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Five great events coming up in Sweden this week

Everyone you hear in Sweden may already be proclaiming that summer is more or less over and that the smell of autumn is in the air...

Published: 18 August 2016 07:45 CEST
Five great events coming up in Sweden this week
Stockholm Culture Festival

But that won’t stop us all from going out and making the most of August! The Local’s intern Jack Schofield looks into the international events coming up this week to keep the summer spirit alive, whatever the weather might throw at us.

1. European Cricket Championship: Stockholm, August 17th-21st

The very British sport of cricket has been on the rise in Sweden, growing from 13 to 54 clubs around the country in the space of five years. There are now four divisions competing within Sweden, as well as a youth league. The International Cricket Council (ICC)’s 2016 World Cricket League Division 2 European Championship is taking place in Stockholm this week.

It’s free to attend, as well as to give the sport a go yourself.  Head down to Gärdet sportsground and Skarpnäck sportsground for the tournament. With teams from as far afield as Israel and Gibraltar taking part, the international sporting spirit is likely to be high in this Olympic summer.

For matches times and more information, visit their website.


Young people playing cricket in Stockholm. Photo: Svenska Cricketförbundet

2. Traditional food festival: Härnösand, August 17th-20th

Been touring Europe this summer? You need not have done: The northerly coastal town of Härnösand is currently hosting an international food market, running through to Saturday evening.

Offering food stalls from all over Europe, you can satisfy your cravings for everything from German sausages to Spanish paella all in one place. The market is open from 10am to 7pm each day, so whether it’s for a mid-morning snack or an early dinner, Härnösand has you covered.


A woman talks to a stallholder at a Dutch cheese stall. Photo: Traditional Market LTD

3. The Act Dubai at Café Opera: Stockholm, August 20th

Dubai's highest theatre club is taking a short break from its usual location at the 42nd and 43rd floors of the Sangri-La Hotel in the Arabian peninsula city and coming over to Café Opera in the Royal Opera House in Stockholm. Sam Starks, the resident DJ of The Act Dubai will be the special guest and main headliner.

The organisers are aiming for some “cross-cultural partying”, so if you're in the capital and still deciding what to do this Saturday night, this could be it. 

Visit the venue's website for more information.


Café Opera. Photo: Finest.se

4. Gothenburg Culture Festival: August 16th-21st

One of Scandinavia’s biggest culture festivals is hitting the capital of western Sweden, now in its 26th year.

Wherever you might happen to find yourself in the centre of Gothenburg, for these six days you will find 1,200 different things to see, do or listen to, and it’s all free. From contemporary Afghan photography exhibitions to French opera performances, and street food from Mexico to Lebanon and beyond, Gothenburg sounds like the top place to be to soak up not just Swedish, but global culture this August.

There are different events and exhibitions fit for all ages, and with 1.5 million visitors expected across the festival period, you’ll be far from alone. The organisers hope to get you to try out something new, and with so much on offer, that shouldn’t be too difficult to achieve!

All the information you need can be found on the website.

READ ALSO: Seven reasons Gothenburg is cooler than Stockholm


Gothenburg Culture Festival. Photo: Dick Gillberg, Göteborgs kulturkalas

5. Stockholm Culture Festival

The theme of this year’s culture festival in Stockholm is France, so don your berets and head to the centre of Stockholm, where you’ll find free admission events ranging from concerts to craft-making. Beyond the theme, bringing you everything from French film to dance, the festival offers cupcake-making, skateboard designing, Abba walks around the city (yes, we know that has nothing to do with France), and the world’s longest bookstall, which is taking place on Drottningsgatan, and much more.

Stockholm is offering a week’s worth of events suitable for people of all ages and tastes, so be extra sure not to stay indoors this week if you find yourself in Sweden’s capital.

Here’s the festival’s website, where you’ll find the full range of events and activities available, and their locations, in English. 

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READER INSIGHTS

‘Benny is always very kind’: Foreigners’ top encounters with Swedish celebrities

We asked The Local's readers to tell us of a time they met a Swedish celebrity. Here are their best stories.

Published: 16 April 2024 11:10 CEST
Updated: 16 April 2024 14:27 CEST
'Benny is always very kind': Foreigners' top encounters with Swedish celebrities

Some readers shared stories of encounters with Swedes who are also global stars, such as Abba or the King and Queen of Sweden, others spoke of meeting national celebrities who had helped them get to know their new home country.

Anne Foo from Malaysia is a fan of the Sällskapsresan movies by Lasse Åberg, who plays the kind but hapless Stig Helmer.

“It was one of the first Swedish films I watched when I first moved to Sweden that I could understand without needing to be fluent. It helped me understand the Swedish psyche and their humour and Swedish people in general,” she said.

Multi-talented artist Åberg is also known for his sketches of Mickey Mouse, as well as Trazan & Banarne, one of Sweden’s most famous children’s shows, and his band Electric Banana Band. Anne met him when she visited his museum, Åbergs Museum, outside of Stockholm.

