Nightspots in Tromsø to Close on National Day in Protest Against Alcohol Trend

(Northern Lights) We recently entered the last month of spring, which means a bunch of red days and slightly warmer weather.

May also contains National Day, a day which in recent years has evolved into a day filled with alcohol – better known as champagne breakfast.

This has led to tremendous pressure at the nightspots during the day on 17 May. But you won’t find that pressure at Bastard and Misfit Bar in the south end of Tromsø city centre.

Pål Markussen, who is the manager of the nightspots, has decided to keep both bars closed that day.

– I think it has gone too far in the last couple of years with flat fill in the cityscape from breakfast time, mainly during the day. I think that is taking it too far on “children’s day”, says Markussen to Nordlys.

– How much do you lose from this?

– We haven’t bothered to make any estimates or historical deep dives to find out, but there will be some loss.

– Celebrate May 16!

This is not the first time that filling up on National Day has become a topic. In 2021, Carite Fønnebø in Solid dealt with the trend that has characterized the day for the past decade.

– I have never experienced such a thing on 17 May, because there were an extremely large number of drunken people. I want to go back to 2010, because then it wasn’t like that, she said at the time.

Nordlys has taken a tour of the other outdoor venues. The vast majority have planned to stay open, without Markussen not wanting to moralize those who do.

– Misfit and Bastard are mostly pure bars where alcohol is the main focus, and are therefore kept closed. We will keep Blårock open, he says.

Markussen would rather welcome guests on 16 May versus 17 May.

– We hope as many people as possible use 16 May to party and have fun, he says.

– People must be careful

Kaia Bar & Bistro, like many nightclubs, has not considered closing on 17 May, but has registered that alcohol consumption has increased on National Day in recent years.

– There are many people who behave themselves, but we notice that people, who started the day with a champagne breakfast, continue to drink themselves senseless into the evening. I don’t think much of that, says Richard Bellika, general manager at Kaia Bar & Bistro.

– There is something about the mix of children and adults that is not good at all. There are several times we have experienced adults getting so drunk that the children don’t recognize them. People must be careful, continues the daily manager.

Unpredictable month

May is the month that kickstarts the outdoor dining offer, which is welcome.

– April and September are the worst months when it comes to turnover, but May tends to be good, says Bellika.

I have looked at the numbers from last year and May is a good month and we expect the same this year, says Harry Granås, who stands for Jernbanen, Fun Pub and No.24.

– May is certainly a better month than March and April. If the weather is a bit nice, we also have a fantastic outdoor dining area, says Arthur Mack, who manages Prelaten, La Famiglia and Nyt.

Christina Andersen in Bardus experiences May and its many red days as an unpredictable month.

– It could be good, but it all depends on the weather and how people decide to spend the red days. If the weather is good, many people go to the cabin, for example, she says.

That opinion is shared by Håvard Robertsen in Huken Brygg.

– May is the month with the fewest tourists in Tromsø, so there are often fewer food and drink sales during the day. But in the evenings there tends to be a good atmosphere, he says.

Anne-Lise Hansen at Rorbua does not allow herself to be put off by all the days off in May.

I don’t care about red and gray days, we drive seven days a week, she says.

The vast majority of places have already started to get close to being fully booked on 17 May, but many also run exclusively drop-in on the big day.