göteborg & co - annual report 2008
TRANSCRIPT
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Göteborg & Co
2008
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CONTENTS
For the people of Göteborg
Göran Johansson and Gunnel Aho 4
We can if we really want to
Claes Bjerkne 6
Participation culture in Göteborg 14
World Championship City 18
Conference City 24
City of Events 28
City of Sports 32
City of Culture 34
City of Learning 36
City of Entertainment 38
Christmas City 40
The Green City 42
City of Tourism 46
City of Shopping 50
City of Food 52
City of Industry 54
The Virtual City 58
The International City 60
City of Partnerships 62
The Göteborg brand 66
Names and faces 68
This is how we work 72
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Göran Johansson, Chairman
(Social Democrat)
We have made tourism a recognised industry
“Before Göteborg & Co was formed, about
twenty years ago, tourism in the city was
handled by several different organisa-
tions: Göteborg Tourism Council, Goth-
enburg Region Promotion Office (GRPO),
PRO Göteborg and Westway Sweden. The
Göteborg Region Association of Local
Auth orities (GR) and the West Sweden
Chamber of Commerce also played active
roles in promoting tourism. The relation-
ships between stakeholders in the visitor
market were mostly competitive in nature.
When we appointed Claes Bjerkne to
manage this area he brought together
all the different players under Göteborg
& Co. At the same time, industry was
brought in as a co-owner and working
partner. It was not obvious at the time,
but it turned out that this was exactly the
right route to take. Very soon, the stake-
holders began talking to each other as
collaborative partners.
We also coined the term the Thorough-
fare of Events. The thoroughfare had ex-
isted previously, of course, but giving it a
name opened up completely new oppor-
tunities.
When Göteborg & Co came on the
scene, tourism was not seen as an indus-
try in its own right. It was regarded more
as an aspect of leisure, not an opportunity
for employment, for real jobs. This is pos-
sibly the most important thing we have
achieved: breaking down the old view of
tourism and seeing tourism instead as
a rapidly growing industry. One good ex-
ample was the World Athletics Champion-
ships in 1995. When you see the whole
picture you realise what great business
this meant for the city.
It is also important to consider the
whole picture from the visitor’s perspec-
tive. Experiences are not just created by
visiting impressive or interesting buil dings;
they are also about the people and the
atmosphere. During the European Athlet-
ics Championships, the competitors,
leaders, organisers, media representa-
tives and everyone else who came here
really felt that they were looked after in a
totally different way than they had been
treated elsewhere. During the World Fig-
ure Skating Championships the organisers
found an events organisation that took
care of every detail. Everyone was happy.
For the people of Göteborg
Over the years, Göteborg & Co has de-
veloped into an organisation with impress-
ive scope. Its activities have expanded
and product development has continued.
Collaboration with hotels, restaurants and
other stakeholders has steadily deepen ed.
This collaboration is a real strength.
The fact that Göteborg & Co works for
the people of Göteborg is especially re-
flected in the many job opportunities crea-
ted by the tourism industry and the tax
revenues brought in by these activities.
I would also like to mention the value
of the tourism sector in creating job op-
portunities for people who come from
other countries. In this respect, experi-
ence of other cultures will benefit both
individuals and Göteborg as a whole.”
Gunnel Aho, Vice Chairman (Moderate)
Important to nurture enterprise
“What I remember most of all in 2008 is
the World Figure Skating Championships.
It was a wonderful experience and a great
event to bring to Göteborg.
I’m also impressed by the fact that
Göteborg & Co maintains such a high
standard at all the recurring events. That
really takes special people who don’t get
stuck in a routine and are able to keep on
improving these events.
One example is the Göteborg City Fes-
tival, which became the Göteborg Culture
Festival, and still maintains its popular-
ity. Some residents of Göteborg even take
time off especially so they can really enjoy
this local festival.
A Göteborg Christmas is another fine
event that keeps on improving every year.
This demonstrates that Göteborg & Co
stands for optimism and confidence in the
future, which is a valuable thing in times
such as these.
With growing competition it is vital to
lead the way, as expressed in the goals of
our business plan. The platform for col lab-
oration can be further improved.
When people are replaced in an or-
ganisation it is important to clearly state
your goal – to nurture our heritage of en-
terprise. At the same time it is good to see
fresh ideas.
Göteborg & Co has been successful as
a result of its innovation, energy, and its
constant drive to be ahead of the field.
I look forward to the future of this or-
ganisation, which is so important for the
city and the region!”
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Tourism in Göteborg succeeded in showing growth for the 17th year in succession, despite the global credit crunch and recession. A strong start to last year meant that the tourism and visitor industry was able to grow slightly. There was a record number of overnight stays, just over 3.2 million, at our hotels and youth hostels. Visitors spent around SEK 23 billion, and as a result the industry was able to create almost 17,000 man-years of employment in the Göteborg region.
A great year for events and congressesOver the past year, Göteborg has taken
pride in the continued growth of a number
of our many successful annual events,
as well as several big new public events.
The presentation of the Göteborg Award
for Sustainable Development to Al Gore,
former US vice president, during the “Liv-
ing Planet” gala was a very memorable
occasion. The World Figure Skating Cham-
pionships, with a television audience of
around 350 million, was also a truly suc-
cessful event, followed by the Göteborg
Horse Show and the annual conference
of the World Association of Newspapers
(WAN). This was the first time that the
world’s newspaper owners had held their
big world conference in Göteborg and
Scandinavia. Another highpoint was the
two concerts given by Bruce Springsteen
at Ullevi stadium.
A further asset that is much appre-
ciated by the people of Göteborg and by
vis itors is what is sometimes known as
green Göteborg, consisting of several
central parks and green areas.
It was this green asset that formed
the backdrop for the big garden exhibition
of 2008 – Gardens of Göteborg – which
lasted a full three months. Together, Göte-
borg Botanical Garden, the Garden Soci-
ety of Göteborg, Liseberg Garden and
Gunnebo House & Gardens created a
splendid horticultural event for the people
of Göteborg and for visitors.
Good progress was made during the
We can if we want to
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year on the construction of the new Gamla
Ullevi arena, a welcome and long-awaited
addition for all football fans. Gamla Ullevi
will open in spring 2009.
The Swedish Society of Medicine
celebrated its second centenary and held
its national conference in Göteborg in
autumn, while the meeting of the Euro-
pean Society for Therapeutic Radiology &
Oncology (ESTRO) was one of the biggest
international congresses to take place in
Göteborg in 2008, with 4,500 delegates
attending. You can read more about these
events and many others that took place in
2008 in the annual report. Looking ahead
to 2009, this could be the best year ever
for concerts in Göteborg. Madonna is
coming, AC/DC is coming, and the Scan-
dinavium is hosting a string of concerts,
including one by Beyoncé. We also have
Way Out West, Metaltown and the tradi-
tional outdoor concert with Göteborg
Symphony Orchestra.
Local and national collaboration When the economy in general shows little
growth, we have always managed to per-
form relatively well in Göteborg when it
comes to the tourism and visitor indus-
try. The underlying reason is our ability
to work together. The Göteborg spirit has
helped us stay together and jointly drive
forward the development and marketing
of Göteborg in a successful way.
Many destinations and organisations
cut back on their activities when the econ-
omy takes a downward turn, so they tend
to have a short-term focus on activities. If
we can now manage to keep our cool and
maintain our tempo, while working
together on proactive marketing strat-
egies, then we can take market share and
come out of the recession even stronger.
The economic crisis will affect us ...There are many indications right now that
2009 will be a hard year for the tourism
and visitor industry around the world. As
yet, there are no clear signs of economic
recovery, and in Sweden many sectors of
manufacturing and industry have posted
gloomy forecasts for the next few years.
This will have a big impact on “tradi tional”
business travel. Because the effects are
so wide reaching, and western Sweden will
be hit particularly hard – not least the car
industry and its subcontractors
– it will also have negative consequences
for Göteborg as a destination.
... but also bring opportunities For Swedish tourism, the biggest oppor-
tun ity lies in focusing the efforts of the big
players in the Swedish travel and tourism
industry. I’m referring to the metro politan
regions of Stockholm, Göteborg and Mal-
mö, as well as Åre/Östersund, the LFV
Group, the big carriers, the Swedish
Hotel and Restaurant Association (SHR),
the Swedish Camping Site Owners’ Associ-
ation (SCR) and VisitSweden.
With the benefits of more effective
marketing and the current weakness of
the Swedish krona there are opportunities
to positively influence overnight stays by
Swedes and foreign visitors during events,
conferences and private travel. It is likely
that a growing number of Swedes will con-
sider holidaying at home this year. In our
closer foreign markets – Norway, Denmark
and Finland – there is reason for some op-
timism concerning growth in 2009.
We have a very strong Swedish tour-
ism product that offers high quality to the
international market. This product is un-
fortunately still relatively unknown.
We can if we want to
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Beyond Scandinavia, our marketing
efforts should therefore be focused on
selected European metropolitan regions
with direct links to our Swedish metro-
politan regions.
Göteborg and the Västra Göta-land region will grow Göteborg and the Västra Götaland re-
gion are increasingly working together to
achieve sustainable, long-term growth.
It is important to build an overall picture
of how our city and our region as a whole
can develop positively.
Some important requirements are to:
1. Increase the population of our region
to at least 1.5 million within a com-
muting range of one hour in order to
create a sufficiently large base for in-
dustry and employment opportunities.
One of the ways we can achieve this is
by improving communications between
the large, population-dense parts of
our region.
2. Provide improved access to and from
our region, with more flights, train ser-
vices and ferry links.
3. Develop the heart of the city.
4. Make the city and the region even more
attractive, and encourage the pooling
of efforts to promote the “Göteborg”
brand as a destination.
5. Everything that is done must have the
interests of the people of Göteborg and
western Sweden in mind.
Few other metropolitan regions in Europe
have such large areas of land in the heart
of the city as Göteborg. This provides
unique opportunities to develop the city
in a way that is both architecturally stri-
king and has a great deal to offer visitors,
while also enhancing Göteborg’s ability to
compete internationally. This could con-
tribute considerably in making Göteborg
and Västra Götaland an even more attrac-
tive metropolitan region for people to live
in, work in or visit.
Tourism enhances quality of life and creates jobs
Investments in tourism, in which events
and conferences play a very important
part, are ultimately intended to improve
the quality of life of people who live and
work in our region. Tourism contributes to
this in several different ways.
