Last year, Reykjavík Bear celebrated five years of fur, friendship and increasingly ambitious bear-related shenanigans. Apparently, nobody told them to calm down afterwards.
Reykjavík Bear returns to the Icelandic capital from 3-6 September 2026, bringing together bears, admirers and friends from Iceland and around the world for four days of parties, tours, geothermal soaking and community. This year’s programme includes the Golden Circle, Laugarás Lagoon, city experiences, the ever-popular Tops-Off party and the second annual Mr. Reykjavík Bear competition.
For 2026, the festival is stretching its paws a little further, with new ways to experience Reykjavík, a bigger stage for the second Mr. Reykjavík Bear competition, an official host hotel and an increasingly international crowd. But for Sigurður “Siggi” Júlíus Guðmundsson, one of the organisers, getting bigger isn’t really the point. The challenge is growing without losing the warmth, intimacy and sense of belonging that earned Reykjavík Bear its reputation in the first place.
That also means thinking more seriously about what an inclusive bear community actually looks like: clearer accessibility information, explicit standards around consent and discrimination, and a definition of “bear” that leaves plenty of room for different bodies, ages and expressions of masculinity.
GayIceland caught up with Siggi once again to talk about what Reykjavík Bear learned from its biggest year yet, what’s changing in 2026, and how a small festival in a very small forest is finding its place in a much bigger bear world.
GayIceland: Last year was a huge milestone for Reykjavík Bear: five years of the festival, twenty years of bear events in Iceland, and the first Mr. Reykjavík Bear competition. Once the dust settled, what did you learn from 2025?
Siggi: “I think the biggest lesson was that we’re capable of more than we sometimes give ourselves credit for. We went all out in 2025, from our biggest Pride parade entry yet to a more ambitious festival and our first Mr. Reykjavík Bear competition. Pulling that off gave us the confidence to think bigger.
We also discovered how warmly the wider European bear community would welcome us. Jóhann, our first Mr. Reykjavík Bear, did an amazing job representing us at events across Europe and building those connections. We’re seeing noticeably more visitors from Europe in this year’s ticket sales, which is really lovely. It feels like we’re becoming a bigger part of that community.
That confidence has carried into 2026, with new experiences and a bigger venue for the contest. But the ambition isn’t just about size. We want to keep improving what we offer while holding on to the warmth and personal connections that make Reykjavík Bear special. We may be a small festival, but we learned that we have plenty to contribute and plenty of room to grow.”
GayIceland: What have you changed for Reykjavík Bear 2026 as a result of what you learned last year?
Siggi: “We’ve put that confidence into giving people more ways to enjoy Reykjavík Bear. This year, we’ve added an optional Reykjavík Food Walk and a new City Bear Pass with visits to the Lava Show and FlyOver Iceland. It gives guests more choice in how they experience the city and spend time together beyond the parties.
When Jóhann competed for Mr. Bear Europe, he won the Mr. Bear Congeniality award unanimously. That says a lot about his warmth and his ability to connect with people.
We’ve also moved the Mr. Reykjavík Bear competition to the historic Austurbæjarbíó, with a much bigger stage and more room for the afterparty. After seeing what the first contest, and Jóhann’s year as our representative brought to the community, we wanted to give it room to develop.
The aim is to build on what worked last year while keeping the festival friendly and personal. We want people to have a fantastic weekend, but also to feel included, make friends and leave wanting to come back.”
GayIceland: You describe Reykjavík Bear increasingly as “more than a party”. What do you think happens on the tours, at the lagoons and over brunch that couldn’t happen if this were simply three nights of clubbing?
Siggi: “There’s something about spending a whole day together that lets people relax and get to know each other. You might start talking to someone on the bus, share a laugh at the lagoon and end up making plans to meet later that evening. By the time you arrive at the party, there are familiar faces in the room.
We love the parties, of course, and connections happen there too. But not everyone finds it easy to walk into a club and introduce themselves, especially if they’ve come on their own. The tours, lagoons and meals give people different ways to connect, without having to shout over the music or feel that they need to be on the dance floor.
