Live streams to herald return of Shetland's fire festivals

Shetland’s winter fire festival season has generated huge interest all over the world for many years, and the events’ long-awaited return after a Covid-enforced layoff will be marked with a live broadcast of the Lerwick Up Helly As’s torchlit procession on Tuesday (31 January).

It is the largest of the 12 fire festivals held in communities throughout Shetland between now and March, and there is a huge sense of anticipation as the Viking-themed merriment returns after the pandemic prevented any events going ahead in 2021 and 2022.

Footage for the live stream is being provided by Shetland Webcams, with support from NorthLink Ferries, and Tuesday’s broadcast can be viewed on Tuesday from 7pm on uphellyaa.com and Promote Shetland’s Facebook page and YouTube channel.

There will also be a live stream of the South Mainland Up Helly Aa (SMUHA), which takes place on Friday 10 March this year. While most of the festivals had occurred prior to the pandemic in 2020, this is set to be the first SMUHA sine March 2019.

In a sign of renewed enthusiasm for the winter-warming events after a lengthy layoff, huge crowds braved torrential rain for Scalloway Fire Festival’s return earlier in January, with the weekend declared a resounding success.

You will be able to enjoy lots of fire festival-related content on Promote Shetland’s various platforms throughout the season, including on our newly-launched TikTok channel.

VisitScotland’s development manager Stevie Mathieson says it is “fantastic” to welcome the fire festivals back after a three-year hiatus, describing Lerwick Up Helly Aa as “an internationally acclaimed event that attracts visitors from across the globe”.

“The other rural festivals that take place between January and March each year are all amazing spectacles and a great way for tourists to integrate more intimately with the activities of the individual Shetland communities,” he adds.