Utøya

Utøya is a small island in Tyrifjorden, in the municipality of Hole in what is today Viken county, Norway. Historically, the island has hosted the annual summer camp of AUF, the youth wing of the Norwegian Labour Party. The camp has drawn participants in their teens and early twenties and involves seminars, activities, and political discussion.

On 22 July 2011, Utøya became the site of a mass shooting as part of a nationwide terrorist attack carried out by Anders Behring Breivik. He killed 69 people on the island, largely teenagers and young adults attending the AUF camp; eight more people were killed in an attack on government buildings in Oslo that day. Police and emergency services responded, and Breivik was later arrested and convicted of acts of terrorism and murder.

In the aftermath, the island was temporarily closed and later reopened with enhanced security and safety measures. A memorial site and annual commemorations were established to honor the victims. The 2012 trial concluded with Breivik receiving a prison sentence of 21 years, extendable as forvaring if he remained a danger to society; in practice, he has remained in custody.

Today Utøya continues to be used for youth activities, subject to security considerations, and remains a symbol in Norway of the consequences of extremism and the importance of democratic participation and remembrance.