Remote town plans to adopt 26-hour days for people to have more time with family

Life can be pretty overwhelming and leave us wishing that we had more time in a day to get things done. That may soon change for the people of Vadso in Norway. According to The Sun, the remote town of Vadso, located in the Finnmark County was in charge of sending a proposal to the European Commission, requesting for Norway to be able to follow a time zone that would be 26 hours long, instead of 24. Mayor of Vadso, Wenche Pedersen, is pushing for this as a way to promote tourism, attract potential new residents and allow current citizens to have more time with their families, per Politico.

Her letter stated, "Through our 'MOREtime' project, we aim to celebrate and promote this unique way of life, offering individuals the opportunity to enjoy more quality time engaging in activities such as fishing, hunting, learning new languages or simply being with loved ones." Pedersen clarified that the primary appeal of living in Vadso was that people would have more time for everything. Individuals residing in the area would theroretically not have to waste time on many pointless things throughout the day if the 26-hour time zone could be implemented.

The change could see more people moving to the remote town. Pedersen reasoned that having a population in the area was important with Russia's ongoing war against Ukraine since the town is near the Russian border. She spoke about how people living in Vadso loved their lifestyle and how it could be very attractive to families with small children. "I think it's a more calm and better everyday life than, for example, in a big city," she mentioned. Although the plan may sound good in theory, the actual implementation is a challenge.

Pedersen herself did not have much of an answer when she was asked how the new time zone would work. She stated how the town did not expect to get approval for their request, so they had not thought ahead that much. Norway is part of the European Economic Area but not part of the European Union. So, even though summertime arrangements are overseen by EU regulation, there is uncertainty about whether they have the power to create completely new time zones. Time zones fall under a more international purview, and the EU's ability to accommodate such a request is questionable.

The move is ultimately a bold effort by Pedersen to get more people coming into her town, which can be incredibly beneficial for their economy. Pedersen mentioned how the town was one of the "richest regions in Europe" because they had more time than any other place.