COVID-19 halts the 72nd Session of the Nordic Council in Iceland

19.08.20 | News
Harpa
Photographer
Johannes Jansson/norden.org

The 72nd Session should have been held in Harpa in Reykjavík but has had to be cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The biggest Nordic political gathering of the year, the Session of the Nordic Council, will not be held as planned in October, the Presidium decided at its meeting on 19 August. The COVID-19 situation has made it impossible to plan and hold the event as planned.

The Session of the Nordic Council Session is usually held in Week 44, in whichever country holds the annual Presidency. This year the venue should have been Reykjavík.

“We can’t really replace the Session as such, but a series of political meetings will be held online,” said the President of the Nordic Council, Silja Dögg Gunnarsdóttir. “The details are not yet in place, but the planning starts in earnest now,” she added.

“The Nordic Council has continued its political work despite the coronavirus. We’re really sorry things have turned out the way they have, but we will do everything in our power to make sure that there is as little disruption to the Nordic political processes as possible,” the President said.

 

Keep the Nordic region in you diary!

Nordic parliamentarians traditionally devote the week of the Session to Nordic issues, and the Presidium is strongly urging them not to delete the diary entry.

“We want everybody to keep the Nordic region in their diaries,” the President explains.

 

Change to format of award ceremony

The annual Nordic Council prizes are usually awarded during the Session. Despite the cancellation this year, the President points out that an award ceremony will still go ahead.

“The five prestigious prizes will be handed out as per the agreed timetable. The prizes for Literature, Children’s and Young People’s Literature, Film, Music and the Environment will all be awarded in a TV show being planned in collaboration with the Icelandic public service broadcaster RUV,” she said.