Smári and Linda recall opening Smáralind as children

Smári Páll Svavarsson, now a plumber, and Linda Margrét Gunnarsdóttir, now a cattle-breeding adviser, were 11 and nine when they opened the Smáralind shopping centre on October 10, 2001. They spoke to mbl.is about the ceremony 25 years later.

The opening took place at 10.10am. Smári was the only pupil named Smári at Smáraskóli, while Linda was the only Linda at Lindaskóli. A woman from Smáralind approached their families, and the children later attended meetings ahead of the event.

“It was a pretty surreal moment, but it was fun,” Smári said. He recalled standing before a crowd and giving an interview to Bylgjan. He now lives in central Reykjavík and visits the shopping centre from time to time, though he said he did not feel a particular attachment to it.

Linda, who lives in Hörgársveit in northern Iceland, said she enjoyed the day. The children were given time off school, and she remembers watching the escalators and revolving doors start up. She said it was fun to get to operate them.

The opening was held in what was then called Vetrargarðurinn, where a food hall and other businesses are now located. The surrounding area had undergone rapid development, and the landscape had changed substantially since the years before the shopping centre was built.