With their nation’s long, dark winters, it’s little surprise that residents of Sweden are keen to make the most of the sunnier months, when the country’s coastal islands, lakes, forests and mountains provide a scenic backdrop to an array of festivals.
A performance at the Sweden Rock Festival (Photo: Heini Samuelsen via Flickr / CC BY-SA 2.0)
The majority of Sweden’s summer festivals take place in the vibrant capital of Stockholm and its 14 islands, But there’s also plenty of festivities to be found across the rest of the country, where a similar desire to capitalise on the warmer temperatures makes summertime a particularly busy spell. If you’re planning a trip to Sweden this summer and would like to find out if there are any festivals going on during your stay, we’ve picked out some of the best in the offing.
Sweden Rock Festival
Classic rock, hard rock, metal and blues combine with a friendly atmosphere to make this one of Sweden’s most popular music festivals. Nestled between the ocean and grassy hillsides outside the city of Sölvesborg on Sweden’s southern coast, the event features performances across five stages, ensuring plenty of variety to satisfy revellers’ musical tastes. Unlike many other festivals, the organisers also place a strong focus on comfort for visitors, with real lavatories and 200 staff keeping the site clean at all times.
Sölvesborg / 5-8 June
Stockholm Culture Festival
A live stage performance at Stockholm Culture Festival (Photo: Stockholm Culture Festival)
For five lively summer days and nights, the streets and squares of central Stockholm are taken over by a feast of cultural offerings, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. A tradition since 2006, all kinds of events and activities take place during the festival, including music performances spanning every genre under the sun, plus street art, dance workshops, stand-up comedy, concerts, exhibitions, theatre performances, film screenings, poetry readings, author talks guided walks and plenty more. There are also plenty of food and drink concessions to keep festival-goers’ energy levels up. Admission to the festival is free.
Venues across Stockholm / 14-18 August
Yoga Mela Festival
A workshop by Mirabai Ceiba at Yoga Mela festival (Photo: Yoga Mela Festival)
Europe’s biggest Yoga & Sacred Music Festival takes place over 8 days at Divinya – Center for Evolutionary Consciousness in the south of Sweden. This vibrant and deeply profound gathering, brings people from all over the world together to co-create a transformative energy field of peace and love. The festival promotes yoga as a way of life and offers over 150 programs, including satsang, yoga, concerts, workshops and a magical children’s program. Join world-renowned artists and teachers such as Deva Premal & Miten, Mirabai Ceiba, Kia Miller, Malin Berghagen and many more. It is a celebration of life held in a serene castle environment in which you can come and immerse yourself in a magical atmosphere of harmony and mindfulness.
Divinya Center for Evolutionary Consciousness, Farstorp / 13-20 July
Stockholm Writers Festival
An audience gathered at the Stockholm Writers Festival (Photo: Stockholm Writers Festival)
Anyone who has visited Sweden will attest to the fact that English is spoken almost as fluently as the native language. Little surprise, therefore, that this annual festival centres on English-language writing, bringing together writers, authors, and industry professionals with the aim of helping people hone their writing skills, learn about the business of publishing and professional writing, and connect with other established and emerging wordsmiths.
Swedish History Museum, Stockholm / 23-25 August
Stockholm Early Music Festival
A performance at the Stockholm Early Music Festival (Photo: Stockholm Early Music Festival)
Held in the historical setting of Stockholm’s Old Town, the 17th edition of the Stockholm Early Music Festival returns to the Swedish capital this June, once again promising historical music from baroque, renaissance, and medieval times. The programme includes lunch, afternoon, and evening concerts, seminars and masterclasses, all designed to promote 1,000 years of musical heritage on the Swedish and European music scene.
Stockholm Old Town / 4-9 June
A Taste of Stockholm
Some 200,000 portions of food, 100,000 beers and 65,000 glasses of wine are shifted during A Taste of Stockholm each year, one of the world’s biggest food and drink festivals. Providing a platform for chefs and collaborators to rustle up a range of delectable treats from a broad spectrum of food traditions and cultures, the event attracts large numbers of both natives and visitors alike. As well as the array of foodie offerings, there are also fun-packed activities to take part in and watch, including ‘chef duels’, as well as plenty of kids’ entertainment.
