York’s JORVIK Viking Festival is “off to a great start”, say its organisers.
The festival started on Monday (February 12) and ends on Sunday.
Thousands of people from across the globe are expected to descend on the city over the week, with mead tasting, Viking knitting, wire-weaving and more on offer.
Events are on throughout the week with action packed performances planned for the weekend.
Vikings will march through the streets of York on Saturday from 1.30pm to 2pm to Coppergate.
Recommended viewing spots are St Helen’s Square, Parliament Street and The Coppergate Centre.
The festival’s highly anticipated Viking Games take place after the march, with the finale to follow at night.
Challengers will battle it out at the Eye of York for the sold-out battle on Saturday afternoon in a test of strength, skill and wisdom.
“Expect combat, impressive feats of endurance and plenty of laughs as you cheer on your favourite Viking champion,” an event spokesperson said. “Hopefully, it won’t all end in a skirmish…”
The sold-out finale will tell a tale taking the audience through a journey of Norse mythology.
“In this story-telling spectacular, listen to familiar tales of these Viking realms connected by Yggdrasil – a great end to your Norse-filled week at JORVIK Viking Festival,” the spokesperson explained.
On Sunday there is a best dressed competition in St Sampson’s Square from 12.30pm to 1.15pm.
Organisers say the new event for 2024 “celebrates the Vikings in all of their forms”.
“Men, women and children welcome – we’re looking for the most glorious beard in York, whether it’s natural or homemade,” the event spokesperson said.
Lisa Wood, the festival’s head of communications and marketing, said: “This year’s JORVIK Viking Festival has got off to a great start.
“The new layout on Parliament Street and St Sampson’s Square is working brilliantly to enable that people can watch the arena shows and demonstrations taking place throughout the encampment.
“We’ve got our fingers crossed that the dry weather holds for the rest of the week, and thankfully, there are no signs of strong winds which would make life difficult for our tented displays!”
Event manager for JORVIK Viking Festival, Abigail Judge, added: “We’ve worked hard on accessibility this year, with prebookable dedicated accessible seating and wheelchair areas for our two key outdoor events.”
Last year’s finale was the first of its kind since 2019, and featured a retelling of Arabic diarist Abn Fadlan’s encounters with the Rus – what we know today as the Vikings – set to a thrilling soundtrack.
The final battle ended with a ritual boat burning to send slain warriors off to Valhalla – though in fact flame cannons were used to simulate a burning boat.
For more information and tickets visit: jorvikvikingfestival.co.uk
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