Stockholm Gay Pride 2014

The Rival Teddy Björn...

It's that time of the year again! We have several big festivals in the beginning of August. Besides the Music & Arts Festival and Culture Festival, we have the biggest of all Scandinavian festivals: Stockholm Gay Pride! Pride Week is all of this week (July 28th to August 3rd), but with many of the main events happening later in the week (Wed-Sat). Not only is this a time for the LGBT community to party & demonstrate, it is also an opportunity for Stockholmers in general to celebrate the tolerance in Swedish society and the fact that the city has been named the gay friendliest city on the planet... not once, but twice in recent years!

Photo by Yanan Li, Stockholm Visitors Board

The festival runs until Sunday, August 3rd, and there are a ton of events each day... movies, seminars, workshops, concerts, performances, parties and (of course) the parade. I can't possibly list all of the happenings here, but you can check the Pride website to see the calendar of events (Park). It is good to know that most events are to be found either in the Pride House or the Pride Park (Östermalms IP). There is an entrance fee to the park and you can either buy a day pass or a week pass. Tickets can be purchased at the door, online, at the tourist information office or at a ticnet outlet. There are also a number of nightly parties at different venues throughout the city each evening... more information can be found in the calendar. QX.se also has a list of the parties on their website (use the calendar function). More info here!

Photo by Yanan Li, Stockholm Visitors Board

The Pride Parade happens on Saturday, starting at 1pm at Mariatorget/Hornsgatan and ending at approximately 3pm in Pride Park. This is a very popular event with over 500,000 spectators lining the streets in past years. The fact that it starts at Mariatorget makes it very special for the Rival Hotel... since that is where we are located! One thing our guests should think about, however, is that the main street Hornsgatan will be closed to traffic from 8am until about 3pm. This will make traveling to and from the hotel by car or taxi a little complicated on Saturday. So stick to walking and subways on this day. If you are checking in or out on Saturday, contact us for extra help. Happy Pride!

Stockholm Gay Pride 2014

Posted by zlatin

The Rival Teddy Björn...

It's that time of the year again! We have several big festivals in the beginning of August. Besides the Music & Arts Festival and Culture Festival, we have the biggest of all Scandinavian festivals: Stockholm Gay Pride! Pride Week is all of this week (July 28th to August 3rd), but with many of the main events happening later in the week (Wed-Sat). Not only is this a time for the LGBT community to party & demonstrate, it is also an opportunity for Stockholmers in general to celebrate the tolerance in Swedish society and the fact that the city has been named the gay friendliest city on the planet... not once, but twice in recent years!

Photo by Yanan Li, Stockholm Visitors Board

The festival runs until Sunday, August 3rd, and there are a ton of events each day... movies, seminars, workshops, concerts, performances, parties and (of course) the parade. I can't possibly list all of the happenings here, but you can check the Pride website to see the calendar of events (Park). It is good to know that most events are to be found either in the Pride House or the Pride Park (Östermalms IP). There is an entrance fee to the park and you can either buy a day pass or a week pass. Tickets can be purchased at the door, online, at the tourist information office or at a ticnet outlet. There are also a number of nightly parties at different venues throughout the city each evening... more information can be found in the calendar. QX.se also has a list of the parties on their website (use the calendar function). More info here!

Photo by Yanan Li, Stockholm Visitors Board

The Pride Parade happens on Saturday, starting at 1pm at Mariatorget/Hornsgatan and ending at approximately 3pm in Pride Park. This is a very popular event with over 500,000 spectators lining the streets in past years. The fact that it starts at Mariatorget makes it very special for the Rival Hotel... since that is where we are located! One thing our guests should think about, however, is that the main street Hornsgatan will be closed to traffic from 8am until about 3pm. This will make traveling to and from the hotel by car or taxi a little complicated on Saturday. So stick to walking and subways on this day. If you are checking in or out on Saturday, contact us for extra help. Happy Pride!

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.

Gay & Lesbian (Friendly) Stockholm!

Posted by zlatin

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.

Festivals in August

Photo by Yanan Li, Stockholms Visitors Board

July is the month when most Swedes have their summer vacation and, therefore, most Stockholmers leave the city for their summer homes or trips abroad. Because of this, there aren't many big festivals in the city during July. But Stockholmers are returning to the city now and festival season is starting!

• First out is the finals of the Women's Euro-Championships in Football(Soccer). It will be held at the new Friends Arena on July 28th. While this isn't a festival per se, it will hopefully be a festival atmosphere. Especially if Sweden, who has been playing quite well, makes it to the finals. Fingers crossed! Edit: :( 
• The gay pride festival, called simply Stockholm Pride, kicks off on Wednesday, July30th and runs through Saturday, August 3rd. This is Scandinavia's largest gay pride festival and it attracts people from far and wide. Besides the festival area, filled with restaurant tents and live performances from big name artists, the big event is the pride parade which takes place on Saturday. Stockholmers tend to come out in the hundreds of thousands to see the parade snake through the city.
• On the same weekend, August 2nd-4th, the Music & Art Festival will be taking place on the island of Skeppsholmen. A varied line-up of artists will be performing, though the big ticket name is Prince (performing on Sunday evening).
• Next out are two side-by-side festivals. The main one is the Stockholm Culture Festival (August 13th-18th). This covers everything cultural... with music, art, literature, live performances and much more going on throughout downtown Stockholm. The best part is that it is all free (no admission)! Going on simultaneously (August 13th-17th) is the youth festival We Are Sthlm (formerly known as Ung08) in Kungsträdgården park. 

