The Exploration Museum has announced that the 12th Explorers Festival will take place in Húsavík from the 19th to 22nd of November 2026, bringing together explorers, scientists, filmmakers, historians and adventurers from around the world. Since its launch in 2015, the annual event has grown into an international gathering celebrating exploration in all its forms, from polar expeditions and archaeology to ocean research and space exploration.
This year’s festival will feature its largest-ever film programme, with 30 exploration-themed films and documentaries, alongside lectures from leading explorers and researchers. Highlights include a panel discussion on Space Law, the fourth Iceland GeoSpace field training programme inspired by the Apollo astronauts’ geology training in Iceland, and an exclusive preview of a new documentary about an unknown 1985 North Pole expedition of Neil Armstrong and Sir Edmund Hillary.
The festival will also host exhibitions, networking events and the presentation of the annual Leif Erikson Awards. “The Explorers Festival was created to celebrate the people who continually push the boundaries of human knowledge,” said festival director Orly Orlyson. The full programme, including speakers, film selections and ticket information, will be announced in the coming weeks.
