Image: Ólavsøka 2012 at Tinghúsvøllur in Tórshavn

Description: The Faroese Løgting (Parliament) is very old, the Løgting dates back to around year 1000. Today the Løgting has 33 members and the Landsstýri (government) has 8 members. The Løgting opens on the national day at 29 July every year. It is tradition to celebrate the national day which is called Ólavsøka with various activities, cultural events, exhibitions and sports events, the largest of these is the final rowing competition. On 29 July there is a parade from the Løgting House to the Cathedral where all of the priests of the Faroes and all the politicians and the High Commissioner of Denmark (ríkisumboðsmaður) participate. After the service in the church they walk back in procession to the Løgting House (Parliament building) and gather in front of the building together with a large choir from the the whole country. The choir sings some songs and the ceremony ends with everyone singing the national anthem of the Faroe Islands "Tú alfagra land mítt". After the ceremony the politicians go into the Løgting House, where the prime minister (Løgmaður) helds his speech (Løgmansrøðan).
Title: Ólavsøka 2012 at Tinghúsvøllur in Tórshavn
Credit: Own work
Author: EileenSanda
Usage Terms: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0
License: CC BY-SA 3.0
License Link: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0
Attribution Required?: Yes