5 summer solstice celebrations in the northern hemisphere

18.06.2024 - 15:23 / lonelyplanet.com / queen Victoria

Jun 17, 2024 • 3 min read

For some countries, the summer solstice marks the official start of summer, when the longest day – and shortest night – of the year is a time for revelry, steeped in local culture and history. 

In 2024, the official solstice falls on June 20, but these celebrations in the northern hemisphere run from June 20 to June 23. Here are some of the unique ways this event is marked.

The purpose of the impressive boulder formations of Stonehenge may still be cloaked in mystery, but they serve as the perfect backdrop of a phenomenal – and arguably the most famous – observation of sunrise and sunset. Believed to be the site of ancient Druid solstice celebrations, visitors have flocked to the site for years. 

One-day access to the inner prehistoric stone circle allows travelers to face what’s known as the Heel Stone to catch the sunrise over the giant boulder.

As the popularity of the free event grew, thousands of people have been known to camp out nearby (no camping is permitted at the site) days in advance while donning traditional Celtic attire. English Heritage live streams the event on its YouTube channel, so you can tune in from wherever you are in the world. It will start with sunset on the evening of Thursday, June 20, and sunrise on Friday, June 21.

A diversity of cultures is represented in Ottawa’s three-day Summer Solstice Indigenous Festival, which runs June 21 to 23 this year, fusing the longest day of the year with National Indigenous Peoples Day on June 21. The area was the traditional territory of the Algonquin people before Queen Victoria declared Ottawa Canada’s capital.

During the festival, there's food by celebrated Indigenous chefs, traditional costumes and cultural events. A visually captivating Pow Wow that brings out the best talent in the surrounding areas, all vying for $75,000 in prizes. Admission is free, but there is a fee for events and workshops.

About one-third of the state of Alaska lies north of the Arctic Circle, therefore a solstice celebration can be found pretty much wherever you land. Up north, Fairbanks goes for good old Americana with the Alaska Goldpanners hosting the Midnight Sun Baseball Game, a tradition since the town’s beginnings in 1906. The game kicks off at 10pm and pauses close to midnight for the singing of the Alaska Flag Song.

A little further south, Anchorage gets 22 hours of daylight, and they use all of them with the Anchorage Mayor’s Marathon and Half Marathon on June 22, with the event in 2024 marking the marathon's 50th year.

Midsummer in Sweden is sweet with romance, with traditional maypole dancing and gathering wildflowers for floral crowns. Tradition states that if you place seven types of flowers under your pillow at Midsummer, you