Calendar of Festivals & Events in Stockholm- 2016

Stockholm views. Photo by Henrik Trygg/mediabank.visitstockholm.com.

Here we go... my calendar of festivals, concerts, sporting events and fun happenings that have special appeal for visitors to Stockholm. Hopefully this calendar will help you plan your upcoming visit to the city. I haven't put in every event, concentrating more on the larger ones and events that attract a lot of visitors (there are hundreds of other smaller events & concerts not listed). While some events going on during your stay may not be of interest to you, it is good to be aware of them as they may cause traffic problems (marathon), high occupancy in hotels and restaurants (concerts & matches) or business closures (bank holidays). If you are going to be staying at the Rival Hotel and are interested in more detailed information or smaller events that may be going on during your visit, contact me directly. I will be adding more information and events as more information comes in. If I haven't provided a link to an event or festival, it is because an updated website wasn't available at the time I wrote this... but check back. I will try to update the calendar as much as possible. There are a plethora of fairs going on in Stockholm with everything from antiques to gardening to boats. It is impossible to list them all here (just a few of the big ones) but check the event calendar here to see which fairs are going on at the Stockholm International Fairgrounds at Älvsjö this year.

Guards at the Royal Palace. Photo by Jeppe Wikström/mediabank.visitstockholm.com.

February

• 9th- Shrove Tuesday. The day to eat a semla!
• 8th to 14th- Stockholm Design Week and Furniture and Light Fair.
• 11th- Royal Palace Sprint World Cup cross country skiing around the palace.
• 14th- Vikingarännet ice skating race on natural ice.
• 23rd- World Cup skiing event at Hammarbybacken.

March

• 3rd- Ellie Goulding in concert at the Globe Arena.
• 4th- Carrie Underwood & Jill Johnson concert at Hovet. 
• 8th- Macklemore & Ryan Lewis concert at Globe Arena. 
• 11th & 12th- Melodifestivalen (Swedish finals for Eurovision) at Friends Arena.
• 16th to 18th- Kings of Tennis at Stockholm Waterfront. 
• 24th through 28th- Easter weekend. Keep in mind that Friday & Monday are bank holidays in Sweden. Skansen is a good place to partake in traditional celebrations.
• 27th- daylight savings time starts (clocks "spring forward"). Or does it end? Never get that straight.
• Sweden vs Czech Republic in football (mens) at Friends Arena.

April

• 1st- First day of the Stockholm City Bike season.
• 2nd- Mariah Carey concert at the Globe Arena. 
• 9th & 10th- Medieval Market in Kungsträdgården.
• 16th- Cherry Blossom Day in Kungsträdgården. 
• 23rd- the amusement park Gröna Lund opens for the season. 
• 23rd- Stockholm's Culture Night. Hundreds of free cultural events throughout the city.
• 23rd & 24th- Liquorice Festival at Annexet.
• 25th- Dixie Chicks concert at Hovet. 
• 27th- Janet Jackson concert at Hovet. (edit: tour delayed, no new dates)
• 28th- Adele concert at Tele2 Arena. 
• 30th- Walpurgis (Valborg) celebrations. Bonfire celebrations around the city and Skansen.

Walpurgis Eve celebrations. Phot by Jeppe Wikström/mediabank.visitstockholm.com

May

• 1st- International Workers' Day (bank holiday- though it falls on a Sunday this year).
• 5th- Ascension Day (bank holiday).
• 5th- Josh Groban in concert at Stockholm Waterfront Center. 
• 7th- Bryan Ferry concert at Stockholm Waterfront Center.
• 10th through 14th- Eurovision Song Contest at Globe Arena. Thousands of people come to the city with millions of TV viewers tuning in.
• 22nd- Prince Bertil Memorial historical motor parade. 
• 22nd- Color Run (a very colorful race).
• 25th- Rod Stewart concert at Globe Arena.
• 27th to 29th- Elitloppet (harness racing championship) weekend. Very popular!

June

• 1st- 5 Seconds of Summer concert at Globe Arena.
• 2nd to 6th- A Taste of Stockholm (restaurant/food festival) in Kungsträdgården.
• 2nd to 6th- Early Music Festival (baroque, renaissance and medieval music) in Gamla Stan.
• 4th- The Stockholm Marathon. Huge!
• 6th- Swedish National Holiday (bank holiday).
• 10th & 11th- Summerburst Festival at Gärdet. 
• 11th- Stockholm Swim-Run.
• 16th- Stockholm Bauhaus Athletics Meet (Diamond League).
• 24th to 26th- Traditional Midsummer celebrations.
• 30th to July 3rd- ÅF Offshore Race (sailing regatta in Stockholm harbor).
• 30th to July 3rd- Stockholm Street Festival in Kungsträdgården. 

ÅF Offshore Race. Photo by Erik G Svensson/mediabank.visitstockholm.com.

July

• 2nd & 3rd- World Championships in Triathlon. 
• 3rd- Coldplay concert at Friends Arena. 
• 4th- Rihanna concert at Tele2 Arena. 
• 9th- Monsters of Rock concert at Friends Arena. 
• 14th to 16th- TBEX Europe Congress in Stockholm (travel bloggers and writers visit the city).
• 25th to 31st- Stockholm Gay Pride. Very popular, ending with a city wide parade on Saturday.
• 26th- Beyoncé concert at Friends Arena.
• 30th- BAO concert at Skansen.

August

• 13th- 10k Midnight Race (Midnattsloppet) on Södermalm. Festive atmosphere.
• 14th- DN outdoor concert with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. 
• 16th to 20th- We are Sthlm (youth festival) in Kungsträdgården. 
• 16th to 20th- Stockholm Cultural festival. Everything cultural, everything free.
• 24th to 27th- Formex international Nordic design fair.
• 26th & 27th- Popaganda (pop music festival).
• 28th to Sept 4th- Baltic Sea Festival (classical music).

Stockholm music event at Gustav Adolfs Torg. Photo by Robert Höglund/mediabank.visitstockholm.com.

September

• 3rd- Tjejmilen (womens 10k run).
• 4th- Sthlm Bike (morning bike race).
• 5th- Ö till Ö. World chamionships in swim-run out in the archipelago.
• 6th- Sweden vs Netherlands in mens football (World Cup qualifier) at Friends Arena. 
• 10th- Stockholm Half Marathon.
• 24th & 25th- Lidingöloppet (international cross country running).
• 24th & 25th- Historic Autumn Market at Skansen.
• 29th & 30th- Justin Bieber concert at Tele2 Arena. 

October

• 7th to 16th- Stockholm Jazz Festival at different venues throughout the city.
• 9th- The Cure concert at Globe Arena. 
• 10th- Sweden vs Bulgaria in mens football (World Cup qualifier) at Friends Arena.
• 30th- daylight savings time ends (clocks "fall back").
• 31st- last day of the Stockholm City Bike season.

November

• 24th to 27th- International Horse Show at Friends Arena.
• 26th- premiere of the Skansen Christmas market.

Christmas market at Stortorget. Photo by Jeppe Wikström/mediabank.visitstockholm.com

December

• 10th- Nobel Day (prize ceremony and gala dinner).
• 13th- Lucia Day celebrations.
• 24th & 25th- Christmas.
• 31st- New Year's Eve.

Many of the dates and websites for events in October, November and December haven't been determined yet (as I write this in Feb '16). Check back towards the end of summer for an updated fall/winter calendar.