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The information of Traveling Around The World and special Holidays in Sweden.

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Showing posts with label gay. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gay. Show all posts
Saturday, February 8, 2014

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.
AN gay, tourist information
Monday, July 22, 2013

Festival: Gay Pride


ATTENTION: This is a blog entry for 2013, please click here for the blog entry regarding 2011.
The countdown has started... less than a week until the Stockholm Gay Pride, or just Stockholm Pride as it's called, starts (July 26th to August 1st). Every year the Pride festival gets larger and more popular actually causing organizers to move the venue this year to accomodate the large amount of visitors. This year the Pride Park is located in Gärdet, next to the Naval History Museum(Sjöhistoriska). Unlike gay pride celebrations in other cities and countries... Stockholm Pride isn't just one day or a weekend but a whole week, though most events take place Wednesday through Saturday. Lots of fun things are going on in the park... seminars, concerts with Swedish & international artists, dancing and performances. There are several shops, and restaurant & bar tents as well.
Picture by Yanan Li
As a tourist you might not notice that Pride is happening (as the main venues are on the outskirts of the city) besides seeing the occasional rainbow flag or hearing more ABBA songs than normal being played. However, on Saturday the 31st you will not be able to avoid it with the parade snaking through the city. Last year there were 35,000 people in the parade and almost half a million people lining the parade route. Many Stockholmers (of all persuasions) make a day out of it, bringing beach chairs and coolers and setting up hours before the parade actually starts. The parade starts at 1pm in the Tantolunden Park before heading through the Old Town and along Strandvägen to the Pride Park. My friends and I usually pack a picnic basket and park ourselves on Hornsgatan with hordes of other Stockholmers and cheer as the floats go by...
If you would like to partake in the festivities in the Park, tickets can bought either at the entrance or online. Tickets cost: 800 SEK for a week pass and day tickets cost 400 SEK except for Wednesday when it costs 300 SEK.
More information about all of the different events including program, artists, directions and history can be found on their website which I've linked at the top of the page.
Happy Pride!
AN events, festivals, gay
Sunday, July 21, 2013

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



AN festival, gay, sport
Saturday, June 29, 2013

Restaurant/Bar - Mälarpaviljongen



It's gorgeous weather this week... hot temperatures and lots of sunshine! A great place to enjoy it is at Mälarpaviljongen. The food is basic, but good... however it is not the menu that lures Stockholmers here. It's the location! Located on the waterfront promenad of Kungsholmen island called Norr Mälarstrand, this restaurant/bar is built out over the waters of Lake Mälaren with great views of the city. A friend and I visited Mälarpaviljongen yesterday afternoon... it was great just enjoying a beer and watching the boats go by. It's gay owned and operated, but the crowd is very mixed... everyone is welcome to come and enjoy the sunshine! The waterfront promenad is one of the most popular places for Stockholmers on a sunny day with lots of parks, beaches and restaurants. The bar really comes alive on weekend evenings with DJs playing and people enjoying the late evening sun...
The restaurant is café-style, no table service. Order at the counter and the waiters run out the food to you when it's ready. Tables are on a first-come basis... no reservations are accepted. But there are lots of tables, so finding a place to sit is usually not a problem.
AN gay, kungsholmen, restaurants
Thursday, February 21, 2013

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!
AN gay, tourist information
Wednesday, August 1, 2012

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!
AN festival, gay
Friday, July 20, 2012

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

AN culture, festivals, gay, music
Friday, July 29, 2011

Stockholm Gay Pride 2011

Photo by Yanan Li, Stockholm Vistors Board
(Edit: this is information for 2011, for information about gay pride 2012... click here!) Just around the corner (August 1st-7th) we have Stockholm's largest festival and Scandinavia's largest gay pride festival... Stockholm Pride! It is a week long festival culminating in a huge parade through the city on Saturday, August 6th. If you are not a member of the LGBT community, you don't have to feel left out- the festival is open for everyone. In fact, that is the theme for this year's festival: openness. In past years the festival has been held in parks on the outskirts of the city, but this year it will be smack dab in the middle of Stockholm at Kungsträdgården park and Sergelstorg square. Another change this year, in accordance with the theme, is that entrance to the festival area will be free of charge! There will be music, performances and events going on all week in the festival area as well as plenty of food & drink. Some highlights are the opening ceremony on Monday, family night on Tuesday, Eurovision(Schlager) night on Thursday and the post parade party on Saturday. You will find the full program here! The parade on Saturday is a huge event in Stockholm... past years have seen over 50,000 participants with about half a million spectators lining the parade route. This year the parade will be starting at 1pm on the island of Södermalm at Tantolunden. The parade will then make its way down the street Hornsgatan, past the Rival Hotel, through the Old Town into the downtown area. It is expected to reach Sergels Torg at about 3pm. Besides the official festival parties, there will be plenty of parties and events going on at other venues and nightclubs throughout the city. If you are staying at the hotel, come talk to me if you are interested in more information about the different parties. Otherwise more information can be found at information booths in the festival area.
Phot by Yanan Li, Stockholm Visitors Board
If you are visiting Stockholm this coming week and gay pride isn't your cup of tea, then there a few things you should be aware of. Generally, Swedes have a liberal view when it comes to sexuality and the LGBT community here has equal rights on a broad front, including marriage. In fact, in a recent international survey called Metropolitan Report, Stockholm rated as the second most gay-friendly city in the world after Amsterdam. After the recent horrific events in Norway by a right-wing extremist, I believe this year's festival will be seen by many (regardless of sexuality) as an important political manifestation. Otherwise, as a visitor, you will probably just notice an increase of happy people and rainbow flags in the city. Be also aware that the parade on Saturday will cause some traffic problems if you are traveling by car or bus in the city.
Click here,  here and/or here for more information about LGBT Stockholm.
AN festival, gay
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