It helps to build bridges between
people of different ethnic backgrounds. It
creates a wider selection of culture, enter-
tainment and sports, restaurants, cafés,
destinations for excursions, business, etc.
Tourism generates revenue for many
companies and creates new job oppor-
tunities.
Stiffening global competition today
means that many jobs in traditional manu-
facturing industry are shifting to low-
wage countries, with the result that many
people see the service sector as our new
motor for growth.
Tourism gives society large tax rev-
enues and thus helps to finance the public
sector. Tourism also creates a basis for
developing a bigger and more attractive
infrastructure in Göteborg and the Väst ra
Götaland region. Like other industries,
tourism requires employees with aca-
demic training. However, tourism also
needs a large number of people with diffe-
rent types of practical expertise. This can
range from a variety of different duties in
the service sector in hotels, restaurants,
the retail trade, transport, conferences,
events, tour operation, guiding, building,
and in sports, culture and entertainment.
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Tourism can give many people the
chance to get into the employment market.
As Sweden increases its tourism exports it
will need a growing number of people who
can speak different languages and under-
stand the needs of visitors from other cul-
tures. More than 1.5 million Swedes have
roots in different cultures, and many of
them naturally stay in touch with friends
and family in the countries from which they
and their families originally came. This is
an area where Sweden has a potential that
could strengthen our international attrac-
tion as a tourism desti nation.
More long-term actionThe ambition of Göteborg and the Västra
Götaland region is to help make the region
even more attractive, and thus contribute
to the continued growth and development
of the tourism and visitor industry.
However, growth can never be taken for
granted, but is generated through invest-
ment and committed, long-term eff orts.
In this age of globalisation in which we
live, competition is greater than ever and
will continue to increase.
A growing number of cities and regions
in the world around us have realised the
importance of tourism for growth and
employment. The investments now be-
ing made in new infrastructure, in trans-
port and new venues, are greater than we
have ever seen before, not just in China,
but also much closer to home.
Tourism is seen by many commenta-
tors as a means of leveraging the service
sector, and a strategic approach that can
promote the development of entire re-
gions. Göteborg and the Västra Götaland
region will require large investments in in-
frastructure within the near future. This is
of the greatest importance for the devel-
opment of our region.
Events that strengthen our brandSince the start of the 1990s Göteborg
has worked actively on a long-term, pro-
fessional strategy for the development of
tourism and the visitor industry, as a vital
link in the overall development of Göte-
borg and the Västra Götaland region.
Events have been one of the sup-
porting elements of this work. Initiat-
ives in culture, entertainment and sports
can play a vital role in making our region
even more attractive, as well as helping to
strengthen the Göteborg brand and gene-
rating more growth.
To create an influx of capital and in-
vestment that will safeguard future
growth, and in the longer term good eco-
nomic conditions and quality of life for
people, a growing number of leading met-
ropolitan regions in the western world are
taking steps to clearly define their brands.
Using powerful international marketing
that focuses on their unique character
and cultural values, they are attempting
to establish a clear identity. In doing so,
the metropolitan regions are becoming
brands, and their content is the main key
to future growth.
Investors often choose to invest in a
region whose brand and culture matches
the values of their own company. Finding
a unique identity and communicating this
effectively to the outside world is a recipe
for success. One aspect of this process
that has become globally important is in-
vestment in big international events that
can serve as catalysts for growth and
platforms for communication.
Successful in our categoryGöteborg and the Västra Götaland region
are small players in a global context. Our
Big cities are committed to eventsHere are some examples:
London Olympic Games 2012
Paris Bid for Olympic Games 2012 World Athletics Championships 2003 Football World Cup 1998
Milan World Expo 2015
Madrid Bid for Olympic Games 2016
Beijing Olympic Games 2008
Shanghai World Expo 2010
Tokyo Bid for Olympic Games 2016 World Figure Skating Championships 2007
Sydney Olympic Games 2000
Moscow World Athletics Championships 2013 World Figure Skating Championships 2005
Berlin World Athletics Championships 2009 Football World Cup 2006
Johannesburg Football World Cup 2010
Rio de Janeiro Bid for Olympic Games 2016
Barcelona European Athletics Championships 2010
Vancouver Winter Olympics 2010
Los Angeles World Figure Skating Championships 2009
Chicago Bid for Olympic Games 2016
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requirements differ from those of the big-
gest metropolitan regions. Nevertheless,
we have relatively good opportunities to
succeed, thanks to our well-developed
cultural organisations and leisure associ-
ations, our successful tradition of org-
anising events and a strong Swedish
sports fraternity, combined with our well-
estab lished partnerships with Swedish
trade and industry.
As an events city, Göteborg is a world-
class player. The fact that everything in
Göteborg is within such easy reach, with
arenas and hotels centrally located within
walking distance, combined with well-
developed partnerships between trade
and industry and the public sector, gives
us a very strong competitive edge.
The fact that Göteborg and Sweden
were entrusted to arrange events such
as the UEFA Football Championships in
1992, World Handball Championships in
1993, World Athletics Championships in
1995, World Table Tennis Championships
in 1997, World Gymnaestrada in 1998,
the EU Summit in 2001, Volvo Ocean
Race in 2002 and 2006, World Ice Hock-
ey Championships in 2002, European
Handball Championships in 2003, Euro-
pean Athletics Championships in 2006
and World Figure Skating Championships
in 2008, sends its own clear message.
Maintaining and improving this pos-
ition, and fully exploiting events as a
fundamental part of the development of
Göteborg and the Västra Götaland region,
is one of the biggest opportunities we
have to be successful in the global com-
petition for investment, capital growth
and creating a better quality of life.
Brand is key to growthOffering good products is not enough to
guarantee success today. It is also essen-
tial to inform the market about what you
are offering. Without this knowledge there
is no attraction. Through Göteborg & Co,
the city has been working for several
years to develop a brand platform for
Göteborg as a destination.
The essence of Göteborg – a distillate
that captures the image of the destination
– is “Attractive and inspiring experiences
with a human touch”. The chosen core val-
ues that the city aims to communicate are
empathy, inspiration and pluralism. Really
successful brands generate positive asso-
ciations – a brand should make you smile!
Investments in venues generate long-term growth Massive investments are being made
in the world around us right now. New
events venues are being built in Sweden
and all over northern Europe. Any metro-
politan region that wants to keep up with
development has to be able to offer a
wide range of experiences and events of
diverse types. If a metropolitan region
does not invest sufficiently, its develop-
ment will stagnate. In practice this will
make it less able to compete with the re-
gions around it. This is no new phenom-
enon, but it probably happens much fas-
ter today.
We can often learn a great deal from
history. Investments in this type of pro-
ject are not, and have never been, simple
matt ers. The big international Göteborg
Expo that was held in connection with
the city’s 300th anniversary (in 1923 as
a result of delays) was preceded by leng-
thy debate. The expo resulted in a signifi-
cant net cost for the city, by the standards
of the day. However, it also provided the
starting impetus for projects such as
Liseberg amusement park, Götaplatsen
and its cultural institutions, the Swedish
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Exhibition Centre, Slottsskogsvallen,
Göteborg Botanical Garden, Göteborg’s
first international airport and major invest-
ments in public transport, particularly the
tram system. Can anyone today imagine
Göteborg with out all this? There was also
heated debate before the decision was
finally reached to build Nya Ullevi stadium
in 1958. It was by no means clear that the
investment would get the go-ahead at the
time. The result was the biggest and most
modern outdoor arena in Scandinavia.
Ullevi and the Swedish Exhibition Cen-
tre, along with the Scandinavium, which
was built to mark the 350th anniversary
of Göteborg in 1971 and was the largest
and best-equipped indoor arena in Scan-
dinavia at the time, have all served as
cornerstones in the city’s efforts to devel-
op Göteborg as an international venue
for conferences and events. Götaplat-
sen is the cultural centre of Göteborg and
west Sweden. Liseberg amusement park
is one of the biggest tourist attractions
in northern Europe. Göteborg Botanical
Garden, along with Slottsskogen, the Gar-
den Society of Göteborg, Gunnebo House
& Gardens and many other green areas,
make Göteborg one of the greenest cities
in Europe.
Now that we can see these invest-
ments with the benefit of hindsight, most
people realise that these projects have
paid for themselves many times over and
have now become invaluable and much
valued assets to the people of Göteborg
and western Sweden. Big international
events often have an ability, shared by
few other projects, to foster a sense of
community and a shared vision, to att-
ract capital and publicity, and to promote
growth and confidence in the future.
Need for investments in events venuesGöteborg has had major successes as a
city for tourism and events over the last
20 years. One clear requirement for this
success has been access to attractive,
modern and competitive events venues.
The largest venues of all, Ullevi and Scan-
dinavium, have served their purpose well
for very many years. Now, as everyone
knows, they are showing their age. This,
combined with the fact that new venues
are being built at a tremendous pace all
around us, means that Göteborg’s attrac-
tion and ability to compete is threatened.
Against this background it is essential
that we make major investment in our big
events venues as soon as possible.
For the people of GöteborgI have decided, not without some soul-
searching, to give up my role as CEO of
Göteborg & Co. For almost two decades I
have had the great privilege of being able
to work on the development of something
that is very close to my heart – my home
town of Göteborg.
It has been a fantastic journey in
many ways. Over this period, tourism in
our city has developed in a way that few
people thought was possible. We have ex-
perienced 17 years of unbroken growth.
Tourism turnover has risen from around
SEK 10 billion to SEK 23 billion today. The
travel and tourism industry now genera-
tes around 17,000 man-years of employ-
ment in the Göteborg region, and can jus-
tifiably be described as one of our most
important industrial sectors – especially
when we look to the future.
Today, we have a clear picture of how
we can work together to develop Göte-
borg as an events city, something that
many other cities are exploring. In relation
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to our size, there is hardly any other city
that has hosted so many big, international
events over the last two decades or so.
Our many big and successful annual
events are a unique asset that we must
look after and continue to develop.
The Conference City Göteborg has again
experienced very encouraging growth,
and the Swedish Exhibition Centre, with
its modern face and central location, is
the city’s crowning glory in this respect.
The City of Culture and Entertainment
– with its theatres, dance events, music,
shows, concerts, opera, museums and ex-
hibitions – has seen very positive changes
since the early 1990s.
