Norway airport workers perform viral Viking Row before England clash

Construction workers building Norway’s newest airport turned the tarmac at Mo i Rana into a short-lived celebration stage, performing the viral Viking Row before Norway’s quarter-final against England in Miami. The video was shot as Norway reached the men’s World Cup quarter-finals for the first time in its history.

The Viking Row is a Viking-inspired fan ritual rooted in Norwegian rowing traditions, fjords, lakes and life by the sea, and it has appeared in places as different as Times Square and the Norwegian Parliament. Norway had not played in a men’s World Cup since 1998.

The new Mo i Rana airport Fagerlia is intended to replace Røssvoll airport, about 10 kilometers outside Mo i Rana, and the project was commissioned by the Ministry of Transport. Construction began on September 6, 2022, after ESA approved the financing in June 2022. The main construction contract with AF Gruppen was signed in June 2023 and valued at 3.2 billion kroner, while the broader project framework approved in the Revised National Budget 2023 was set at P50 4,582 million kroner and P85 4,890 million kroner. Rana municipality is contributing 450 million kroner, and local businesses and private donors are adding another 150 million kroner.

On the field, Norway arrived in Miami after finishing runners-up in Group I behind France and then beating Côte d’Ivoire and Brazil in the knockout rounds. Haaland had scored seven goals in four games by that stage and was tied for the Golden Boot lead. The quarter-final was scheduled for Saturday, July 11, 2026, with a 17:00 local kickoff, and England won 2-1 after extra time, with Jude Bellingham scoring twice.