Kungsträdgården / 3-9 June
Crowds at A Taste of Stockholm (Photo: Dorian via Flickr / CC-BY-SA-2.0)
Stockholm Pride
Said to be the largest Pride event anywhere in Scandinavia, Stockholm Pride has grown rapidly since its debut in 1998, with some 60,000 participants and 600,000 spectators now in regular attendance each year. The celebrations typically start with lectures and exhibitions across the city celebrating LGBT rights, lifestyles and culture, culminating with the grand finale – a dazzling, kaleidoscopic parade.
Venues across Stockholm / 29 July-3 August
Gyrating revellers during a Stockholm Pride parade (Photo: Signe Brockman via Flickr / CC-BY-SA-2.0)
Malmo Festival
The Malmö Festival, aka “Malmöfestivalen”, is a bustling, vibrant street festival held over one week every August. Founded over three decades ago, making it the oldest city festival in Northern Europe, the event has gone from strength to strength and today features everything from groundbreaking art, music and culture, to a variety of food that reflects the multicultural make-up of modern-day Malmo. Entrance is free for all-comers.
Central Malmo / 9-16 August
A large sign at the entrance to Malmo Festival (Photo: Philip Mallis via Flickr / CC-BY-SA-2)
Nordic Song Festival
Now in to its fourth year, the Nordic Song Festival has become an important event on Sweden’s cultural calendar, designed to help budding music students from across the world enhance their performance skills. Featuring a number of internationally renowned names each year, the event features a rich programme of concerts, along with master classes hosted by distinguished teachers and lecturers.
Venues across Trollhättan / 3–11 August
Helsingborg Piano Festival
Taking place in the coastal city of Helsingborg in southern Sweden, this annual festival offers four evenings of top-quality concerts featuring world-class pianists along with master classes, lunch concerts, lectures and other events. Notable names from the piano world to have appeared at the festival in previous years include David Fray from France, Konstantin Scherbakov from Russia, and Yekwon Sunwoo from South Korea.
Venues across Helsingborg / 21-24 August
Sigtuna Möte
Over a full weekend, Sigtuna invites you to the traditional market days Sigtuna Möte, when the town steps back in time to the year 1912. The traditional market is located in the picturesque medieval town centre where you can enjoy old-style market stalls, food, music and contemporary craftsmanship. Many visitors also like to dress up in the style of the era. As well as the charming traditional market, the program also includes a clothes competition, flea market and fun games. There´s also a farmer’s market where you can pet animals and if you want to try traditional crafts, you can visit a dedicated craft district.
Sigtuna town centre / 31 August
Traditionally attired visitors at Sigtuna Möte (Photo: Sigtuna Möte)
Stockholm Fringe Festival
Fans of performance art and experimental theatre visiting Stockholm in early September are in for a treat as the city plays host to the 10th-anniversary edition of its annual STOFF Fringe Festival, or STOFF-X as it’s dubbed this year. Held over five days, more than 70 acts perform shows across 8 venues, offering a platform for local and international artists to showcase their artistic gifts in front of captivated audiences. The festival puts a strong emphasis on encouraging emerging artists to hone their talents and make their mark on the industry, giving visitors a unique chance to see future stars performing before they hit the big time. To mark the 10th anniversary, this year’s theme is also unique, with all work presented written, directed, choreographed and produced by female, non-binary and trans artists.
Venues across Stockholm / 26 August-1 September
A promo pic of Stand Up Yours, one of the acts at this year’s Stockholm Fringe (Photo: Ulrika Campbell)
Panoramica
Stockholm’s first and largest Latin American film festival, Panoramica’s organisers proclaim their goal to be to “spread Latin American cinema and narratives to Swedish audiences with films as a medium for cultural and artistic exchange”. Held over four days, the event hosts screenings of films and documentaries hailing from the continent, attracting large crowds of film buffs with a penchant for Latin-flavoured flicks.
Cinemas across Stockholm / 24-29 September