Events & Festivals- Summer 2011

Photo: Alexander Dokukin- SVB

(Edit: This is the calendar for 2011, to see the calendar for 2014- click here!) Besides all of the wonderful museums, galleries and activities in Stockholm, there are plenty of fun events and festivals going on in the city all summer. A wide variety! Here is a calendar of what is going on with a short description to help you plan your trip/stay. Most of the events and festivals take place, as you will see, in either the Old Town (Gamla Stan), Kungsträdgården or Skansen/Djurgården. These are all easily accessible from the Rival Hotel. The Old Town is a 10-15 minute walk from the hotel, Kungsträdgården is a 20-25 minute walk and the commuter ferries will take you to Skansen and Djurgården. I'll write more about the bigger events as we get closer to the actual dates.

• April 30th- Walpurgis Night (Valborg): A night of bonfires and singing, more information next week.
• May 1st- May Day: Political demonstrations in the city.
• May 16th to 18th- New Sound Made Festival: 3 days of live jazz and pop music in Kungsträdgården. Free!
• May 17th- Norwegian Constitution Day (syttande mai): Celebrate Norway's national holiday at Skansen.
• May 27th to 29th- Elitloppet: Three days of horse races (harness & trotting) at Solvalla Race Track.
• May 28th- Stockholm Marathon: Very popular race through the city. Elite runners and amatuers.
• June 1st to 6th- Taste of Stockholm (Smaka på Stockholm): Restaurant festival in Kungsträdgården, lots of food, drink & music. Free entrance!
• June 2nd- Ascension Day (Kristi Himmelsfärds Dag): Bank holiday in Sweden
• June 2nd to 6th- Early Music Festival: Performances of baroque, renaissance and medieval music in different churches in the Old Town.
• June 4th- Summerburst Festival: One day festival put on by some of Stockholm's best nightclubs. DJs and live acts at Stockholm Stadion.
• June 6th- Swedish National Holiday: Bank holiday, celebrations in the city and at Skansen.
• June 6th- Make Musik Sthlm: Swedish version of Fête de la Musique. Free music at different venues throughout the city.
• June 17th to 19th- Stockholm Jazz Festival (Jazzfestivalen): Very popular festival. Moving to Skansen this year. Angie Stone will be headlining.
• June 24th & 25th- Midsummer Holidays: BIG holiday. Many stores & restaurants closed, some museums. Celebrations at Skansen.
• July 1st to 3rd- Stockholm Green Festival: Celebrate the enviroment and the green movement in Kungsträdgården. Music, food and activites. Free entrance!
• July 8th to 10th- Stockholm Street Festival: Smaller festival in Kungsträdården featuring some of the world's best street performers. Free entrance.
• July 9th- Sonisphere Festival: One day heavy metal festival at Globen featuring many great international bands.
• July 29th- DN Galan: Diamond League track & field competition featuring elite athletes from around the world.
• August 1st to 7th- Gay Pride Festival: Very popular! Moving to Kungsträdgården this year and free entrance! Loads of music, food & drink. Parade through the city on Saturday. More info!
• August 13th- Midnight Run (Midnattloppet): Popular late evening run on the island of Södermalm. Festival atmosphere.
• August 16th to 20th- Youth 08 (Ung 08): Free festival aimed at the teenage crowd... in the downtown area.
• August 16th to 21st- Culture Festival (Kulturfestivalen): Free festival for everything cultural. Lots of performances! Throughout the downtown area.
• August 26th & 27th- Popaganda. Pop festival with Swedish and international acts at Eriksdalsbadet.
• September 3rd- Women's 10K Run (Tjejmilen): For women only! Beautiful run through the parklands of Gärdet and Djurgården.
• September 17th- Half Marathon: Popular run through the city, with start and finish line at the royal palace.

As you see...plenty to do! I may have missed one or two events, but I'll add them as I find them! The newspaper Dagens Nyheter has a good list of events, including smaller events like concerts and sporting events. The Calendar is in Swedish, but a little Google Translating should help...