The City of Tourism, driven by Liseberg
amusement park and the west coast of
Sweden, continues to win market share
and has for many years had the highest
hotel room occupancy of all Swedish
metro politan regions.
City of Learning Göteborg now has the
largest city campus in Sweden and Scan-
dinavia, with around 60,000 students
who give the city a youthful outlook and
bring skills and energy to Göteborg.
City of Food Göteborg and Taste Göte borg
mean that we are now regarded as offer-
ing cuisine and restaurants of the highest
global standard. The list of achieve ments
in this sector is impressive.
In collaboration with many different
stakeholders we have had the privilege
of contributing in various respects to the
development of a host of exciting con-
cepts over the years. They include: Work
on the Göteborg brand and collabora-
tion between the city and the region on
the GöteborgPlus project. The develop-
ment of goteborg.com which will become
an increasingly important element. The
Flights project, which in co-operation with
LFV and the Västra Götaland region has
increased accessibility through a large
number of new direct services, as well
as open ing up Göteborg and the west of
Sweden to growing European city break
travel. Our initiatives to promote skills and
research, which have led among other
things to the formation of the Tourism
Research Institute and the Centre for
Tourism at the School of Economics, are
examples of development in which we are
unique in our part of Europe.
The Christmas City and Christmas at
Liseberg, The Green City with our leafy
parks – celebrated over the past year in
Gardens of Göteborg – the Göteborg City
Festival which has now become Göteborg
Culture Festival, the International Sci-
ence Festival, Global Forum, the Center
for Intellectual Properties (CIP) Forum,
and much more.
International collaboration enriches us Göteborg & Co has for many years been
an active member of the European Cities
Marketing organisation, which counts
around 125 of Europe’s metropolitan
regions as members. This international
commitment has been a big asset in the
company’s efforts to develop and mar-
ket Göteborg as a destination. Being able
to work in partnership with the biggest
Euro pean destinations, including Amster-
dam, Barcelona, Berlin, Lisbon, Paris and
Vienna, to develop skills and strategies in
metro politan tourism has been an invalu-
able source of inspiration for a long time. I
personally had the privilege, as president,
to manage European Cities Marketing for
several years.
One of the highpoints and most memo-
rable experiences was of course in 2007
when Göteborg & Co was voted “Europe’s
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top professional tourism organisation”,
especially since some of the leading
names in the European tourism industry
were on the jury.
Voluntary efforts are invaluableFor Göteborg, as a City of Events, those
events that are repeated each year play
a key role. Clubs, associations and volun-
tary organisations are often behind these,
and people from many different quarters
do a fantastic job.
It is impressive to see how events
such as the Gothia Cup, Partille Cup,
Göteborg Half Marathon, Göteborg Inter-
national Film Festival, Göteborg Horse
Show, the International Science Festi-
val, Göteborg Culture Festival, Way Out
West, Göteborg Book Fair, and A Göteborg
Christmas put their stamp on the whole
city, and to see how these events have
developed over the years.
Many of these important annual
events still have great potential to grow
and develop even further. Giving more
support and stimulation to these events is
a very important task for the future.
Committed politicians, committed industry
Like many others, I believe that the main
reason we have been able to achieve this
level of development is our ability to work
together. If you want to achieve your goals
you can never ease off or be completely
satisfied. In all my time as CEO we have
had strongly committed leading politici-
ans who, together with many top repres-
entatives of industry, have given us the
opportunity to build Göteborg & Co into
a successful company and platform for
collaboration. The keen interest of these
people in our issues, together with their
considerable know-how, has put the com-
pany in a position where we can really
contribute to the development of the city.
We can if we really want toWe are now in a position where we need
to use our overall picture of the situ-
ation to create the long-term conditions
for growth. It will soon be 2021, when
Göteborg celebrates its fourth centenary.
This is a unique occasion on which to
focus our efforts, and we must begin now.
We need to create shared visions of
how the city and the region can develop.
Working from these desired future scen-
arios, we need to make big investments
that will create the right opportunities and
become important assets for Göteborg
and the region as a whole over the next
50–100 years.
We will naturally not be able to see
the fruits of all these new investments
immedi ately. We can learn a lot from his-
tory in this respect, by looking back at the
city’s 300th anniversary and seeing what
happened then. It took a great deal of
courage and strong will to agree to what
were major investments at the time. It will
take courage, determination and strength
of action to make the decisions that are
needed now in the run-up to Göteborg’s
fourth centenary. By doing so, we will
be doing our duty and creating the right
conditions for future generations, for
our children, our grandchildren and their
children.
It is people that make the differenceI am incredibly grateful for having had the
privilege to work for so many years with
so many inspiring, talented people and
friends, to help make a great city and re-
A T T R A C T I V E A N D I N S P I R I N G E X P E R I E N C E S W I T H A H U M A N T O U C H
gion even better. I wholeheartedly wish
you every success with the important,
ongoing task of developing and marketing
Göteborg.
Last but not least, I would like to ex-
press my appreciation and respect for all
the people of Göteborg and their close
and positive relationship with their city.
The great love of the people of Göteborg
for their city has been an incredible asset
to this work over the years. We have seen
countless examples of how the people of
Göteborg play their part and get involved
in the development of the city. This willing-
ness and positive attitude that residents
of Göteborg have for their city are invalu-
able and must be safeguarded in future
efforts.
It is people that generate development
and confidence in the future.
Göteborg, January 2009
CLAES BJERKNE, CEO, GÖTEBORG & CO
14
January
2–5 Göteborg Ice Hockey Cup at six different ice rinks
3–6 Gothia Indoor Bandy Cup at several sports halls
10–13 Disney On Ice, Scandinavium
16–27/4 30 years of Gert Wingårdh, Röhsska Museum of Design and Decorative Arts
18 P3 Gold music awards, Lorensbergsteatern
22 ”Living Planet” environmental gala, Scandinavium 25–4/2 Göteborg International Film Festival Draken and other cinemas
25–10/5 Lena + Orup, Rondo
30 Samsung Athletics Gala, Scandinavium
February
2–10 Boat Show, Swedish Exhibition Centre 2–17/4 Macbeth, Göteborg Opera House
7–8/3 “Russian Roulette”, Göteborg City Theatre
8–9 Song Contest semi-final, Scandinavium
8 Reel Big fish, punk, Sticky Fingers
22 Passion for Food, Eriksbergshallen
22 Jonas Gardell, show Göteborg Concert Hall
March
6–26/4 The Little Shop of Horrors musical comedy
13–16 TUR Travel Fair 2008, Swedish Exhibition Centre
15 Swedish Indoor Athletics Championships Friidrottens Hus
18–23 World Figure Skating Championships 2008, Scandinavium
19 Swedish Junior Tennis Championships, GLTK
28–29 Scandinavian Salsa Congress
April
5–6 Swedish Cup, football, Heden
12 Håkan Hellström, Scandinavium
13 The Sound of Music, Scandinavium
14–20 International Science Festival
17 Football derby GAIS v. IFK, Ullevi
19 The Olympic Trot, Åby Trotting track
23–27 Göteborg Horse Show, Scandinavium
23–28 EuroHorse, horse fair, Swedish Exhibition Centre
26–12/10 Liseberg Amusement Park, summer season
15
May
1 Swedish Handball Champion- ships, Scandinavium
1–4 Göteborg Basketball Festival
17 Göteborg Half Marathon, Slottsskogen
22–16/6 Singin’ in the Rain, musical at Scandinavium
24 Swedish Grand Prix Speedway, Ullevi
29/1/6 HBT-GBG Festival, celebrating homosexual, bisexual and transgender culture
30–1/6 Hammarkullen Carnival, Hammarkulletorget
June
31–4 WAN World Newspapers Congress, Swedish Exhibition Centre
6 Göteborg Symphony Orchestra, outdoor concert, Slottsskogen
13–14 STCC – Göteborg City Race, at Frihamnspiren
14–15 Monster Jam, Ullevi
20 Midsummer celebrations, Slottsskogen, Nääs Castle etc
26 West Coast Riot, concert at Frihamnspiren
27–28 MetalTown, heavy metal concert at Frihamnspiren
30–6/7 World Junior Athletics Championships, Ullevi
28-28 Gardens of Göteborg, Garden Society of Gothenburg, Göteborg Botanical Garden, Liseberg Park, Gunnebo House & Gardens
July
30/6–6/7 Junior World Orienteering Championships
30/6–6/7 Match Cup Sweden, Marstrand
4–6 Partille Cup, handball
4–5 Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, Ullevi
13–19 Gothia Cup, youth soccer tournament at Heden, Ullevi, Kviberg
22–9/8 Mamma Mia, Scandinavium
26 Iron Maiden, Ullevi
Concerts featuring Lars Winnerbäck and Kent, Slottsskogsvallen
August
7–9 Way Out West, Slottsskogen
8–10 Göteborg Jazz Festival, city centre
12–17 Göteborg Culture Festival, city centre
15–24 Göteborg Dance & Theatre Festival
16 Tjörn Runt Yacht Race
20 Sweden v. France football, Ullevi
September
12 Super Cross, Ullevi
14–18 ESTRO annual meeting, Swedish Exhibition Centre
18–21 Göteborg Masters ladies golf, Lycke Golf Club
18 Student 08, Trädgår’n restaurant
25–28 Göteborg Book Fair, Swedish Exhibition Centre
16
September
12 Super Cross, Ullevi
14–18 ESTRO annual meeting, Swedish Exhibition Centre
18–21 Göteborg Masters ladies golf, Lycke Golf Club
18 Student 08, Trädgår’n restaurant
25–28 Göteborg Book Fair, Swedish Exhibition Centre
October
3–4 Ladies Night, Scandinavium
3–5 Keillers Park centenary celebrations
10 Kulturnatta, cultural events at various stages and arenas
10 Leonard Cohen, Scandinavium
18–14/3-09 Marry Poppins, Göteborg Opera House
23–25 High School Musical, Scandinavium
30 Kungsfenan, the Swedish Fish Award
November
13–20/12 Göteborg Symphony Orchestra, classical concerts, Göteborg Concert Hall
14–15 Dansdax ball, Scandinavium
14–23/12 A Göteborg Christmas, including Christmas at Liseberg
14–30/12 Christmas market in Nordstan
21 Miss Li, pop concert, Göteborg Concert Hall
26–28 Swedish Society of Medicine National Conference, Swedish Exhibition Centre
29–30 Swedish Cycle Cross Championships, Slottsskogen
December
Christmas markets, Haga, Gunnebo House & Gardens, Kronhusbodarna, Kungstorget, Konstepidemin
Christmas concerts, at Scandinavium, Liseberg Hall, Göteborg Cathedral and other churches
3 Cup draw ceremony for UEFA European U21, Swedish Exhibition Centre
12 Crowning of Göteborg’s Lucia
17 Whitesnake concert, Scandinavium
30 Eldsjälsgalan, celebration of inspiring individuals at Liseberg Hall
31 Göteborgs Posten New Year Fireworks, Frihamnen
17
Over the last two decades, a growing number of events of different types have been held
each year in Göteborg and the surrounding region, both local and international. In the
19 years that Göteborg & Co has been active, a culture of participation has developed,
bringing with it valuable new expertise and enterprise.
