Kulturfestivalen - Stockholm Culture Festival 2014

Concert venue GAT, photo by Emma Svensson

The next big festival is just around the corner... The Stockholm Culture Festival (Kulturfestivalen), August 12th to 17th. This is one of my favorite festivals. Not only are there lots of things to see/do/experience, but it is all free! The only exceptions are the walking tours which, due to limited availability, cost 20 SEK to reserve a spot. For 6 days and evenings, the parks and squares of downtown Stockholm transform into concert venues, outdoor cinemas, circus tents and playgrounds for children. Food & drink tents as well!

Swedish artist Edda Magnason, one of the many performers at Kulturfestivalen.
Photo courtesy of kulturfestivalen.se 

The theme for this year's festival is "Barcelona" with many of the artists, shows and events coming from the Catalonian city (as well as Swedish artists and shows, of course!). In fact the festival is presented in part with The City of Barcelona, Institute Ramon Llull and the Catalonian government. This is a celebration of the close & friendly relationship between the two cultural cities. As I mentioned earlier, there are hundreds of things to choose from... something for everyone, whatever your age or interests. Dance, theatre, art, film, circus, food, cultural walks and literature are all well represented at the festival. For an English program of the highlights, visit their website and scroll down a bit to find a downloadable program in PDF format. Otherwise, if you are staying at the Rival Hotel, stop by and talk to me or my colleagues for more information.

Performance venue Sergels Torg, photo by Dennis Wernersson.

The festival is concentrated in the downtown area... in the squares Gustav Adolfs Torg (GAT), Sergels Torg, Brunkebergs Torg and Norrbro and the street Drottninggatan. All these squares and streets are within a 10-15 minute walk from each other so it is very easy to get around. They are also easy to get to from the Rival Hotel... 3 subway stops, a 10 minute bus ride or else a 30 minute walk through the old town. There is another festival going on at the same time in the park Kungsträdgården. This one is called We Are Sthlm and is aimed at youths between 13 and 19 years of age and features lots of music, culture, sports and entertainment. So if you are travelling with teen-agers, you can just drop them off at this festival before heading to the Culture Festival to enjoy yourselves.