Europe's news in English

COPY LINK

UTØYA

Utøya to host first youth camp since 2011 attack

Norway’s Labour Party Youth League (AUF) on Wednesday outlined its plans for the first annual summer camp on the island of Utøya since 2011, when mass-murderer Anders Behring Breivik unleashed a brutal gun massacre at the event, killing 69 people.

Published: 25 February 2015 21:27 CET

Utøya to host first youth camp since 2011 attack

The planned memorial point on Utøya. Photo: AUF

The planned camp will have the theme of International Solidarity and will take place from August 7th to August 9th, with speeches from Jonas Gahr Støre, the leader of Norway’s Labour Party, amongst others.

“To rebuild and get back to Utøya shows that the terrorist did not win,” AUF President Mani Hussaini told Sveriges Radio. “We will continue to celebrate and fight for the same ideals that were attacked on July 22nd 2011.”

Until Breivik’s attack, the annual camp on Utøya had been a rite of passage for ambitious young, left-of-centre Norwegians, a place where they could discuss ideas, build contacts, and have fun with like-minded young people from across the country.

“Some of my best memories come from Utøya,” Hussaini said in a message to other AUF members on the organization’s website, listing some great things which had happened to him on the island. “This summer new memories will be created at the summer camp on Utøya.”

He encouraged his colleagues not to let the terrible events which had happened on the island stop them enjoying themselves.

“Most who are going to summer camp on Utøya in 2015 were not there in 2011,” he said. “I am one of them. But remember that it is allowed to enjoy yourself. Myself, I plan to enjoy myself massively.”

The summer camp will be preceded by a two-day memorial on the island to mark the anniversary of Breivik’s attacks, when people will be allowed to pay their respects to the dead.

Then in the Autumn the AUF plans to host a conference for youth parties from all Norway’s mainstream political parties.

Today in Norway: A roundup of the latest news on Tuesday

Oslo Operahus .Photo by Arvid Malde on Unsplash

Only one in ten Norwegians plan to travel abroad this summer

Around ten percent of people in Norway are planning to take a holiday abroad this summer, according to a survey carried out by tourism organisation NHO Reiseliv.

Seven out of ten respondents said they still plan to holiday in Norway this year, even if they receive a vaccination before the holidays start.

READ MORE: ‘My arguments didn’t matter’: How I ended up in a hotel quarantine in Norway

Viken and Vestland are this year’s most popular travel destinations for Norwegians planning a “staycation”. Young people were the most likely to want to remain in Norway this summer. Just under half of those aged between 18 and 29 said they wished to stay in Norway this summer.

Third of Utøya survivors have received abuse or threats

A third of Utøya survivors have been victims of hate speech or received threats, according to a new survey.

Three-quarters of respondents said that the reason they received the abuse was linked directly to the Utøya terror attack, the Norwegian Centre for Violence and Traumatic Studies (NKVTS) found.

The massacre on Utøya was the second of two terror attacks carried out by Anders Breivik on July 22nd, 2011. Of the 69 people who died in the attack, 32 were under the age of 18.

Fewer in Oslo willing to ditch cars

A climate survey carried out by the city of Oslo has shown that fewer people than before are willing to cut back on using their cars. The proportion of those who think that Oslo city centre should be car-free has fallen to 45 percent from 52 percent last year.

READ ALSO: Could Norway introduce mandatory inbuilt car breathalysers

When asked whether Oslo City Council had gone too far in removing cars from the city centre, almost half said that they believed that this was the case.

“A change in the attitude around these measures may be due to more people feeling dependent on cars during the pandemic. There has been a lot of debate about measures that have been introduced or are planned to be introduced,” Heidi Sørensen, Director of the Climate Agency, told the Dagsavisen newspaper

Tighter Coronavirus measures in Trondheim

Gyms, museums and swimming pools have been closed, and alcohol service in hospitality has been stopped in Trondheim. The new measures come barely a week after restrictions were last tightened.

“We need to shut down most of Trondheim to get control. It is only days since we last tightened measures, but we are in a situation where we must take even stronger action,” Morten Wolden, the municipal director for Trondheim, told state broadcaster NRK.

Norway reports 292 new Covid-19 cases

On Monday, 292 new coronavirus infections were registered in Norway. This is a drop of 52 compared to the seven-day average of 344.

In Oslo, 48 cases were recorded, an increase of two on the capital’s seven day average of 46.

The R-number or reproduction rate in Norway is currently 1.0. This means that every ten people that are infected, will, on average, only infect another ten people, indicating that the infection level is stable.

Total number of Covid-19 cases so far. Source: NIPH

Url copied to clipboard!