Entrepreneurs and people with drive and ideas have discovered that the possibilities
are here, growing local know-how has helped many projects on the road to success, and
the people of Göteborg and visitors to the region now know there is a great deal going on
in Göteborg – whenever they visit.
It is very rewarding to see how this calendar of events is enriching the experience of
Göteborg and the region, for residents and for visitors.
Unfold this page to get a taste of what happened in Göteborg and the surrounding area
in 2008 – events which together have helped make Göteborg even more empathic,
inspiring and pluralistic!
Participation culture in Göteborg
18 18
The World Championships were held in
close collaboration with the Swedish Fig-
ure Skating Association and city of Göte-
borg through Göteborg & Co and Got
Event. Göteborg worked hard with the
Swedish Figure Skating Association to
bring the 2008 World Championships
2008 to Göteborg, against stiff compet-
ition from Helsinki and London. In June
2004 Göteborg was appointed host city
by the International Skating Union (ISU).
Göteborg & Co supported the association
in its candidature and actively contributed
to the Sweden on Ice development project
that took place from 2004 to 2008.
OrganisationThe Swedish Figure Skating Association
organised the World Championships on
behalf of the ISU. Göteborg & Co was re-
sponsible for marketing the event. The
company was closely involved in VIP &
Hospitality activities and in the agree-
ments between the media partners.
Göteborg & Co also provided services to
the television companies and co-ordina-
ted various television matters, including
the running of the television centre.
Got Event, which manages the Scan-
dinavium, assisted with the preparations
and execution, as did Sveriges Television,
which was our host broadcaster.
The association, Göteborg & Co and
Got Event appointed a management group
made up of those with ultimate respons-
ibility from each organisation. Their task
was to co-ordinate and safeguard the
quality of the event. This group was led
by Claes Bjerkne, Chairman of Göteborg
& Co.
A perfect eventThe event was a public success. Göteborg
was marketed very effectively in conjunc-
tion with the championships, and a solid
foundation was laid for bringing similar
events to Göteborg in the future.
The championships had the best pos-
sible setting and competitors, and the
press and public enjoyed a very high
standard of service. The atmosphere in
the Scandinavium remained on a high
through out the week, and there was no
containing the spectators’ jubilation when
the skaters outdid each other. With Göte-
borg clearly visible from every camera
angle, there could hardly have been any
better exposure for the city’s brand.
The targeted ticket sales were achie-
ved by the start of 2008. In total, 78 per
cent of the available tickets were sold,
giving a total revenue of just over
SEK 21 million and exceeding the forecast
by SEK 5 million, or around 35 per cent.
The biggest sports event of the year
MarketingThe marketing of the World Champion-
ships was divided into two main cam-
paigns. Campaign 1 took place from
March to October 2007, and was intended
to build awareness of the event and pro-
mote sales of the ticket packages. Cam-
paign 2, which was aimed solely at pro-
moting ticket sales, ran from November
2007 to March 2008.
Advertising in the daily press. A compre-
hensive advertising campaign was run
in collaboration with our media partners:
Göteborgs-Posten, Bohusläningen,
TT/ELA and Hallandsposten. Individual
advertisements were placed in a num-
ber of newspapers. The event was also
advert ised as part of Göteborg & Co’s
destination marketing.
Television advertising. A television advert
was run on TV4 in November 2007 and in
the week prior to the start of the event,
on more than 500 occasions, 75 per cent
of which werw prime time. The television
advert reached a total of 6.2 million tele-
vision viewers.
PR. PR efforts focused on getting expo-
sure in monthly magazines, Sunday supp-
lements and studio reports, as well as
providing the daily press with information
for articles. A number of press conferen-
ces were also held. Reports were featured
G Ö T E B O R G – W O R L D C H A M P I O N S H I P C I T Y
Over a six-day period from 18 to 23
March, over 350 million television viewers
in 65 countries watched the World Figure
Skating Championships in Göteborg. The
World Championships were a great success
for Sweden, for the city of Göteborg and
for the Swedish Figure Skating Associa-
tion. Ticket sales exceeded all the highest
expectations. The Scandinavium was
almost filled every day of the champion-
ships, with a total of 83,500 spectators. We
achieved our goal of hosting the “world’s
most beautiful championships” and thus set
a new standard for forthcoming events.
1919
20
G O T E B O R G – W O R L D C H A M P I O N S H I P C I T Y
in a large number of weekly and monthly
magazines.
Outdoor advertising. A national campaign
and a local campaign were run in collab-
oration with media partner JCDecaux.
The event was advertised on illuminated
billboards in Göteborg, Borås, Stockholm
and Ullared, and during the event itself
on motorway message boards on the way
into Göteborg.
Web. A campaign website was set up as a
sub-page of goteborg.com in March 2007,
in conjunction with the World Champion-
ships in Tokyo and the release of the tick-
et packages. The purpose was to promote
ticket sales and strengthen the brand
of the Championships. By the end of the
event the website had received half a mil-
lion visitors.
Exhibitions and events. The event was
marketed at the TUR travel fair, at the
Norskt Reiseliv travel fair in Oslo and at
the European Figure Skating Champion-
ships in Zagreb. Over 30 events were held
at Landvetter Airport and during A Göte-
borg Christmas.
Mailshots. Mailshots were sent to fig
ure skating clubs in Sweden and Europe,
Swed ish ice rinks, Swedish sports asso-
ciations, travel agents and bus compan-
ies, and to MiG (marketing association in
Göteborg).
Street decorationsIt was difficult for anyone to miss the
fact that the world championships were
about to take place in Göteborg. At the
start of March the streets of the city were
decorated with 650 banners. Decora-
tions were also put up at Landvetter Air-
port. A consistent, but subtle and elegant
programme of decorations and signage
contrib uted to a large extent to the attrac-
tiveness of the championships.
Media servicesThe publicity that the World Figure Skat-
ing Championships attracts through TV
and other media around the world is
enormous. The world championships
are a massive media window onto major
countries such as the USA, Japan, China,
Canada, France, Germany, Russia and
others.
A total of 700 journalists were accred-
ited in Göteborg and reported on the world
championships on location – more than
during the previous year’s world cham-
pionships in Tokyo. Of these journalists,
380 came from television and radio com-
panies all over the world. The biggest tele-
vision companies on location were ESPN,
USA (90 persons accredited), SVT, Swe-
den (85), Fuji TV, Japan (48), Eurosport
(32), and TV France (20 accredited).
There were also 170 newspaper journal-
ists and 80 photographers on hand. Alto-
gether their newspapers and news chan-
nels reached many millions of readers.
The goal was to offer the best possible
service to the accredited media before
and during the event. This meant close
collaboration between the world champi-
onships committee, the Swedish Figure
Skating Association, Sveriges Television
(SVT), Göteborg & Co and Got Event.
In the run-up to the world championships
a great deal of effort was put into build-
ing publicity for Swedish figure Skating
and the Swedish competitors, as well as
informing the press about the event and
the sport.
In collaboration with SVT, Göteborg
& Co produced an opening vignette that
was offered to all television broadcasters
through EBU. This vignette was also
shown several times during the competi-
tions at the Scandinavium.
The media at ScandinaviumThe press stand in the arena had 40 spa-
ces for television commentators and 150
spaces for newspaper journalists. In the
foyer of the Scandinavium, beneath the
press stand, an area was set up for the
press to do interviews with the compet-
itors. There were stations for seven tele-
Facts about the World Championships
Arena: Scandinavium, GöteborgAudience: 83,500 over 8 daysParticipants: 205 skaters from 48 countries, and 2,500 accredited indi-viduals, including 300 managers and coaches100 judges, ISU representatives, etc.700 media representatives450 volunteers40 television companies and 61 television cameras45 hours of live broadcasts600 hours of television broadcasts350 million television viewers in 65 countries
21
22
G O T E B O R G – W O R L D C H A M P I O N S H I P C I T Y
vision companies, zones for sound and
video teams and for the newspaper press
and radio.
The four largest television compan-
ies – SVT, ESPN, Fuji-TV and TV France –
were given their own rink-side studio plat-
forms. The Press Center was located in
Valhalla sport.
Services and social eventsThe main task of media services is to en-
sure that all the technical details and all
the structures are working and in place.
But for the event to be memorable, it is
also essential that the standard of service
exceeds expectations in every area.
With the co-operation of Göteborg
Restaurant Association and Burgården
college, a restaurant serving meals of a
very high standard was set aside for the
media. On the evening before the world
championships began, all the journalists
were invited to a welcome party with a
buffet and chance to mingle.
Television companies and journalists
who wanted to do reports outside the
arena were offered assistance by Göte-
borg & Co Media Center. Broadcast sets
in Göteborg were put at the free disposal
of all television companies. ESPN, CBC
Canada and other channels were given
help to record clips outside the arena. From the left: Ottavio Cinquanta, Chairman of ISU; Claes Bjerkne, CEO Göteborg & Co; Ewa Björling, Minister for Trade.
HospitalityTwo dinners were held: The ISU & Judges
Dinner at Börsen in Göteborg, with 93
guests, and a closing banquet for more
than 600 people held on the Saturday
evening at Kajskjul 8. Receptions were
held during the week in the Scandinavium
VIP suite, with guests invited from all over
Sweden.
An impressive programme was put on
during the week to entertain VIP guests,
including guided tours of the arena and
interviews with top skaters and television
celebrities.
