Icelandic Capital to Rename Street After Darth Vader

Star Wars fans have spoken in Iceland: In a country that spends much of the winter months blanketed in starless nights, a street in the city’s Hofoi industrial district is to be renamed after the intergalactic baddie, Darth Vader.

Changing the name of Bratthofoi to Svarthofoi — Icelandic for ‘black-head’ the name by which the Sith Lord Darth Vader is known in the country — was announced in a Tweet by Reykjavík mayor Dagur Eggertsson.

The decision was taken after suggestions were sought via a local website Better Reykjavík , according to a report in Iceland Magazine.

The Icelandic-language name allows contemporary culture to fit snugly in with historic nomenclature as the entire district has street names ending in Hofoi, which means 'head’ or 'headland’. Bratthofoi, the old name for what is now Darth Vader street, means Steep-cape.

Related: ’Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Star John Boyega Joins 'The Circle’

Icelandic sci-fi fans had long dreamed of finding a way to rename a street in the district after Darth Vader, given the similarity between the character’s name in Icelandic and street names in the district.

Now those fans can celebrate the force being with them in Reykjavík, which despite having a tiny population of just 120,000, has a reputation for being a party town with many late-night clubs and bars in its compact historic center.

Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens, directed by J.J. Abrams, is due to be released later this year.