Festivals & Events in Stockholm- Spring Summer 2013

Not a cloud in sight for the past couple of weeks and just about all of the snow has melted away. This means it is time to look forward and see what the warmer months of the year have in store for us. This is a calendar of big events and festivals in Stockholm- things that tend to draw a lot of visitors to the city. Lots of big concerts this year thanks, in part, to the new Friends Arena. Hopefully this calendar will help you plan your trip! I will be constantly adding events as I find them, so check back from time to time. I will also be writing more in depth about many of these events as the dates approach. Of course, if you are staying at the Rival Hotel and need more detailed information of what is going on in Stockholm during your visit... contact me directly!

April

• 13th- Eddie Izzard at Globe Arenas.
• 13th & 14th- Medieval Market in the park Kungsträdgården.
• 20th- Annual Cherry Blossom day in the park Kungsträdgården.
• 20th- Stockholm Culture Night- free admission to over 100 events. Museums stay open late, boat rides, concerts, etc;
• 20th to 24th- Justin Bieber at Friends Arena.
• 27th- The Gröna Lund amusement park opens for the summer! 
• 30th- Walpurgis Eve (Valborgmässoafton) is celebrated throughout the city with bonfires. Skansen is a good place to go this evening.

May

• 1st- The Vasa Museum reopens after a few weeks of expansion/renovations.
• 1st- International Workers' Day (bank holiday). Political demonstrations in the city.
• 3rd through 19th- World Championships in Ice Hockey at the Globe Arenas. 
• 3rd, 4th and 11th- Bruce Springsteen at Friends Arena.
• 7th- ABBA the Museum opens for business (within the larger Swedish Music Hall of Fame).
• 8th- One Direction at Friends Arena.
• 9th- Ascension Day (bank holiday).
• 19th- The finals for the World Championships in Ice Hockey (see above).
• 24th to 26th- Elitloppet. Harness racing with horses at Solvalla.
• 25th- Josh Groban at Globe Arenas.
• 26th- Pink at Globe Arenas.
• 29th- Beyonce at Globe Arenas.

June

• 1st- KISS at Friends Arena.
• 1st- Stockholm Marathon. A good day to leave your car at home and take the subway!
• 4th to 9th- Early Music Festival in Gamla Stan. Renaissance, Baroque and Medieval music concerts.
• 5th to 9th- A Taste of Stockholm. Restaurant festival in Kungsträdgården park. Food, drink & music!
• 6th- Swedish National Holiday (bank holiday). Once again, Skansen is a good place to go to celebrate.
• 8th- The wedding of HRH Princess Madeleine and Mr Christopher O'Neill.
• 13th to 15th- Hultsfred Festival. Iconic music festival moving to Stockholm this year.
• 14th & 15th- Summerburst Festival (club/electronic music) at Stadion.
• 15th- Rod Stewart at Globe Arenas.
• 21st to 23rd- Midsummer celebrations. Arguably, the biggest holiday in Sweden (bank holiday on Friday). The best place to celebrate? Skansen!

July (generally a slower month, event-wise, because many Swedes have vacation and leave the city.

• 13th- Iron Maiden at Friends Arena.
• 22nd- Rihanna at Globe Arenas.
• 27th- Concert with Benny Andersson Orchestra at Galejan at Skansen.
• 28th- The finals of Women's European Football Championships at Friends Arena. Playoff games  throughout Sweden from July 8th.
• 30th to August 3rd- Stockholm Gay Pride Festival.

August

• July 30th to August 3rd- Stockholm Gay Pride Festival. Parade through the city on Saturday!
• 2nd to 4th- Music & Arts Festival. Several artists, including... Prince!
• 13th to 18th- The Stockholm Culture Festival. Free, free, free! Everything "cultural".
• 13th to 17th- Ung08 (youth festival- also free!).
• 15th- Leonard Cohen at Globe Arenas.
• 17th- Midnattsloppet. Late evening 10K run around the island of Södermalm. Festival atmosphere!
• 18th- DN outdoor concert with the Royal Philharmonic in Gärdet.
• 22nd- DN Galan. International track & field meet at Stadion.
• 23rd- The amusement park Gröna Lund turns 130 years old!
• 23rd to 30th- Baltic Sea Music Festival.
• 24th- Opening part for the new Tele2 Arena with Robyn, Kent and Lars Winnerbäck.
• 24th & 25th- Stockholm Triathlon.

September

• 7th- Tjejmilen. 10K run for women only (30th anniversary).
• 14th- The Stockholm Half Marathon.

Events & Festivals in Stockholm- Fall/Winter 2012

Photo by Jeppe Wikström, Stockholm Visitors Board

We've had an amazing summer here at the Rival Hotel (thanks to all of our guests!), but now it is time to look forward to the coming season. While there aren't as many events and festivals as there were in the summer months, there are still lots of fun things to see and do in Stockholm. Besides all of the events, there are plenty of art exhibitions going on in the museums and art galleries... check my blog post for the shows and dates. Here are some calendar highlights to keep in mind when planning your trip to Stockholm this Fall and early Winter:

September:

• 15th- The Stockholm Half Marathon
• 23rd- Gröna Lund amusement park closes for the season.
• 27th to 29th- Stockholm Beer & Whiskey Festival (1st weekend).
• 29th & 30th- Autumn Market at Skansen.