The winners of the medalsMen Gold Jeffrey Buttle, Canada Silver Brian Joubert, France Bronze Johnny Weir, USAWomen Gold Mao Asada, Japan Silver Carolina Kostner, Italy Bronze Yu-Na Kim, KoreaIce dance Gold Isabelle Delobel/ Olivier Schoenfelder, France Silver Tessa Virtue/ Scott Moir,Canada Bronze Jana Khokhlova/ Sergei Novitksi, RussiaPairs Gold Aliona Savchenko/Robinshort Szolkowy, Germanyprogr. Silver Dan Zhang/Hao Zhang, China Bronze Jessica Dube/ Bryce Davison, Canada
23
24
ESTRO 2008 was one of the most im-
portant conferences to take place in Göte-
borg last year. It was a challenge to meet
and exceed the expectations of 4,500 of
Europe’s leading researchers and radio
oncologists. The results were outstand-
ing: the conference in Göteborg gained
the highest rating ever in ESTRO’s own
assessment of the event. New records
were also set for sponsorship revenues
and exhibition area. You could hardly ask
for better confirmation of Göteborgs pro-
fessional standing as a conference city.
ESTRO is one of 24 organisations that
are part of a cancer research network,
each of which draws at least 2,000 del-
e gates to its meetings. This successful
event could therefore herald new oppor-
tunities for Göteborg to attract more con-
ferences in this sector.
One of the main reasons why Göteborg
was chosen for the conference is that the
city and the region have specialist exper-
tise in radiotherapy. A key factor behind
Göteborg’s success in attracting scientific
conferences is that we promote collab-
oration where the region has scientific
skills.
Göteborg also exceeded the expec-
tations of another conference organiser.
Over the course of a few beautiful days
in June, leading newspaper owners, chief
editors and publishers from around the
world gathered in Göteborg for their World
Editors Forum. It was the first time that
WAN had held their conference in Scan-
dinavia. A full 1,800 delegates attended,
making it a record event. The Swedish
Newspaper Publishers’ Association iss-
ued the invitations and hosted the forum.
The management of Göteborgs-Posten
and Bonniers were the driving forces be-
hind bringing this prestigious confer ence
to the city. Leading cities such as Rio de
Janeiro, Hong Kong, Seoul and Moscow
have previously hosted the event.
In November the Swedish Society of
Medicine celebrated its 200th anniver-
sary with a national conference attended
by around 7,000 delegates. In addition to
a full scientific programme and exhibition
at the Swedish Exhibition Centre, the con-
ference included a popular public aware-
ness event at Nordstadstorget, and an
anniversary symposium. An expert pan el
of international speakers met in the Scan-
dinavium to discuss global health issues
in front of 2,000 people. According to
Mats Bauer, CEO of the Swedish Society
of Medicine, the arrangements ran like
clockwork, thanks to the efforts of many
people and local willing ness to assist.
World-class conferences
110,000 nights in the Göteborg regionDuring 2008, Göteborg & Co was actively
involved with 112 conferences in the
region, bringing in around 40,000 deleg-
ates who spent a total of 110,000 deleg-
ate days. These conferences generated
almost SEK 400 million in tourism turn-
over. They spanned many areas of society:
industry, the environment, transport, the
public sector, politics, religion, culture,
tourism, leisure, medicine, education,
science and sports.
Six factors for successful meetingsAccessibility is a vital factor in global com-
petition today, and critical if we are to suc-
cessfully develop Göteborg as a city for
conferences and events. One absolute
requirement is for good access by direct
flights to Göteborg. Closeness to every
thing within the city is a very strong argu-
ment in Göteborg’s favour. Few cities in
the world can offer such centrally located
exhibition and conference facilities, ho-
tels, restaurants, shopping and activities
within easy walking distance of each oth-
er. Conference delegates avoid long and
tiring journeys, which makes for a more
enjoyable experience and allows them to
G Ö T E B O R G – C O N F E R E N C E C I T Y
When the European Society of Therapeutic
Radio Oncology (ESTRO) and the World
Association of Newspapers (WAN) were
considering holding their annual meetings
in Göteborg instead of one of the major
European capitals there was some concern
that they might attract fewer members
than usual. Instead, both ESTRO and
WAN achieved all-time attendance
records.
Göteborg & Co offers the following services free of charge:
Tailored information about premises and hotelsRecommendations for social activities and excursionsPresentation materials (printed, film, etc.)Production of formal tendersSite inspections (conference premi-ses, hotels, sights, etc.)Acting as intermediary in contacts with trade specialists
25
26
use their time more effectively for net-
working.
Attractive facilities and effective infra-
structure have contributed greatly to
Göteborg’s success as a conference city.
Well-attended conferences require con-
ference premises and hotel rooms with
good capacity. The new hotel in Posthuset
provides 550 new rooms and conference
space for 1,000 delegates. A new exhibi-
tion hall at the Swedish Exhibition Centre
will increase the total exhibition space by
20 per cent, to 50,000 square metres.
New conference premises being built will
accommodate 3,000 people.
Commitment is absolutely essential if
Göteborg is to compete successfully with
well-known cities such as London, Paris
or Rome. Because our city is smaller, we
have to work harder to become a really
attractive conference destination.
Collaboration is a key idea for Göteborg.
The city’s size makes it an ideal location
for conferences in many ways. We have a
long tradition of respectful and confid
ence-inspiring collaboration.
Hospitality begins right at the airport,
where our guests are welcomed and
looked after. Their first impressions are
reinforced by banners and flags on the
city’s streets. Welcoming events attended
by the mayor are also much appreciated.
Little details are also important in giving
participants a warm welcome, like when
tram drivers call out the name of confer-
ences at Korsvägen tram stop.
Long-term processThe lead time from agreement to imple-
mentation of an international conference
is often three to five years. For corporate
meetings, the lead time is usually shorter,
around 6–8 months.
Corporate meetings have seen consider-
able growth in recent years. Even though
we can expect some decline during the
current recession, we are aiming to
strengthen our offering in this area.
The development of regular meetings is
another important area. Meeting@TUR
is a three-year project that is intended
to broaden the TUR travel fair so that
it also involves the conference sector.
Göteborg’s qualities as a conference city
will be demonstrated through site visits
and programmes.
AmbassadorsMany prominent researchers and scien-
tists with a high international standing
work at Göteborg’s universities and col-
leges. Over the years, many of them have
become conference ambassadors, sup-
ported and trained by Göteborg & Co.
These conference ambassadors are key
figures when it comes to attracting new
conferences in their specialist fields. Their
commitment and networks of contacts
make a big contribution to Göteborg’s
success as a conference city. Leading rep-
resentatives of industry also have a vital
role to play as ambassadors in bringing
corporate conferences to the city.
Thomas Björk Eriksson,
conference ambassador
Senior consultant and head of the ra-
diotherapy unit at Sahlgrenska Hospital
“I found it difficult to see good reasons
why international organisations would
choose Göteborg as a venue for meetings.
But I was certainly won over! I recommen-
G O T E B O R G – C O N F E R E N C E C I T Y
Major conferences in 2008 Delegates Guest nights
National Moderate Party Conference 1,500 2.0EUROLOG 800 2.0WAN – World Assn, Newspapers 1,800 3.5ICSB Systems Biology 1,000 4.0ECER Educational Research 1,400 4.0Mission Covenant Church of Sweden 3,000 3.0 ESTRO 4,500 4.0National Conference of Swedish Association of Medicine 6,900 3.0Swedish Society of Obstetrics and Gynaecology 900 4.0
27
ded that ESTRO hold their conference in
Göteborg, and the result was a record
number of delegates and scientific re-
ports, and top ratings from the delegates
themselves. In short, it was the best con-
ference ever. There will no doubt be more
ESTRO conferences held in Göteborg.”
The Swedish Exhibition Centre – a valuable meeting partnerGöteborg & Co and the Swedish Exhibi-
tion Centre work together for their mutual
benefit. Each year over a million visitors
come to the Swedish Exhibition Centre
to take part in around 30 exhibitions (in
cluding the TUR travel fair, Göteborg Book
Fair and EuroHorse) and hundreds of con-
ferences and congresses of various sizes.
The Swedish Exhibition Centre also owns
and runs the Hotel Gothia Towers – the
largest hotel in Scandinavia, with 704
rooms – the congress facilities and the
Gothia Towers Restaurants. The Swedish
Exhibition Centre generates around SEK
2.5 billion in business for the visitor in-
dustry each year.
Examples of forthcoming conferences
2009 DelegatesEU ministerial meetings under Sweden’s chairmanship. Three meetings will be held in Göteborg, with ministers of finance, defence and education. 1,500World Congress of Sexual Health 2,500European Blood and Marrow Transplantation 3,500Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 2,000
2010Annual Meeting of the European Society of Human Genetics 2,000European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology 9,000Congress of the European Committee forTreatment & Research in Multiple Sclerosis 4,500World Congress of Sociology 4,000Orthopaedic Surgery 2,500
2011International Society of Airbreathing Engines 500European Society of Atherosclerosis 3,000European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism 2,000
28
Göteborg aims to offer attractive and in-
spiring events in a welcoming atmo sphere.
The key elements are closeness and col-
laboration, or to put it another way: The
en tire city is the arena. The top arenas,
hotels, restaurants and attractions are
all within walking distance. It is also easy
to make yourself understood in Göteborg
– practically everyone speaks English,
and the people of Göteborg love the fact
that there is so much going on in the city.
This means that they participate in events
themselves and make sure that visitors
feel welcome and enjoy themselves.
We have a unique partnership model
and infrastructure that has been devel-
oped between different administrations
and industry, and over the years we have
built up a professional organisation that
guarantees high quality. Our ambition is
to provide service of global standard to
event organisers.
Long-term workGöteborg has established itself as an
events city, thanks to long-term develop-
ment efforts to bring events here. With
the aid of our own model for evaluating
events it is possible to forecast at-
tendances and financial results with
reasonably good confidence. In the case
of regular events we specialise in:
Forecasting: In preparation for big events
we meet representatives of the visitor
industry, with the aim of making the most
of the experience for everyone.
Presence: During events, our goal is to en-
sure that everything goes as smoothly as
possible, so that competitors, per formers,
officials, media representatives, VIP vis
itors and the public are pleased.
Evaluation: We assess the results of
every event that takes place.
