In Pictures: Viking fire festival lights up Shetland
The spectacle takes place in Lerwick on the last Tuesday of January each year.
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Crowds gathered in Shetland on Tuesday for the world-famous Up Helly Aa fire festival.
People dressed as Vikings march through the streets of Lerwick to recreate its ancient Viking past in a tradition dating back to the 19th century.
The procession is led by the Guizer Jarl, or chief guizer, and culminates in a replica longboat being set alight.
Shetland and neighbouring Orkney were ruled by the Norse for about 500 years until they became part of Scotland in 1468.
The festival stems from the 1870s when a group of young local men wanted to put new ideas into Shetland’s Christmas celebrations.
