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Over the years we here have often referred to pop star Justin Bieber as a scourge on our planet. Not without good reason, mind you. There have been a plethora of reasons.
One of them, however, is not him trespassing and damaging a national tourist attraction. At least not directly.
The blame for that one can rest at the feet of his fans thanks to Bieber’s 2015 music video for his song “I’ll Show You.”
For you see, that video was shot at the stunning Fjadrárgljúfur canyon in Iceland. And thanks to it being viewed more than 444 million times (!) on YouTube, coupled with his 105 million-plus Twitter followers and his 112 million followers on Instagram, has led to a massive upsurge in visitors to Fjadrárgljúfur. Many of them not legally.
According to the Associated Press, the Environment Agency of Iceland estimates over 1 million people have visited the area since the release of Bieber’s video.
Considering that the entire country of Iceland has a population of around 338,000, that kind of traffic is causing a lot of damage.
Environment Minister Gudmundur Ingi Gudbrandsson doesn’t want to totally blame Bieber for the problem, as 12 percent of Iceland’s entire population attended his two concerts a year after the video was released, but he did say, “Rash behavior by one famous person can dramatically impact an entire area if the mass follows.”
Despite the large sign telling motorists that Fjadrárgljúfur canyon is closed, visitors still come, often offering rangers at the roadblocks bribes. Sometimes, they just sneak on to the propery at night or at times when the rangers are not present as was the case with some tourists from Russia.
“We came because of Justin [Bieber],” said Mikhail Samarin, who was there ignoring the fences and signs with two friends, one of which who told the AP they visited Fjadrárgljúfur canyon soley because of his music video.
“It was so amazing. After that, we decided it was necessary to visit this place,” said the traveler.
Way to go, Bieber.