05 Feb 2026 6 min read

Up Helly Aa 2026: Shetland’s Viking festival lights up Lerwick

Step into Up Helly Aa with stories from visitors and stunning images captured fresh from this year’s festival.

LAST week, on January 27, Lerwick hosted one of the UK's most spectacular winter festivals. Up Helly Aa lit up the Shetland night with fiery torches, Viking longships, and a parade of more than 800 guizers, creating a breathtaking celebration of heritage, craft, and community.

While Lerwick’s parade is the largest, the festival is celebrated across the islands in smaller communities, where the focus is as much on local pride and participation as it is on spectacle.

For visitors and locals alike, Up Helly Aa remains a highlight of Shetland’s social calendar, drawing thousands of people from across the world.

The silhouette of a man in Viking costume standing in front of the galley as it burns. — Burning of the galley.

At the heart of Up Helly Aa is the torchlit procession, led by the Jarl Squad, the event’s core group of dedicated volunteers. In Lerwick, roughly 800 guizers carried flaming torches, marching through the streets in precise formation.

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