Local benefit – for the people of GöteborgEvery big event is an opportunity to
show off the city and the region to other
organisers of events and conferences,
investors, entrepreneurs, the media, etc.
We continuously canvass various groups
to generate interest in Göteborg, the
Västra Götaland region and regional trade
and industry.
Events mix Local events Out of diversity springs
quality. Local cultural and sports events
provide the vital foundation for larger
events.
Large local events provide experiences
and inspiration that encourage young
The entire city is the arena
people to get actively involved.
National and international events –
internationals, Swedish championships,
sports cup events that have grown, large
festivals and special performances, major
exhibitions, concerts at Ullevi, shows,
musicals, trade fairs and congresses, all
turn the spotlight on the city.
Large national and international events
include European championships and
world championships in many sports,
major annual, cultural, entertainment or
sports events, as well as major con-
gresses, exhibitions, etc.
Mega events – the biggest international
sports events, world expos and other
large, unique international projects.
These events are important for demon-
strating the unique opportunities of the
city and Sweden as a whole, for strength-
ening the brand of the city, the region
and the country, for generating growth
and tourism revenues, creating employ-
ment, enhancing the quality of life of the
region’s population and providing inspira-
tion for young people.
Projects that have grown Many annual events in Göteborg have
grown since they began and have moved
up the events pyramid:
G Ö T E B O R G – C I T Y O F E V E N T S
Göteborg has established itself as a lead-
ing events city in Scandinavia and as an
attractive alternative in the European
market. Collaboration between the city’s
various organisations and stakeholders,
combined with the central location of its
arenas, has made big events into public
festivals that capture the enthusiasm of
the city.
Mega
Large national and international
National and international
Large local
Local
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30
The Gothia Cup is now a large interna-
tional football event with the potential to
become a mega event.
The Partille Cup (handball), Göteborg Half
Marathon and Göteborg International
Film Festival began at local level and are
now national/international events with
the potential for further growth.
A Göteborg Christmas, an image-building
initiative, was held in 2004 as a large
local event. Today it is a large national/
international event with the potential to
become a mega event.
On the culture front, the Göteborg Book
Fair, which first took place in 1984, is a
good example of how a local event can de-
velop and move up the events pyramid.
Göteborg Culture Festival began as a
large local event and today is a large
national event. With the right investment
this could develop into a mega event.
The events year 2008Over the course of the year, Göteborg &
Co was involved in just over 120 events
at all levels, from local niche events to
international mega events. Five of these
were entirely organised by Göteborg & Co,
around 60 were events for which we pro-
vided production support, and a further
50 were regular annual events.
An intensive canvassing process is under-
way to host the IBSA World Games 2011,
the World Wrestling Championships 2011,
World Skills 2013 or 2015, World Gym-
naestrada 2015 and European Football
Championships 2016 in Göteborg.
We’re building expertiseMore and more is demanded of those
cities that wish to organise big events.
Requirements have changed radically
in areas such as technology and event
presentation, logistics, electronic com-
munication, media and security. This in
turn means that demands on the event
organiser and personnel have also risen
dramatically. It requires a good under-
standing of the financial opportunities
and risks associated with hosting events,
as well as a knowledge of the principles
of profitable enterprise and the resources
that are need to produce an event. A pro-
fessional events oganisation realises the
importance of such events from the tour-
ism perspective, is familiar with the way
the market works and has the necessary
skills for effective market communication.
We offer a complete organisationWhen it comes to big international events,
all the units within Göteborg & Co work
G O T E B O R G – C I T Y O F E V E N T S
31
closely together. This has big advantages
for the event organiser. The services on
offer can include project management,
marketing, media management and event
packages comprising travel, hotel and
ticket reservations. This enables us to be
proactive and add value to events.
We collaborateGöteborg & Co has a well-developed
network of contacts with all the com-
panies, administrations and authorities in
the city that are involved in any way with
events in Göteborg. By working closely
with them we can find quick and effective
answers to any questions, in areas such
as security, public transport, permits and
street decoration.
Events City Göteborg – how we develop the conceptThe whole picture. Events must deliver
positive experiences for the local popula-
tion, regional trade and industry, visitors,
organisers and sponsors.
Simplicity. Our tradition of co-operation
makes it natural to offer effective com-
plete solutions to organisers. It has to be
easy, effective, profitable and safe to do
business with Göteborg.
Closeness. Göteborg’s main events
arenas are located in the heart of the city,
along the unique events thoroughfare,
within easy walking distance of hotels,
restaurants, shopping, etc.
Capacity. We can offer some of the
largest arenas in the Scandinavia, both
indoors and outdoors.
Comfort. We continuously improve our
arenas to offer better comfort, service,
technology and security.
Accessibility. We take steps to improve
accessibility to and from Göteborg.
Find out more about events city Göteborg
at www.goteborg.com
Läs mer om evenemangsstaden
Göteborg på www.goteborg.com 2009 January P3 Gold music awards, Scan-dinavium Göteborg International Film Festival Samsung Gala, Scandinavium
February Chef of the Year, LisebergGöteborg Horse Show, ScandinaviumSong Contest, Scandinavium
March TUR 2009 travel fair, Swedish Exhibition Centre
April April–October Liseberg amusement park, summer season
May 13th International Science FestivalGöteborg Half MarathonGöteborg Basketball Festival
June Göteborg City Race STCC, FrihamnspirenGöteborg Symphony Orchestra, SlottsskogenUEFA U21 European Football Championships 2009, Gamla UlleviAC/DC, UlleviWorld Youth Games, athletics, UlleviPartille Cup youth tournament in handball, Heden
July Gothia Cup, Heden
August Madonna, UlleviGöteborg Culture FestivalWay Out West, SlottsskogenSeptember Göteborg Book Fair,
Swedish Exhibition Centre
November Quality Fair, Swedish Exhibition Centre
November–December A Göteborg Christmas, Christmas at Liseberg
2010Veteran World Swimming Championships
2011World Transplant GamesWorld Handball Championships
2013 European Indoor Athletics Championships
Examples of forthcoming big events
32
The magazine Sport & Affärer gave
Göteborg the top ranking for its clear,
long-term events strategy, good arenas
and high quality of national and inter-
national events. We assess the social
effects of events and we are reported to
be the best at combining sports events
and “downtown fun”. Special mention was
also made of the big annual youth events
and popular events, as well as the highly
professional organisation for attracting
and implementing events.
Events over the past yearIn addition to the World Figure Skating
Championships, a number of other large
sports events were held in Göteborg and
the surrounding area. Here is a selection:
STCC – the first ever city race took place
on 13–14 June in Göteborg. The venue
was the newly built Eco Drive Arena at
Frihamnspiren. The competition was first
class, with a massive 38,000 spectators,
and tickets sold out on the final day of the
competition. One interesting detail was
the environmental aspect – with all the
cars running on low-emission fuel.
Göteborg Masters – the Ladies European
Tour in golf was held for the first time at
Lycke Golf Club on 18–21 September. The
event was a great success, and will return
to the same course in 2009. Players from
all over the world (around 25 countries)
took part, including Europe’s top women
golfers. The Göteborg Masters was organ-
ised by Golf Engineers AB in partnership
with the Swedish Golf Federation and the
Ladies European Tour.
Göteborg Horse Show celebrated an anni-
versary at the Scandinavium on 23–27
April. The 2008 event included the World
Cup Final in show jumping, a competi-
tion that was held for the first time at
the Scandinavium 30 years before. The
competition brought together riders from
17 counties and drew record numbers
of spectators, with 87,000 visitors. The
EuroHorse show, which took place at the
same tim, broke attendance records.
The Gothia Cup brought together young
football players from around the globe,
with 1,570 teams competing from 61
countries, making this tournament unique
Sweden’s top municipality for sports
in the world. 34,400 players met in more
than 4,500 matches on roughly 100
pitches around the city on 13–19 July.
The large spectator numbers demon-
strate that this event is also popular with
the people of Göteborg.
Partille Cup – the biggest handball tour-
nament in the world – took place on 1–6
July. The tournament drew 16,500 players
in 900 teams from 50 countries.
The open ing ceremony in the Scandin-
avium arena was watched by a capacity
audience, while the matches were held at
Heden. Over 3,500 matches were played
in brilliant sunshine with temperatures
rising to over 30ºC.
Göteborg Basketball Festival – Europe’s
biggest basketball tournament for under-
20s was held for the 30th time on 1–4
May, with around 500 teams and 7,000
players competing from nine countries.
The World Slalom Skateboarding Cham-
pionships in Slottsskogen on 1–3 August
brought 150 top skaters from all over
the world to Göteborg to compete for the
title of world champion. This was the first
time that the World Slalom Skateboarding
Championships had been held in Swe-
den, and was a result of the successful
world cup that was held in Slottsskogen
in 2007.
G Ö T E B O R G – C I T Y O F S P O R T S
For the third year in succession Göteborg
has topped the list of the leading munici-
palities in Sweden for sports, according to
the rankings produced by the magazine
Sport & Affärer (“Sports & Business”).
Göteborg came top thanks to its long-term
strategy for organising events and col-
laborating with industry. The final verdict
was summed up by the words: “A leading
events city in Europe”.
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34
Göteborg and the Västra Götaland region
offer a broad and pluralistic range of cul-
tural attractions. This forms the basis for
well-established cultural events in the
form of film, literature, music, dance and
theatre.
When this diversity is matched by a
strong interest in culture it provides an
excellent foundation for the many recur-
ring cultural events in our region.
Over 500 programme items make up Göteborg Culture FestivalGöteborg Culture Festival is an annual
city festival that aims to contribute to a
warmer, more welcoming and enjoyable
society. Streets and markets are trans-
formed into festival sites that offer a rich
variety of culture. Everyone is invited and
admission is free. With visitor numbers
approaching 600,000 visitors, the Culture
Festival is one of the biggest city festivals
in Sweden. On 12–17 August Göteborg
Culture Festival was held for the sec-
ond time. Along the length of the festival
thoroughfare, which runs through the cen-
tre of Göteborg, visitors were treated to a
succession of experiences that included
street theatre, concerts, dance bands,
exhibitions and much more. High points
were the Sport Opera at Götaplatsen,
which was broadcast live on Swedish tele-
vision (SVT), and the opening of the Dan-
ce and Theatre Festival with a contempo-
rary French circus at Gustaf Adolfs torg.