That’s what “more than a party” means to us. We want people to feel they belong and have time to build friendships that continue after the weekend. Iceland gives us a beautiful setting, but it’s the people you share those experiences with who make you want to come back.”
GayIceland: Last year you launched the first Mr. Reykjavík Bear competition. Now that Jóhann Örn has spent a year holding the title, what did having a Mr. Reykjavík Bear allow you to do that you couldn’t do before?
Siggi: “It gave us someone who could represent Reykjavík Bear beyond the festival itself and build relationships throughout the year. As a small, volunteer-run organisation, we can’t be everywhere, so having Jóhann meeting people and taking part in bear events across Europe made a real difference.
There’s something very sad about building a community around acceptance and then making people feel they don’t qualify.
He gave people a personal connection to our community. Hearing about Reykjavík Bear is one thing; meeting someone who represents it and feeling that you already have a friend in Iceland makes it much more personal.
And so much of that comes down to Jóhann himself. He’s such a lovely person, and when he competed for Mr. Bear Europe, he won the Mr. Bear Congeniality award unanimously. That says a lot about his warmth and his ability to connect with people. The title gave him a platform, but he brought the enthusiasm, kindness and effort that made it mean something.
He’s helped us build closer ties with the wider European bear community, and seeing more guests from Europe booking this year makes us feel those connections are carrying through to the festival.”
GayIceland: What did you learn from the first Mr. Reykjavík Bear contest, and what are you doing differently in year two?
Siggi: “The first year showed us that the contest could mean something well beyond the night itself. Watching Jóhann grow into the role helped us understand what we were asking of a winner: someone who could connect with people and represent our community with warmth and enthusiasm.
For year two, the biggest visible change is moving to Austurbæjarbíó. The bigger stage gives us more room to develop the show and give the contestants their moment, while also bringing the contest and afterparty into a larger venue.
But what we want to preserve is just as important. Entering a competition takes courage, and we want each contestant to feel supported and appreciated. Jóhann’s year has reinforced that being approachable, kind and comfortable being yourself matters enormously. We want that spirit at the heart of the contest as it grows.”
GayIceland: The language around who belongs in the bear community seems deliberately broad. This year’s contestants represent several different identities within the wider community. What does “bear” actually mean to you in 2026?
Siggi: “For me, “bear” still has a connection to bigger bodies, body hair and a kind of beauty that hasn’t always been celebrated elsewhere. That’s an important part of our identity. But it shouldn’t become another set of rules about how someone has to look or who they’re allowed to be.
What matters to me is that people feel comfortable being themselves. You don’t need to have a particular body type or fit a narrow idea of masculinity to belong in our community. Bears, admirers, friends and people still finding their place all contribute to it.
We may be a small festival, but we learned that we have plenty to contribute and plenty of room to grow.
Having contestants with different identities reflects that. They each bring their own experience and their own way of being part of the bear community. We want to give them room to show us who they are.
Ultimately, I want someone to come to Reykjavík Bear and feel welcomed without having to prove they’re bear enough. There’s something very sad about building a community around acceptance and then making people feel they don’t qualify.”
GayIceland: There’s much more detailed accessibility information on the Reykjavík Bear site this year, right down to seating, steps, sensory environments and individual tour stops. Was making the festival more accessible a deliberate focus for 2026?
Siggi: “Yes, absolutely. A big inspiration was Alex Fortes, last year’s Mr. Bear Europe, who made encouraging bear groups to publish detailed accessibility information a priority during his reign. Alex is a close personal friend to many of us, and we were very happy to take that encouragement and put it into practice.
Saying “everyone is welcome” only goes so far if people can’t find out whether they’ll be able to participate comfortably. Details about seating, steps, sensory environments and individual tour stops help guests make informed decisions about what works for them, without having to contact us for every basic detail.
That doesn’t mean every part of the festival is accessible to everyone. It means being honest about what people can expect, including the limitations, so they can plan with more confidence.
