Iceland offering to broadcast your coronavirus stress screams

Now they can let the world know how they really feel.

People frustrated by how the coronavirus and its resulting lockdowns have changed daily living can have their screams broadcast through loudspeakers placed in seven scenic locations across Iceland.

“You’ve been through a lot this year and it looks like you need the perfect place to let your frustrations out,” reads the advertising campaign from Promote Island, which aims to encourage tourism. “Record your scream and we’ll release it in Iceland’s beautiful, wide-open spaces.”

A website set up for the initiative, called “Looks like you need to let it out”, features video clips of yelps and cries from people around the world being broadcast over yellow loudspeakers placed in front of scenery like waterfalls and glaciers.

A yellow button placed high up on the page to collect new recordings says “Tap to scream.”

“We want to draw prospective tourists’ attention to the fact that it’s relatively safe to travel to Iceland and that here you can experience beautiful nature without crowds, which is something that we think people will seek out when interest in travel increases again,” Sigríður Dögg Guðmundsdóttir, the tourism director for Promote Iceland, was quoted by Iceland Review as saying.

“It is important to draw attention to Iceland’s advantages now. People are dreaming about the time when it will be possible to travel again and even planning trips in the near future,” she added. “We want to be a part of that conversation.”

But while venting out loud can be a good way to relieve stress, the website emphasizes that it’s only a starting point for people not feeling their usual selves.

“If you need mental health support it is imperative that you seek out professional help,” it says.