Regular successesA number of successful annual cultural
events were held during the course of the
year, as usual:
Göteborg International Film Festival set a
new record with the sale of 124,000 tick-
ets for around 750 showings of over 450
films from a total of 67 countries.
Göteborg Symphony Orchestra and Göte-
borg Symphony Choir were performing
during the traditional concert in Slotts-
skogen, conducted by Eva Ollikainen in
front of an audience of around 30,000
people.
Göteborg Jazz Festival delivered swing,
New Orleans jazz, gospel and blues on
eight stages in central Göteborg.
Göteborg Book Fair attracted 950 exhi-
bitors and 101,000 visitors. Around 800
authors contributed to a total of 2,400
programme items, and the fair was atten-
ded by around 1,200 journalists.
Kulturnatta provided an evening extra-
vaganza of over 100 cultural adventures
in theatres, churches, cafés and galleries.
Culture enhances quality of life
Permanent institutions and miscellaneous events Many cultural institutions are situated
within walking distance of the city centre.
Göteborg Concert Hall, museums, Göte-
borg Opera House, Göteborg City Theatre,
other theatres and music stages and the
City Library are all easily accessible and
help make Göteborg a city where culture
flourishes.
A little further out of the city is a diverse
and fascinating selection of music clubs,
theatres, galleries and other venues.
G Ö T E B O R G – C I T Y O F C U L T U R E
A diverse cultural scene and successful
events on the cultural calendar make a
major contribution towards fulfilling
the vision of Göteborg as one of the most
welcoming and attractive metropolitan
regions in Europe.
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36
G Ö T E B O R G – C I T Y O F L E A R N I N G
Greenhouse for learning
Knowledge is one of the fundamental
requirements for the formation and growth
of successful companies, which then give
employment to local people. Successful
events in the learning sector therefore ben-
efit the people of Göteborg. By encouraging
as many groups of society as possible to take
an interest in learning, we will gradually
attract more and more people to study at
different levels, and ultimately contribute
to the collective skills of the region.
International Science Festival sponsors Business Region GöteborgGöteborg & Co Trade & Industry GroupChalmers University of TechnologyThe University of GothenburgThe Knowledge FoundationRiksbanken Anniversary FundSwedish Research Council Main partners behind the Inter-national Science Festival 2008 Göteborgs-PostenIBMSKFVolvo Foundation for Strategic ResearchVästra Götaland RegionErna and Victor Hasselblad Foundation
The University of Gothenburg – one of
the largest in Northern Europe and one of
the most popular in Sweden – has a stu-
dent population of 50,000, while a further
10,000 study at Chalmers University of
Technology. The university is located in
the heart of the city and creates a special
atmosphere, with its old buildings and the
café culture along Vasagatan. Chalmers is
also centrally located and has part of its
campus in Lindholmen Science Park.
Student08 – Göteborg welcomes new studentsEach autumn around 10,000 new stu-
dents from over 70 countries begin their
higher education in Göteborg. A welcome
programme, Student08, was held in au-
tumn to show these students that Göte-
borg is a student-friendly city, and to help
them to get to know their new home.
Student08 had three stages:
Kick-off – evening arrangement on 18
September with a wide range of music
performances, messages of welcome
from sponsors and information from the
city, with lots of opportunities to mingle.
Activity week 19–28 September with a
variety of group activities at cultural in-
stitutions – guided tours, workshops, con-
certs, theatre performances, etc.
Discount offers for the whole term – a
booklet of offers for free experiences and
discounts on a wide range of activities
around Göteborg.
Student08 was organised by the Göte-
borg & Co Trade & Industry Group, Chal-
mers University of Technology, The Univer-
sity of Gothenburg and the Association of
Student Unions in Göteborg. The first stu-
dent event was held in 2003.
For international students, who grow
in number every year, a special corporate
day is held each spring and autumn.
International Science Festival on the theme of playAn interest that is sparked early in life,
through a visit to the Universeum Sci-
ence Discovery Centre for example, could
ulti mately lead a child to study science
at one of the city’s universities. It is of
na tional importance to get more young
people interested in studying technolo-
gy and the natural sciences, and it is of
regional importance to get as many stu-
dents as possible to choose to study in
Göteborg. This in turn will persuade more
well-educated people to live and work in
the Göteborg region.
The 12th International Science Fest ival
was held on 14–20 April. One of the main
aims of this event is to inspire people to go
into higher education. The Science Fest-
ival attracts up to 100,000 visitors, mak-
ing it the biggest popular science event
in Sweden. Hundreds of activ ities, work-
shops, lectures and debates are arranged
for people of all ages. Most programme
events are free of charge.
The theme for 2008 was “Let’s play!”,
and covered play in all its forms – fun and
serious. Current research and debate on
play was reported and discussed, and
num erous practical examples were demon-
strated. In Nordstan, a DreamHack event
was organised with a large number of
computers linked into a massive network.
The biggest attraction at the fair, with
around 10,000 visitors, was the experi-
mental workshops, where schoolchild-
ren and other visitors were able to learn
about science through their own experi-
ments. The school challenge for the year
was to design a new social game.
Guest Research Day, which is organ-
ised in conjunction with the Science Fest-
ival, is a gathering that all guest research-
ers at the universities are invited to
attend together with their families. This
gives the participants the recognition they
deserve, as well as recruiting them as
ambassadors for Göteborg.
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38
Way Out West – one of Europe’s 20 best festivalsIn just its second year the Way Out West
music festival established itself as a suc-
cessful event. In addition to bringing in
top performers to attract festival visitors,
in the face of stiff competition throughout
Europe, the ability to hold the festival in
a park in the heart of Göteborg was a key
factor in its success. More than 24,000
tickets were sold for the festival in Slotts-
skogen, with performers such as Neil
Young, Håkan Hellström, Mando Diao and
Sonic Youth. Way Out West also generates
massive media coverage during the fest-
ival and in the run-up to it. Way Out West
has been named as one of the twenty
best festivals in Europe by The Times.
Gothenburger of the Year2008 Gothenburger of the Year was Tho-
mas Johansson, Chairman of the Board
of Live Nation. Originally from Stockholm,
he has made an outstanding contribution
to ensuring that Göteborg is the venue
of choice for those who want to see glo-
bal artists. A whole generation has taken
home great memories from many fantastic
concerts. Thomas helped make this pos-
sible and put Göteborg on the interna-
tional tour itinerary at the same time. This
makes him a deserving holder of the title
of 2008 Gothenburger of the Year.
Gothenburger of the Year is a joint
event organised by Sveriges Radio Göte-
borg, the regional newspaper GT and
Göteborg & Co. The Gothenburger of the
Year must have done something positive
and worthwhile that has meant a great
deal to a large number of people, be a sin-
cere, good-hearted and well-known indivi-
dual, be a good ambassador for Göteborg,
and be born in Göteborg – or somewhere
else.
Concerts and shows that drew large audiencesThe ability of Göteborg to offer a selection
of musical experiences is important to att-
ract visitors all year round. A permanent
musical stage would be a valuable addi-
tion to the city.
A number of shows and musicals were
performed during the year that attracted
large audiences, particularly visitors from
other parts of the country. Here are a few
examples:
Song Contest semifinal at the
Scandinavium
Singin’ in the Rain at the
Scandinavium
West Coast Riot punk festival at
Public successes all year round
Frihamnspiren
MetalTown at Frihamnspiren
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band
at Ullevi
Mamma Mia at the Scandinavium
Iron Maiden at Ullevi
Way Out West, the international music
festival in Slottsskogen
Göteborg Jazz Festival in the city centre
Mary Poppins at Göteborg Opera House
Göteborg Dance & Theatre Festival at
various venues
Dansdax ball at the Scandinavium
Whitesnake at the Scandinavium
Plus a long list of performers at Liseberg
during the summer season – it’s always
entertainment season in Göteborg!
G Ö T E B O R G – C I T Y O F E N T E R T A I N M E N T
Göteborg has always been an attractive
city in the summer. In the last few years
the range of experiences on offer all year
round has grown significantly. The city of
culture and entertainment also attracts
visitors during the darker months of the
year, with theatres, dance, music and
shows, opera and museums, while the now
internationally recognised A Göteborg
Christmas plays a very important role in
making Göteborg a dynamic and exciting
city all year round.
Previous Gothenburgers of the Year
1993 Leif ”Loket” Olsson 1994 Tomas Ravelli 1995 Tomas von Brömssen1996 Maria Lundqvist1997 Jan Eliasson1998 Viveca Lärn1999 Jasenko Selimovic2000 Mikael Ljungberg2001 Håkan Hellström2002 Eva Bergman2003 Conny Evensson2004 Yannick Tregaro och Christian Ohlsson2005 Lotta Engberg2006 Ingvar Oldsberg 2007 Håkan Mild 2008 Thomas Johansson
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A C H R I S T M A S G Ö T E B O R G
Seasonal, stylish and innovative
We contribute to the light
A Göteborg Christmas is an image-building project that is led by Göteborg & Co in collabora-tion with partners who include Castellum, Akademiska Hus, Wallenstam, Göteborgs-Posten and Diligentia.
The big commitment to Göteborg as the
leading Christmas city in Scandinavia en-
tered its fifth year. It began with Liseberg
Christmas market in 2000, and contin-
ued in 2004 with the illuminations along
the main boulevard, Avenyn. In 2008 the
Christmas thoroughfare was further ex-
tended with many more illuminated build-
ings and sites, trees and bridges.
The theme for 2008 was “sea and wa-
ter”, and the Christmas thoroughfare was
designed to create the impression of a
navigation channel at sea. The technology
chosen had the lowest environmental im-
pact, including electricity on a green tariff.
New additions for 2008The previous year’s favourite, a Christmas
film projected onto the 1,500squaremet-
re facade of the Museum of Fine Art, was
shown in a new version entitled “A Sea of
Christmas”. A large outdoor multimedia
show was performed for the first time.
Läppstiftet (“the Lipstick”), the sky-
scraper near the Göteborg Opera House,
was transformed into an approach bea-
con, with light playing out over the city.
