So it is hardly surprising to hear her lament the high taxes and hiring costs of the homeland she adopted as a young asylum-seeker 27 years ago As she wrings her henna-stained hands at the thought of the regulations that have stymied her two attempts to open shops in the Swedish capital the café owner parks himself at a neighbouring table in an ill-disguised effort to eavesdrop This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “Turning people Swedish” Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents George Simion will face Nicusor Dan, a mainstream candidate, in a run-off There are five luxuries it can no longer feasibly afford Friedrich Merz’s career is one of unforced errors and puzzling missteps. But he is serious about Europe Both Donald Trump and Ukraine’s diplomats will consider it a success An Adam Tensta campaign won first prize in two categories The campaign around Swedish rapper Adam Tensta’s song “Pass It On” won two awards during the publicity competition One Show Entertainment in Los Angeles the Scandinavian duo Rasmus Keger and Morten Halvorsen took two “golden pencils” on the American PR agency R/GA’s behalf titled “One Copy Song,” meant that only one person at a time could listen to Tensta’s song on his Facebook page “I’ve always had my eyes open for new and interesting ways to bring about the experience of music,” says Tensta in a press release “When Rasmus Wängelin introduced me to the idea behind ‘One Copy Song,’ I fell for it right away.” The campaign won first prize in the categories “Branded Applications” and “Music.” The jury was made up of representatives from PR agencies and the entertainment business and included people from NBC TV and the record company Interscope Records “It’s very nice to get the possibility to show our idea for heavy names in the entertainment and music industry,” says Morten Halvorsen We are very pleased.” Tensta took home a Swedish Grammy award in 2008 Listen to samples of Adam Tensta's sound at Adam Tensta on Myspace Inequality and national identity are high on the agenda as the country votes In the Stockholm neighbourhood of Tensta the pandemic has left many feeling hopeless and disenfranchised While much of Sweden – including politicians – appear to have forgotten all about Covid the health communicator and longtime resident said that many in the area are still grappling with its impact Although people had been advised by authorities to work from home had no choice but to go out because of the nature of their jobs “They didn’t have any possibility to stay at home,” said Mohamed where people were arriving for a coffee meet-up Two and a half years after the introduction of the “Swedish strategy”– the Scandinavian country’s divergent pandemic response which kept schools open and eschewed lockdowns – the results are mixed Mental health and children’s learning appear to have been less affected than they might have been although 2.57m infections were recorded in the population of just over 10 million and in excess of 19,900 died with stark inequality exposed in the process with a little over half Sweden’s population has had 1.46m cases and nearly 4,000 deaths; while Finland also with just over half Sweden’s population has had 1.27m cases and nearly 5,700 deaths Fatuma Mohamed in Tensta Photograph: Miranda Bryant/The ObserverAn independent commission into the handling of the pandemic the findings of which were published earlier this year found that while the choice of path for disease prevention and control was “fundamentally correct” the measures “were too few and should have come sooner” should have taken control of all aspects of crisis management from the start and had relied too heavily on its public health agency as Sweden prepares to go to the polls on 11 September in the first election since these life or death decisions were made immigration and energy prices but not Covid this has highlighted the gulf between the living conditions of Sweden’s different communities some groups of up to 10 people live in two-room flats So they had the opportunity to have social distance “It is not just a health problem,” she added. “This is a political problem.” Services such as banks dentists and job centres had vanished from the area splitting society into “parallel communities” “It’s not good to have different lives in the same country Experiences of the pandemic have deepened distrust of government and social services, she said. Mohamed isn’t sure how this will affect people’s votes in the election, but the rightwing anti-immigrant Sweden Democrats have become the second biggest party in the polls after Magdalena Andersson’s incumbent Social Democrats centre and green parties are saying the right things but she will be watching to see whether their words are turned into action Jimmie Åkesson (third from right) visiting Linköping in April after riots sparked by a far-right threat to burn the Qur’an Photograph: Jeppe Gustafsson/Shutterstock“I don’t think the people who live in this area have any trust for any party because we don’t have a good life,” she said they don’t like to vote Sweden Democrats but interest is not high because they think it’s the same: ‘If I vote or not vote the result will be the same.’ Most don’t have jobs whose 19-year-old son was murdered in December 2020 said most people in the area felt left out of Swedish society and that the pandemic had had a huge impact on the community “Many older people from Somalia died because of the pandemic we’re going to vote and we’re going to take our responsibility,” he said including lack of medical care in nursing homes and staff left alone with no doctors Free weekly newsletterThe most pressing stories and debates for Europeans – from identity to economics to the environment Karin Tegmark Wisell Photograph: Claudio Bresciani/Getty Images“It’s not only a problem in the pandemic it’s a problem also in daily life,” he said “You could expect that this would have been a great thing now in the election but you don’t hear a single word about that.” The fact that the Corona Commission’s report was published the day after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine did not help it gain momentum but Stiernstedt believes there is also a psychological explanation for the silence on Covid’s impact a researcher and epidemiologist at Karolinska Institute is surprised by the silence around Covid in the election said: “People have had thoughts about how do we look at our elderly And also maybe understanding how this type of health crisis affects people differently depending on who they are their position in society and what means they have.” The pandemic had also highlighted “outdated” perceptions of what a “traditional Swedish home” looked like “And there were problems with not getting information out to people who are not speaking or reading in Swedish.” which was responsible for responding to the pandemic politicians had had a “free pass” when it came to Covid deaths The government “hid” behind Anders Tegnell Amineh Kakabaveh Photograph: GettyAt the Stockholm HQ of Folkhälsomyndigheten stands by most of the major decisions made during the pandemic – including keeping schools open and not making face masks mandatory Covid had highlighted ongoing health inequalities could not be solved by a public health agency alone and needed government intervention; she said she would like to see the matter addressed more in the election that is the most important issue,” she said an independent politician who has played a pivotal role in the power balance of the current government said parties weren’t criticising the pandemic response because they were part of the decision-making process “Each of them had opportunity to say something to do something – that is why it is passed a lot of people still don’t feel good psychologically.” This is the archive of The Observer up until 21/04/2025 The Observer is now owned and operated by Tortoise Media You don't have permission to access the page you requested What is this page?The website you are visiting is protected.For security reasons this page cannot be displayed Stefanie HesslerReviews25 November 2015 Here We LTTR: 2002–2008 at Tensta konsthall joins the ranks of recent exhibitions at Tensta Konsthall the art centre headed by (ArtReview contributor) Maria Lind that are in various ways connected to local or temporary communities Tensta is a Stockholm suburb known for its 1960s-era modernist housing projects which has since turned into a ghetto segregated from the rest of the city The show Tensta Museum: Reports from New Sweden (2014) focused on the area’s history and its increasing economic and social disparity; Ane Hjort Guttu’s film This Place is Every Place (2014) in turn established a connection between the Arab Spring and the riots in Tensta in 2013 The current LTTR retrospective centres on the eponymous journal published over a six-year span by the genderqueer feminist collective formed by artists Ginger Brooks Takahashi Emily Roysdon (now a professor at Konstfack in Stockholm) and Lanka Tattersall (who joined for the fourth issue) together with more than a hundred contributors from their community The group’s acronym is painted in large black brushstrokes on a wall at the entrance to the exhibition it has stood for Lesbians To The Rescue and Listen Translate Translate Record are laid out on zigzag-shaped MDF shelves suspended from the ceiling their substructures covered with pale-pink-coloured cloth drawings and artist multiples in the open magazines include Zoe Leonard’s ‘I want a dyke for president’ (1992) and directing the wearer’s hand into surprising configurations Hanging freely in the space are embellished T-shirts and tote bags that were sold to finance the project; on an iPad the out-of-print editions of the journal can be browsed digitised by Tensta Konsthall and available also on LTTR’s website which has been redesigned for the exhibition the show includes videos such as Itziar Okariz’s To Pee in Public Places (2001–6) and Lynda Benglis’s Now (1973) that LTTR presented at screenings it organised