Event Management

Harpa is a world-class Concert Hall and Conference Centre. A total of 1267 events of all shapes and sizes were held in 2022. Conferences, concerts, theater performances, opera, symphony concerts, meetings, children's events and more.

Extensive and noteworthy events took place in Harpa during the year. The European Film Awards in December were broadcast live around the world, and this is the largest television broadcast of a cultural event that has ever taken place in Iceland. Harpa won Edduna, Icelandic Film and Tv Awards, for cultural program of the year. Harpa was one of the event's production companies, together with the Ministry of Culture and Trade, the City of Reykjavík, B28 Produktion and the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service (RÚV).

2022 was the year in which Covid-19 restrictions on gatherings were lifted after the fluctuating impact of the pandemic on events over the past two years. In March 2022, the restrictions were lifted, and at the same time, event management took off with great vigor. There were a lot of events that had to be postponed due to gathering restrictions, and the days in Harpa were fully booked with diverse events in the premises of the building. When you look at the number of events in 2022, you can see that in the almost ten months where normal events could take place, more events were held in Harpa than in the entire year of 2019, when the pandemic and assembly restrictions were a distant unreality.

Number of events 2019 - 2022

Composition of events 2022

Events

Conference

Symphony

Events for tourists

Opera

Concerts

Concerts got off to a fast start in March, but slowed down a bit in the fall as ticket sales were slower than expected. The effects of the pandemic were still taking their toll. Many famous artists performed in Harpa, including: Damon Albarn, Emiliana Torrini, Umphrey's McGee, Dimmu, Skálmöld, GusGus, Rufus Wainwright, Passenger, Lisa Ekdahl, Briet, Friðrik Dór and many more.

Conferences and Meetings

Harpa er ráðstefnuhús á heimsmælikvarða og laðar að sér sífellt fleiri erlendar ráðstefnur. Húsið býður upp á ýmsar útfærslur fyrir fyrirlestra, sýningar, vinnurými og þess háttar. Hringborð Norðurslóða (Arctic Circle) fór fram með hefðbundnum hætti í október 2022 en þingið sækja um 2000 manns. Heimsþing kvenleiðtoga fór fram í nóvember og það sóttu kvenleiðtogar hvaðanæva að úr heiminum.

Concert Series

The concert series Sunday Classics, where the focus is on classical music, and the Múlinn jazz club started again with weekly concerts during the winter. Stórsveit Reykjavíkur celebrated its 30th anniversary with a big concert with conductor and composer Maria Schneider. The festivals Dark Music Days and Músíktilraunir were held in Harpa at the beginning of the year, and the Icelandic Music Awards took place in the spring. The Reykjavík Jazz Festival was held in August.

Major events

Evrópsku kvikmyndaverðlaunin fóru fram í desember og voru í beinni útsendingu þar sem milljónir manna um allan heim fylgdust með. Þetta er stærsta sjónvarpsútsending frá menningarviðburði sem hefur farið fram á Íslandi. Umfangsmiklar kvikmyndatökur fyrir kvikmyndina Heart of Stone fóru fram samhliða þéttu viðburðahaldi, en Harpa gegnir nokkuð áberandi hlutverki í kvikmyndinni.

Hörpustrengir

The group includes the management company Hörpustrengir, whose purpose is to host selected events that leave a mark on Icelandic music and culture and would not be possible without the company's involvement. Festival program for nationals on Menningarnótt is Harpa's biggest event of the year, where a high-quality program is offered for young and old and guests free of charge.