King Harald and Queen Sonja of Norway have concluded their three-day long visit to Western Norway with a trip to the city of Florø. The royals have used the Norwegian royal yacht during this journey. Small boats followed the Royal Yacht towards the quay in Florø where the couple disembarked and visited Florø cultural house for conversations about how people had coped during the pandemic.
Musicians from Florø orchestra and Florø Musical School and brass band played in the rain when the King and Queen disembarked at the start of their visit on June 17th 2021. King Harald and Queen Sonja learned how the local communities and people have handled the ongoing pandemic and what kind of experiences they have had.
In Florø culture house, representatives from the women’s choir, Fryd, and the men’s choir, Gammen, awaited the royals. The royal couple got to see part of the local play “Kinnaspelet” which had been performed continuously for 35 years before the pandemic hit the country in March 2020. Volunteer Gustav Johan Nydal explained they had spent the last year giving costumes and props an upgrade.
Kinn municipality is relatively unaffected by the coronavirus pandemic. While the business community was able to show good results over the past year, the young people told of a difficult time with a pandemic and closure. Håkon Skram Heggen, mayor of the Youth’s municipal council, talked to the King and Queen about the difficult time for the village’s youth.
The car with the King and Queen took a detour back to the Royal Yacht so that the royal visitors could see more of the city. Along the way there were hundreds of children dressed for the weather but still keen to wave their Norwegian flags. The royals did not use the royal yacht to go back to Oslo. They flew back to the capital on June 17th as the king will hold a council of state at the palace and attend a small military parade on June 18th and needed a quick return.