at Mix NYC and the London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival in 2005 and 2006 These are shown on two monitors installed on wooden pallets architectural elements that recur in a reading lounge covered with pillows in hand-screenprinted cases bearing the words ‘New Rage Thinking’ The do-it-yourself aesthetics and temporary feel of the exhibition design (by architect Sara Brolund de Carvalho) mirror the collective’s working ethos Just as there is no fixed meaning to the acronym the relations between the elements in the space appear mutable reflecting LTTR’s blurring of borders between art and their quest to find new terms for negotiating sex gender and the relationships between individuals and groups Here We LTTR: 2002–2008 demonstrates that fun and politics as Roysdon states in an interview printed in the exhibition booklet which engages the things its members want to see changed such as normative thinking and prejudices with regard to gender concepts And so a lo-fi stereo system placed on one of the vitrines plays back the CD accompanying the second journal a persiflage of the Baha Men hit from 2000 the exhibition traces the networks of a community through email correspondence bank account statements and contracts with in pre-social-network times as well as today desire and pleasure can indeed be political tools for all that they can also be channelled into commodity form In a Sweden currently shaken by rightwing populist propaganda who polled 13 percent in national elections plastering the partially publicly owned metro with anti-immigrant campaigns (lawfully!) exhibitions like this one can provide that crucial norm-critical toolbox for creating a different space without prescribing what that space might be This article was first published in the October 2015 issue Claudia RossReviews Martin HerbertReviews Tom MortonReviews Gaby CepedaReviews Chris MurthaReviews ArtReviewNewsartreview.com02 May 2025 The painting, worth €50 million, has sustained visible scratches The 10 Exhibitions to See in May 2025ArtReviewPreviewsartreview.com02 May 2025 Our editors on the exhibitions they’re looking forward to this month, from the Venice Architecture Biennale to Gallery Weekends in Berlin and Beijing AdvertisementHow the Museum Became a WeaponWilliam ShokiOpinionartreview.com02 May 2025 In apartheid South Africa, museums glorified white settlement and erased Black history; in the US today, they are again being captured under the guise of neutrality Vyjayanthi Rao to curate 2026 Sharjah Architecture TriennialMia SternNewsartreview.com02 May 2025 She will be joined by Tau Tavengwa as associate curator Ari Emanuel buys Frieze from EndeavorArtReviewNewsartreview.com01 May 2025 The entertainment company’s own former chief executive has acquired Frieze for a reported $200m Inaugural Annie Leibowitz prize awarded to photographer of migrant experiencesArtReviewNewsartreview.com01 May 2025 Zélie Hallosserie to receive $10,000 for her documentary work in Calais Helmut Lang Has Always Been ProvocativeClaudia RossReviewsArtReview01 May 2025 Lang’s newest artwork, like his clothing, explores the uncanny ways that industrial refuse can interact with and even evoke human flesh IKOB Feminist Art Prize announces winnersArtReviewNewsartreview.com01 May 2025 Matt Copson: Never Grow UpMartin HerbertReviewsArtReview30 April 2025 “What’s living with no hope?” asks the artist’s big animated baby at KW, Berlin. One thing is certain: we can’t stop watching Disability Is Not a Separate Category of PersonhoodAlice HattrickOpinionartreview.com30 April 2025 The disabled experience is increasingly visible in the artworld yet an ableist political landscape is constantly on the attack. This affects us all We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies, revised Privacy with younger and younger children being drawn into serious crime guns are so easy to come by that social services say most of the high-risk young people they work with in relation to youth crime could get hold of one in a day Drugs they could get even faster,” said Sabrina Farlblad at the city’s social services’ offices where two years ago her team formed support groups for young people deemed at risk of becoming involved in violence So far the preventative approach appears to be working: as far as social services know none of the young people who have attended the support groups have been involved in any shootings Illegal guns – largely from the Balkans, according to police – are relatively accessible in Sweden As younger and younger children – some as young as 10 – are recruited into the drug trade the number of them using guns in conflicts with deadly consequences is rising Police fear it is only a matter of time before guns from Ukraine find their way to Sweden Recent figures showed the number of 15- to 17-year-olds prosecuted for serious crimes such as murder and attempted murder had risen to the highest level since 2019 In the first six months of this year there were 42 people in the age group suspected of attempted