Festivals & Events In Stockholm

Choose from a smörgåsbord of festivals, from Nobel Day to Pride Week

Swedes hold hard to traditions and the calendar is dotted with beloved, quintessentially Swedish events such as Valborgsmässoafton (Walpurgis Night) and Luciadagen (Lucia Day); both great opportunities for visitors to dabble in Swedishness.

The calendar isn’t all age-old tradition, though; there are plenty of events with a more contemporary flavour – for example the Pride celebrations and Re: Orientfestivalen – and the festivals & events scene in Stockholm continues to diversify each year.

When: 6 June
Sweden’s National Day became a bank holiday in 2005. It celebrates Gustav Vasa’s election as King of Sweden on 6 June 1523 and the adoption of a new constitution on the same date in 1809. If you want a glimpse of the royal family in their traditional blue-and-yellow folk costumes, visit the open-air Skansen museum, where, since 1916, the King of Sweden has presented flags on this day to representatives of various organizations and charities.

When: Friday closest to 24 June
The longest day of the year has been revered in Scandinavia since the days of pagan ritual. Modern Swedes flock to summer cottages and Stockholmers set sail for quiet coves in the archipelago to commemorate this festive feast to fertility. Women and men in traditional dress dance around the flower-decorated maypole. After the dancing and family games a meal of marinated herring is washed down with spiced aquavit. It’s said that if an unmarried girl picks seven different flower types and puts them under her pillow on Midsummer Eve, she will dream of her future husband.

Where: Tantolunden, Södermalm
When: 1wk in July/Aug
Website: www.stockholmpride.org
Since its birth in 1998, Stockholm Pride Week has grown into one of the city’s largest festivals, and the biggest gay Pride celebration in Scandinavia, with five days of partying, plus debates and entertainment. The heart of the action is the large open space of Tantolunden park on the island of Södermalm. The festival includes art exhibitions, debates, films, parties and, on the Saturday, the big parade.

Where: Skansen
When: early-end Dec
Skansen’s Christmas market – one of the biggest in Sweden and dating back to 1903 – is held at weekends throughout December until Christmas Eve (the only day Skansen is closed). Look out for Swedish craft products, traditional Christmas ornaments made of straw, hand-dipped candles, sweets (including polkagris, oversized red and white striped peppermint sticks) and Christmas fare such as smoked sausage, eel, salmon, pepparkakor (gingersnaps), glögg (mulled wine) and saffron buns.

Where: around Stcokholm
When: 13 Dec
Among the best-known of Sweden’s festivals, Lucia is celebrated in mid-December, in the heart of the winter darkness. The Lutheran Swedes adopted the Sicilian St Lucia because Lucia is connected with lux, the Latin for light. All over Sweden, a procession of singers, dressed in white, full-length chemises with red ribbons around their waists, are led by a woman dressed as Lucia, with a crown of lit candles on her head.

When: Mar/Apr
For many Swedes, Easter’s greatest significance is getting a four-day weekend, well timed to polish up the boat, shake the cobwebs off the summer cottage or tidy up the garden. Still, the painting and eating of eggs is a hallowed tradition at the Easter smörgåsbord, along with salmon and pickled herring prepared in endlessly creative ways. On Maundy Thursday or Easter Saturday, young girls dress up and paint themselves as Easter witches, and then go around begging sweets from generous neighbours, giving hand-drawn Easter cards in exchange. This custom recalls an old northern European superstition that witches flew off to dance with the devil on the Blåkulla (Blue Mountain) at this time of year.

Where: throughout the city
When: 30 Apr
Ancient pagan custom dictates that Swedes light bonfires on the last night of April to protect themselves against witches gathering to worship the devil. Today the celebration marks the end of winter and the coming of spring, and the bonfire is usually accompanied by choral singing. Walpurgis Night is celebrated all over Sweden, but for visitors to Stockholm the place to be is either the open-air Skansen museum, where fireworks add extra sparkle to the evening’s festivities, or Evert Taubes Terras on Riddarholmen.

Where: throughout the city
When: 1 May
If you happen to be in Stockholm on May Day, you’ll probably run into marchers waving banners in Sergels Torg and other large squares throughout the city. The first of May has been celebrated in various ways since 1890. In the early 19th century, May Day was a hugely popular festival in Djurgården park and featured a royal procession. By the late 19th century, though, it had turned into a rally of industrial workers. It’s a lot more low-key these days, but it’s still an important event for left-wing Stockholmers. Due to the cold weather, there’s no maypole dancing – that’s saved for Midsummer.

