“Iceland is a home harbour in more ways than one"
June 17, 2026
Photo: RÚV.
The President delivers ceremonial address at Austurvöllur.
“Let today remind us of what unites us,” the President said at Austurvöllur. Her ceremonial address can be found here.
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President Halla Tómasdóttir opened her National Day address with the image of home, a place that shelters us in difficult times, welcomes us back unconditionally, and gives us the strength to continue. For Iceland as a nation, she said, that place is Heimahöfn: the home harbour.
The ceremony opened with Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir laying a wreath from the Icelandic nation at the memorial to Jón Sigurðsson, Iceland’s independence hero. In her address, reflecting on the meaning of National Day, the President reminded her audience that independence is not merely a milestone of the past. It is a living responsibility, a call to consider how we treat one another, what choices we make, and what legacy we leave behind.
The President announced that a diverse group of citizens is now working toward a national conversation on how to strengthen our Heimahöfn, bringing people together across Iceland this October, in connection with the 40th anniversary of the Reykjavík Summit, to discuss peace, prosperity, and Iceland's future. Young people, she emphasised, will play a central role:
“Before my New Year Address in January, the choir Fjallabræður performed the song Heimahöfn. Its two composers underlined that the song is about “the human need to know where one belongs and what awakens that feeling”. Those words stayed with me. They led me to reflect on how our precious country is a home harbour in more ways than one. […]. Perhaps one of the most important tasks of any person, and any nation, is to strengthen their home harbour.”
Later the the President added: “The Reykjavík Summit remains a powerful reminder of what dialogue can achieve. It reminds us that even in times of profound disagreement, it is possible to bridge divides, reconcile differing perspectives and work toward common solutions. It also reminds us that peace is never self-sustaining. It must be actively built and safeguarded, through determination, courage and a steadfast commitment to keep the conversation alive. That lesson is as important today as it was then.
At this moment in our history, it is worth pausing to ask: How do we strengthen our home harbour? How do we safeguard the wellbeing of our people while ensuring that the natural world that has sustained us continues to do so for generations to come? How do we create opportunities for children and young people to flourish and to believe in the future? And how do we ensure that technological progress and artificial intelligence serve humanity, democracy and the society to which we all belong? These are not questions that can be answered by a single political party, a single generation, or a small group of people. These are questions that call for a national dialogue."
The ceremony concluded with the address of the Lady of the Mountain, actress Elín Hall, reciting a poem written by Bragi Valdimar Skúlason.
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