Meet Olaf Yohansson – the Jaja Ding Dong guy

Getting to know Olaf Yohansson is no easy task.

The short-tempered Húsavíkian is best known around the world because of his fondness for the Jaja Ding Dong tune, but who really hides behind his flamboyant appearance?

Olaf Yohansson has spent all his life in Húsavík, a town with which he has a highly controversial relationship. If on one side he is very proud of his origins and his heritage (he for instance thinks that believing in elves “is science, like believing in mountains”), on the other hand he affirms that Húsavík is a place where “every day is worse than the day before”.

A part of his disgust originates from the pretty low esteem he has for his fellow villagers, which he considers – simply put – “stupid”. Another source of annoyance is his job: he works as an accountant for his wife’s company, and even if we don’t know what is the branch of Mrs. Yohansson’s business, we know from her husband’s words that for sure it is “a horrible job”.

His claim to fame, apart from a brief role in “the very boring Eurovision movie”, was when he presented by mistake the vote of Iceland in the 2020 Eurovision Song Contest, as can be seen in the video below.

In order to fight the boredom of his everyday life, Olaf is currently engaged in a petition aimed to remove the “sugary” song Husavik from the Academy Award’s shortlist and get Jaja Ding Dong in its place. If there is a topic Olaf is not shy about it is this song, his favorite track from the all-time repertory of the Húsavík-based band Fire Saga – also because he hates all the others.

Olaf thinks that Jaja Ding Dong is a beautiful tune that makes you “soft inside”, and captures all the glory of the Viking pride. “Jaja Ding Dong“, concludes Olaf in one of the very rare interviews he has ever given, is “the only thing that can put this shithole island on the map”.