Major Events Gothenburg and West Sweden 2011

Scandinavia's largest public film festival will attract 200,000 visitors. The 11-day festival is packed with a full film and seminar programme, complete with performances and parties. "Presence" is the main theme for the upcoming festival.

The Boat Show is a meeting place for anyone who loves boats and sailing. This year, there will be an increased focus on sailing, with an entire hall dedicated to yachts and sailing vessels. The ladies will have their own evening, on the 7th February, and there will be plenty of activities for children. A number of new motorboats and speedboats will also be introduced during the event.

Annual international event with the Rolex FEI World Cup Final in Scandinavium. The Euro Horse Exhibition is held at the Swedish Exhibition and Congress Centre at the same time.

Taste the West of Sweden at Eriksbergshallen in Gothenburg with the region's best food producers and restaurants. Buy top-quality produce, try taster platters and get tips from Gothenburg's star chefs.

This year, the competition will be held at Innovatum in Trollhättan.

TUR is the leading tourism and travel fair in Scandinavia, and an annual meeting place where the Scandinavian travel industry meets suppliers from 100 countries, to establish contacts and do business. It's also a great place to find information about holiday destinations, especially on the Swedish west coast.

Witness the arrival of over 10,000 cranes, flying in from Spain to their traditional breeding grounds. The birds perform the famous crane dance – a mix of bowing, hopping and wing-flapping. Watch from the bird tower at the Nature Reserve Centre at Lake Hornborga.

The 23 April, Scandinavia's biggest amusement park opens for the summer season! New for this year is AtmosFear; Europe's highest, and perhaps the world's most spectacular, Free Fall. From 146 metres above sea level you fall freely at a speed of 110 km/h straight into a dark hole, before the ride is slowed down just before you reach the ground – are you brave enough? The park also offers lots of popular rides for all ages, and a themed restaurant, the Ghost Bar Gasten.

A mountain bike orienteering event, or MTB-O as it's also known, will be held in Bengtsfors, Dalsland, for the second time on 7 May 2011.

Vårrundan greets the arrival of spring to the mountain of Kinnekulle, in the West of Sweden. The first weekend in May, the doors of artists, craftsmen, coffee shops and restaurants on Kinnekulle open to visitors. Musicians, guides, and various organisations will also be present to demonstrate the area's diversity. Around 90 operators offer activities like arts & crafts, music and theatre, guided tours, nature walks, local produce and shopping.

Experiments, shows and seminars. The theme for the Science Festival 2011 is creativity. For us, creativity is about having the courage to embark on a journey of thoughts, which may lead to new discoveries.

Takes place in Grebbestad, a small fishing community two hours north of Gothenburg. Now in its sixth year, watch chefs from across Scandinavia battle it out to take the crown of the speediest opener. Opening, harvesting, boat trip and diving activities are on offer.

Annual fashion fair and design competition for up-and-coming local designers of clothes, shoes, accessories and jewellery at Eriksbergshallen, Gothenburg.

For the fifth year, the LGBTQ Festival is arranged in Gothenburg. It is a unique art and culture festival that focuses on norm criticism and the lives of LGBTQ people in an art and cultural context. The festival has a wide range of events including music, song, dance, theater, films and exhibitions that are created by some of the most progressive and exciting artistic creators in the country. The festival aims, through art and culture, to encourage an open and tolerant social climate that counteract against prejudice and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Some major events within the festival:
5th June: parade from the opera house at the central harbour, along the main boulevard Avenyn, to Götaplatsen culture square. Everybody who’s joining the parade will have free admission to Liseberg park for the festival’s own music show.

Skara Sommarland offers a nerve-racking ride on "Tranan" (the Crane), a unique rollercoaster which has been praised by enthusiasts from all over the world. Also available: adventure pool, rides, cart-racing and more.

Read more about Skara Sommarland >>
Brochure >>

Celebrate herring and Sweden's National Day on Klädesholmen in Bohuslän! Enjoy a herring lunch on the harbour pier, to the accompaniment of sea gulls shrieking and lapping waves. The programme also includes activities like make your own midsummer herring, visits to the herring factory, and a heritage walk around the island, which as early as in 1594 was described as an old fishing village by Bishop Jens Nilsen. One of the highpoints of the Day of the Herring is the presentation of the award Herring of the Year 2011.

Traditional open air concert with the Göteborg Symphony Orchestra in Slottsskogen City Park.

Slottskogen, Gothenburg, at 2 pm, free entrance.

Hard-rock festival in Gothenburg with artists like Volbeat and System of a down.

Celebrate Midsummer at Slottsskogen City Park, The Garden Society of Gothenburg, Gunnebo House and Gardens, Nääs Castle or on one of the islands.

This summer, the East Indiaman will be moored at Stenpiren, a stone's throw from Casino Cosmopol. At Stenpiren, there will be family activities and the opportunity to go on board. There will also be activities connected to the 18th century, with guides in historic clothing, arts & crafts displays, film viewings and more. If you prefer to simply relax and enjoy this unique marine environment, there will be a restaurant serving food and drink.

Coldplay is one of the bands which will play in Slottsskogen city park in Gothenburg on 28th June at the music festival "Where the action is".

Iron Maiden - The Final Frontier World Tour. With over 85 million albums sold, Iron Maiden is one of the greatest rock bands in history.

Sweden's biggest annual youth handball tournament.

Some 100,000 visitors gather on the cliffs and quaysides of Marstrand to follow the gripping match races which attract competitors from the Olympics, World and European Championships, as well as from America's Cup.

