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On this Thursday, June 18, 2026, Norwegian parliamentarians imitated rowers of a Viking ship during a Parliament session. The gesture, which went viral with fans on an escalator in the US subway, became support for the national team in the 2026 World Cup.
Not even the Parliament floor escaped the Viking fever that has taken over Norway. On this Thursday, June 18, 2026, the country’s deputies staged a rather unusual scene: they momentarily put politics aside and began simulating the movements of rowers of a Viking ship during an official session. The gesture was a way to support the Norwegian national team in the 2026 World Cup and quickly gained traction on social media.
The prank didn’t come out of nowhere within Congress. It repeated a video that had already gone viral days earlier, in which Norwegian fans appeared sitting on a subway escalator imitating the synchronized movement of oars. According to the local press, it was the Parliament’s own president who took the initiative to start the rowing in the middle of the session. The information was reported by g1, based on accounts from the Norwegian newspaper VG.
The Viking row that invaded Parliament
The scene happened at the most unlikely moment possible: during legislative activity. According to the local newspaper VG, the episode occurred in the middle of a session when the President of Parliament, Masud Gharahkhani, decided to lead the gesture as a demonstration of support for the country’s football team. What was supposed to be a regular workday turned into a moment of collective relaxation.
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The participation of the parliamentarians was impressive in its numbers. In the circulating images, it’s possible to see almost the entire floor participating in the cheer and reproducing the rowing movement. The image of deputies imitating Nordic warriors inside a legislative house quickly spread, turning a cultural reference into a political gesture of support for the national team.
Where did the Viking prank come from
To understand the scene in Parliament, it’s necessary to go back a few days. The inspiration came from a video that went viral on Tuesday, June 16, 2026, right after the Norwegian national team’s debut in the World Cup. In the images, dozens of Norwegian fans appear sitting on an escalator at a subway station in the United States, simulating the movements of rowers of a Viking ship.
The staging makes direct reference to one of the greatest historical symbols of the Nordic country. Organized in a line, the fans reproduce the synchronized movement of the oars while climbing the stairs, transforming the equipment into a kind of improvised vessel. The video, recorded in Massachusetts, delighted the audience precisely for the creativity of recreating a Viking drakkar in public transportation.
Norway’s Return to the World Cup
All this Viking excitement has a significant reason behind it. The 2026 World Cup marks Norway’s return to the tournament after a long absence. The Nordic country’s team hadn’t competed in a World Cup for almost three decades, which helps explain the euphoria of the fans and even the parliamentarians.
The wait was long for Norwegian fans. The last participation of the team in a World Cup was in the edition held in France in 1998, 28 years ago. Returning to the biggest football tournament on the planet after so long awakened a collective feeling of celebration, which went beyond the stadiums and stands and reached the heart of Norwegian politics.
And you, have you ever seen a scene like this of deputies imitating Vikings inside Parliament? Tell us in the comments what you think of this unusual way of cheering for the team in the World Cup.
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