Up Helly Aa 2027: date, times and how to go

Up Helly Aa is the fire festival of Lerwick, the main town of the Shetland Islands: a day of Viking costumes, marches and, after dark, a torchlit procession that ends with a burning longship. The short answer for 2027: Lerwick Up Helly Aa takes place on Tuesday 26 January 2027 – as every year, on the last Tuesday of January. The torches are lit at 19:30 on the Hillhead, below the Town Hall.

Up Helly Aa 2027: the day at a glance

Times from the official programme for 2027 published by the Up Helly Aa committee (see sources). Shetland's tourism board VisitShetland lists the same date. The name of the new Guizer Jarl and his squad stays a secret until the day.

What happens

In the morning, the Guizer Jarl – the chief Viking of the year – and his squad march through Lerwick in full costume with helmets, shields and axes. You can watch them on the streets of the town centre; the Market Cross and the Bressay ferry terminal, where the photos are taken, are the busiest places.

In the evening comes the part that made the festival famous. According to VisitShetland, around 1,000 torch-bearers in disguised squads, led by the Jarl squad, march through the dark streets and drag a replica Viking galley to the burning site. At 19:30 a signal rocket bursts over the Town Hall and the torches are lit; the procession takes about half an hour to reach the burning site. There the torches are thrown into the galley, and the crowd sings as it burns.

At night, more than 40 squads visit around a dozen halls across Lerwick, performing a short act at each. Most of the halls are private parties. According to VisitShetland, tickets are extremely limited; a small number for the celebration in Lerwick Town Hall is usually advertised on the official website towards the end of the year.

Tips for watching

• Come early for the evening. The procession route is lined with spectators; the area around the Hillhead and the burning site fills up well before 19:30.
• Dress for wind and rain. You will stand outside in the dark for an hour or more.
• Respect the cordons. The area at the Bressay ferry terminal is cordoned off for the official photos in the morning, and the burning site is fenced off for safety.
• Buy a programme. The official and souvenir programmes are sold at several shops in Lerwick, including Harrys Department Store and the Shetland Times bookshop.
• Cannot travel? The evening procession is often streamed live on Promote Shetland's Facebook page and YouTube channel.

Outside the festival day, the Up Helly Aa exhibition in the Galley Shed on St Sunniva Street welcomes visitors; opening times are on the official website.

Weather in late January

Averages 2015–2024 for Lerwick from the ERA5 reanalysis (via Open-Meteo), rounded.

Shetland is mild for its latitude – the sea keeps frost away – but January is wet, windy and dark, with only a few hours of daylight. Waterproof clothes and good boots matter more than a thick coat. YesTrip shows you the forecast for your actual travel days and suggests matching clothes in the packing list.

Getting to Shetland

Shetland lies far north of mainland Scotland, and getting there is part of the trip:

• By ferry: NorthLink Ferries run overnight from Aberdeen to Lerwick. The ferry arrives in Lerwick in the morning, close to the town centre.
• By plane: flights from Scottish airports such as Aberdeen, Edinburgh or Glasgow land at Sumburgh Airport in the south of Shetland, about 40 km from Lerwick.

From London, the train to Aberdeen takes most of a day; connections are easy to compare at train tickets to Aberdeen^* (Omio). On Shetland, buses run between the main places, but if you want to explore the islands before or after the festival, a rental car in Shetland^* (EconomyBookings) gives you much more freedom. Coming from outside the UK, a travel eSIM for the UK^* (Airalo) is usually cheaper than roaming; our eSIM price index compares the prices per gigabyte.

Ferry cabins and the few hotels in Lerwick are booked very early for Up Helly Aa week – book as soon as you decide to go.

Where to stay

• Lerwick town centre: everything on foot, close to the procession and the harbour, but very limited and the first to be full.
• Around Lerwick: guesthouses and self-catering cottages a short drive away, often easier to find.
• On the ferry: if you only come for the day, the overnight ferry gives you a bed on the way there and back.

More than the fire festival

Shetland in winter is quiet, wild and dark – a few days around Up Helly Aa leave time for the Shetland Museum, the cliffs and beaches of the south mainland and, with luck and a clear sky, the northern lights, which are visible from Shetland on some winter nights. Our guide to where to see the northern lights explains the conditions. If you start the trip on the Scottish mainland, the best time to visit Scotland and our Scotland road trip help with the rest; around New Year, Edinburgh's Hogmanay is the other big winter fire festival.

In YesTrip, "What's on" lists festivals, events and holidays on the days of your trip, and you can add them to the day plan with one tap.

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