The Norwegians love to welcome summer with a huge celebration. June 21st — the summer solstice and the longest day of the year — marks the official start of summer. Slinningsbålet is part of the midsummer — or sankthans — celebrations, which honor the birth of John the Baptist. Typically, you’ll see little bonfires throughout the country. But i had heard the best place to be was in Bergen. So I caught a SAS flight to Bergen to witness the event myself. Here’s a little more about the event: https://www.visitnorway.com/media/news-from-norway/sankthans-finds-norway-at-its-brightest-and-most-summery/

There are much larger events that happen throughout the country. It takes 30 to 40 people several days to build a huge tower of wooden crates that’s eventually set on fire, creating a massive roaring fire. For example, in Alesund, they had a much larger tower (in fact the worlds largest) a few days later on June 23, 2018. Take a look at this youtube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ije6tL6w-xE

I would recommend asking any Norwegian where they’d recommend you go for this event. If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask — click on Contact and someone will respond within 48 hours.