Where: location varies, check website for details
When: May
Tel & website: 450 2610/www.tjejtrampet.com
Given that Stockholm is such a bicycle-friendly city, it makes sense that it should host the world’s largest women-only bicycle race. Since the first race in 1990, some 80,000 women have cycled the 42km (26-mile) course. It is open to cyclists of all levels. Teenage girls and grandmothers pedal side-by-side in a show of female unity and a spirit of friendly competition.

Where: parks throughout the city
When: June-Aug daily
Tel & website: 506 20 284/www.stadsteatern.stockholm.se
There’s been free outdoor theatre in Stockholm’s parks since 1942, and many performances can be enjoyed by non-Swedish speakers, such as circus shows, music concerts, modern and classical dance. There are workshops on everything from playing steel drums to klezmer or Swedish folk dance.

Where: Tyska Brinken 13, Gamla Stan
When: early June
Tel & website: 070 460 03 90/www.semf.se
This four-day event attracts an impressive roster of established and new artistic talent from Sweden and Europe performing a programme of music from the Middle Ages, Renaissance and baroque periods. The festival takes place in Gamla Stan.

Where: start point: Lidingövägen, Hjorthagen
When: Sat in early June
Tel & website: 54 56 64 40/www.marathon.se
Few cities can match the beauty of this marathon route, which takes runners along waterside Strandvägen, Norrmälarstränd and Skeppsbron. Head for Lidingövägen to watch the runners take off, or if you want to be ready to glimpse the winner at the finish line, position yourself at Stockholms Stadion on Vallhallavägen.

Where: Strömkajen, Norrmalm
When: 1st Wed in June
Tel: 662 89 02
If the idea of travelling on one of Stockholm’s old-fashioned steamboats appeals, there’s no better day to do it than Archipelago Boat Day. A parade of steam-driven vessels make their way from Strömkajen to Vaxholm in the early evening. For those who don’t catch a ride, good places to view the boats are Strömkajen, Skeppsholmen, Kastellholmen and Fåfängen. The boats arriving in Vaxholm are greeted by live music and an outdoor market; visitors have a couple of hours to explore Vaxholm before returning to Stockholm.

When: 6 June
Sweden’s National Day became a bank holiday in 2005. It celebrates Gustav Vasa’s election as King of Sweden on 6 June 1523 and the adoption of a new constitution on the same date in 1809. If you want a glimpse of the royal family in their traditional blue-and-yellow folk costumes, visit the open-airSkansen museum, where, since 1916, the King of Sweden has presented flags on this day to representatives of various organisations and charities.

When: Friday closest to 24 June
The longest day of the year has been revered in Scandinavia since the days of pagan ritual. Modern Swedes flock to summer cottages and Stockholmers set sail for quiet coves in the archipelago to commemorate this festive feast to fertility. Women and men in traditional dress dance around the flower-decorated maypole. After the dancing and family games a meal of marinated herring is washed down with spiced aquavit. It’s said that if an unmarried girl picks seven different flower types and puts them under her pillow on Midsummer Eve, she will dream of her future husband.

Where: Stockholm University, Frescati
When: end of June
Website: www.acceleratorfestivalen.se
The end of the month brings another Frescati festival, the two-day event featuring bands from as far afield as the US and Brazil, plus several UK acts.

Where: Södra Teatern, Mosebacketorg 1-3, Södermalm
When: 2nd wk in Aug
Tel & website: 702 15 99/www.reorient.se
Stockholm takes on a multicultural flavour during this annual festival, bringing together artists from the Middle East, northern Africa, India and Europe to perform at Södra Teatern on Södermalm. During the four-day festival, there’s a bazaar selling crafts, clothes and food and, in the evenings, festival-goers can sit back and smoke a Turkish water pipe at the Oum bar or dance at the Re:Orient Club. A lecture series adds some intellectual weight to this laid-back festival.

Where: Rålambshovsparken, Kungsholmen
When: mid June
Tel & website: 714 04 20/www.mayo.se
Boules, or pétanques as aficionados call it, has a long history in Sweden, particularly with upper-class seniors, but a group of boules-crazy folk breathed new life into the sport by launching northern Europe’s largest boules festival in 1994. The name, La Mayonnaise (or Mayo for short), is a jibe at the world’s largest boules festival, La Marseillaise, in France. But there’s nothing stuffy about this crowd-pleasing festival, which organises friendly competitions for work colleagues, seniors and rookies, as well as more serious contests between the official international teams.

