Eclipse festival paid nearly 17 million krónur for policing

The Iceland Eclipse festival paid nearly 17 million krónur for police services at its event in Hellissandur in August, mbl.is reports. Event organiser Jón Bjarni Steinsson says police do not consult event organisers on the charges, despite a regulation requiring consultation.

The payment was part of a bill that West Iceland Police initially intended to charge the festival for policing: 38 million krónur. Heimildin reported that police districts in South Iceland and West Iceland received a total of 47 million krónur for policing three events this summer, including the eclipse festival.

Steinsson, a restaurateur and event organiser who runs two venues in Reykjavík, said the charges had been increasing over time. He said he could not understand how police calculate the costs and believed the rising fees were contributing to a decline in the number of events. There is no nationally standardised fee schedule for policing at events.

Regulation 1277/2016, covering restaurants, accommodation and entertainment, says the state generally pays for policing at events. Organisers of events where admission is sold must reimburse police chiefs for additional policing costs beyond what is considered reasonable. The regulation also excludes some events, including non-commercial municipal festivals and youth and sports events that do not charge admission.

The regulation says police must consult applicants when setting charges and apply proportionality, so organisers are not burdened with unreasonable costs. It also requires consistent treatment of comparable cases. Steinsson and other event organisers say those requirements are not being met.

Steinsson worked at Reykjavík’s Secret Solstice festival for several years and helped organise its final edition in 2019. He recalled that at some point the policing costs suddenly became excessive, while saying he understood that police charged for some of their work.