Lerwick Up Helly Aa 2025 procession

Every year, on the last Tuesday in January, over a thousand guizers line the streets of Lerwick's Hillhead to take part in the annual Up Helly Aa fire festival. This short video shows the torchlit procession in all its glory. Leading the parade is Guizer Jarl Calum Grains, the elected Viking chief, alongside his 60-strong squad of Viking warriors. The procession culminates in the burning of the Jarl's Viking galley (longship). Lerwick Up Helly Aa is the biggest of Shetland's 11 community fire festivals and attracts spectators from all over the world.