October

• 1st to 7th- Stockholm Jazz Festival at different indoor venues.
• 4th to 6th- Stockholm Beer & Whiskey Festival (2nd weekend).
• 12th to 14th- The Chocolate Festival at Nordiska museum.
• 13th to 21st- Stockholm Open (Tennis) at Kungliga Tennishallen
• 16th- Lionel Richie in concert at Globen.
• 27th- Grand Opening at the new Solna Friends Arena.
• 31st- last day of the Stockholm City Bikes season.

November

• 2nd & 3rd- Cirque de Soleil (Michael Jackson Immortal World Tour) at Globen.
• 5th- Jennifer Lopez concert at Globen.
• 7th to 18th- Stockholm International Film Festival.
• 14th- Premiere football match (Sweden vs England) at Solna Friends Arena.
• 22nd to 24th- Swedish House Maffia at Friends Arena.
• 24th & 25th- Christmas Markets at Skansen and Gamla Stan open for the season.
• 30th to Dec 2nd- Stockholm Interntional Horse Show.

December

• 5th- Placido Domingo concert at Globen.
• 10th- Nobel Prize Ceremony and Banquet.
• 13th- St Lucia celebrations at Skansen (and throughout the city).
• 17th & 18th- Winter Solstice celebration (Fire and Ice) at Skansen.

There are also a myriad of fairs, conventions and exhibitions going on at the Stockholm International Fairgrounds (Stockholmsmässan) all season long. Check out their program schedule to see if they have something going on that you might find interesting... interior design, dog show, photography, health & fitness, boat show, winter sports, etc;

Photo by Jeppe Wikström, Stockholm Visitors Board

100th Anniversary of the Stockholm Olympics

Photo by Yanan Li, Stockholm Visitors Board

I'm back from vacation and I thought I would start with a little general "head's up" for 2012. There are many great things happening in Stockholm this coming year, but perhaps the biggest theme will be sports due to the fact that this year is the 100th anniversary of the 1912 Stockholm Olympic Games (and therefore the Stockholm Olympic Stadium as well). This anniversary will be celebrated with different events throughout the year- mostly in the form of sporting events (of course!).

Photo by Yanan Li, Stockholm Visitors Board

Some highlights include Anniversary Regatta (June 2nd and July 20th - Aug 5th)), the Special Olympics (June 5th), Olympic Stadium Festival (June 9th), Stockholm Summer Games (July 5th-8th), and Jubilee Marathon (July 14th). But there are plenty of other events all year long... so check their calendar to see if there will be an event happening when you visit Stockholm or visit their website for further information. Both the calendar and website are in Swedish, but in the top right hand corner you have a "translate" option that translates the page to the language of your choice. Speaking of sports, if you are coming to Stockholm this June then it is good to be aware that the European Championships in Football/Soccer are taking place all month long. The matches are being played in the Ukraine and Poland... Sweden has qualified and the Rival Hotel is planning on showing the matches in our theater. Click here for the match schedule.
I will be writing about many of these events in more detail as they come up!

Festival: Gay Pride

ATTENTION: This is a blog entry for 2010, please click here for the blog entry regarding 2011.
The countdown has started... less than a week until the Stockholm Gay Pride, or just Stockholm Pride as it's called, starts (July 26th to August 1st). Every year the Pride festival gets larger and more popular actually causing organizers to move the venue this year to accomodate the large amount of visitors. This year the Pride Park is located in Gärdet, next to the Naval History Museum(Sjöhistoriska). Unlike gay pride celebrations in other cities and countries... Stockholm Pride isn't just one day or a weekend but a whole week, though most events take place Wednesday through Saturday. Lots of fun things are going on in the park... seminars, concerts with Swedish & international artists, dancing and performances. There are several shops, and restaurant & bar tents as well.

Picture by Yanan Li

As a tourist you might not notice that Pride is happening (as the main venues are on the outskirts of the city) besides seeing the occasional rainbow flag or hearing more ABBA songs than normal being played. However, on Saturday the 31st you will not be able to avoid it with the parade snaking through the city. Last year there were 35,000 people in the parade and almost half a million people lining the parade route. Many Stockholmers (of all persuasions) make a day out of it, bringing beach chairs and coolers and setting up hours before the parade actually starts. The parade starts at 1pm in the Tantolunden Park before heading through the Old Town and along Strandvägen to the Pride Park. My friends and I usually pack a picnic basket and park ourselves on Hornsgatan with hordes of other Stockholmers and cheer as the floats go by...
If you would like to partake in the festivities in the Park, tickets can bought either at the entrance or online. Tickets cost: 800 SEK for a week pass and day tickets cost 400 SEK except for Wednesday when it costs 300 SEK.
More information about all of the different events including program, artists, directions and history can be found on their website which I've linked at the top of the page.
Happy Pride!