--- 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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Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=9e683f75-0caf-4a37-8770-b532ca4ed652&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: What to Know About the Longest Day of the Year [Watch (HLS stream): What to Know About the Longest Day of the Year](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/hcrZvI2T.m3u8) (2:31)  _Published 2018-06-20. 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 [ MUSIC ] Summer is officially here, which means it's time for summer solstice, aka the longest day of the year. This year, that's June 21st, the northern hemisphere, bringing the longest day and shortest night to 88 % of the world's population. The opposite is true for the southern hemisphere, which will now experience their winter solstice and shortest day of the year. You might think because it's the longest day, it's actually closest to the sun. It's not. The earth rotates 23. 5 degree tilt with the sun everyday. Making a full orbit around the sun once every 365 days and 6 hours. As the planet rotates on its axis, the summer [ UNKNOWN ] occurs when the North poles rages greatest top with the sun. And the sun shines down longer due to its, Positioning as the planet rotates in its axis, the summer solstice occurs when the north pole reaches it's greatest tilt towards the sun. And sun shines down longer due to its positioning. There are areas within the arctic circle that'll see the sun up for 24 hours today. Now while most of the northern hemisphere doesn't catch the sun for an entire day there's still plenty of daylight to soak in. Most places in the U. S. see the sun for about, 14 >> 16 hours on summer solstice. New York is expected to get about 15 hours of sunlight this year while Austin will have 14 hours to bask in the summer rays. But the extra sunshine doesn't necessarily mean it's the hottest day of the year. On this day, the land and oceans absorb some of the energy from the Sun, store it and release it as heat at various rates. Thanks to spring temperatures, the land and oceans are still fairly cool. So air temperatures won't reach their maximum on summer solstice. Eventually, the land and ocean release the stored heat back into the atmosphere, meaning the hottest temperatures typically hit in August or later, depending on your latitude. And it's been a day long celebrated from monuments, at Stonehenge in England to Karnak in Egypt. People around the world have been taking note of the summer solstice for thousands of years. Folks still gather around Stonehenge to watch the sun rise over the structure's heal stone and at the altar in that center. So whether you're planning on going for a nice walk Joining a festival, or dancing the night away. Be sure to enjoy the extra sunshine. The days only get shorter from here on out. 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