IN THE days of the Vikings it was the fire festival that celebrated the rebirth of the sun. But now its descendant – Shetland’s Up Helly Aa festival, which will see almost one thousand locals march through the streets on Tuesday bearing flaming torches and dressed in Viking regalia – is attracting a growing number of tourists from across the world with some hoping to discover their Norse roots.
Elizabeth Angus, secretary of the Shetland Family History Society, said an increasing number of international visitors were coming to the island to search for their genetic roots. All year round, she helps tourists from across the world trace their descendants with many also getting their DNA tested in the hope of finding Viking heritage.
She said: “We do have quite a lot of people coming to Shetland looking for their descendants ... Viking heritage and DNA is big business now ... Up Helly Aa is not meant to be a tourist attraction. It’s a local festival. But it has changed and we quite enjoy the world looking at it.”
Tourists are also being lured to Shetland thanks to the international hit historical drama ,Vikings.
The Lerwick festival, which dates back to the 1880s and is the biggest procession of its kind in Europe, celebrates the islands’ Viking heritage.
It sees “squads” of Shetlanders parade through the streets of the island’s main town before burning a replica Viking longship. Traditionally it has been considered a festival for Shetlanders with only those who had been resident for five years or more allowed to take part in the squads.
Although islanders insist they don’t encourage the festival to be viewed as a tourist attraction, the resident-only rule has been dropped, and while all-night celebrations in halls around Shetland are still by invitation only, a ticketed public event is now held in the town hall for tourists. As a result, local tourist chiefs claim it is attracting increasing numbers of visitors. Official figures for the event, which translates as Up Holy Day, are not available but VisitScotland stats show about 8,000 international tourists go to the Shetland Isles each year, with a further 50,000 overseas visitors making a trip as part of a cruise. More than 75,000 tourists from across the UK visited in 2016.
The national tourism body also claims there has been a marked increase in interest from international media with TV crews from France to Japan visiting. This year, cult Californian bloggers the Vagabrothers will be attending. Steve Mathieson, island manager for VisitShetland, said: “Anecdotally we have certainly noticed a growing interest in Up Helly Aa. As Europe’s largest fire festival, it attracts visitors from all over the world and gets more popular every year. Traditional festivals like this are striking a chord with tourists looking for an authentic experience.
“It has always been a festival for Shetland folk in the depths of winter. But there is now an understanding that people from all over the world are interested.”
He agreed interest was driven by dramas such as the Vikings series as well as BBC crime drama Shetland. “Both have raised Shetland’s profile,” he added. Sheltand “squads” have also been increasing visible on the international stage marching in the New York Scotland Week parades and attending the Calgary Stampede in 2017 which has raised the profile of the event in Canada and the States. In recent years the event has also been streamed live with ex-pats and others with an interest in the islands and their culture tuning in.
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