Åmål's Blues Festival is a four days international Blues Festival started 1992. Thursday; Opening of the Blues Fest and Exhibitions. Club-blues at night. Friday & Saturday blues from breakfast to late night. Free blues daytime and tickets for mainstages at night. Other options are Blues Cruise, Clinics, Market and a laid-back bluesy atmosphere. The festival ends with a Gospel concert on Sunday.

Hova town centre in July. A magic transformation is about to take place. A small 21st century village is travelling back in time - back to the medieval days. Suddenly the park is full of market stalls, knights in shining armour, witty jesters, and merry musicians skipping down Main Street playing tunes on their flutes. Visitors and local citizens dress up in medieval clothing in order to fit into the atmosphere.

Trollhättan is a town by the southern tip of Lake Vänern. This is where the Days of the Falls, one of Sweden's most popular and well-attended festivals, is held every year. The floodgates are opened and the water is released into its former channel. This impressive sight is a reminder of the huge forces the engineers have managed to tame, using locks and power stations. When the gates are opened, the river regains some of its original fierceness, as 300,000 litres of water a second cascades along the river channel. During the Days of the Falls, the town is teeming with activities. Genuine family entertainment is on offer, with a program containing activities suitable for visitors of all ages. The water roars down the falls several times a day, and this is your opportunity to experience this amazing force of nature. The falls are especially spectacular after dark, when they are lit.
View a film of the falls by clicking here >>

Visitors can enjoy their favourite Evert Taube songs in the Bohuslän archipelago. The performing artists are some of Sweden's finest, and include Sven-Bertil Taube. It was on the island of Ängön that the famous Swedish singer/songwriter, Evert Taube, wrote some of his most popular songs in the 1940s.

Sweden's biggest annual youth football tournament.

More details coming soon

The Koster Festival will be held for the sixth year running. This is a music festival, with focus on chamber music and opera. The main stage is at Kosters Trädgårdar.

In 2011, Roxette will set off on a long-awaited world tour. In Sweden, Roxette will give one concert, on July 24 at the Garden Society of Gothenburg.

With 400,000 SEK in prize money, Lysekil Women's Match is the world's biggest match racing competition for women. In match racing, the crews compete in pairs, in exciting duels that are easy for spectators to understand and follow. Lysekil is the perfect place for match racing, as the sailing action takes place very close to the rocks in the centre of the town. In 2009, the event attracted 100,000 visitors. Twelve of the world's best female match racing skippers race every summer in Lysekil Women's Match. In 2011, this event will be held for the sixth time, and it's a competition that is getting increasingly interesting, as ladies' match racing will be a new event in the Olympic Games 2012 in London. Watch the exciting sailing races, visit the Havsbad Park and enjoy a variety of activities for all the family, good food, and concerts.

The Mussel Festival 2011 will take place on the afternoon of the 6th August, in the park in the centre of Lysekil. There will be mussel dishes, arts & crafts with a marine focus, and entertainment. On the same day it's also time for the Mussel Race – Lysekil's very own town race. The competition is open to runners of all ages and abilities, whether elite runners or joggers.

This music festival started in Gothenburg in 2007, and was an immediate success, with a great line-up of international names. The festival will be back in 2011, at Slottskogen City Park, central Gothenburg.

Sweden's biggest and toughest canoeing competition. The annual marathon takes paddlers through 55km of waterways through Dalsland's picturesque countryside. 

This festival offers a packed programme of top-class entertainment on stages and venues across the heart of the city. A free event, suitable for all ages, on the 16-21 August. Music, open-air dance floors, great food, an arts and crafts market, and activities galore are all found here.

For the second time, the "Multi Art Event" Dragonfly Festival offers ambient and acoustic music, art, film, food and people in natural surroundings at Ekehagen's Ancient Village. Around one hundred performers from Sweden and the rest of Europe, including José Gonzalez, Little Dragon and Kultiration. A green festival in the right sense of the word

Take in West Sweden's yachting culture and watch the action during Sweden's biggest yacht race, Tjörn Runt, which circles the attractive archipelago island of Tjörn on 20 August. For the best views find a vantage point on the cliffs.

The 26-28 August it's time for Open Shipyards 2011 on the island of Orust. Open Shipyards is a floating boat show organised by Sweboat – the Swedish Boating Industry Association, in cooperation with the larger shipyards on Orust, on the west coast of Sweden.

The communities Ellös, Henån, Kungsviken and Vindön on Orust invite you to one of the most popular boat shows of the year. This is an opportunity to find out how the shipyards build their boats, meet more than 80 suppliers of sailing equipment, and view over 140 motor and sailing boats in their natural environment! Entrance is free of charge and there are plenty of free parking spaces.

Welcome to the 23rd annual Jazz Festival in Gothenburg city centre. Three days of swing, New Orleans jazz, gospel and blues, at eight different venues.

More details coming soon

The 22-25 September, the Book Show returns for the 27th year in a row! This year's theme is Three Countries – OneLlanguage, and the focus is on Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and the German language.

Every year, leading illuminators from different parts of the world gather in Alingsås. During a week-long workshop, they work together with students from around 15 countries, to light up an urban area in an exciting way.

The first day of the lobster season is the first Monday after the 20th September, this year it's the 26th September. Lobster safaris, followed by lobster suppers, are arranged at a number of locations along the coast.

The cranes return to Lake Hornborgasjön after visiting more northerly parts. To watch the cranes dance is a special and amazing experience.

A Gothenburg Christmas. Scandinavia's largest Christmas market at the amusement park Liseberg offers innovative, stylish illuminations and attractions along the central three-kilometre long Lane of Light.