The Icelandic Coast Guard is the Icelandic defence service responsible for search and rescue, maritime safety and security surveillance, national defense, and law enforcement. The Coast Guard maintains the Iceland Air Defence System which conducts ground-based surveillance of Iceland's air space and operate the Keflavik airbase. It is also responsible for hydrographic surveying and nautical charting.
Iceland has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 36 times since its debut in 1986, missing only two contests since then, in 1998 and 2002, when prevented from competing due to finishing outside qualification places the preceding years. The country's best result is second place, which it achieved with "All Out of Luck" by Selma in 1999 and "Is It True?" by Yohanna in 2009. The Icelandic participant broadcaster in the contest is Ríkisútvarpið (RÚV), which select its entrant with the national competition Söngvakeppnin.
Reykjavík Airport is the main domestic airport serving Reykjavík, the capital of Iceland, located about two kilometres from the city centre. It is the domestic hub of Icelandair flights and has two runways. Reykjavík Airport is owned and operated by the state enterprise Isavia.
Pétur Karl Guðmundsson is an Icelandic former professional basketball player and coach. Standing 2.18 m (7'2"), weighing 118 kg (260 lb) and playing the center position, Pétur was the first Icelander and one of the first European players ever to play in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Often described as the greatest Icelandic basketball player of all time, he was named the Icelandic Basketball Player of the 20th century by the Icelandic Basketball Association in 2001 and in 2015, he was inducted in to the National Olympic and Sports Association of Iceland Hall of Fame. Pétur was also a member of the Icelandic national basketball team from 1978 to 1992 but missed several years of competition due to FIBA rules banning professional players from playing for national teams.
The 1986 Hvalur sinkings occurred in Iceland's Reykjavík harbour in November 1986, when anti-whaling activists from the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society sank the unoccupied whaling vessels, Hvalur 6 and Hvalur 7, and sabotaged a whale processing station in Hvalfjörður. The ships were two of the nation's fleet of four and were eventually raised, but have not gone on a whale hunt since and were dragged onto dry land. Repairs have still not yet been made to the ships some 36 years later. The factory was the country's only processing facility.
Hvalur 9 RE-399 is an Icelandic whaling ship built in 1952 in Norway. It has been a part of the Icelandic whaling fleet operated and owned by the company Hvalur hf. since 1966.
Daníel Jakobsson is an Icelandic former cross-country skier and politician. He competed at the 1994 Winter Olympics in 15–50 km events and placed 44–65. During his career, he won several Icelandic championships in cross-country skiing.
The 1975 Kjalarnes helicopter crash occurred on 17 January 1975, when a Sikorsky S-55B helicopter crashed by the Hjarðarnes farm in Hvalfjörður, Iceland, while en route from Reykjavík Airport to Snæfellsnes. Seven people were on board, including two crew members and five employees of RARIK, the Icelandic State Electricity company. Everyone on board was killed on impact. It remains the deadliest helicopter crash in Icelandic aviation history.
Sif, also known as TF-SIF, is an Aerospatiale SA365N Dauphin 2 helicopter used by the Icelandic Coast Guard from 1985 to 2007. It took part in several high profile rescue operations around Iceland during its 22-year career and is credited to have been involved in the rescue of around 250 lives. It is named after Sif, the golden-haired goddess from Norse mythology and is the third Coast Guard aircraft to bear the name. Since 2008, it has been on display at the Icelandic Aviation Museum.
Líf, also known as TF-LÍF, is an Aérospatiale AS-332L1 Super Puma helicopter that served the Icelandic Coast Guard for 25-years. It is named after Líf, the only woman foretold to survive the events of Ragnarök from Norse mythology, and is the first Coast Guard aircraft to bear the name. It is the longest serving helicopter in the history of the ICG and gained national fame when it rescued 39 sailors in three separate incidents during a six-day period in March 1997. In 2024, it was put on display at the Icelandic Aviation Museum.
The 1950 Geysir air crash was a plane crash that occurred on 14 September 1950 when a Douglas C-54 Skymaster, christened Geysir, crashed on the southeastern parts of Bárðarbunga on the Vatnajökull glacier in Iceland. The crew of six survived the crash but had to wait several days until they were found by rescuers and brought off the glacier. The difficulties that arose during the rescue mission directly led to the creations of specialized air rescue units in Iceland.
The 1951 Flugfélag Íslands DC-3 crash was a plane crash that occurred on 31 January 1951 when a Douglas DC-3 from Flugfélag Íslands, christened Glitfaxi, crashed in Faxaflói in Iceland, killing all 20 people aboard. It remains the second deadliest air crash in Iceland behind the 1947 Héðinsfjörður air crash.
Hvalur 8 RE-388 is an Icelandic whaling ship built in 1948 in Norway. It has been a part of the Icelandic whaling fleet operated and owned by the company Hvalur hf. since 1962.
Hvalur hf. is an Icelandic commercial whaling and holding company. Hvalur hf. was founded in 1947 as a commercial whaling company by Loftur Bjarnason and Vilhjálmur Árnason and later run by their sons, Kristján Loftsson and Árni Vilhjálmsson. In the recent decades, it has become one of the most powerful investment companies in Iceland, having owned large shares in Arion Bank, Marel, Origo hf. and Brim hf. amongst others.
Hvalur 6 RE-376 is an Icelandic whaling ship built in 1946 in England by Smith's Dock Company. It has been a part of the Icelandic whaling fleet operated and owned by the company Hvalur hf. since 1961. It was bought, along with its sister ship Hvalur 7, to replace the aging Hvalur 2 and Hvalur 3 which were built between 1920 and 1930.
Edda Andrésdóttir is an Icelandic journalist, news anchor and writer.
Vesturbæjarlaug, also known as Sundlaug Vesturbæjar, is a swimming pool in the Vesturbær district in Reykjavík, the capital of Iceland. It has a 12.5×25 m geothermally heated outdoor swimming pool with depth ranging from 0.9 to 3.9 m. There is also an adjacent playpool, several hot tubs, a cold tub, outdoor showers, a steam room and saunas. The pool was opened on November 25 1961. It had two "firsts" for Icelandic swimming pools: the large playpool for children, and the spiral-shaped hot tubs, with dimensions based on the pool of Snorri Sturluson in Reykholt. These design elements were reused on a larger scale by architect Einar Sveinsson for the much larger Laugardalslaug, which opened in 1968, and the design of the hot tubs was widely copied by other Icelandic swimming pools over the next years.
Óskar Þór Axelsson is an Icelandic film director and screenwriter. He is best known for the 2012 crime film Black's Game and the 2017 mystery-horror I Remember You.
Einar Örn Birgisson was an Icelandic footballer and businessman. He played football for several years in Iceland and Norway, winning the Icelandic championship and Icelandic Cup in 1999 with KR. In November 2000, he was murdered by his business partner and former teammate Atli Helgason.
Iceland 