Those are the big festivals, but there are even other smaller festivals as well as concerts and sporting events going on in August. Check the full calendar by clicking here.

Photo by Yanan Li, Stockholm Visitors Board

Festivals in August

Posted by zlatin

Photo by Yanan Li, Stockholms Visitors Board

July is the month when most Swedes have their summer vacation and, therefore, most Stockholmers leave the city for their summer homes or trips abroad. Because of this, there aren't many big festivals in the city during July. But Stockholmers are returning to the city now and festival season is starting!

• First out is the finals of the Women's Euro-Championships in Football(Soccer). It will be held at the new Friends Arena on July 28th. While this isn't a festival per se, it will hopefully be a festival atmosphere. Especially if Sweden, who has been playing quite well, makes it to the finals. Fingers crossed! Edit: :( 
• The gay pride festival, called simply Stockholm Pride, kicks off on Wednesday, July30th and runs through Saturday, August 3rd. This is Scandinavia's largest gay pride festival and it attracts people from far and wide. Besides the festival area, filled with restaurant tents and live performances from big name artists, the big event is the pride parade which takes place on Saturday. Stockholmers tend to come out in the hundreds of thousands to see the parade snake through the city.
• On the same weekend, August 2nd-4th, the Music & Art Festival will be taking place on the island of Skeppsholmen. A varied line-up of artists will be performing, though the big ticket name is Prince (performing on Sunday evening).
• Next out are two side-by-side festivals. The main one is the Stockholm Culture Festival (August 13th-18th). This covers everything cultural... with music, art, literature, live performances and much more going on throughout downtown Stockholm. The best part is that it is all free (no admission)! Going on simultaneously (August 13th-17th) is the youth festival We Are Sthlm (formerly known as Ung08) in Kungsträdgården park. 

Those are the big festivals, but there are even other smaller festivals as well as concerts and sporting events going on in August. Check the full calendar by clicking here.

Photo by Yanan Li, Stockholm Visitors Board

Stockholm Gay & Lesbian Network

Photo by Yanan Li, Stockholm Visitors Board

The Stockholm Visitors Board has successfully campaigned in the past few years to raise the city's presence in the gay & lesbian travel market as a premiere destination. I say successfully because the awards and positive media attention have rained down on Stockholm recently, showing that their efforts have paid off... the city was awarded "Favorite LGBT Friendly City" by readers of Edge Magazine, "World Style Capital" by Logo's NewNowNext readers and Sweden was named "The Gay Friendliest Country in the World" by Spartacus Gay Guide. They have also recently released a  beautiful video promoting Stockholm which you can watch by clicking here.
Part of their campaign has been to create the Stockholm Gay & Lesbian Network, which "functions as a network-based partnership cooperating closely with the travel industry in Stockholm and special interest organisations" and promotes three core values of Stockholm: openness, diversity and respect. The Rival Hotel is proud to be a full fledged member of the Stockholm Gay & Lesbian Network and we are looking forward to working together with our partners to keep Stockholm at the top of the lists of the world's gay friendliest cities!

Stockholm Gay & Lesbian Network

Posted by zlatin

Photo by Yanan Li, Stockholm Visitors Board

The Stockholm Visitors Board has successfully campaigned in the past few years to raise the city's presence in the gay & lesbian travel market as a premiere destination. I say successfully because the awards and positive media attention have rained down on Stockholm recently, showing that their efforts have paid off... the city was awarded "Favorite LGBT Friendly City" by readers of Edge Magazine, "World Style Capital" by Logo's NewNowNext readers and Sweden was named "The Gay Friendliest Country in the World" by Spartacus Gay Guide. They have also recently released a  beautiful video promoting Stockholm which you can watch by clicking here.
Part of their campaign has been to create the Stockholm Gay & Lesbian Network, which "functions as a network-based partnership cooperating closely with the travel industry in Stockholm and special interest organisations" and promotes three core values of Stockholm: openness, diversity and respect. The Rival Hotel is proud to be a full fledged member of the Stockholm Gay & Lesbian Network and we are looking forward to working together with our partners to keep Stockholm at the top of the lists of the world's gay friendliest cities!

Stockholm Gay Pride Festival- 2012

Today, August 1st, is the official kick-off for Stockholm Pride Festival... arguably the largest festival on the calendar in Stockholm. Besides being a time for the LGBT community to party & demonstrate, it is also an opportunity for Stockholmers in general to celebrate the tolerance in Swedish society and the fact that the city has been named the gay friendliest city on the planet... not once, but twice this past year!