murder This compares with 38 during the whole of 2022 In the last few days there have been a number of deadly incidents in Sweden involving teenagers including a boy in his early teens who was arrested after a man died in a shooting in the southern city of Helsingborg two 14-year-old boys were found dead in forest areas reportedly murdered because they did not do tasks on behalf of a criminal network The scale of the problem recently prompted the government to announce plans to make it easier for schools social services and police to share information to stop young people being pulled into crime and identifying at risk children early various projects and techniques are being trialled to try to stem the violence which lies between Stockholm and Gothenburg Police in central Örebro, Sweden, earlier this month. Photograph: Jeppe Gustafsson/ShutterstockAs well as the support groups, Örebro also deploys the group violence intervention (GVI) approach which involves continuously updating a police intelligence map tracking people involved or socially associated with violent crime the main message is “we don’t want you to be killed” a crime prevention strategist for the municipality The young people are told that if they perpetuate violence they will be hit from every angle from social services to the tax office So far this year there has been one deadly shooting in Örebro when shootings took place on playgrounds and in front of a kindergarten said conflicts were largely centred around drugs and who had power over particular areas “The government must ask themselves the question: can we crack gang crime Rather than focusing on punishing the children selling drugs more emphasis should be placed on those buying them from young people This sentiment was echoed on Sunday by the former Swedish prime minister Magdalena Andersson who called for those who buy drugs from children to be imprisoned “It is about protecting our young and society,” the Social Democrat leader said Cetin said that unlike in most parts of Europe where distribution was run by a top-down organisation led by older men in Sweden 16- and 17-year-olds buy half a kilogram of cocaine on loan and get younger children to sell it “That is why we see these shootings,” she said She has met 22-year-olds who have been in the drug trade for 10 years: “They talked about themselves like they were elderly I could meet 18-year-olds who had 40 children under them selling narcotics.” Carin Götblad warned in 2010 that 5,000 children and young people were on a pathway towards serious crime Photograph: Tim Aro/TT/TT NYHETSBYRÅNSome observers in Sweden say the problem lies with a legal system that punishes the under-18s less severely for serious crime But Cetin said the fault lay with successive governments and the police who had failed to heed a warning in 2010 by the youth crime expert –now police commissioner – Carin Götblad that 5,000 children and young people were on a pathway towards serious crime She said every time a child or young person left criminality through death or a prison sentence someone else was recruited but new children will still come,” Cetin added Widening social and economic inequalities were motivating factors for children to start selling drugs especially for young boys failing at school in vulnerable areas with high levels of unemployment what I notice is that they have no self-belief … They don’t have any dreams,” Cetin said who has worked in youth crime her entire career said the age of young people who carried and fired guns was falling but there was a small group who had started getting involved in much more serious crime particularly teenagers from immigrant backgrounds who lived in overcrowded housing “They are fighting about narcotics because it’s worth a lot of money,” Götblad said “There is a lot of cocaine from South America that comes direct to Sweden This is what holds the conflicts together.” for which Götblad was a contributing expert suggested children aged 15 to 17 who commit the most serious crimes should be imprisoned minors aged 15 and above can be sent to young offenders homes Götblad said: “There needs to be many more corrective tools because we have a naïve society today The society that our laws are made for and authorities A workshop run by the Swedish organisation Fryshuset offers support for young people Photograph: Rob Schoenbaum/The GuardianThere are multiple crime prevention programmes on the go with local authorities now required by law to make a prevention plan Götblad added that it was important to support and help families early on an area of Stockholm that has previously been strongly associated with violent crime Semret Meskel from the community organisation Fryshuset Husby said shootings had recently levelled off because of a combination of substantial financial investment in preventative support and collaboration across services “Together we have created a united force which is very powerful,” she said the conflict resolution programme founded in Northern Ireland said the programme