Feature
Swede Harmony
Stockholm might be hosting this year's Euro Pride, but the city's liberal, gay-friendly credentials reach far beyond this summer's event,as James Hakim discovers.
I ’m sitting on the roof terrace of Stockholm’s Cultural
Centre enjoying coffee with Anna Soderstrom, a
representative of this year’s EuroPride. She peers over
to the Royal Palace, and says: “One day we’ll get the
rainbow flag flying from their roof.” I’d wager that day
isn’t far off. When EuroPride hits Stockholm for 10 days this summer, the
rainbow flag (the banner of the international gay rights movement) will
be flying from almost every flagpole in the city, and rainbow stripes will
adorn the side of all Stockholm’s public transport.
EuroPride began in 1992 as a festival to bind together Europe’s lesbian and gay communities. It’s hosted by a different European city each year, but never before has it received so much support from the government as it will this time in the Swedish capital. On 25 July–3 August, Stockholm goes gay. From parks and museums, to theatres and even children’s libraries, nowhere in Stockholm will escape the rainbow banner. This is testament to the Swedes’ famously liberal attitude towards sexuality. The Swedish stopped caring about who people share their bed with years ago. Last year, 500,000 of the city’s 1.6 million inhabitants turned out to watch the annual Stockholm Pride Parade, with about 50,000 taking part.
If you are heading to EuroPride this year, Stockholm could not have made it easier. There’s even the tourist board’s Stockholm Gay Network, set up to make your visit as cheap and easy as possible. Special offers on hotels, airport buses and city passes all mean the city has got it covered. Once there, your starting point should be the EuroPride information centre in the Gallerian shopping mall on Hamngatan. Follow the rainbow-coloured moose footprints (we’re not joking!) to the Swedish sauna-inspired structure at the heart of the centre, where you’ll be able to pick up a programme of Pride events and the tickets you need to access them.
EuroPride is split into four strands: Pride House, Pride in the City, The
Pride Parade and Pride Park. Both Pride House and Pride in the City
are open for the duration of the festival, and counter the perception
that Pride events are just about drag queens
in feather boas dancing to cheesy music. Held
in the capital’s main cultural centre, Kulturhuset,
Pride House will host a series of events, talks,
debates and theatre productions exploring the
theme “Swedish Sin, Breaking Borders”. Swedish
Sin refers to the country’s laid-back attitude,
acquired back in the 1970s. Remember all those
saucy films with busty blondes giggling their way
through the flimsiest of plots? You’ve got
the idea. It also looks at how Sweden
exports its liberal mentality to
less enlightened countries, and
will feature various writers,
politicians and high-profile
spokes people.
Pride House will also have a youth centre for teens to hang out in and, uncontroversially for Sweden, a children’s library with gaythemed books for parents and children to flick through.
Pride in the City refers to the many cultural events taking place across Stockholm. Most of the city’s big museums are hosting exhibitions put together especially for EuroPride. Simply purchase a Stockholm Card EuroPride from the information centre for SEK 415 (€44) to get free access, along with special offers.
Pride Park opens on 30 July in Tantolunden,
in the Södermalm neighbourhood. This is
when EuroPride begins to resemble what we
already know and love about Pride events
– for instance, drag queens in feather boas
dancing to cheesy music. For five days, this
gorgeous park on Stockholm’s southern island
will be transformed into a giant open-air
festival. The only way to access this
is by buying specially designed
dog tags from the EuroPride
information centre. Inside,
there will be restaurants and
bars, stages for music and
speeches, a dance tent and
wide-open spaces just to
chill out in.
A special treat will be the “Schlager” night. Schlager is Northern European folk music. You might expect these tunes to evoke Scandinavia’s Viking ancestors, but you’d be wrong. Schlager dominates the Eurovision Song Contest; yet a genre that most Europeans can only bear one night of the year is a way of life in Sweden. On Thursday evening, former Eurovision winners will perform their “hits”. Be afraid!
