--- title: Secret Solstice 2018: Iceland's Annual Sunlight Festival description: The Secret Solstice festival in Reykjavik celebrates the 96 straight hours of sunlight Iceland's capital city experiences each year. canonical: https://time.com/5248508/secret-solstice-2018-iceland-sunlight-festival/ author: Megan McCluskey article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-04-24T12:00:38.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-12T09:07:19.858Z og:title: Celebrate 96 Hours of Sunlight at Secret Solstice Festival og:description: Experience the summer solstice in Reykjavik og:url: https://time.com/5248508/secret-solstice-2018-iceland-sunlight-festival/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4b6b11da687f75ae/69892e45bc6cfc542f3e5bd0/secret-solstice-festival.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 594 og:image:height: 334 og:image:alt: Secret Solstice Music Festival 2014 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Celebrate 96 Hours of Sunlight at Secret Solstice Festival twitter:description: Experience the summer solstice in Reykjavik twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4b6b11da687f75ae/69892e45bc6cfc542f3e5bd0/secret-solstice-festival.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Celebrate 96 Hours of Straight Sunlight at Iceland's Secret Solstice Festival > Sponsored content. 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Your guide to the summer solstice._  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Apr 24, 2018 12:00 PM UTC Celebrate 96 Hours of Straight Sunlight at Iceland's Secret Solstice Festival  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Apr 24, 2018 12:00 PM UTC The Secret Solstice festival in [Reykjavik](http://time.com/5070112/best-holiday-travel-places/) celebrates the 96 straight hours of sunlight [Iceland’s capital city](http://time.com/money/5033571/10-trips-everyone-should-take-lifetime-tripadvisor/) experiences each year at the [start of summer](http://time.com/4370905/first-summer-solstice-2016/). And with a top-notch musical lineup and attractions like a lava tunnel and a party-within-an-actual-glacier, the 2018 celebration is shaping up to be quite the experience. Thanks to an Arctic phenomenon called the [midnight sun](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midnight%5Fsun), Reykjavik will have four days of continuous sunlight from June 21-24, a period of time when tourists and locals alike can take advantage of the extra hours of daylight by attending the fifth annual Secret Solstice festival. [Secret Solstice 2018](http://secretsolstice.is) will feature performances from a variety of of international and Icelandic artists—including Slayer, Stormzy, Gucci Mane and Bonnie Tyler—and attractions that let attendees experience Iceland’s natural beauty, such as a [tour](http://secretsolstice.is/the-lava-tunnel-2018/) of a 5,000-year-old lava tunnel and a [party](http://secretsolstice.is/into-the-glacier-2018/) inside Europe’s second largest glacier. [Standard passes](http://secretsolstice.is/book-now/) for the weekend are available for the multi-stage festival for around $215\. However, for all those high rollers out there, there is also a six-person, all-expenses-included ticket option that can be purchased for the tidy sum of $1 million. This luxury package includes everything from transportation in a private jet to daily access to a glam squad to a VIP yacht party to a helicopter tour over the glaciers and volcanoes of South Iceland. The choice is yours. Secret Solstice 2018 runs from June 21-24. ## Transcript [00:00] [ MUSIC ] [00:09] Summer is officially here, which means it's time for [00:12] summer solstice, aka the longest day of the year. This [00:17] year, that's June 21st, the northern hemisphere, [00:19] bringing the longest day and shortest night to 88 % of [00:23] the world's population. The opposite is true for the [00:25] southern hemisphere, which will now experience their [00:27] winter solstice and shortest day of the year. You might [00:30] think because it's the longest day, it's actually closest [00:34] to the sun. It's not. The earth rotates 23. 5 degree tilt [00:37] with the sun everyday. Making a full orbit around the [00:40] sun once every 365 days and 6 hours. As [00:44] the planet rotates on its axis, the summer [00:47] [ UNKNOWN ] occurs when the North poles rages [00:49] greatest top with the sun. And the sun shines down [00:52] longer due to its, Positioning as the planet rotates in its [00:55] axis, the summer solstice occurs when the north pole [00:57] reaches it's greatest tilt towards the sun. And sun [01:00] shines down longer due to its positioning. There are [01:02] areas within the arctic circle that'll see the sun up for [01:05] 24 hours today. Now while most of the northern [01:08] hemisphere doesn't catch the sun for an entire day [01:11] there's still plenty of daylight to soak in. Most places in [01:13] the U. S. see the sun for about, 14 [01:16] >>16 hours on summer solstice. New York is [01:18] expected to get about 15 hours of sunlight this year [01:21] while Austin will have 14 hours to bask in the summer [01:24] rays. But the extra sunshine doesn't necessarily mean [01:27] it's the hottest day of the year. On this day, the land [01:30] and oceans absorb some of the energy from the Sun, [01:33] store it and release it as heat at various rates. Thanks [01:36] to spring temperatures, the land and oceans are still [01:39] fairly cool. So air temperatures won't reach their [01:41] maximum on summer solstice. Eventually, the land and [01:44] ocean release the stored heat back into the [01:47] atmosphere, meaning the hottest temperatures [01:49] typically hit in August or later, depending on your [01:51] latitude. And it's been a day long celebrated from [01:54] monuments, at Stonehenge in England to Karnak in [01:57] Egypt. People around the world have been taking note [02:00] of the summer solstice for thousands of years. Folks [02:02] still gather around Stonehenge to watch the sun rise [02:05] over the structure's heal stone and at the altar in that [02:08] center. So whether you're planning on going for a nice [02:11] walk Joining a festival, or dancing the night away. Be [02:13] sure to enjoy the extra sunshine. The days only get [02:17] shorter from here on out. 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