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Ambitious plans are afoot in York to host the world’s largest online Viking festival. That JORVIK Viking Thing will take place from 15 – 20 February 2021 and features chart-topping music, livestreamed events for all ages, virtual tours and the first ever 360 degree immersive video of JORVIK Viking Centre’s world-famous ride through Viking-age York. With the annual JORVIK Viking Festival – the largest Viking festival in Europe – unable to take place in the on-going pandemic, organisers from York Archaeological Trust have been working on creating the brand new online festival based on the concept of the ‘Thing’ – a Viking public assembly, with six days of exclusive new online content, live broadcasts and culminating with an evening with Einar Selvik, the Nordic folk composer and musician whose band’s latest album, Kvitran by Wardruna, hit the top of the iTunes album chart last week. Best-selling children’s authors have also given their support to That JORVIK Viking Thing, with Cressida Cowell, Francesca Simon, Hilary Robinson, David MacPhail, Robert J Harris and Paul Tillery IV all recording extracts from their Norse-themed children’s books. The JORVIKanory videos will be available throughout the week, as will a series of podcasts, one of which features Horrible Histories author, Terry Deary. A virtual tour of JORVIK Viking Centre by Dr Chris Tuckley is proving incredibly popular, when he’ll leave the time capsules behind to walk visitors around the attraction, pointing out some of the incredible detail – based upon real archaeological evidence – that went into reconstructing the past. Other online content available for the first time includes a series of ‘Meet the Vikings’ films, exploring crafts, weapons, food and many other aspects of Viking life, a fun adventure with the hapless Arnor, as he hunts around his village for a lost ring, and two live Twitch sessions where experts review Norse-themed computer games from 1984’s Viking Raiders to 2020’s Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla to test authenticity and fun! A chapter from a traditional Viking saga, The Saga of Refr The Sly, will be released each day to encourage visitors to return. With JORVIK Viking Festival normally taking place during the school holidays, the education team from York Archaeological Trust has taken the opportunity to create a special preview event, That JORVIK Viking Thing: School’s Week, which runs from 8-12 February, and offers free content, including twice daily livestreamed presentations, for schools and home educators across the world. Much of the pre-recorded content of That JORVIK Viking Thing will go live on at 10am on Monday 15 February and will remain accessible until midnight on Sunday 21 February at jorvikthing.com. Tickets for the paid-for events are available to purchase now. Visitors to That JORVIK Viking Thing are also able to donate to York Archaeological Trust online. That JORVIK Viking Thing is organised by York Archaeological Trust, the registered charity which owns and operates York’s JORVIK Viking Centre.
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