Sun festival
The sun festival – Solfestuke – is a week-long celebration for the first rays of sun in Longyearbyen after the long and dark polar night. On the 8th of March, when the sun peaks over the moutains for the first time, the whole village gathers at the old hospital stairs – the place where the sun shines first.
The whole week around this special day is full of activity, especially for children, but all visitors are warmly welcome to join in the celebrations. The moment when locals see the sun for the first time in months is impossible to describe. You will be filled with feelings of freedom and of new beginnings. Everything seems brighter and you know you have, once more, beaten the dark season. The light spring is ahead.