should be taught everywhere to help young people navigate day-to-day life: “We want our young people to be a voice for Järva and for young people in Swedish society.” Faysa Idle has a book out on the brutal impact of the violence on sisters She couldn’t go anywhere without being followed she was banned from entering certain neighbourhoods and she was constantly frightened “It felt like I didn’t live in Sweden any more I lived in Iraq or something,” says the 25-year-old poet who has never been in a gang herself but has lost her eldest brother and a close friend to the violence that has engulfed her country the mental toll of years living at the centre of Sweden’s gang wars and her fear and hopelessness amid the escalating situation both in her community in the Stockholm suburb of Tensta and at home with her family She was unable to work any more and her life started to rapidly unravel became violent and lost her sense of boundaries “Everything in life became meaningless,” she says “It was like I hated life so much that I could stand in the middle of the square and say: ‘Kill me A police officer inspects the site of an explosion in a residential area in Fullerö The turning point came when Idle and her siblings each with a price of 100,000 krona (£7,500) on their heads narrowly escaped with their lives from the wedding of one of her brothers Panic had broken out on the dancefloor after word spread that police had stopped three heavily armed teenage boys 20 minutes from the wedding venue where he remains in custody on suspicion of serious crimes Now, while the country comes to terms with the deadliest month of shootings since records began in 2016 Idle has chosen to speak out about the violence and how it is destroying families documenting the brutal impact of the violence on innocent sisters whose minority-run government came into power a year ago pledging to tackle gang crime said he would “chase” and “defeat” the gangs a total of 34 people had died this year in shootings while 45 people were killed by gunfire the previous year “It breaks your heart that it is getting worse but I feel that my book is most current now and I am going to try to do what I can do from my direction and [affect] as many people as I can,” says Idle Faysa Idle: ‘It’s clear they have actively not wanted to let us in.’ Photograph: Nicklas ThegerströmThere are two Swedens that exist in parallel: the one that she grew up in where her Somalian mother had multiple jobs to try to make ends meet where people don’t have to live with the same stress and danger or worry about income from a young age between Swedish authorities and refugee and immigrant communities living in poverty they have actively not wanted to let us in.” Sweden needs to meet and make some sort of difference We will never be able to do it if we sit and blame one another.” The steadily decreasing age of the children and young people dying is devastating It makes me so afraid that it is 15-year-olds when violence erupted in her neighbourhood and she says everyone was forced to pick a side Soon it became normal to see her brother Bilal who was a leading member of the gang Shottaz Police officers work near the scene of a shooting Photograph: Johan Nilsson/AP“I wrote this book because we girls have been very oppressed for a long time private pictures are out there online,” she says meaning that we who are sisters to some of these guys end up in the clutches of it all and then it means that we become victims of something we haven’t created.” women are forced to live in stress and fear while trying to do normal jobs and live their lives “It stops you from coming into society properly because you have other rules and other conditions.” she describes the pain of burying her brother who was murdered near their family home in 2018 The next day she was at work at 9am to open up the shop the doctor at first thought she needed to be hospitalised because they thought she was having psychosis after telling them the multiple traumatic experiences she had undergone To be a woman in the environment she grew up in is painful you’re worried if he’s going to come home tonight,” she adds “We women have lived too long in silence.” The actions of their family members also impact how they are viewed by society They are always going to see me like this [affiliated with gangs] and it’s always going to be like this.” who has always been a voracious reader and writer “My words are the only powerful weapon I have and innermost inside me I knew it [the book] was going to make a difference Idle’s words and pictures have been featured across national newspapers and radio after the publication of her book her voice has been prominent in the national conversation Soon after three people were killed in just 12 hours last week she spoke at the Gothenburg book fair of her anger saying: “We must protect the women at all costs.” But it hasn’t come without risk and danger breaking the code of silence by speaking so openly she has had to break away from everything she knows and start an