A giant experience

Whales of Iceland is an exhibition of 23 life-size whale models which formally opened earlier this evening in Reykjavik. The project has taken two years to complete at a cost of around ISK 100 million (approx. €670,000). The creator and manager of Whales of Iceland, Hörður Bender, explains the rationale behind the exhibition: “Iceland is the most likely place in the world to actually spot whales on whale-watching tours. It seems only right to set up a collection in their honour here.”

Greater market share

According to Bender, some 30% of the tourists visiting Iceland choose to take a whale-watching tour. There is therefore reason to expect that many would want to come and see the whales displayed. “We hope that the exhibition will foster interest in the whales themselves and attract to Iceland a larger share of the 30 million tourists who go whale-watching in various parts of the world each year,” he adds.

Exhaustive collection

The 2,000m² exhibition hall contains models of every species of whale ever seen off Icelandic shores.

Each model is accompanied by detailed bilingual descriptions of the species and interactive screens throughout the exhibitions give information on whale life in general. The project is run in cooperation with whale-watching companies and co-funded by the Icelandic Tourism Fund and Bender himself. The exhibition is located at Fiskislóð 23, Reykjavik. More information is available on the Whales of Iceland website.