We were immensely proud to receive an award at Mr. Bear Europe in Lisbon this summer recognising how visible we’d made accessibility information on our website. It was lovely to have that work acknowledged, especially knowing it grew out of Alex’s commitment to making our community more inclusive.”
GayIceland: You’ve also published very direct community standards around consent, discrimination, photography and behaviour. Why was it important to put those expectations into writing?
Siggi: “Because a welcoming community needs more than good intentions. People should know what they can expect from us, what we expect from them and what behaviour will not be accepted.
Body positivity is at the heart of what we do, and we believe that message is best understood by experiencing it: being somewhere you can relax, feel comfortable in your body and be welcomed as you are.
That means being explicit: homophobia, fatphobia, transphobia, racism and other forms of discrimination have no place at Reykjavík Bear. Body positivity and inclusion need to be reflected in how we treat each other, including respecting people’s bodies, identities and boundaries.
Being part of the bear community doesn’t automatically mean we’re free of prejudice ourselves.
Consent is especially important in spaces that can be flirtatious, sexual and body-positive. Being friendly, wearing revealing clothing or simply attending a bear event is never automatic permission to touch someone or give them unwanted sexual attention. The same applies to photography: people deserve control over when and how they are pictured, particularly in queer spaces.
Putting these standards in writing also makes it easier for our team to respond consistently if something happens. It gives guests clear language for raising a concern and makes it harder for harmful behaviour to be dismissed as a joke or a misunderstanding.
We want Reykjavík Bear to be warm, playful and relaxed, but that atmosphere depends on people feeling safe and respected. Clear expectations help protect the freedom and openness we want the festival to have.”
GayIceland: Reykjavík Bear now has an official host hotel and has grown considerably since the first festival in 2021. How do you grow something internationally without losing the intimacy and friendliness that made people love it in the first place?
Siggi: “A big part of that comes from our returning guests. Some come year after year, and they help shape the atmosphere as much as we do as organisers. They bring friendships, familiarity and a warmth that newcomers become part of. That continuity helps us keep the personal feeling even as new people join us.
The host hotel is another step in bringing people together. We’ve always offered discount codes at selected properties, but this year we’re delighted to welcome Center Hotel Plaza as our official host hotel. It gives our guests a shared base and more chances to meet naturally, whether over breakfast or heading out to an event.
But we do have limits on how big we want Reykjavík Bear to become. We want to preserve the intimacy that makes it special. We’re also keen for more local bears and people from the wider queer community to find us and join in.
Body positivity is at the heart of what we do, and we believe that message is best understood by experiencing it: being somewhere you can relax, feel comfortable in your body and be welcomed as you are. That’s what we want to share with more people, without losing the closeness that makes it possible.”
GayIceland: Last year we asked whether you were seeing attitudes around bigger bodies and masculinity change. Another year on, do you feel more optimistic, less optimistic, or has the conversation itself changed?
Siggi: “I’d say cautiously optimistic, and our experience at Mr. Bear Europe this year gave me a lot to feel good about. Eamon, who won, is an older man with a white beard who brought a big part of his community with him. There was something beautiful about seeing that support and the sense of belonging around him. Greg, who became Vice Mr. Bear Europe, is a shorter, chubby bear with a touching personal story that really connected with people.
We want people to feel they belong and have time to build friendships that continue after the weekend. Iceland gives us a beautiful setting, but it’s the people you share those experiences with who make you want to come back.
There were more conventionally hunky contestants too, but what stayed with us was the warmth, personality and community spirit on display. It felt like a reminder that people value more than a particular look. There are different ways to be beautiful, to connect with people and to represent a community.
One contest doesn’t mean we’ve moved beyond body pressures or narrow ideas about masculinity. Even within the bear community, we need to be mindful of making people feel they’re not muscular enough, hairy enough or masculine enough to belong.
But moments like that give me hope. That’s the spirit we want to bring to Reykjavík Bear, room for different bodies, different ages and different expressions of masculinity, where people feel appreciated as they are.”
Reykjavík Bear starts September 3 and continues to September 6. To find out more visit the official website HERE.