Gay & Lesbian (Friendly) Stockholm!

Stockholm has a fantastic reputation for being very "gay friendly" and welcoming to LGBT visitors. Something we are quite proud of! Stockholm and Sweden have racked up an impressive collection of awards in recent years from international gay media: "Style Capital of the World", "Best International Destination", "Favorite LGBT-Friendly City" and Sweden is ranked as the #1 country in Spartacus' gay travel index. This is in part due to Swedes' general relaxed attitude on LGBT issues (they have had registered partnership in Sweden since 1995 and same sex marriage since 2009). Another big reason is that the Stockholm Visitors Board has, for years, made a very concerted effort to cultivate the city's reputation as being gay friendly and to promote Stockholm as a top destination for LGBT travellers.

Part of their effort has been the creation of the Stockholm Gay & Lesbian Network (SGLN), which is a collection of top hotels, museums, attractions and transportation companies which work together to keep Stockholm an attractive destination for LGBT visitors. The Rival Hotel is a proud member of this network! Along with other top hotels, members include the Royal Palace, Vasa Museum, NK department store, ABBA the Museum, Strömma Sightseeing, Fotografiska, Scandinavian Airlines (SAS), Arlanda Express and many more.

SGLN has put together both a gay guide and a lesbian guide, both are downloadable and helpful for LGBT visitors to find their way around the city and are full of fab tips regarding shopping, dining, culture, nightlife and more. Another good place to look for day to day tips is the calendar in the online QX gay map. If you are staying at the Rival Hotel, contact me directly or stop by to talk to me for even more help!

Photo by Yanan Li, Stockholm Visitors Board

Some good dates to mark in your calendar... gay pride week, called Stockholm Pride, is generally in the first week of August every year (this year from July 28th to August 2nd) and is the largest pride celebration in Scandinavia. Stockholm is also very proud to announce that they will be the host city for EuroGames in 2015 (5th to 9th of August). This regular LGBT (though open for all) sporting event, put on by the European Gay & Lesbian Sport Federation, is expected to attract 5,000 contestants and over 200,000 spectators!
First three pictures provided by SGLN, photographer Jens Grip.