In 2018, the Faroe Islands' tourism success had led to strain on infrastructure and local relations. Visit Faroe Islands faced recognized the challenge of boosting tourism while maintaining balance. So the Faroese Prime Minister announced that the country would be “closed for maintenance” for regular tourists. Instead, he invited volunteers to come and help maintain the islands.

It became a huge new story and within four days, people from all over the world signed up to help as volunteers working side by side with locals to restore the most popular tourist sights on the islands. The story generated +500 global news stories, reaching 3.76 billion readers. 3,500 people signed up in a short time, equivalent to seven times the usual weekend visitors.

The initiative inspired global tourist organizations, and it became an annual event, with 5,000 sign-ups within 24 hours in 2019. The World Economic Forum recognized the campaign as one of the top 10 planet-friendly initiatives in 2019.