Inspiring spin-offs in Gothenburg and Oslo, Allsång pa Skånsen is broadcast each Tuesday in summer from the Skansen open air musuem in central Stockholm…
Xander Brett
A singalong with some of the biggest names in Swedish music, broadcast every Tuesday evening from 29th to the 17th August. Allsång pa Skånsen started in 1935 with about fifty people in the audience. On television since 1979, its now attended by between ten and fifty thousand, with millions more tuning in from across the country. Its host, Sanna Nielsen, brought in to replace Petra Marklund in 2016 says she didn’t expect to be ask at such a young age. “I thought maybe I’d get the question when I’m 50,” she laughs down the phone, “but not now!”
Nielsen is, though, a seasoned presenter. She hosted Melodifestivalen with Robin Paulsson in 2014 and commentated during Sweden’s winning Eurovision entry in 2015. Nielsen also records her own music, and herself represented Sweden in Eurovison in 2014 with the song Undo (it reached third place). She’s in the studio “a few times a year”, saying Allsång pa Skånsen takes up much of her time over the summer. After the show ends on Tuesday night, there are meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday. Nielsen needs to show up at the meetings and says she rehearses every day. Coming live from the Skansen open air museum, on a hill overlooking central Stockholm, Allsång på Skansen has its rivals. Since 2004, Lotta på Liseberg has been broadcast from Gothenburg on TV4 and, in 2007, Norway started a spin-off called Allsang på Grensen.
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