2025: A Remarkable Year for Skövde’s City Center – A Diverse Array of Events and Activities
During the year, Skövde Citysamverkan project-managed eleven of their own events, and additionally contributed to financing five more events. These activities took place in Skövde’s city center for almost 120 days, meaning visitors could experience something almost every third day throughout the year. Highlights included restaurant weeks, Christmas markets, outdoor cinema, bouncy castles, and summer activities – a broad mix of events for both children and adults.
Summer Square: A Standout Event
Sommartorg, the largest event, attracted an impressive 21,400 visitors during the summer, surpassing last year’s 18,000 visits. Over 65 days, children and young people were offered free activities including face painting, crafts, ping pong, skateboarding, hobby horse jumping, and LEGO building. New additions included visitors playing their own video game ”Out of Hand” and the Leisure Bank being present throughout the summer.
Innovative New Activities
One of the year’s novelties was a new autumn break activity called ”Letter Mystery”. For 14 days, families could use UV flashlights to hunt for hidden letters in the city center – an evening activity inspired by Varberg and Laholm.
Another new evening activity was outdoor cinema in Kyrkparken, where films for both children and adults were screened over two evenings, including a horror movie during autumn break.
Additional City Center Initiatives
Beyond events, Citysamverkan also:
- Installed flag displays on Rådhusgatan and Storgatan
- Set up pumpkins and ghosts in the church park during autumn break
- Drove and co-financed a visitor counter at Hertig Johans Square
- Organized a workshop with Property Owners
- Created an art exhibition in an empty storefront with Kulturarbetscentrum and Rapp Fastigheter
Expert Insights
”I am proud that we could offer an event in the city center every third day on average, with nearly half occurring outside the summer season. We see a clear need for accessible and free activities, especially for families. Being able to meet that need both day and night, year-round, feels incredibly exciting,” says Emma Edqvist, destination developer at Skövde Citysamverkan/Next Skövde.
”Collaboration is a crucial success factor in developing the city center. It’s a long-term effort where we need to be persistent. In a rapidly changing world, we need both the will and courage to think innovatively to meet residents’ and visitors’ new needs,” says Per Alexandersson, CEO of Forshem Fastigheter and member of Skövde Citysamverkan’s steering group.
The events demonstrate Skövde’s commitment to creating a vibrant, engaging city center that offers something for everyone throughout the year.
