The Leif Erikson Awards, sometimes referred to as the Exploration Awards, are awarded annually by the Exploration Museum in

Húsavík Húsavík () is a town in Norðurþing municipality on the northeast coast of Iceland on the shores of Skjálfandi bay with 2,485 inhabitants. The most famous landmark of the town is the wooden church Húsavíkurkirkja, built in 1907. Húsav� ...

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 ...

, for achievements in exploration and for work in the field of exploration history. They are awarded in three categories; to an explorer for a lifetime achievement in exploration; to a young explorer under the age of 35 for achievements in exploration; and to a person or an organization that has worked to promote and preserve exploration history. The Leif Erikson Awards are the main and final event of the annual Húsavík Explorers Festival. They were first awarded in 2015. The awards are named for Icelandic explorer

Leif Erikson Leif Erikson, also known as Leif the Lucky (), was a Norsemen, Norse explorer who is thought to have been the first European to set foot on continental Americas, America, approximately half a millennium before Christopher Columbus. According ...

, considered as the first European to land in North America and who, according to the

Sagas of Icelanders The sagas of Icelanders (, ), also known as family sagas, are a subgenre, or text group, of Icelandic Saga, sagas. They are prose narratives primarily based on historical events that mostly took place in Iceland in the ninth, tenth, and earl ...

, established the first Norse settlement at Vinland, tentatively identified with the Norse L'Anse aux Meadows on the northern tip of Newfoundland in modern-day Canada. Two former Presidents of Iceland,

Guðni Th. Jóhannesson Guðni Thorlacius Jóhannesson (; born 26 June 1968) is an Icelandic historian and politician who served as the sixth president of Iceland from 2016 to 2024. A historian, Guðni was a professor at the University of Iceland before running for pr ...

and

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.

, have presented the awards.

Scientific Committee

The winners of the Leif Erikson awards are voted by the members of the Exploration Museum's Scientific Committee. The committee is appointed for one year by the board of the museum, except for the chairperson, who is the winner of the previous year's Exploration History Award.

Recipients

The 2015 Leif Erikson Awards were announced by the

President of Iceland The president of Iceland () is the head of state of Iceland. The incumbent is Halla Tómasdóttir, who won the 2024 Icelandic presidential election, 2024 presidential election. The president is not involved in the running of the country, bu ...

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.

, on 9 July at the

Reykjavík University Reykjavík University (RU; , , ) is the largest private university in Iceland with approximately 3,300 students. It is Charter school, chartered by the Chamber of Commerce, the Federation of Icelandic Industries, and the Confederation of Icelandi ...

Auditorium. The 2016 Leif Erikson Awards were announced by the

, on 22 October at the Explorers Festival in Húsavík. The 2017 Leif Erikson Awards were presented by BBC World News Anchor

Babita Sharma Babita Sharma (born April 1977) is a British television newsreader who worked on the domestic BBC News Channel and BBC World News, presenting the Newsday strand each Monday to Wednesday from London with Rico Hizon in Singapore. Sharma stopped p ...

, on 23 September at the Explorers Festival in Húsavík. The 2018 Leif Erikson Awards were presented by Around the world pilot and News Anchor Amelia Rose Earhart, on 23 September at the Explorers Festival in Húsavík. The 2019 Leif Erikson Awards were presented by Exploration Museum founder Orly Orlyson, on 19 October at the Explorers Festival in Húsavík. The 2020 Leif Erikson Awards were presented by Exploration Museum founder Orly Orlyson, on 15 August via a live-stream from the Explorers Festival in Húsavík.

Explorers Festival

The Leif Erikson Awards are the main event of the annual Húsavík Explorers Festival. The festival was first held in 2015 with events in

and

Reykjavík Reykjavík is the Capital city, capital and largest city in Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland on the southern shore of Faxaflói, the Faxaflói Bay. With a latitude of 64°08′ N, the city is List of northernmost items, the worl ...

. The format of the festival took shape in 2016 and has stayed the same since, with the festival consisting of short expeditions and outdoor activities around Húsavík, young explorers workshops, talks by explorers, concerts, film screenings and art exhibitions.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Erikson Awards Geography awards Exploration of the Moon Icelandic awards Awards established in 2015 Húsavík Leif Erikson

Scientific Committee

Recipients

Explorers Festival

See also

References