''Áramótaskaupið'' ("The New Year's Lampoon") is an annual

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

ic television comedy special, broadcast on

New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve refers to the evening, or commonly the entire day, of the last day of the year, 31 December, also known as Old Year's Day. In many countries, New Year's Eve is celebrated with dancing, eating, drinkin ...

by the state public service broadcaster

RÚV Ríkisútvarpið (, ; abbr. RÚV ) is Iceland's national public broadcasting, public-service broadcasting organization. Founded in 1930, it operates from studios in the country's capital, Reykjavík, as well as regional centres around the count ...

. Initially aired on radio in 1948, and later moving to television in 1966, it features sketches satirizing the news events of the past year. It is often the highest-rated television broadcast of the year in Iceland. In 2002, it was reported that the special had been seen by 95.5% of the country;

Páll Magnússon Páll Magnússon (born 17 June 1954) is the former director of RÚV, the National Icelandic Broadcasting Service. He has worked in the media for many years and was formerly executive news editor and president of Stöð 2 Stöð 2, literally S ...

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

stated that this was most likely a record in the

Western world The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to various nations and state (polity), states in Western Europe, Northern America, and Australasia; with some debate as to whether those in Eastern Europe and Latin America also const ...

. Due to its high

viewership Audience measurement calculates how many people are in an audience, usually in relation to radio listenership and television viewership, but also in relation to newspaper and magazine readership and, increasingly, web traffic. The term is sometim ...

, advertising time during ''Áramótaskaupið'' is the most expensive on Icelandic television. The show ends just before midnight, and those Icelanders who shoot off fireworks usually do so after ''Áramótaskaupið'' ends. Some of its sketches have become well known in Icelandic culture, such as its portrayal of

Minister of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...

Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson (; born 14 May 1943) is an Icelandic politician who was the fifth president of Iceland, serving from 1996 to 2016.

as the

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

parody "Skattmann" ("Taxman"). In 2009, the show featured a sketch about the

protests A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration, or remonstrance) is a public act of objection, disapproval or dissent against political advantage. Protests can be thought of as acts of cooperation in which numerous people cooperate ...

following the 2008 Icelandic financial crisis, in which

Jón Gnarr Jón Gnarr (; born Jón Gunnar Kristinsson on 2 January 1967) is an Icelanders, Icelandic actor, comedian, and politician who served as the Mayor of Reykjavík, Mayor of Reykjavík from 2010 to 2014. He is currently a member of the Althing for ...

played a strait-laced middle-aged protester shouting " Helvítis fokking fokk!!". The phrase swiftly became widely used in Iceland in relation to the crisis.

Directors

*1966:

Andrés Indriðason Andrés Indriðason (7 August 1941 – 10 July 2020) was an Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Euro ...

*1967:

Ómar Ragnarsson Ómar Þorfinnur Ragnarsson (born 16 September 1940) is an Icelandic environment activist and former entertainer, news reporter and Rallying, rally driver. Born in Reykjavík, Ómar began acting on stage at the age of 12 and started his career as ...

*1968:

Flosi Ólafsson Flosi Ólafsson (27 October 1929 – 24 October 2009) was an Icelandic actor. He appeared in more than twelve films from 1962 to 2011. Selected filmography References External links * 1929 births 2009 deaths Icelandic male film act ...

*1969: Flosi Ólafsson *1970: Flosi Ólafsson *1971: Ása Finnsdóttir & Ómar Ragnarsson *1972:

Tage Ammendrup Tage is a masculine given name with Danish origins. People with the name include: * Tage Åsén (born 1943), Swedish artist * Tage Aurell (1895–1976), Swedish journalist and novelist * Tage Brauer (1894–1988), Swedish athlete * Tage Daniels ...

*1973:

Laddi Þórhallur Sigurðsson (born 20 January 1947), best known as Laddi, is an Icelandic comedian, actor, voice actor and entertainer known for comedy music and comedy acting. Laddi has dubbed many characters into Icelandic, in films and TV shows lik ...

*1974:

Hrafn Gunnlaugsson Hrafn Gunnlaugsson (born 17 June 1948) is an Icelandic film director. He is the brother of mathematician Þorvaldur Gunnlaugsson and the lawyer Snædís Gunnlaugsdóttir and the actress Tinna Gunnlaugsdóttir. He is mostly known for his series o ...

*1975: Tage Ammendrup *1976: Flosi Ólafsson *1977: Tage Ammendrup *1978:

Þórhildur Þorleifsdóttir Þórhildur Þorleifsdóttir (born 25 March 1945) is an Icelandic theater, opera, film and television director, actress, dancer, choreographer and politician. She was the artistic director of the Reykjavik City Theatre from 1996 to 2000. She w ...

*1979:

Sigríður Þorvaldsdóttir Sigríður is one of the most frequently given female names in Iceland. In 2004, it was ranked third behind Anna and Guðrún. According to Icelandic custom, people are generally referred to by first and middle names and patronyms are used only ...

*1980: Andrés Indriðason *1981:

Gísli Rúnar Jónsson Gísli Rúnar Jónsson (20 March 1953 – 28 July 2020) was an Icelandic actor, screenwriter and director. Early years Gísli was born in Reykjavík, Iceland in 1953 to parents Guðrún Valgerður Gísladóttir, a housewife and Jón Konrá� ...

