Stockholm Culture Festival: the end of Swedish summer holidays

Every year, the city of Stockholm organises a festival at the end of the Swedish summer school holidays. This year the Stockholm Culture Festival takes place from 14 till 18 August. For five days the city is filled with music, dance, talks and workshops, all free to watch and join.

Six dedicated areas in the city centre will form the festival grounds. The main stage stands on Gustav Adolfs Torg, but Skeppsbron and Kungsträdgården also have stages. The other three areas to explore during the festival are Norrbro, Strömgatat and Sergels Torg.

Watch world-class artists on Gustav Adolfs torg and Skeppsbron

The main music stages during Stockholm Culture Festival stand on Gustav Adolfs torg and Skeppsbron (in front of the Royal Palace). Here you can enjoy all types of music, from jazz and soul to hip-hop and folk music. The Gustav Adolfs torg stage is completely focussed on music, while the Skeppsbron stage will also feature live podcasts and interviews.

There will be musical performances on the stages from both national and international acts. Among the Swedish artists who will take the stage during the festival are Stephen Simonds, The Gems, Raghd, and DJ Black Moose. International musical acts who will perform at the Stockholm Culture Festival include Kes the Band, Rastak Music Group and the Mestizo Music Collective.

Culture and workshops at Kungsträdgården and Strömgatan

Public park Kungsträdgården is the home of the festival’s family activities. The park will have multiple stages and tents. On the stages there will be circus, dance, music and theatre, while the tents will offer workshops where everyone from all ages can tinker, create and do science experiments.

On Strömgatan, on the southern end of the park, you can learn how to salsa dance, learn K-Pop choreography and dance your heart out at a silent disco. If it starts raining for a real Swedish summer, you can hide from the rain here too!

Street food at Norrbro

The bridge connecting Gamla Stan and the Royal Palace to Gustav Adolfs Torg will be home to international street food trucks. In front of the Swedish Riksdagshuset, there will be lots of things to try from Kenya, Ethiopia and Eritrea, as well as gyros and tzatziki from Greece, treats from Brazil and ice cream from Gotland.

Youth activities at Sergels torg

The public square with its sunken pedestrian plaza will be home to this years UNG Culture Festival. Here teens can explore sports, create art and music. From playing street football, watching martial arts, becoming a DJ at the Avicii Experience tent, dancing to salsa music, to learning to program and building robots, its all part of the Stockholm Culture Festival.

Stockholm Culture Festival in a nutshell

In short, the Stockholm Culture Festival is a free end of summer event in the city centre. The main festival areas to visit during the festival are:

• Gustav Adolfs Torg: main stage with music acts
• Skeppsbron: second largest stage with concerts, interviews and dance
• Kungsträdgården: family area with workshops and performances
• Strömgatat: learn how to dance and watch performances
• Norrbro: the place to go for street food
• Sergel Torg: home of the festival’s youth program UNG

If you're up for checking out some cool museums and attractions in Stockholm, Tours and Tickets Stockholm has tons of things to do for everyone.