In 2010, the U.S. partnered with the Swedish Ministry for Enterprise, Energy and Communications to form the Swedish-American Green Alliance, or SAGA. Promoting trade, research, investments and knowledge exchange in three specific industry tracks—green building, green infrastructure and sustainable transportation—the agreement exemplifies America’s priority focus on “economic statecraft” with Sweden, or diplomacy driven by strengthening commercial ties.
It’s a pact with references back to 1783, when the nations signed a treaty of Amity & Commerce, and Sweden became the first neutral nation to officially recognize the newly independent American republic. Today, the U.S. remains a top partner in Sweden’s export-oriented market economy.
Powered by R&D, innovation and globalization, Sweden’s winning business profile includes abundant natural resources, superior engineering and manufacturing know-how, and a stable, well-diversified base in cleantech, IT, gaming, life sciences, automotive and other sectors. According to May 2014 figures from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Sweden ranks sixth globally for venture capital investments as a percentage of GDP, with North American institutional and private equity players, newly bullish on a resurgent Europe, especially active. Read last month’s New Yorker to learn about Sweden’s influence on global pop music, too.
Sweden is the preferred Nordic headquarters and European gateway for many U.S. companies, its rapidly maturing MICE industry, concentrated in Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmo, presenting much corresponding opportunity for U.S. groups. Offering an open and welcoming business climate, superior communications and transportation infrastructure, and Michelin-rated dining among many off-agenda pleasures, it is a destination worth discovering.
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Stockholm
With leading sectors ranging from cleantech and gaming to fashion and pop music, Sweden’s regal capital city is the model of the evolved center of knowledge and innovation in today’s global economy—and the world is taking notice.
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) ranked Stockholm seventh overall in its 2014 “Cities of Opportunity” index, which evaluates 30 leading global economic centers across a range of criteria. Taking the top spot in two categories—sustainability and the natural environment, and health, safety and security—Stockholm is also a leader in technology readiness (3rd) and intellectual capital and innovation (4th).
“We have a very interesting mix of life science companies, information and communications technology companies, cleantech companies and the entertainment industries,” Ulla Hamilton, Stockholm’s vice mayor for entrepreneurism, told PwC on a recent visit to New York, adding that this mix creates an innovative climate, making it fashionable for Swedes to start their own company.
Count Spotify, Skype, Minecraft and DICE (makers of the blockbuster Battlefield video game franchise) among the global success stories coming out of Stockholm. Spotify CEO Daniel Ek topped Wired’s ranking of Europe’s top 100 digital influencers in 2014, with five other Stockholmers and three other Swedes also making the list. Also from Stockholm: the music producers behind Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift and Jennifer Lopez.
Pulsing with innovation, Stockholm’s unique venues include Kista Science City, where the 299-room Scandic Victoria Tower offers 16 conference rooms and the panoramic 34th-floor Skybar, and leading medical university Karolinska Institutet, with its 1,000-seat auditorium for Nobel lectures and other major events.
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Gothenburg
Founded in 1621, Sweden’s second-largest city is quite the catch. From its scenic perch on the Gothia River, the city opens up to the endless islands of the charming West Coast archipelago, offering groups plentiful seagoing activities. There’s plenty of action in town, too. Major events and tourism are pillars of the economy, including the long-running (1979) Goteborg International Film Festival and the newer Way Out West music festival.
As Scandinavia’s largest port, trade and shipping are dominant industries, along with finance and manufacturing. Venerable anchor companies include SKF, the world’s largest maker of bearings, seals and related products (1907); telecom giant Ericsson (1878); and automotive leader Volvo (1927).
Welcoming more than 1 million attendees to some 30 trade shows and hundreds of conferences every year, Gothenburg is poised to become a foremost destination in the European MICE market as it readies to debut the continent’s largest fully integrated hotel, exhibition and conference facility.
Surrounded by hotels, restaurants, shops, cultural attractions and parks in the center of town, the multifunctional, all-inclusive Svenska Massan (Swedish Exhibition & Congress Centre) complex offers 143,000 square feet of space, several group-ready restaurants and Gothia Towers, one of the largest hotels in Scandinavia.
Newly expanded to include a third tower (the trio dramatically linked by glass walkways 150 feet above the street), the hotel now offers 1,200 rooms, including its separate Upper House property, and the 29th-floor “Imagine” function space, dreamily overlooking the city.
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Malmo
Easily accessed by train or car from Copenhagen across the Oresund Bridge, laid-back Malmo is the capital and commercial center of scenic, fertile Skane, Sweden’s southernmost region and originally a Viking-era stronghold.
Once dominated by heavy industry, including one of the world’s largest shipyards, Sweden’s third-largest city today is a hotbed of creative regeneration. Along with a new base in logistics, construction and trade, Malmo has emerged as a recognized center for biotech, IT, digital media and eco-engineering. Look no further than the colorful Western Harbor area and its signature landmark, the 54-story (top-floor event space available) Turning Torso skyscraper to see the city’s spirit of reinvention and sustainability in full bloom.
This month, Malmo will host Swedish Meeting Industry Week, the annual conference and exhibition for the Swedish MICE Industry. The event will be staged at the expansive MalmoMassan exhibition center.
Offering more than 3,500 hotel rooms, the compact city is enhancing its MICE appeal with Malmo Live this summer. The development will feature a conference venue accommodating up to 1,500 delegates, a 1,600-seat concert hall and a 445-room hotel.
Malmo, known as the “City of Parks,” also has open spaces such as Lilla Torg, packed with bars and cafes, and historic Stortorget.
On his own official tour of Malmo, longtime Meetings Focus contributor Jeff Heilman saw the royal families of Sweden and Denmark in a ceremonial procession.
