Up Helly Aa 2027: Lerwick on Jan. 26, Plus 7 More Fire Festivals

Up Helly Aa 2027 is on Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2027 in Lerwick, Shetland, according to the Lerwick Up Helly Aa Committee, and the procession lights up at 19:30 Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), which is 2:30 p.m. ET. Seven more Shetland fire festivals have 2027 dates on Shetland.org, run by Promote Shetland, from Scalloway on Friday, Jan. 8 to Bressay on Friday, Mar. 5. The tables below put all eight dates and the Lerwick day’s clock times side by side, and a free printable list follows them.

Shetland fire festival dates in 2027

The Lerwick date and the rule behind it come from the committee: the festival “takes place in Lerwick, Shetland, on the last Tuesday in January every year.” The other seven dates are from each festival’s page on Shetland.org. The weekdays are computed by Fresh Calendars.

Festival	2027 date	What the official page says
Scalloway	Fri., Jan. 8	Torch procession; galley burned at Scalloway Boating Club
Lerwick	Tue., Jan. 26	Date and programme from the Lerwick Up Helly Aa Committee
Nesting and Girlsta	Fri., Feb. 5	Date only
Uyeasound, Unst	Fri., Feb. 12	Date only
Northmavine	Fri., Feb. 19	“Traditionally takes place on the third Friday in February”
Cullivoe, Yell	Fri., Feb. 26	Galley taken to the marina and burned
Norwick, Unst	Sat., Feb. 27	Procession to the beach and burning
Bressay	Fri., Mar. 5	Torch procession, galley burned, hall dance

Lerwick Junior Up Helly Aa is held the same day, Jan. 26, according to Shetland.org. South Mainland, Delting and Walls also hold fire festivals, but their 2027 dates are not yet posted on Shetland.org, so none is given here. NorthLink Ferries’ guide lists Norwick on Mar. 6, while Shetland.org lists Feb. 27; the table uses the official Shetland.org date, so check it again before you travel.

What time is Lerwick Up Helly Aa on Jan. 26?

The committee’s 2027 programme gives times in the 24-hour clock. Shetland keeps GMT in January, and ET is GMT minus 5 hours, so the ET column is our conversion.

Time (GMT)	Time in ET	Programme item
06:00	1 a.m.	The Bill is at the Market Cross, until 17:00 (noon ET)
08:15	3:15 a.m.	Leave Islesburgh Community Centre and march down King Harald Street towards Toll Clock Shopping centre
09:40	4:40 a.m.	Leave British Legion and march along Esplanade and Commercial Street, pausing at the Bill at Market Cross
10:30	5:30 a.m.	Depart Bressay Ferry Terminal for civic reception
15:30	10:30 a.m.	Visit Shetland Museum
19:30	2:30 p.m.	Procession lights up on the Hillhead, below the Town Hall
21:15	4:15 p.m.	Visit first hall of evening

The galley, the committee says, remains at the Bressay Ferry Terminal once it arrives, until 18:00 (1 p.m. ET). Shetland.org says a signal rocket bursts over Lerwick Town Hall at 7.30pm. The committee’s page gives no time for the galley burning, which follows the procession, so none is listed here.

Who is the 2027 Guizer Jarl?

Not yet known. The committee’s website says that information “will be added to this website after the event. It is a secret until then!” For reference, the committee records that the 2026 Guizer Jarl was Lynden Nicolson, who portrayed Knut The Great.

Shetland News and Scottish Television (STV) News both reported on June 22, 2022 that Lerwick squads would include women when the festival returned in January 2023. STV said women and girls would be invited to join in “for the first time.”

Tickets for the Lerwick halls and the exhibition

The 2027 ticket details are not announced. The committee’s 2026 values: Lerwick Town Hall tickets were “£50 per ticket,” the event ran from 9:00 PM to 9:00 AM, doors opened at 8:30 PM, and applications for 2026 opened in December 2025. Shetland.org says tickets for the Lerwick halls are “extremely limited.”

The committee’s 2026 Up Helly Aa exhibition ran from May to September, on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 18:30 to 20:30 and on Saturdays from 14:00 to 16:00. Its 2027 dates are not posted.

Schools, ferries and dates around Jan. 26

Shetland Islands Council’s term dates list Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2027 as an occasional holiday, so schools close that day. The page does not say why. NorthLink Ferries says its passenger ships undergo scheduled maintenance at dry dock during January, February and March 2027, so check the 2027 timetable before you book.

Burns Night falls the day before, on Monday, Jan. 25; see Burns Night 2027 and the supper running order. Other UK dates are in the guide to UK bank holidays in 2027, and Scotland’s winter events are covered in Edinburgh’s Christmas 2026 dates. Mark the dates on the January 2027 printable calendar and the February 2027 printable calendar.

Print the Up Helly Aa 2027 dates

The printable “Up Helly Aa 2027 Shetland Fire Festival Dates” puts the eight festival dates and the Lerwick day times, in GMT and ET, on one US Letter page, with the sources named at the bottom.