Welcome to Sweden! | Photo: Stefan Berg/Imagebank.sweden.se
Swedish Pride celebrations have always been well-known for their political focus; activism and the strive for equality has long been key here. But more than this, Sweden sees Pride as a fun-filled celebration for all.
This year, we’ll see the mother of all Swedish Prides as EuroPride comes to Sweden. It’ll be the first time two cities co-host the event, with Stockholm and Gothenburg, Sweden’s two largest cities sharing the honour.
Kicking off in Stockholm on 27 July, the event will host 400 seminars, two pride parades and three weeks of activism and celebration. With the Stockholm celebrations culminating on 5 August, Gothenburg will take over from 14 August and the whole thing will finish on 19 August. The official EuroPride parade will be hosted by WestPride in Gothenburg on 18 August.
We all know that Sweden’s so forward thinking when it comes to LGBTI-rights and is a fascinating place to visit when it comes to fashion, food and easy reach of glorious natural wonders, but here are five reasons why we think Sweden is the perfect host for the big gay summer ahead.
Image: Courtesy of SVT and the Eurovision Song Contest
1 The Eurovision Song Contest
Sweden knows how to throw a party. Eurovision 2016 in Stockholm, hosted by their schlager stars extraordinaire, Måns Zelmerlöw and Petra Mede, is a point in case.
Image: Ricardo Rivas Ruiz/imagebank.sweden.se
2 Music festivals galore
Sweden is home to some of the world’s best music festivals – like Way Out West and Summerburst in Gothenburg. Also, the fact that so much great music emerges from Sweden, not least some of the most ear-worming Eurovision bangers, you know that Europride 2018 is going to be one big dance up. After all, it’s Alcazar that has written the official song.
Photo: Stefan Berg/Imagebank.sweden.se
3 Homosexuality decriminalized 75 years ago
In 2019, the country will celebrate 75 years of the decriminalization of homosexuality (since 1944) and 10 years of equal marriage. This goes to show just how far ahead the country is when it comes to LGBTI rights. So its cities are worthy hosts!
Image courtesy of the Haymarket Hotel, Stockholm
4 LGBTI-friendly hotels
Stockholm and Gothenburg boasts some truly fabulous places to stay. It’s hard to beat Sweden when it comes to interior design and that translates into each city’s foremost hotels. And when it comes to Pride, they go above and beyond to ensure that they’re part of the celebrations. Our hot pick is the fabulous Haymarket in Stockholm (set in an old department store where Greta Garbo used to work) and Hotel Bellora in Gothenburg (who proudly bill themselves as Gothenburg’s most LGBTI-friendly hotel).
Image courtesy of Mr Gay Sweden
5 There’s eye-candy everywhere!
A recent match.com and hotels.com joint survey showed that Swedes are the most attractive people in Europe! Beauty is in the eye of the beholder of course, but here’s some of the final line-up from Mr. Gay Sweden 2017 just to prove the point.
