Inuvik festival: After 30 days of darkness, celebrating the sun's return

The Inuvik sunrise festival in the Northwest Territories in Canada marks the return of the sun after more than 30 days of polar nights and no official sunrise.

A polar night, a phenomenon when the night lasts for more than 24 hours, is caused by the rotation of the Earth in relation to the position of the sun. Earth rotates on a titled axis which means there are periods of the year where the Arctic Circle and the Antarctic Circle are either completely exposed or obscured from the sun. Because of it's northern location, Inuvik also sees 56 days of 24 hour daylight in the summer.

Filmed by Karli Zschogner and Kristian Binder

8 January 2024