Where: Skeppsholmen
When: 1wk mid July
Tel & website: 55 61 45 64/55 69 24 40/tickets 07 71 70 70 70/www.stockholmjazz.com
The Stockholm Jazz Festival in July is one of Sweden’s premier live music festivals, pulling in some top-rate international artists (Steely Dan in 2007). The main site on the island of Skeppsholmen couldn’t be more picturesque; other venues include Konserthus, and stages in Kungsträdgården,Mosebacke Etablissement and Fasching. Some 30,000 spectators come to listen to more than 40 concerts featuring jazz, soul, blues and more.

Where: Tantolunden, Södermalm
When: 1wk in July/Aug
Website: www.stockholmpride.org
Since its birth in 1998, Stockholm Pride Week has grown into one of the city’s largest festivals, and the biggest gay Pride celebration in Scandinavia, with five days of partying, plus debates and entertainment. The heart of the action is the large open space of Tantolunden park on the island of Södermalm. The festival includes art exhibitions, debates, films, parties and, on the Saturday, the big parade.

Where: Uppsala
When: 1st wk Aug
Website: www.uppsalareggaefestival.se
Reggae is a Swedish summer favourite, and this festival just north of Stockholm in the first week of August, is the largest reggae festival in Scandinavia. It has featured artists such as legendary Bob Marley sideman Bunny Wailer and dancehall star Beenie Man. It’s as close as you’ll get to the Notting Hill Carnival this near the Arctic Circle.

Where: start: Ringvägen
When:

mid Aug
Tel & website: 649 71 71/www.midnattsloppet.com
This popular night-time race, which has been going for over 23 years, could only be possible in the land of the midnight sun. More than 16,000 runners of all ages navigate a 10km (six-mile) course around Södermalm. But it’s much more than a race – and some 200,000 spectators get in on the act with loud cheering, asphalt-pounding enthusiasm, music and partying. To catch the starting gun, position yourself at Ringvägen, just south of the Zinkensdamm athletics field, at 10pm and then wait for the first runners to cross the finish line at Hornsgatan, not far from the starting point.

Where: Stockholm University, Frescati
When: Sept
Website: www.popdakar.nu
Small, intimate and free, Pop Dakar is held at Frescati and marks the end of the festival season.

Where: around Lidingö
When: weekend in late Sept-early Oct
Tel & website: 765 26 15/www.lidingoloppet.se
The world’s biggest cross-country race has become a tradition for Swedes and runners from all over the world, drawn to the beautiful scenery and the challenging course. The first Lidingöloppet was held in 1965, and every year thousands of runners from some 30 different countries pass the finish line on Grönsta Gärde.

Where: Kungliga Tennishallen, Lidingövägen 75, Norra Djurgården
When: Oct
Tel & website: 450 26 25/www.stockholmopen.se
This prestigious tennis tournament was the brain-child of veteran tennis star Sven Davidson. In 1969 he received a letter from American colleagues asking him to arrange a competition in Sweden with tennis pros and amateurs from all over the world. The event was televised from the start, thus drawing a huge worldwide audience, along with 40,000 spectators each year, and has earned accolades as one of the most well-organised tournaments in Europe.

Where: various venues around Stockholm
When: mid Nov
Tel & website: 677 50 00/www.filmfestivalen.se
As the leading competitive film festival in northern Europe, the ten-day Stockholm Film Festival is aimed at launching young filmmakers and broadening the forum for innovative high-quality films in Scandinavia. It might not be Cannes, but the festival attracts some big names: past guests have included Dennis Hopper, Quentin Tarantino, the Coen brothers and Lars von Trier.

When: Dec
You can tell Christmas is approaching when you start to spot the Advent candles or Advent stars (made of straw, wood or metal) hanging in the windows of homes, shops and offices. Nearly every home has an Advent candlestick, usually a little box with four candle-holders nestled in moss and lingonberry sprigs. The first candle is lit on the First Sunday of Advent and allowed to burn down only one quarter, so that it won’t burn out before the fourth candle is lit.