“We were not expecting to see him there but we kind of heard he pops by the museum often to help out. We bought tickets for the guided tour and lucky us the guide fell sick (sorry guide!) and Lasse, who happened to pop by just then, took over and gave us a personal guided tour of his museum. He is just as he was as Stig Helmer. Has a down-to-earth humour, very intelligent and humble.”

Another reader, Doug, met Swedish singer Lisa Nilsson when she was performing the lead role in the musical Next to Normal at Stockholm’s Stadsteater, a performance she got rave reviews for.

“I have loved Lisa Nilsson for years, ever since Himlen runt hörnet was required listening in my Swedish class,” he wrote on The Local’s Facebook page.

“After the performance I waited by the stage door to see if I could meet her. Many people came out, but not her – until finally she exited, alone. I approached her and she was not just gracious – she seemed genuinely excited to meet an American fan. We stood (in the rain, no less) and spoke for a while. I came away feeling that my adoration was well-placed: talented, beautiful, and so down to earth. A wonderful entertainer and an extraordinary human being.”

Some readers also shared pictures of themselves running into a Swedish celebrity.

Benjamin Dyke met football coach Sven-Göran Eriksson in Torsby, where Eriksson grew up, at the opening ceremony of the Svennis Cup, a youth football competition held every year in his honour.

Eriksson, more known by his nickname Svennis in Sweden, during his long career coached teams such as Lazio in Italy and brought England, as coach, to the quarter-finals of the 2002 and 2006 World Cups. Earlier this year he disclosed he had been diagnosed with fatal pancreatic cancer.

Dyke’s encounter with Eriksson happened a few years ago, and he walked up to the Swede to thank him for his time as England manager and the two chatted for a while about that.

“He asked where I came from in England and I answered that all my family come from Liverpool. His eyes lit up (I now know he supported Liverpool all his life, as did his dad) but when I explained that I was an Everton fan (the other Liverpool team…) he quickly shut down the conversation and walked away,” said Dyke.

Sven-Göran Eriksson, left, and Benjamin Dyke in 2018. Photo: Private

Readers also shared their stories on The Local’s Facebook page. Lindelwa posted a picture of her chance meeting with Swedish Melodifestivalen winner John Lundvik at Stockholm’s Arlanda Airport, although she revealed they did not share a flight.

Lundvik represented Sweden in the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest with the song Too Late for Love (and co-wrote the UK’s entry, Bigger than Us, the same year), with which he came in fifth.

Lindelwa and John Lundvik. Photo: Private

Gerard met Abba legend Benny Andersson outside his studio in Stockholm.

“I had never seen Benny’s studio so I went to take a look with the ferry from Djurgården to Skeppsholmen. I was told that Benny was in so I waited for a little while and he came out to meet a few fans,” he said, revealing that it was in fact not the first time he ran into Andersson, a composer also known for co-writing hit musicals such as Chess and Kristina from Duvemåla.

“He’s always very kind and patient. I had met him before, last time in 2010 in London for the concert of Kristina at the Royal Albert Hall. Next stop will be May 27th, the second anniversary of Abba Voyage in London where Benny and Björn will do a Q&A before the show.”

Gerard and Benny Andersson back in 2010. Photo: Private

Several other readers also said they had met members of Abba.

“I was a child visiting my relatives in Sweden the year Voulez-Vous was released. My aunt took me to NK [Stockholm mall] to buy the LP. On our way back to her apartment, she spotted Frida on Hamngatan. My aunt was amazing at celeb-spotting, and she was usually very discreet, but in this case she insisted I go up and say hello! Frida was happy to autograph the album for a young fan; it’s still one of my prized possessions today,” said Sue Trowbridge.

Of course, it’s not always easy to recognise celebrities. You might spot a familiar face but not be able to place it, as happened to Linda on two separate occasions when she ran into a Swedish acting star and a member of the Nobel Prize-awarding Swedish Academy.

“I accidentally stared at Pernilla August in a local food shop. She looked familiar but I couldn’t recognise her. She stared back and I suddenly came to my senses and looked another way. Embarrassed. I’ve also stared at Horace Engdahl,” she said.

In The Local’s original survey call-out, we also included a story from Australian reader Jake Farrugia, who was on his lunch break in NK when he spotted a familiar face, Sweden’s Crown Princess Victoria. He walked up to her to ask for a selfie.

“She was very nice and we shared some small talk which truly made me feel like we were on the same level and that she had a strong sense of humanity, as I stood there, butchering her native language with my ‘work in progress’ level of Swedish. I can see why the Swedish people have a deep love and respect for her,” Farrugia said.

“It’s a very un-Swedish thing to do, that’s why I think it’s so fun! All of my encounters with celebrities in Sweden have been very positive so far. It’s all in the approach, you have to be respectful and be OK with others not wanting to give you their time of day, since we all have days where we are feeling less social and those can easily be interpreted as a part of our character, but they rarely are a fair representation.

“If I were to be a celebrity, Sweden would be the place to best blend in. It seems like celebrities can live a somewhat normal life as the construct of ‘celebrity’ isn’t viewed as a thing people go hysteric for as is the case in many other countries.”

The Local’s reader Jake Farrugia snapped this selfie with Sweden’s Crown Princess Victoria. Photo: Private
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