IT is the Viking fire festival that sets Shetland alight. Thousands of people join a fiery torchlight procession before finally setting a replica Viking longboat alike.

Last night’s Up Helly Aa spectacular in Lerwick – Shetland’s only town – attracted not only a huge crowd but was watched worldwide by fire festival fans worldwide.

Promote Shetland, the island’s official tourism bureau, streamed the show live from start to finish, and if you missed it, you can catch up on all the action on Youtube here. The actual lighting of the boat arrives around the one hour, 24 minute mark.

Lerwick has around 7,500 townsfolk, although half of the island’s 22,000 population live within ten miles – and it looked as if most of them turned out for the procession, many dressed as Vikings.

Between January and March every year, communities across Shetland come together for the Up Helly Aa fire festivals, which honour the island’s Viking heritage.

There are eight more yet to take place this year, and you can find a full list of them, together with information on visiting the Shetland Islands, on the official Promote Shetland website here.