Answer: They sing-a-long. Or at least, they watch “Allsång på Skansen” (Sing-a-long from Skansen) on telly.

There’s something about Swedes and singing. We love it and we do it especially well in a big group. This love for a proper sing-a-long has resulted in thousands of sing-a-long-events all over Sweden. In the summer, lots of Swedish towns has their own sing-a-long which basically include a stage, a sing-a-long leader, a few celebrity guests, some traditional Swedish songs, some pop tunes and a singing audience. The big one has always been “Allsång på Skansen”  – an incredibly popular TV-program on SVT (Sveriges Television) that has been shown on telly since 1979 but has been going as an event since 1935 – but the last couple of years, Gothenburg have joined the sing-a-long battle with their – less popular – version “Lotta på Liseberg”. 

 Every spring, the celebrities are fighting for an invite to “Allsång…” (prime time mainstream exposure…) and when it’s showtime, the audience camp outside to get a good seat and around two million people watch it on telly every week.  This year the show has a brand new host! His name is Måns Zelmerlöf and this ladies and gentlemen, is a brave man. He is only the sixth host since the start in 1935 and the pressure on this poor young man’s shoulder in enormous!  Ok, I’m sure he’s getting a decent salary for the job, but boy will he be judged, criticised, graded, written about… But, two shows in and so far so good though, Måns seems to do his job rather well – according to the several polls regarding the subject. Well, as you understand, “Allsång…” is hot – and very serious – stuff.

Here’s the new host Måns’ entry – and some lovely footage from a summery Stockholm. Enjoy!

Stockholm i mitt hjärta…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utA1Hg8AHSg