here on Suðurgata, for one of the associated marches.

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