In Reykjavík, the church steps were painted in the colors of the Icelandic flag
At the Grafarvogur Lutheran Church in Reykjavík, someone painted over 16 steps decorated in the colors of Progress Pride and the Icelandic flag. This occurred during the night between July 7 and 8, according to The Guardian World.
The steps were painted with rainbow stripes, as well as white, pink, blue, brown, and black elements of the Progress Pride flag. The project was initiated by the church’s former senior pastor, Gudrun Karls Helgudottir—who is now the Bishop of Iceland—and her colleagues. According to the current senior pastor, Arna Sigurðardóttir, the design was intended to express support for LGBTQ+ people and their need to be visible and accepted.
The staircase had already been vandalized twice in 2022. One of those incidents was accompanied by black graffiti referencing a Bible verse from the Old Testament. This time, all the colors were painted over with blue, white, and red—the colors of the Icelandic flag.
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Sigurdardottir said that this latest incident seemed more systematic and methodical to her than the previous ones. In her opinion, this may reflect a broader backlash against human rights that is beginning to be associated with national flags.
Althingi member Ása Berglind Jalmarsdóttir said that, until about last year, she could not recall any instances of the Icelandic flag being used in a confrontational context. In the spring of 2025, she witnessed an anti-immigration protest near the parliament building, where participants, she said, had wrapped themselves in national flags. She described them as a small group of extremists.
In May, amendments to the rules governing the use of the Icelandic flag, passed by Parliament, went into effect. Since then, the flag has been allowed to be displayed around the clock during the summer. Jalmarsdóttir initiated the relaxation of the restrictions so that more people would use the flag and it would not be appropriated by a single political movement. The church decided to reinstate the Pride colors on the steps, and Sigurdardottir plans to hold a discussion this fall with people who oppose this display.
