THINK PINK IN ICELAND!
Hannes Pálsson is one of the fabulous people behind Pink Iceland, the country’s gay owned and operated travel, wedding and events company.
DNA: When did Pink Iceland get started? Hannes: Pink Iceland, which now has a core team of 12 people, started in 2011 by my co-owners Eva and Birna. They asked me to come in and do some branding and web work and after a couple of meetings we all realised we would make a great team so I joined the company as the third partner.
Who are your main clients?
We’re pretty high-end and luxury when it comes to our tours and travel planning although we love all and serve all. This is mainly due to the fact that we have a very high service level and mostly work with clients who want a bespoke, tailor-made experience when visiting Iceland. We also run a wedding planning service and have become the biggest wedding planners in Iceland, which was a bit of a happy accident!
What’s the split between straight and gay weddings?
At the moment it’s about 70 per cent straight and 30 per cent gay and it’s pretty much all foreign couples. We’ve never changed our branding or approach to try to entice straight couples to work with us though. If people don’t like us being an overtly LGBTIQ company they wouldn’t be a good match for us anyway. In fact, we have a double filter when it comes to wedding couples. Firstly, they decide they want to get married in Iceland, which means they’re adventurous and fun. Secondly, they choose to work with a queer company, which means they are not bigoted assholes [laughs]. We may be queer, but first and foremost we’re extremely good at what we do and have had to work doubly hard to prove that.
What are the issues, internationally, if you get gay married in Iceland? If you, as a gay couple, get married here you get an internationally recognised wedding certificate for countries where gay marriage is legal. We’ve had full marriage equality in Iceland since 2010. However, getting a divorce from a same-sex partner in a country where same-sex weddings are not recognised actually requires one or both spouses to move to Iceland for a period of time to be able to get a divorce. This is not a problem for those living in countries where same-sex unions are legal.
On the travel front, why has Iceland become such a hotspot destination?
People love the nature, and once they realise just how much there to see most people actually come again. Many of our wedding couples, for example, have been here multiple times. People find a deep connection to nature here and a visit can have a profound effect on people, regardless of the season. Summer is the busiest time for both weddings and travel, but our winters are growing in popularity. I mean, we’re called Iceland after all so why not visit during the time of year we drew our country’s name from [laughs]?
Tell us about the Icelandic gay scene. Iceland has not always been friendly to gay people. Back in the day you either stayed in the closet or moved to Denmark or another more friendly country. Our modern gay rights movement is usually traced back to 1975 when gay artist Hörður Torfason came out in the press. He and some friends ended up founding the Icelandic Gay And Lesbian Organisation in 1978 and started fighting for increased rights for our community. Another Iceland performer, Páll Óskar has also done a lot to create visibility for the community and, lest we forget, we voted in the first openly lesbian Prime Minister in the world, Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir in 2009. These are just a few among many amazing people who led the way and helped create the progressive society we live in today.
How has legislation kept up with these changes in Icelandic society?
We decriminalised homosexuality in 1940. The age of consent was made equal in 1992. In 1996 it became illegal to discriminate on account of sexual orientation, and we were among the first nations in the world to offer civil unions that same year to same-sex partners. Since then we’ve updated laws to make sure that gays and lesbians are afforded equal rights to their fellow citizens. Finally, in 2010, we achieved full marriage equality when the church gave up their opposition to church weddings. At the moment we’re waiting for new legislation to pass that should improve protections for trans and intersex people. The work continues for those members of the queer alphabet who still have ways to go.
How has the gay scene evolved?
Iceland is a great place to live but the scene is tiny. At the moment there are two main spaces for LGBTIQ people. One is Kiki Queer Bar, which has been around for years. It draws a very mixed crowd who want to dance the night away, while our other space, Gaukurinn is definitely and defiantly more queer. The latter hosts shows from Drag-Sugur, the local and super inclusive drag collective here in Iceland. We don’t have big circuit parties but we at Pink Iceland host an annual Masquerade Ball that tends to be the highlight of the gay nightlife scene. This year’s ball was hosted by Detox, from RuPaul’s Drag Race and we’re hoping to have her back for our 2020 party.
Our gay rights movement is traced back to 1975 when artist Hörður Torfason came out in the press.