Stop for the red hearts

The hearts in Akureyri’s traffic lights have undoubtedly caught the attention of visitors and secured a permanent place in the hearts of the town’s residents.

The story of the hearts dates back to 2008. That summer, the annual festival Ein með öllu underwent major changes to become a more family-oriented event. One initiative to highlight the festival’s values was the installation of red hearts in the traffic lights — an idea that was met with great enthusiasm.

Later that autumn, the financial crisis brought significant hardship to the community, creating a strong need to spread positivity and hope. With this in mind, Akureyrarstofa and the company Ásprent-Stíll launched a campaign called Smile with Your Heart, which aimed to spread uplifting messages as widely as possible and encourage participation. The campaign was a huge success.

The hearts quickly became beloved symbols of optimism, and the motivational quotes accompanying the campaign were embraced throughout the town. Many businesses and institutions even decorated their walls with these inspiring messages.

In late November of the same year, a large red, beating heart appeared on Mt. Vaðlaheiði. Roughly the size of a football field, it was the brilliant idea of the company Rafeyri, with support from Bechromal, RARIK, and Norðurorka. The heart would shine annually from late November, marking the beginning of Advent, until April. It was also illuminated during Akureyrarvaka, the town’s birthday celebration on the last weekend of August. Although the heart on Vaðlaheiði has been inactive for some years, there is hope it will shine again.

Taking photos of the traffic-light hearts has become so popular that a special “selfie traffic light” was installed in a safe location near Hof Cultural House, offering a picturesque background featuring the church. This allows visitors to capture their memories safely.

In 2020, a new red heart sculpture was added to the southern end of the pedestrian street near Hafnarstræti 91. The installation, organized by the Town Center Association in collaboration with Akureyri Municipality, invites people to stop, take photos, and share them on social media.

Visitors are encouraged to tag their photos with the hashtags #heartsofakureyri and #loveakureyri.