Thousands of tourists are expected to descend upon the Faroe Islands in order to see the solar eclipse later this month.
As long as the sky remains relatively clear, at 9:41am on 20 March the north Atlantic archipelago will be one of just two places in the world the eclipse will be able to be viewed, and tourists don’t want to miss out on the opportunity.
More people from Denmark will flock to the Faroese than form any other country, but the island nation will also welcome visitors from as far away as the US, Japan and Australia who are arriving by plane or by boat to take in the spectacular phenomenon.
Giving an indication of just how popular the event is proving, some 885 people from Denmark have booked ferry tickets with DFDS Seaways ship Princess Seaways, which sets sail from Rotterdam to the northeastern English city of Newcastle before sailing on to the Faroe Islands.
Hjorring Travel Centre owner Erik Fey, who chartered to ferry with a Faroese partner, said that people were “wild” for the experience, adding that even if they had seen a solar eclipse before they wanted to see another. He noted that although weather could be unreliable in the Faroese, sunshine was predicted.
It’s not just tourists making their way to the Faroese, with the BBC, CNN and Danish media all sending crews too.