Lava Show Celebrates Its Eighth Anniversary

On 3 September 2026, Lava Show celebrates eight years since the world’s first live lava show opened its doors in Vík. What began as an ambitious Icelandic idea has grown into an internationally recognised experience that has welcomed hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the world.

On 3 September 2018, the first Lava Show opened in Vík, with room for just 50 guests. There was no blueprint to follow. The founders and their team had developed an entirely new way to melt real Icelandic lava and allow it to flow safely in front of an audience. It wasn‘t easy!

Eight years later, Lava Show operates in both Vík and Reykjavík, employs more than 30 people and has become one of Iceland’s most distinctive visitor experiences.

Inspired by a Real Volcanic Eruption

The idea behind Lava Show was born during the 2010 Fimmvörðuháls eruption. Founders Ragnhildur Ágústsdóttir and Júlíus Ingi Jónsson witnessed an extraordinary lavafall cascading approximately 200 metres down a mountainside.

Lava Show founders Ragnhildur Ágústsdóttir, known as Lady Lava, and Júlíus Ingi Jónsson, known as Mr. Lava Lava, celebrate eight years of bringing real molten lava to audiences.

The sight inspired a bold question: could people experience real flowing lava safely, up close and throughout the year?

Turning that idea into reality required years of experimentation and technical development. Lava Show created its own methods, specialised equipment and custom-built furnaces capable of transforming solid volcanic rock into glowing molten lava at approximately 1,100°C.

The result was something that had never existed before: the world’s only live Lava Show, combining Icelandic nature, science, engineering, education and entertainment in one unforgettable experience.

The Vík premises before and after their transformation into the world’s first live lava show, which opened on 3 September 2018.

Eight Years of Innovation and Growth

• Since the first show in Vík, Lava Show has continued to grow and develop:

• 2018: The first Lava Show opens in Vík, with seating for 50 guests.

• 2019: Lava Show receives funding from the Icelandic Technology Development Fund.

• 2021: Lava Show receives the Icelandic Travel Industry Innovation Award.

• 2022: Lava Show Reykjavík opens in the Grandi harbour district.

• 2024/25: The Vík showroom is expanded, increasing its capacity to 65 guests.

• 2025: Lava Academy launches, featuring a podcast and in-depth articles about geology, volcanoes and Iceland’s volcanic history.

• 2025: A new gift shop and online store open, showcasing products inspired by Icelandic lava and volcanic nature.

• 2025: An AI-powered website assistant is introdued

• 2026: A second Reykjavík showroom opens, significantly increasing the company’s capacity in the capital, and making Lava Show the perfect event venue.

• 2026: Lava Show is named an Excellent Company by Creditinfo.

Along the way, Lava Show has received numerous international honours, including Tripadvisor’s prestigious Best of the Best award for two consecutive years.

Lava Master Neil Adams demonstrates the behaviour of real molten lava for guests at Lava Show Reykjavík.

An Icelandic Innovation with Global Appeal

At the heart of Lava Show remains an original Icelandic innovation.

The lava used in every show comes from the 1918 eruption of Katla, one of Iceland’s most powerful volcanoes. The volcanic rock is heated until it becomes molten again and is then poured into a specially designed showroom, where guests can see it flow, hear it crackle and feel its intense heat from a safe distance.

The same lava can be melted repeatedly, making it a reusable material. In Reykjavík, the furnaces are powered by methane produced from food waste by SORPA. This renewable fuel burns efficiently and helps reduce the environmental impact of producing the show. Learn more about Sustainability at Lava Show.

Lava Show has also found new ways to transform Icelandic lava into meaningful keepsakes. Jewellery designed and produced using Icelandic lava has become popular with visitors, as have lava fragments created during the shows. Explore our lava themed products.

Geologist Kristín Jónsdóttir joins Ragnhildur Ágústsdóttir and Iain MacKinnon to record a Lava Academy Podcast episode about monitoring Iceland’s volcanoes.

Bringing Volcanology and Geology to Life

Lava Show is more than a spectacle. Every performance introduces guests to Iceland’s volcanic history and explains the geological processes taking place beneath the country.

By allowing visitors to witness the behaviour of real molten lava, the experience makes geology tangible, accessible and exciting. It helps improve scientific understanding while inspiring curiosity about volcanoes, eruptions and the natural forces that continue to shape Iceland.

This combination of education and entertainment has been central to Lava Show from the beginning.

Lava Show’s second Reykjavík showroom opened in 2026, increasing capacity for more guests to experience real molten lava in Iceland’s capital.

Thank You for Eight Incredible Years

Lava Show’s journey would not have been possible without the dedication of its team, the support of Iceland’s tourism industry, our partners and, above all, the hundreds of thousands of guests who have experienced the show in Vík and Reykjavík.

As Lava Show celebrates its eighth anniversary, the original ambition remains unchanged: to give people from around the world the extraordinary opportunity to experience real flowing lava safely and to leave with a deeper understanding of Iceland’s volcanic nature.

Thank you for sharing the heat, the wonder and the journey with us.

The fire is still burning—and this is only the beginning.