Not just a festival in the Faroe Islands

Situated between the Faroe Islands’ lush valleys and the surrounding Atlantic Ocean is the tiny fjord-side village of Gøta, home to 400 people, all set to embrace the eclectic beats of the annual G! Festival, taking place on 17, 18 and 19 July. Stages will be erected on Gøta’s beach and football pitch, the surrounding green fields will turn into campsites and the villagers will throw open their doors to visitors, both local and international, and offer bed and breakfast accommodation.

New G! Festival packages are launching this year, costing from £541 pp (two sharing) including flights with Atlantic Airways, four nights’ BB accommodation with a family and a G! Festival pass. Camping packages cost from £450 pp.

This year’s line-up includes Faroese vocalist Eivør, who sings in Faroese, Icelandic and English about love, loss, memories, freedom and nature, Faroese rock artist Marius Ziska, who secured a German record deal at last year’s G! and who experiments with all kinds of acoustic instruments, Swedish pop star Karin Park, who creates startling performances of her increasingly electronic music, produced these days by Christoffer Berg, known for his work with Massive Attack, and up-and-coming Icelander Ásgeir Trausti, a singer/songwriter whose debut album Dyrd i Daudathogn sold faster than any other Icelandic artist’s album in the country.

Enhancing the line-up are the spectacular surroundings of this North Atlantic archipelago that was formed 50-60 million years ago. Picture black volcanic rock, green mountains, undulating valleys, waterfalls and streams; imagine huge sea-cliffs forming a backdrop to the call of screaming seabirds, the ever-changing light, reflected from the ocean, and the flickering shadows of the clouds dancing on the hills.

During the G! Festival, hear and feel the music of home-grown talent, spend time with the welcoming locals who can recount stories of the trolls and elves with which they share these magical islands and go walking through scenery reminiscent of a fairy-tale setting. Potter about in the tiny capital of Tórshavn with its ninth-century grass-roofed buildings, visit an island inhabited by just eight people and teeming with thousands of puffins or go sailing through magnificent gorges into sea caves.

For further information or to book G! Festival packages, visit 62n.fo gfestival.com visitfaroeislands.com.

For tailor-made packages to the Faroe Islands, book with Sunvil Discovery sunvil.co.uk.