Tiny town with a bizarre plan to make a day 26 hours long

A tiny town in the Arctic Circle has penned a letter to the European Commission hoping to be granted the freedom to establish a time zone with days lasting 26 hours.

Vadsø, a 1.30 square mile Norwegian town home to a little over 5,000 people, is located in the East Finnmark district bordering Russia.

The bizarre request filed by the local mayor is an attempt to place the town on the map and attract new residents to the region.

Having a couple of extra hours per day would allow residents and visitors to spend more quality time with their families or pursue hobbies, the mayor of the town Wenche Pedersen said.

The letter she authored to the Commission, which is asked to instruct the Norwegian authorities to approve the town’s request, read: “Through our ‘MOREtime’ project, we aim to celebrate and promote this unique way of life, offering individuals the opportunity to enjoy more quality time engaging in activities such as fishing, hunting, learning new languages, or simply being with loved ones.”

How this “MOREtime” project would be implemented, however, is still unclear even to those who have created it.

Ms Pedersen candidly told Politico: “We haven’t thought a lot about that. The clock will go from 12 to 13… and we have to see how this will go. I don’t think they’re going to say yes so we haven’t thought about all the details.”

Norway is part of the European Economic Area rather than a full EU member state.

While depicting Vadsø as an idyllic place to live, Ms Pedersen also considered the current geopolitical situation in turmoil, as she said it is “more important than ever” in light of tensions between the West and Russia to ensure the region is well populated.

The mayor said life in a small town guarantees to its residents a “more calm and better everyday life” than what they could have in a frenzied and big city.

The town, part of which lies on the island of Vadsøya, experiences the midnight sun – when the sun remains visible also during nighttime – between mid-May and late July.

The polar night, during which it’s possible to see the Northern Lights, normally happens in the town between late November and mid-January.

As noted by Vadsø’s mayor, it is unlikely the Commission will be able to support this request.

Time zones, a Commission official said according to Politico, are a matter for countries, while the EU only regulates summer time arrangements.