Norway celebrates National Day with small drone drama and salute trouble in Bergen

The king was in place on the balcony and most things are as normal on 17 May. In Bergen, there was a bit of salute trouble – and Oslo was affected by a small drone drama.

Read also: Cannon trouble in Bergen

The king in shape

The big moment of excitement before this year’s celebration was whether King Harald would be healthy enough to continue the tradition of standing on the castle balcony with his family and waving to the children’s train in Oslo.

The king has recently been admitted to Rikshospitalet and was on sick leave for the last few days. But on Monday the news came that he was declared healthy again.

At 10.30 on 17 May he was back on the balcony. He has waved and smiled at the crowds and apparently been in a good mood throughout the day. On the balcony are also the queen, the crown prince couple and Prince Sverre Magnus. Princess Ingrid Alexandra has been exempted this year since she is a Russian.

Police action against drone tourist

However, it was not completely undramatic in Slottsparken.

Suddenly an American tourist in his 20s appeared and started flying the drone. The police were quickly on the scene and got control of him.

– He landed it quickly and controlled it without anyone getting hurt, says operations manager Gjermund Stokkli in the Oslo police district to NTB.

The drone was seized, and it is uncertain whether the pilot will be able to bring it home to the United States.

The penalty for defying the drone ban in central Oslo is fines of up to NOK 12,000, the police say.

Earlier on 17 May, the police took to Twitter with a general warning against drone flights in the capital on National Day.

Read also: This is how the celebrities celebrated at the Grand Hotel

Grandma and the Russian girls

But it is not just in Oslo that the party is in full swing.

Address newspaper writes about grandmother Rannveig Henning Skaufel (74) who recently drove from Steinkjer to Trondheim to spend time with her granddaughter and her Russian friends.

On 17 May, she is back in town.

– I will hang out with them throughout the day, says the grandmother.

Read also: Ukraine’s parliament leader: – Hope the day will come when we can invite to a celebration

Fire controversy and defective cannon

In Bergen, the Brann players were on the train – a matter that has been hotly discussed in recent days. Many believed beforehand that the players should take it easy, since they will play the cup final against Lillestrøm on Saturday.

But the Brann players let the criticism bounce off them, and in the morning Bård Finne and his teammates were out in the streets to meet the people.

National Day did not start as planned in Bergen, as the traditional salute from the Skansen fire station had to end abruptly.

The cannons were supposed to fire 21 shots, but after three shots it suddenly stopped.

– We have problems with the cannons, so we have to stop there, said salute commander Christine Hauge Kristoffersen to those present, according to The Bergen newspaper.

Princess bus at the opera

In Asker, 17 May started as usual with the Crown Prince’s family greeting the children’s train outside Skaugum. There, too, the princess shone with her absence, since she has been exempted from her official duties.

A couple of hours earlier, however, the Russian bus to the princess was observed at the Opera in Oslo, where many Russians had gathered to party.

It is uncertain whether she was there herself, but a car from the police escort was present

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Some noise

Although the celebration went well among the Russians in Oslo, there was a riot when 90 Russian buses and 2,000 Russians gathered at Romerike early in the morning, writes Romerikes Blad.

There have also been episodes of violence and drunkenness throughout the day elsewhere in the country.

In Halden, the police reported several fights with drunken people at a restaurant in the morning. No one was seriously injured.

There was also a fight at the Burger King in Tista center in Hamar. Neither did it end with serious injuries.

Hand gang in Vennesla

In Vennesla there was a scuffle between several people at Moseidmoen.

The police and fire brigade went to a fire in Steinkjer, where a dog was rescued.

In Ålesund, according to NRK, 10,000 tourists took part in the May 17 celebrations as two large cruise ships had docked there.

In Dokka, a motorist probably mistook the gas and brake pedals and swept straight into a garden. A man in his 50s was reported after that toll trip.

Early on Wednesday morning, a woman in her 60s died when a fire started in an older wooden house in Larvik.

(©NTB)