Flying Santa into war zones since the siege of Sarajevo.
Peace 2000 is an international peace and humanitarian organisation with associates in more than 40 countries, founded in Iceland in 1995. We deliver aid and Christmas gifts to children in war-torn areas, campaign against violence, and present the Leif Eiriksson Peace Award.
The Santa Peaceflight
Gifts donated by children enjoying a normal life, with their personal messages to the less fortunate children in the war zone. Gifting with compassion for peace. This Christmas Santa flies to Kyiv →
- Chernobyl’s children
The first Santa Peaceflight was organised for the Chernobyl Children’s Project. After the successful mission, Icelandic President Vigdís Finnbogadóttir was visited by one of the children whose life was saved by the Peace 2000 ambulance flight. Lifesaving airlift to Ireland →
- Sarajevo
Santa flew into the besieged city when civilian flights were shut out, with gifts and humanitarian aid, working on the ground with partners like the Red Cross and Red Crescent.
- Baghdad, Christmas Eve 1997
Under sanctions and with civilian flights grounded, Peace 2000 flew Santa into Baghdad with special permission of the UN Security Council, carrying medical supplies and toys. The flight sparked wide international support for peace that continued for weeks. A letter to God resulted in Santa’s airlift →
- 2020: Coronavirus flights
When the pandemic stopped all regular flight activity, Peace 2000 was among the first to break out of the standstill, with special flights from China to Europe filled with medical and protective equipment.
- Christmas 2026: Kyiv
Kyiv’s airspace is closed to regular flights. We are hoping to do what we did in Sarajevo and Baghdad: break the siege and bring a powerful message of peace, with gifts, to the children. Help Santa fly →
The Peace 2000 Santa Peaceflight in Baghdad. UNESCO nominated Peace 2000 for a humanitarian award presented by the Greek Orthodox Church, which said the publicity from the flight had helped the peace efforts in the Middle East.
Coronavirus Medical Express, 2020. When the pandemic grounded regular flights, Peace 2000 and the Mirpuri Foundation flew medical and protective equipment from China to Europe. The captain tells the story.
The Leif Eiriksson Peace Award
Peace 2000 presents the Leif Eiriksson Peace Award to people who take real risks for peace. The 2025 award went to the crew of the Madleen, the Gaza freedom flotilla boat; it was received on their behalf in Cascais, Portugal, on 4 July 2025, in a live broadcast on Al Jazeera. In 2026 the award was presented to Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.
The 2025 award to the Madleen crew →
The 2026 award to PM Sánchez →
About the award →
More about Peace 2000
Our story
Peace 2000 is an international peace and humanitarian organisation with associates in more than 40 countries. Since its founding in Iceland in 1995, Peace 2000 has delivered humanitarian aid to children in war-torn areas and promoted peace through public campaigns, television infomercials against violence, support for volunteers and human shields in conflict zones, and the presentation of the Leif Eiriksson Peace Award.
The organisation grew out of the United World Foundation (UWF), a working group established in London in 1993 to prepare for the launch of Peace 2000 following a peace conference in Barcelona. Peace 2000 was founded in Iceland in 1995 at a town meeting convened by Iceland’s Minister for the Environment. Approximately 500 people attended, with speakers representing organisations from around the world, including UNESCO, the World Court Project and the Chernobyl Children’s Project. More than 1,000 people and 100 organisations from around the world became co-founders.
Today, Peace 2000 continues its international work through humanitarian action, public advocacy and initiatives aimed at preventing war, protecting civilians and promoting peaceful solutions to international conflicts.
Awards and recognition
Peace 2000 has been awarded for its Santa aid flights to war-torn areas, done under a special permission of the UN Security Council, by the Gandhi Foundation, UNESCO and the Greek Orthodox Church, which decorated its founder, Icelandic presidential candidate Thor Magnusson, with their Holy Gold Cross for humanitarian work at a ceremony in memory of Mother Theresa and Princess Diana.
The work of Peace 2000 has been featured by Reuters, CNN, ABC, CBS and others. Peace 2000 has worked together with several other charities, including the Red Cross and the Red Crescent.
The companies that carried earlier flights
The work of Peace 2000 has been made entirely possible by the support of corporate and government sponsors including: Boeing Aeroplane Group, Alitalia, Icelandair, Air Atlanta, Air Cyprus, Royal Jordanian Airways, Cronus Airways, Parcelpost, Land Rover, British Civil Aviation Authority, Eurocontrol, Hilton, Sheraton and Intercontinental Hotels, DHL, Shell, BP, Verisign, Western Union, Adenin Technologies, Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Salesforce, Stripo, and more than 300 other companies around the world.
Earthchild, the World Peace Map and the Peace Center
Peace 2000’s international work includes the Earthchild platforms, earthchild.net and earthchild.org, and Peacegram.org. These platforms support initiatives such as the Santa Peaceflight, the World Peace Map and humanitarian gift programmes for children affected by war. Through its international network of associates, Peace 2000 has also helped deliver much-needed protective equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In Reykjavík, Peace 2000 runs the Reykjavik Peace Center, guest accommodation and community hub for travellers who care about peace.
Waging Peace: Althing Jerusalem, Ukraine Peacecall and the Leif Eiriksson Peace Award →
Legal entities and registration
Peace 2000 Institute – The International Institute for Peace 2000
Vogasel 1, 109 Reykjavík. Registered in Iceland 1995, No. 5407952669.
Friður 2000 Ísland – Peace 2000 Iceland
Reykjavik Peace Center, Vogasel 1, 109 Reykjavík. Reg. No. 5407952589.
Global Civil Society Registration: uia.org/s/or/en/1100000827
Press and contact
Fact sheet, images and interviews for journalists: contact the press office. The story of the stolen money and the lawsuit: Criminal Account.
General enquiries: Contact Peace 2000.
