Nine recurring events in Gothenburg attract close to a million visitors and participants annually. The consumption by visiting guests amounts to approximately 2.2 billion Swedish kronor. New tourist economic statistics from Göteborg & Co show how the events cement the city's position as the event capital of the Nordics.
– Many cities can boast a major concert or a championship. What sets Gothenburg apart is its breadth and continuity. Here, world-class events are held year after year, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors from the fields of sport, culture, and music, and together they create significant value for the city, says Magnus Hallberg, Deputy CEO and head of events at Göteborg & Co.
The events covered by the statistics are the Gothenburg Half Marathon, Gothia Cup, Gothenburg Film Festival, Gothenburg Horse Show, the Book Fair, Gothenburg Basketball Festival, Partille World Cup, Gothia Innebandy Cup, and Way Out West.
Several are not only the largest in Gothenburg or Sweden – the Gothenburg Half Marathon is the world's largest half marathon, Gothia Cup is the world's largest youth football tournament, and Partille World Cup is the world's largest youth handball tournament. Unlike one-off concerts or championships, these events generate repeat visits and consumption year after year.
– One of the explanations for the high figures in the survey is that Gothenburg's annual events manage to deliver world-class sports, cultural, and music events. Another, of course, is the pleasant reception that visitors testify to. Gothenburg, and not least the people of Gothenburg, are also world-class in their hospitality, says Magnus Hallberg.
In total, close to a million people visit or participate in the nine events every year. The events attract visitors from all over Sweden and large parts of the world, and the total consumption of visiting attendees amounts to approximately 2.2 billion Swedish kronor.
The statistics compiled by Göteborg & Co are based on surveys produced by Upplevelseinstitutet and Enkätfabriken.
By comparison, the Experience Institute calculated that Taylor Swift's three concerts in Stockholm in May 2024 attracted just over 130,000 visiting attendees and generated a tourism economic turnover of 848 million Swedish kronor. The nine recurring Gothenburg events in this compilation correspond in total to approximately four times as many visiting attendees and more than double the tourism economic turnover. The difference is that Gothenburg's results are created through many established events that recur year after year.
– The Taylor Swift concerts were a clear example of the impact a single event can have. What makes Gothenburg's figures so interesting is that equivalent effects are created through several recurring events within different categories, says Andreas Andersson Åkerlind, CEO, Upplevelseinstitutet.
Furthermore, the 2.2 billion only measures direct visitor consumption. Indirect effects – job creation, public health benefits from the sporting events, and the value of Gothenburg's international visibility as a destination – are not included.
The statistics are taken from Göteborg & Co's report "Nordic Event Capital – a report on Gothenburg's recurring annual events", which will be published later this year.
Regarding the measurements:
The calculations of the tourist economic turnover are based on visitor surveys, resident surveys and factual data from the organisers. The analyses were carried out by Upplevelseinstitutet (The Experience Institute) and Enkätfabriken (The Survey Factory) in connection with the respective events. Details regarding the measurements are provided by the respective organiser.
