Rainbow Street — Town residents, Seyðisfjörður
Residents of Seyðisfjörður · 2016 · Norðurgata, Seyðisfjörður
Photo as published on Street Art Utopia; photographer not named in our records. Artwork: residents of Seyðisfjörður.
Rainbow Street, Regnbogagatan in Icelandic, is Norðurgata in the centre of Seyðisfjörður in East Iceland, the street that leads to the town’s Blue Church. East Iceland’s tourism site says residents and town staff painted the colours of the rainbow onto it on a summer night in 2016, and the municipality says repainting it together each spring, when the snow melts, is now a tradition. Source Source Source Reported
Seen May 2026: this rests on Múlaþing’s notice of 4 May 2026 calling a residents’ meeting on renovating Norðurgata/Regnbogagata, after its 21 April 2026 announcement of the yearly repainting for 23 April; we found no report from that painting day and no dated photo after 25 August 2025 Source Source Source Reported
More photos
💡 5 things to know
- Painted the night it was thought ofEast Iceland’s tourism site says residents got the idea on a sunny summer day in 2016, and that same night people in town and the town’s employees painted the rainbow onto the street. Source Reported
- A street for PrideTwo travel guides say the townspeople painted it in 2016 for Seyðisfjörður’s Pride celebration; in 2018 Gay Star News called the path one of the ways the town shows support for its local Queer Parade. Source Source Source Reported
- Repainted every springMúlaþing calls it a tradition for people of Seyðisfjörður and anyone interested to repaint the street each spring when the snow melts; in 2026 the painting day was announced for the First Day of Summer, 23 April. Source Source Source Checked
- Where the queer walk starts and endsThe municipality says the street is the start and end point of Hýr halarófa, East Iceland’s queer walk; Gay Star News reported in 2018 that the town has held its own Pride celebration since 2014, when local man Snorri Emilsson could not make it to Reykjavík. Source Source Reported
- Its future is under discussionIn May 2026 Múlaþing called an open online residents’ meeting on renovating Norðurgata/Regnbogagata, covering the street’s history, its condition and the options for renewing it. Source Checked
📍 Where it is
Norðurgata, in the centre of Seyðisfjörður, East Iceland; the Blue Church, Seyðisfjarðarkirkja, stands at the end of the street. Source Source Checked
Opens a map at the painted street, between the camera positions recorded on two dated Wikimedia Commons photos of it.
🗓️ Sightings
- 20188 Jun
Rainbow path on Norðurgata · Gay Star News
- 201826 Jul
Photo of the street · camera date
- 202417 Jul
Photo towards the church · camera date
- 202528 Apr
Spring painting set for 1 May · Múlaþing
- 202528 May
Photo of the street · camera date
- 202525 Aug
Photo towards the church · camera date
- 202621 Apr
Repainting set for 23 April · Múlaþing
- 20264 May
Renovation meeting called · Múlaþing
Green stamps mark dated photos of the street (camera dates, Wikimedia Commons). Amber stamps mark reports and announcements; publication dates are not camera dates.
🗞️ In the sources
Rainbow Street in Seyðisfjörður
“That same night, people in town as well as the town’s employees got together and painted the colours of the rainbow onto the street”
East Iceland’s official tourism site on how the street was first painted in the summer of 2016.
How cute is this Pride-inspired rainbow brick road in Iceland?
“Local businesses welcome the event and contribute to painting the pathway in rainbow colors.”
David Hudson on the town’s Queer Parade, held on Norðurgata.
Regnbogagatan máluð 1. maí
“Á hverju vori þegar snjóa leysir er hefð fyrir því að Seyðfirðingar og önnur áhugasöm komi saman og máli Regnbogagötuna.”
“Every spring when the snow melts, it is a tradition for the people of Seyðisfjörður and others who are interested to come together and paint the Rainbow Street.”
Öll hvött til að taka þátt í að mála regnbogagötuna
“Næstkomandi fimmtudag, 23. apríl, verður regnbogagatan á Seyðisfirði máluð í regnbogalitunum.”
“Next Thursday, 23 April, the rainbow street in Seyðisfjörður will be painted in the rainbow colours.”
✅ The facts
- Helpers
- Town staff on the first night (Visit Austurland); local businesses help paint it (Gay Star News, 2018) Source Source Reported
- Exact date
- Not stated in the sources we could open Unconfirmed
- Recent painting days
- Announced for 1 May 2025 and 23 April 2026 by the municipality; we found no reports from either day Source Source Reported
- Pride walk
- Start and end point of Hýr halarófa, East Iceland’s queer walk, according to the municipality Source Reported
🔗 Related
All sources & image credits
- Visit Austurland (east.is) — Rainbow Street in Seyðisfjörður
- Múlaþing — Regnbogagatan máluð 1. maí — 28 April 2025
- Múlaþing — Öll hvött til að taka þátt í að mála regnbogagötuna — 21 April 2026
- Múlaþing — Norðurgatan/Regnbogagatan á Seyðisfirði – framtíðarsýn — 4 May 2026
- GlobalGayz — How cute is this Pride-inspired rainbow brick road in Iceland? (David Hudson, Gay Star News) — 8 June 2018
- Arctic Adventures — Seyðisfjörður
- Beyond the Moments — Rainbow Road in Seyðisfjörður — 13 January 2022
- Wikimedia Commons — photo by Saifunny, 26 July 2018 (CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Wikimedia Commons — photo by Jakub Hałun, 17 July 2024 (CC BY 4.0)
- Wikimedia Commons — photo by AleWi, 28 May 2025 (CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Wikimedia Commons — photo by CeliaJBergoffen, 25 August 2025 (CC0)
- Hero image: as published on Street Art Utopia; the photographer and camera date are not named in our records. A 16:9 share image was made from it with blurred sides.
- More photos: 2018 photo by Saifunny, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0, taken 26 July 2018.
Last checked: 7 November 2026 · How we verify art