entirely new life She has moved to a new area and has limited contact with old acquaintances “I don’t know what the consequences are of this but I know that we have already lived the consequences for a long time We have already lived in misery,” she says Source: The Guardian Source: Visit Stockholm Source: Visit Stockholm You can view the entire "METRO" collection on Altrath's website skyscrapers today represent social inaccessibility and commercial obsession completely disengaged from any sense of ethical responsibility in reigniting the social question of architecture how can the tower reconfigure itself into something that reconciles sites of conflict the biggest challenge with designing a skyscraper for the city of stockholm is the “towerphobia” of scandinavia homogenous skyline of stockholm is seen as a display of power; in the past the spires of religious buildings had the greatest height while currently midrise commercial buildings control the skyline we propose to give the height and the power to the people of stockholm the dynamics of the city of Stockholm represents both the success and the failures of the social welfare state while the majority of residents enjoy an unmatched level of equality and democracy a dividing line for governmental aid has been drawn between immigrant “new Swedes” and “native” Swedes This tension is most clear in the neighborhoods of tensta and spånga situated in the northwest region of stockholm these two suburbs border each other but are demographically and politically separate segregated neighborhoods like these can be found all throughout Sweden we can use the imbued symbolic and monetary power of a skyscraper to connect the two neighborhoods and heal the rift in the site a reconciliator of the cultural rift between tensta and spånga will mix commercial program with cultural and educational program that people from both districts want and need: a public k-8 school local icons including the tensta konsthall are also relocated into the tower to act as the base and the apex the tower reaches out at the base to each neighborhood in order to create a new direct path across the dividing park between tensta and spånga this formal and programmatic motion disintegrates the segregated borders of each community and diversified disctrict that is the stensta tower fluid spaces and circulation work in conjunction with the distributed program so that functions are not contained in the caked and closed floors found in a typical skyscraper various sizes of office modules are also accommodated for in the stensta tower this allows for offices ranging in size and scope from local start-ups to global corporations to use the tower these office modules work in conjunction with the distributed program mixing in such a way that a single company cannot dominate the tower the distributed program of the towers naturally breaks up the space in such a way that the higher more attractive spaces can only accommodate smaller local offices ensuring that even the office workers in the tower are a part of the local context rifted site that activates the skyscraper’s social responsibility rather than commercial efficiency the stensta tower now cements itself not as a sculptural but rather a very necessary bridge in the new social infrastructure of stockholm thus the building acts as a social integrator drawing both “new” and “native” swedes through the abundance of attractive spaces and functions and allow for an unprecedented amount of interaction between the two segregated groups we hope that the residents of tensta and spånga will discover that they have more in common than in difference that they are more alike than incompatible that there is no difference between “new” and “native.” http://welcometoplus.tumblr.com/ AXOR presents three bathroom concepts that are not merely places of function but destinations in themselves — sanctuaries of style Somali-Swedes have criticized authorities for not doing enough to support the community during the coronavirus pandemic It comes as it was reported that six of the 15 people who have died from the virus in the Scandinavian country come from Stockholm's Somali community The Swedish capital has been the hardest hit so far by COVID-19 authorities said they will be distributing information about the coronavirus in 15 languages - including Somali and Arabic there are concerns that working-class areas of the country will be the hardest hit.The virus has been reported in the Jarva area of Stockholm which includes districts Kista-Rinkeby and Tensta and around 90 percent of the population coming from an immigrant background A local doctor suggested the virus may have spread during Friday prayers at a local mosque but blamed authorities for not spreading information about how the disease is transmitted earlier there was not so much information in Somali and much continued living as usual," Jihan Mohamed a board member of the Swedish Somali Medical association Several generations can live in the same apartment," he added One-quarter of the people