Where: Skansen
When: early-end Dec
Skansen’s Christmas market – one of the biggest in Sweden and dating back to 1903 – is held at weekends throughout December until Christmas Eve (the only day Skansen is closed). Look out for Swedish craft products, traditional Christmas ornaments made of straw, hand-dipped candles, sweets (including polkagris, oversized red and white striped peppermint sticks) and Christmas fare such as smoked sausage, eel, salmon, pepparkakor (gingersnaps), glögg (mulled wine) and saffron buns.

Where: Konserthuset, Hötorget, Norrmalm & Stadshuset, Hantverkargatan 1, Kungsholmen
When: 10 Dec
Tel & website: Nobel Foundation 663 09 20/www.nobel.se
The year’s Nobel Prize laureates are honoured in a ceremony at Konserthuset (Concert Hall). In the evening, the royal family attends a banquet at Stadshuset (City Hall). Tickets for this glittering affair are coveted by Stockholmers, but they are usually only granted to the privileged few, though 250 of the 1,300 seats are reserved for lucky students. The rest have to be content with watching the proceedings on television and sighing over the fabulous menu, prepared by a top Stockholm chef.

Where: around Stcokholm
When: 13 Dec
Among the best-known of Sweden’s festivals, Lucia is celebrated in mid-December, in the heart of the winter darkness. The Lutheran Swedes adopted the Sicilian St Lucia because Lucia is connected with lux, the Latin for light. All over Sweden, a procession of singers, dressed in white, full-length chemises with red ribbons around their waists, are led by a woman dressed as Lucia, with a crown of lit candles on her head.

Where: around Stcokholm
When: 24-26 Dec
The main celebration is at home, held on Christmas Eve (though restaurants all over the city offer the traditional, overflowing Julbord or smörgåsbord for most of December). A traditional Julbord (‘Christmas table’) is typically eaten in three stages. You start with various types of herring and salmon, then move on to the meats (meatballs, sausages and ham), accompanied by ‘Jansson’s Temptation’ – an anchovy, potato and cream casserole. You polish it all off with a sweet berry-filled pastry. Later in the evening, rice porridge is eaten. Tradition has it that finding the hidden almond in the porridge means you’re destined to marry within the year. Christmas Day itself is usually a quiet day.

Where: around Stcokholm
When: 31 Dec
The New Year’s Eve celebration in Sweden is a public and raucous contrast to the quiet and private Christmas festivities. Visitors can join the crowds atSkansen, where New Year’s Eve has been celebrated every year since 1895. At the stroke of midnight, a well-known Swede reads Tennyson’s ‘Ring Out, Wild Bells’. Throughout the city, crowds fill the streets, feasting on seafood at various restaurants and moving from one club or bar to another. At the stroke of midnight, streamers and party trumpets accompany the sound of fireworks.

Where: Sollentunamässan, Sollentuna
When: 4 days in early Apr
Website: www.sollentunaexpo.com/eng
At the beginning of April, the Swedish art industry gets together for four intense days. Everyone’s there – art students, artists, gallery owners, dealers, curators, critics and visitors – and events include seminars, talks and meetings, as well as the opportunity just to enjoy the art.

On public holidays, virtually all shops, banks and offices, and many restaurants and bars, are closed. Banks are also closed the day before a public holiday. Public transport runs a limited service on Christmas and New Year’s Day.

New Year’s Day (Nyårsdagen) 1 January
Eve of Epiphany (Trettondedagsafton) 5 January
Epiphany (Trettondedag Jul) 6 January
Maundy Thursday (Skärtorsdagen) 20 March 2008
Good Friday (Långfredagen) 21 March 2008
Easter Sunday (Påskdagen) 23 March 2008
Easter Monday (Annandag Påsk) 24 March 2008
Walpurgis Night (Valborgsmässoafton) 30 April
May Day (Första Maj) 1 May
Ascension Krist (Himmelfärds Dag) early May
National Day (Nationaldagen) 6 June
Midsummer’s Eve (Midsommarafton) mid June
Midsummer’s Day (Midsommardagen) mid June
All Saints’ Day (Alla Helgons Dag) 1 November
Christmas Eve (Julafton) 24 December
Christmas Day (Juldagen) 25 December
Boxing Day (Annandag) Jul 26 December

While every effort and care has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this guide, the publisher cannot accept responsibility for any errors it may contain. Before you go out of your way, we strongly advise you to phone ahead and check the particulars.

Source: Time Out Stockholm

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