Photo by Yanan Li, Stockholm Visitors Board

The festival runs until Sunday, August 4th, and there are a ton of events each day... movies, seminars, workshops, concerts, performances, parties and (of course) the parade. I can't possibly list all of the happenings here, but you can check the Pride website to see the calendar of events. It is good to know that most events are to be found either in the Pride House or the Pride Park (Tantolunden). There is an entrance fee to the park and you can either buy a day pass or a week pass. Tickets can be purchased at the door, online, at the tourist information office or at a ticnet outlet. There are also a number of nightly parties at different venues throughout the city each evening... more information can be found in the calendar. QX.se also has a list of the parties on their website, though in Swedish (try using google translate).

Photo by Yanan Li, Stockholm Visitors Board

The Pride Parade happens on Saturday, starting at 1pm in Humlegården and ending at approximately 4pm in Pride Park. This is a popular event with over 500,000 spectators lining the streets in past years. The parade route runs up the street Hornsgatan right past the Rival Hotel and Pride Park is just a 15 minute walk from the hotel... so you will be perfectly situated to enjoy the festivities. Happy Pride!

Stockholm Gay Pride Festival- 2012

Posted by zlatin

Today, August 1st, is the official kick-off for Stockholm Pride Festival... arguably the largest festival on the calendar in Stockholm. Besides being a time for the LGBT community to party & demonstrate, it is also an opportunity for Stockholmers in general to celebrate the tolerance in Swedish society and the fact that the city has been named the gay friendliest city on the planet... not once, but twice this past year!

Photo by Yanan Li, Stockholm Visitors Board

The festival runs until Sunday, August 4th, and there are a ton of events each day... movies, seminars, workshops, concerts, performances, parties and (of course) the parade. I can't possibly list all of the happenings here, but you can check the Pride website to see the calendar of events. It is good to know that most events are to be found either in the Pride House or the Pride Park (Tantolunden). There is an entrance fee to the park and you can either buy a day pass or a week pass. Tickets can be purchased at the door, online, at the tourist information office or at a ticnet outlet. There are also a number of nightly parties at different venues throughout the city each evening... more information can be found in the calendar. QX.se also has a list of the parties on their website, though in Swedish (try using google translate).

Photo by Yanan Li, Stockholm Visitors Board

The Pride Parade happens on Saturday, starting at 1pm in Humlegården and ending at approximately 4pm in Pride Park. This is a popular event with over 500,000 spectators lining the streets in past years. The parade route runs up the street Hornsgatan right past the Rival Hotel and Pride Park is just a 15 minute walk from the hotel... so you will be perfectly situated to enjoy the festivities. Happy Pride!

Upcoming Festivals & Events

Photo by Yanan Li, Stockholm Visitors Board

I have posted about all of the festivals and events this summer, but I thought I would give a little reminder for the big events in the upcoming weeks.

• Stockholm Gay Pride (July 30th to August 4th)- very popular annual festival. Pride Park is located in the park Tantolunden. Here there will be performances from both Swedish and international artists, as well as restaurants and bars. Lots of parties at different venues all week long! The Pride parade is on Saturday afternoon and is a big event in Stockholm with thousands coming out to watch.
• Stockholm Music & Arts Festival (August 3rd to 5th)- new festival on the island of Skeppsholmen. A great line-up of artists to perform: Marianne Faithful, Laleh, Patti Smith, Emmylou Harris, Björk among others. Should be interesting!
• Royal Philharmonic (August 12th)- free outdoor concert in Gärdet, starts at 2pm. Come early to get a good seat (see picture below).
• Culture Festival (August 14th to 19th)- culture, art, music, live performances throughout the city. Best of all? Free entrance to 99% of the events! Always popular...

So... lots of fun events coming up in the calendar! I will write about some of these, with more information, as we get closer to the actual dates.

(Royal Philharmonic) Photo by Jeppe Wikström, Stockholm Visitors Board

Upcoming Festivals & Events

Posted by zlatin

Photo by Yanan Li, Stockholm Visitors Board

I have posted about all of the festivals and events this summer, but I thought I would give a little reminder for the big events in the upcoming weeks.

• Stockholm Gay Pride (July 30th to August 4th)- very popular annual festival. Pride Park is located in the park Tantolunden. Here there will be performances from both Swedish and international artists, as well as restaurants and bars. Lots of parties at different venues all week long! The Pride parade is on Saturday afternoon and is a big event in Stockholm with thousands coming out to watch.
• Stockholm Music & Arts Festival (August 3rd to 5th)- new festival on the island of Skeppsholmen. A great line-up of artists to perform: Marianne Faithful, Laleh, Patti Smith, Emmylou Harris, Björk among others. Should be interesting!
• Royal Philharmonic (August 12th)- free outdoor concert in Gärdet, starts at 2pm. Come early to get a good seat (see picture below).
• Culture Festival (August 14th to 19th)- culture, art, music, live performances throughout the city. Best of all? Free entrance to 99% of the events! Always popular...

So... lots of fun events coming up in the calendar! I will write about some of these, with more information, as we get closer to the actual dates.

(Royal Philharmonic) Photo by Jeppe Wikström, Stockholm Visitors Board