who have died from coronavirus in the UK have come from Muslim backgrounds which has been put down to the same factors She went on to add that cultural practices may have also inadvertently played a role in spreading the virus The national broadcaster SVT started texting their news broadcasts in Arabic citing "the great need for information due to coronavirus epidemic" and other national media produced material in Arabic and Somali A Finnish radio station has also increased services in four foreign languages - including Somali and Arabic due to the deaths in Sweden Local media believe that a lack of information in Somali at the beginning of the pandemic may have contributed to the deaths neighbouring Finland is taking extra measures to inform all of its population about coronavirus updates it is important that everyone living in Finland now receives reliable and current information about the coronavirus situation regardless of whether or not they can speak Finnish," said YLE News and Current Affairs head Riikka Raisanen to reflect the country’s diverse communities nearly 392,000 people living in Finland spoke a foreign language as their mother tongue Advertise with GaroweOnline and expose your brand to a global audience of loyal visitors from across the world Trump lauded the US Africa Command for airstrikes in Puntland against ISIS and pledged more support Fiqi has since been appointed Somalia’s minister of defence His tenure at the foreign ministry saw a shift in Somalia’s diplomatic posture Copyright © GAROWONLINE All Rights Reserved The Local Europe ABVästmannagatan 43113 25 StockholmSweden Please log in here to leave a comment. Editor's note: This article has been updated with new events for 2023 Diwali is the name given to the five-day long festival of lights celebrated in autumn in India and by Hindus It takes its name from the clay lamps or deepa (the event is sometimes called Deepawali) that many Indians light outside their home With the days rapidly shortening in Sweden there's all the more reason to celebrate light and for the country's large Indian-born community in particular Exactly what is celebrated differs in different parts of India; for example many northern Indians use the day to mark the return of King Rama to Ayodhya after defeating demon-king Ravana while in southern India it marks the defeat of demon Narakasura by Lord Krishna with specific rituals and activities assigned to each day beginning with cleaning the house on the first day and decorating it usually with clay lamps and patterns of coloured sand The third day is when families meet for prayer and food and the fourth day is seen as the start of the new year with friends and relatives visiting each other with gifts it's traditional for brothers to visit their married sisters and for the sisters' family to welcome them with a meal READERS REVEAL: Where to find the best of Indian culture in Sweden which originated as a way of marking the year's last harvest before winter So where can you celebrate the event in Sweden Soul of India is hosting a Diwali celebration on November 18th in Sollentuna bingo with prizes and Indian food to top it all off Their celebration cost 50 kronor for kids aged 3-12 Ikon Events held its Diwali celebration on November 3rd featuring an Indian buffet Tickets cost 499 kronor for adults 199 kronor for children with kids under 7 going free In Spånga, Creative Events hosted a Diwali celebration on November 10th at Tensta Träff Attendees are encouraged to wear traditional or fusion clothing Tickets cost 120 kronor for adults or 40 kronor for children over 8 If you're planning on celebrating at home, check out an Indian grocery store such as Kista Grossen, Himlaya Livs, and Taj Mahal Livs for food Masala Events in Gothenburg is hosting a Diwali celebration on November 11th with vegetarian finger food (including samosas and paneer tikka) which it describes as "a perfect blend of traditional and modernity" Guests are asked to dress "Indian style" for the event with tickets costing 200 kronor for adults or 100 kronor for kids under 13 For those looking to decorate their home for Diwali, teacher Madhumathi at MaddyArts in Gothenburg will be hosting a workshop making candle holders on November 11th, for anyone aged 3 years and above. More details are available here. Indian Women in Gothenburg also held a combined Diwali and ten year anniversary event on October 29th And to stock up on supplies for home, groceries can be found at Indian Food House, while Indiska Kryddor specialises in spices and tea In Lund, Indian Association in Sweden is hosting a large celebration on November 18th Expect music and cultural performances at this event which costs 200 kronor for members and 250 for non-members Kids aged 6-12 cost 125 kronor while under 5s go free Indopak in Malmö sells Indian groceries for those looking to celebrate at home Do you know about any other Diwali events happening in Sweden Let us know in the comments below and we will add them to our list Please log in here to leave a comment