*1982:

Þráinn Bertelsson Þráinn Bertelsson (born 30 November 1944) is an Icelandic film director, writer, politician, journalist and newspaper editor. He moved into politics during the 2008–2012 Icelandic financial crisis, and was elected a member of the Althing i ...

*1983: Laddi *1984:

Guðný Halldórsdóttir Guðný Halldórsdóttir (born 23 January 1954) is an Icelandic people, Icelandic film director and screenwriter. She has directed eight films since 1984, including ''Under the Glacier'' and ''The Honour of the House''. She wrote the screenplay ...

*1985:

Sigurður Sigurjónsson Sigurður Sigurjónsson, commonly referred to as Siggi Sigurjóns, is an Icelandic actor, comedian and screenwriter, best known as a member of the comedy group Spaugstofan. He has starred in a number of films and television series since the ...

*1986:

Karl Ágúst Úlfsson Karl Ágúst Úlfsson (born 4 November 1957) is an Icelandic director, actor and writer. He is best known for his acting in the ''Líf'' trilogy and with the comedy group Spaugstofan. Selected filmography * '' Nýtt Líf'' (1983) - Daníel Ól ...

*1987:

Sveinn Einarsson Sveinn Einarsson (born September 18, 1934) is most known for championing and cultivating professional theatre in Iceland. He was the stage director of more than 70 productions, operas, classics and modern plays, including several world premieres in ...

*1988: Gísli Snær Erlingsson *1989:

Stefán Baldursson Stefán is a common first name in Iceland. According to Icelandic custom, people are generally referred to by first and middle names and patronyms are used if disambiguation is required. ''Stefán'' is the Icelandic version of the Greek name Ste ...

*1990: Gísli Rúnar Jónsson *1991:

Ágúst Guðmundsson Ágúst Guðmundsson (born 29 June 1947) is an Icelandic film director and screenwriter. He studied French, Icelandic in Reykjavík and filmmaking at the National Film School in London. He has made many popular Icelandic films that have also bee ...

*1992: Þórhildur Þorleifsdóttir *1993: Guðný Halldórsdóttir *1994: Guðný Halldórsdóttir *1995: Ágúst Guðmundsson *1996: Ágúst Guðmundsson *1997: Viðar Víkingsson *1998: Laddi *1999:

Örn Árnason Örn Árnason (born 19 June 1959) is an Icelandic actor, comedian and screenwriter, best known as a member of the comedy group ''Spaugstofan''. He has starred in a number of films and television series since the 1980s, as well as acting in the ...

& Sigurður Sigurjónsson *2000: Þórhildur Þorleifsdóttir *2001:

Óskar Jónasson Óskar Jónasson (born 30 June 1963) is an Icelandic film director and screenwriter. His film ''Remote Control'' was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival. His most recent film '' Reykjavík-Rotterdam'' won ...

*2002: Óskar Jónasson *2003: Ágúst Guðmundsson *2004:

*2005: Edda Björgvinsdóttir *2006: Reynir Lyngdal *2007:

Ragnar Bragason Ragnar Bragason (born 15 September 1971) is an Icelandic film director, screenwriter and Film producer, producer. Life and career Droplaug was born in Súðavík, Iceland. He is best known for his films ''Children (2006 film), Börn'' (''Child ...

*2008:

Silja Hauksdóttir Silja Hauksdóttir (born 12 January 1976) is an Icelandic writer and film director. After studying philosophy at the University of Iceland, Silja took courses in screenwriting, directing and cinematography at FAMU in Prague and Binger Filmlab ...

*2009:

Gunnar Björn Guðmundsson Gunnar is a male first name of Nordic origin (''Gunnarr'' in Old Norse). The name Gunnar means fighter, soldier, and attacker, but mostly is referred to by the Viking saying which means Brave and Bold warrior (''gunnr'' "war" and ''arr'' "warrior ...

*2010: Gunnar Björn Guðmundsson *2011: Gunnar Björn Guðmundsson *2012: Gunnar Björn Guðmundsson *2013:

Kristófer Dignus Kristofer is a masculine first name. It is a variant of the name Christopher. People Kristofer Notable people with the name Kristofer include: *Kristofer Åström, Swedish singer-songwriter * Kristofer Berglund (born 1988), Swedish professio ...

*2014:

*2015: Kristófer Dignus *2016:

*2017:

Arnór Pálmi Arnarsson Arnor may refer to: People * Arnor Angeli, Belgian footballer * Arnór Guðjohnsen, Icelandic footballer * Arnór Borg Guðjohnsen, Icelandic footballer, his son * Arnór Hannibalsson, Icelandic philosopher, historian and translator * Arnór Ingvi ...

*2018: Arnór Pálmi Arnarsson *2019: Reynir Lyngdal *2020: Reynir Lyngdal *2021: Reynir Lyngdal *2022: Dóra Jóhannsdóttir *2023: Benedikt Valsson & Fannar Sveinsson

References

Icelandic comedy television series 1966 Icelandic television series debuts 1960s Icelandic television series 1970s Icelandic television series 1980s Icelandic television series 1990s Icelandic television series 2000s Icelandic television series 2010s Icelandic television series 2020s Icelandic television series {{Iceland-tv-prog-stub