Sweden Experience

Thursday, July 21, 2016

The ‘other’ world cup in football

Tuesday, July 19, 2016

30th Anniversary–Eketegen Cabaret

Every year for the last 30 years, Nils and Ingela Andree have held a cabaret evening in the meadows of their home, complete with stage, sound equipment, barbecues, etc. Their home is located near to Gustavsfors, a village set in the beautiful area of Dalsland.

This cabaret is for local artists or persons who have a direct connection to this area. This definition can range quite wide,e.g., two young girls visitng their Dutch grandparents holiday home in the area, came from the USA. There is not age bar here, children as young as 4 up to adults as young as…well, as long as they can walk. The evening has an international flavour as many in this area have holiday homes and come from Germany,Holland,France,England,Norway,, etc.

Here’s a little taste of the evening (if you click on the picture below to go to the video)

Thursday, July 14, 2016

Brexit increases Swedes support for the EU

Swedish support for staying in the European Union has grown in the aftermath of the Brexit vote, a new poll shows.

The survey carried out by pollsters Novus for Swedish broadcaster TV4 suggests that 63 percent of Swedes would vote to remain if a referendum on Sweden’s EU membership was held today, up from 58 percent in a previous Novus study conducted prior to the Brexit vote last June.

Political scientist Ian Manners, who works at the University of Copenhagen and is a Brit living in Sweden, says the shift is a sign that the Brexit vote has made Swedes think about the EU in more detail.

“It’s easy to say the key factor is simply the chaos in the UK itself, but I think that’s secondary,” he told The Local.

“The average Swedish person doesn’t think or care much about the EU, but Brexit brings it to the fore. The UK referendum made a complicated issue real, and people in Sweden are suddenly forced to think about what the EU is, rather than just having a vague opinion on it.”

The Novus survey also suggests that Swedish confidence in the EU has grown significantly. While in June, confidence in the union among Swedes polled at 38 percent, it is now up to 48 percent, and political scientist Manners puts that surge down to three factors.

“There are political, economic, and social factors at play. The potential for political chaos, for economic trauma, and the possibility of a single-issue referendum on immigration, as happened in the UK," he explained.

"All feed the changing perception on the EU in Sweden. Sweden can look on at Britain with horror and think ‘what do we have, and what do we not want to have?’”

from thelocal