Tromsø residents outraged by hotel’s bright red lighting test

A bold red light display from Tromsø’s Scandic Ishavshotell has sparked strong reactions, with locals comparing the city centre to a “red light district,” *Nordlys* and *Dagbladet* report.

The intense red illumination, visible across much of Tromsø—including from Tromsdalen and the top of Tromsøya—prompted swift backlash on social media. One resident, Steinar Grønnås, posted a photo on the Facebook page *Tromsøsida* with the caption: *”What on earth—have we got a new brothel in town? Lighting’s fine, but there have to be limits. Where are the comments from the town’s grumpiest folks?”* Others echoed the sentiment, questioning whether the city had unintentionally adopted Amsterdam’s infamous red-light aesthetic.

Grønnås, who has lived in the area for 20 years, told *Dagbladet* the light was unusually strong. *”I’d never seen anything like it. It got annoying when you were sitting out in the winter garden,”* he said. *”Since the light was red, I realised it wasn’t work lighting. I wondered if it was permanent and just thought, ‘Oh no.’”*

The hotel has since clarified that the display was a test of new lighting designed to complement Scandic’s red-branded logo. Technical manager Trond Erik Grådal admitted the intensity was unintended. *”We wanted nice lighting around the building, but it became too powerful,”* he said, adding that an electrician was adjusting the levels to reduce light pollution. *”We’ve received lots of comments and emails. I apologise for how intense it was—we’ll tone it down so it looks good.”*

Grønnås, while describing himself as easygoing, welcomed the apology. *”Hopefully they’ll dim the lights now that it’s been in the papers. The light could be nice if combined with something else,”* he said. *”But a red strip around the building doesn’t say ‘Scandic’ to me—it says something else entirely. Maybe not the best association for attracting guests.”*