A little gesture by the council or the government can go a long way to brighten people’s days and lift their spirits, and that’s exactly what happened with the heart-shaped traffic lights of Akureyri in northern Iceland.
When people visit Akureyri in northern Iceland, they usually come away with one core memory – the heart-shaped traffic lights.
Instead of the usual solid circular red, yellow, and green lights that feature on traffic lights around the world, these ones are a little bit more special.
- A little gesture by the council or the government can go a long way to brighten people’s days and lift their spirits, and that’s exactly what happened with the heart-shaped traffic lights of Akureyri in northern Iceland.
- The heart-shaped traffic lights of Akureyri, Iceland – a heart-warming move by the mayor
- Brightening days and giving people a reason to smile – a small gesture in darker times
- Smile With Your Heart campaign – the beating heart of the city
The heart-shaped traffic lights of Akureyri, Iceland – a heart-warming move by the mayor
Following the Icelandic financial crash of 2008, the northern Icelandic town of Akureyri was sent into a depressing time of economic uncertainty.
Paired with the long months of darkness and brutal storms that batter the region for six months of the year, something needed to be done to raise the spirits of the local people.
As such, the former mayor of Akureyri, Eiríkur Björn Björgvinsson, decided to implement glowing hearts inside all of the town’s traffic lights instead of circles.
He said in a 2013 interview with the Huffington Post that despite the financial meltdown and uncertainty people were facing, the lights served to “remind the citizens what really mattered”.
Brightening days and giving people a reason to smile – a small gesture in darker times
Even if it is just a small good deed or gesture of goodwill to the folks and visitors of Akureyri, it’s a great way to brighten people’s days.
Those who are new to the town or who have never visited before will often be enamoured by the whimsical traffic lights scattered throughout the town.
They provide a welcome glow to one of the northernmost towns in Iceland, which sits on the front doorstep of the Arctic Circle, known for its dark and cold days.
The move came as part of a ‘Smile With Your Heart’ campaign where local people were encouraged to join in with the mood-boosting project by hanging their own homemade hearts from their homes, cars, and offices.
Smile With Your Heart campaign – the beating heart of the city
As part of the campaign, the city also unveiled a huge heart installation on the nearby Mount Vaðlaheiði.
Designed to look like and act as the “beating heart” of the city, the incredible installation was formed using over 400 light bulbs.
The installation brought more than surface-level joy to residents and visitors at the time and really did bring around a sense of joy and community.
While the football field-sized installation is no longer there, there have been rumours over the years about reinstalling the heart-warming, day-brightening display.
If this initiative made just one person stuck in traffic smile, then the job of the campaign is complete.
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