“There are certain indicators that there will be even more visitors than last year,” one of the festival's organizers, Fridbjörn Valtýsson, told Fréttabladid. Last year at least 10,000 people attended the festival.

Preparations for the “Ein med öllu” Merchants' Weekend festival in Akureyri, north Iceland, were well underway when people began to flood the town last night.

“I feel like mothers do before Christmas. They just arrive at six,” said festival organizer Margrét Blöndal, adding reassuringly, “Everything is ready.” in Iceland, Christmas celebrations officially begin at 6 pm on Christmas Eve.

Meteorologist Sigurdur Th. Ragnarsson said the outlook for next weekend has rarely been better for the Merchants' Weekend. The Merchants' Weekend, the first weekend in August, is always reserved for outdoor festivals around the country.

The Westman Islands and Akureyri throw two of the biggest festivals.

“There won't exactly be conditions for sunbathing, but the weather will be mild nonetheless,” Ragnarsson said. “What is unusual about this that the weather won't be bad in any part of the country.”