Lifting cranes in Frihamnen and the
chimneys at Rosenlundsverket were
illumi nated. The illuminations were im-
proved at Kungsportsplatsen, Gustaf
In recent years the number of visitors to
Göteborg has risen very substantially dur-
ing November and December. The reason
is Christmas at Liseberg and A Christmas
Göteborg. The stylish and trend-setting
Christmas illuminations, Christmas
markets, Christmas decorations, Christ-
mas shopping, Christmas buffets, ginger
biscuits, mulled wine and crowds of happy
people create a genuine Christmas atmo-
sphere in the city.
Adolfs Torg, The Universeum Science
Discovery Centre and the City Library.
A large new ice rink was opened to the
public at Heden, close to Avenyn.
A white Christmas at Liseberg Almost five million twinkling Christmas
lights lit up the park at Liseberg amuse-
ment park. Around 540,000 visitors came
to see Sweden’s biggest Christmas mar-
ket and attractions, to join in Christmas
carol-singing, to ice skate, see ice shows,
visit the ice bar and enjoy a Christmas
buffet. And of course the children got to
meet Santa. The festive atmosphere was
enhanced in 2008 by covering part of
the Christmas thoroughfare with artificial
snow of the type used in film shoots.
The goal of A Göteborg ChristmasThe goal is to create an attractive and
inspiring experience for visitors and res-
i dents of Göteborg, in a light and safe
environment. A Göteborg Christmas and
Christmas at Liseberg attract many long-
distance visitors who fill the hotels and
restaurants at weekends, from the end of
November until the middle of December.
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42
G Ö T E B O R G – T H E G R E E N C I T Y
The exhibition, which lasted three
months, from June to September, is part
of a partnership between Göteborg Bot-
anical Garden, Liseberg Park, the Garden
Society of Göteborg and Gunnebo House
& Gardens. Between them, these four
very different gardens attracted both vis-
i tors with a general interest in gardening
and horticultural academics. The theme
of the exhibition ranged from the 18th
century to the future, through the history
of the kitchen garden, unique cultural set-
tings and innovative garden design.
The Gardens of Göteborg project,
which enhanced the image of Göteborg as
a green city with the some of best parks
in northern Europe, was managed by
Göte borg & Co.
Over half a million visitorsThere were over 300 different items on
the programme. Temporary exhibitions
and theme gardens were created specif-
ically for the exhibition. Permanent ad-
ditions included the Garden Society of
Göteborg’s new rose park, Liseberg’s
20,000-square-metre Liseberg Garden,
restoration work at Gunnebo House and
the new theme garden that greets visitors
to Göteborg Botanical Garden.
The event was extremely success-
ful. Göte borg Botanical Garden attracted
twice as many visitors as usual, and the
other gardens also saw big rises in vis-
itor numbers. Over the period the gardens
were visited by around 560,000 people.
The media impact was massive, with
very positive articles about Göteborg’s
parks in general and the Gardens of Göte-
borg in particular. The Daily Telegraph’s
gardening section, a world leader in its
field, dedicated the whole of its first page
to Gardens of Göteborg. Headlines in oth-
er newspapers included: “Gothenburg’s
Glorious Garden Festival”, “Gothenburg
Festival is a walk in the parks”, “Göteborg
im Gartenfieber” and, in New Zealand,
“I’m loving Gothenburg in Sweden”.
Göteborg Botanical Garden is home to
more than 20,000 different species, and
is counted as one of the best in Europe.
A new area at the entrance to the Garden
was planted out with a beautiful display
of summer flowers and featured the prize
winning anniversary garden “A tribute to
Linné”. A number of seminars were held
here, as well as several exhibitions.
Gunnebo House & Gardens is an 18th
century estate that is now dedicated
to organic gardening. The house and
Gardens of Göteborg
It is obvious to residents and visitors to
the city that Göteborg is a green city. It
has plenty of parks and woodlands, in fact
around 175 square metres for each resident
of the city. In 2008, four of the most
popular parks offered visitors the best of
Swedish and international garden design
as part of the massive Gardens of Göteborg
exhibition.
grounds have been carefully restored in
accordance with the original architect’s
drawings. The gardens are divided into
three types: kitchen gardens, formal gar-
dens and the landscaped park. Three
temporary kitchen gardens were created
on the theme of gardens of the future.
Liseberg Park is appreciated as much for
its beautiful park as it is for its amuse-
ment rides and Christmas market. During
Gardens of Göteborg 2008 a completely
new park was created covering 20,000
square metres, in collaboration between
landscape architects from Sweden and
Great Britain. Visitors were greeted by
exciting combinations of trees, flowers,
water and works of art, created by artists
on site and dotted around the park.
The Garden Society of Göteborg focused
on preserving, recreating and renewing
various areas of the gardens in 2008. A
number of exhibition architects, including
several designers from other countries,
made their mark on different parts of the
park. The result was a journey through
time, with the park restored to its former
glory but with contemporary touches.
There were also a number of indoor exhi-
bitions.
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Leve Klotet (Living Planet) – a high-profile climate galaIn January the Leve Klotet gala was held
at Scandinavium, and the city of Göteborg
awarded its sustainability prize to Al Gore,
former US Vice President, in the pres-
ence of HRH Crown Princess Victoria. Al
Gore was awarded the prize for his strong
commitment to tackle climate change by
spreading awareness of global warming.
He received standing ovations from the
audience in the arena, filled to capacity.
The evening’s music was performed by
Göteborg Symphony Orchestra, Andreas
Jonsson, Carolina Sandgren, The real
group, Thomas Di Leva and Åsa Fång,
accompanied by over 200 children. Jan
Eliasson, former Chairman of the UN
General Assembly, spoke on the theme of
Sustain able Development.
The purpose of the gala was to foster
awareness, commitment and confidece in
the future. The event contributed enorm-
ously to raising the profile of the exten s ive
environmental work done in Göteborg.
On the day of the gala, a number of
seminars were also held on the theme of
the environment and sustainable develop-
ment. A programme of events was also ar-
ranged to give over 200 school pupils the
change to learn more about the climate
and the environment. The day ended with
the youngsters being invited to the even-
ing gala by SIDA (The Swedish Internation
al Development Cooperation Agency) and
the Global Forum.
About the Göteborg PrizeThe Göteborg Prize for sustainable de-
velopment is an international prize that
recognises contributions to sustainable
development. The prize was awarded for
the first time in autumn 2000, under the
title of Göteborg International Environ-
mental Prize. Each year, an independent
G Ö T E B O R G – T H E G R E E N C I T Y
jury chooses prize winners who have
contributed to sustainable development
under the criteria for the prize. Past prize
winners have ranged from ecolabelling
organisations and co-operatives, to poli-
ticians and directors of companies. The
prize of one million Swedish kronor is
jointly awarded by the city of Göteborg
and a number of committed companies:
Andra AP-fonden, Carl Bennet AB, Elan-
ders AB, Eldan Recycling, Folksam, Göta-
verken Miljö, Handelsbanken, Nordea,
Peab, Schenker AB and Stena Metall AB.
Göteborg & Co – an environmen-tally certified companyIn June 2008 Göteborg & Co was awarded
an environmental diploma by the city of
Göteborg Environmental Administration.
The diploma marks the implementation
of an environmental management system
that is designed to promote continuous
improvement.
“By transforming its environmental
promises into action, Göteborg & Co has
shown exemplary foresight and respons-
ibility. This environmental work is an im-
portant step on the road to a better en-
vironment in Göteborg and the rest of the
world,” writes the Environmental Adminis-
tration in its comments on the award.
Uncomfortable truths
45
Crown Princess Victoria hands over the Göteborg Prize to Al Gore, watched by Göran Johansson, Chairman of the Municipal Executive Board.
46
Göteborg & Co has the task of marketing
and contributing to the development of
Göteborg as a tourist city. In 2008, tour-
ism in Göteborg grew for the 17th year in
succession, setting a new record for the
number of overnight stays – just over 3.2
million – and bringing in tourism revenues
of around SEK 23 billion.
Sweden is the largest single market
for tourism in Göteborg. Marketing efforts
abroad are focused on Norway, Great Brit-
ain, Denmark and Germany, in collab-
oration with the Västra Götaland region
and the West Sweden Tourism Board. In
recent years there has been a growth in
tourism from southern Europe, especially
Italy, but also France and Spain. The key
to these geographical markets is direct
flights, particularly with economy airlines.
We focus our efforts on metropolitan re-
gions that have direct links with Göteborg-
Plus, Göteborg and the Västra Götaland
region.
Göteborg is marketed to tourists in
four stages: building the brand, commun-
icating the product offering, giving visitors
the best possible experience while they
are here, and nurturing relationships with
visitors.
Marketing in Sweden and abroadMarketing consists of advertising, direct
mail, information on the goteborg.com
website and regular emails describing a
variety of offers.
Some campaigns cover events such as
the World Figure Skating Championships.
Other campaigns focus on Göteborg as
a tourist city. Another important area
is press canvassing. Marketing abroad
mainly takes place online through gote-
borg.com, during exhibitions, workshops,
site inspections and in the form of cam-
paigns, often together with Visit Sweden.
One example of an event-oriented mar-
keting campaign is A Göteborg Christmas,
which is organised in collaboration with
Liseberg and Stena Line. The campaign
starts in October and is directed at Swe-
den, Norway and parts of Denmark. A
Christmas magazine is sent out to almost
four million readers, as a supplement in
daily newspapers in central and southern
Sweden, the Oslo area and Jutland. At the
same time A Göteborg Christmas is mar-
keted through goteborg.com and with the
aid of press visits and press releases.
Our call centre handles all types of
questions by telephone and email. We
provide services to affiliated agents who
sell the Göteborg Package.
An attractive city all year round
Packaged and readyTourist company products in Göteborg
and western Sweden have to be easy to
find and book. This makes it especially
important to ensure that our companies’
products are easily accessible and can be
booked on goteborg.com. In an effort to
tailor companies’ products to customers’
needs we offer a variety of package solu-
tions. These packaged products include:
The GöteborgPackage – a hotel package
that offers good value for money by com-
bining overnight accommodation, break-
fast and a Göteborg Pass. Tickets to most
theatres, shows and events in Göteborg
can be included in the package.
The Göteborg Pass is included in the
GöteborgPackage and is also sold separ-
ately through retailers in Göteborg. The
Göteborg Pass gives free admission to
a large number of sights and activities
in Göteborg, sightseeing tours by bus or
boat, car parking and free travel on public
transport.
School trips and study trips provide a di-
verse package of pre-booked activities,
including accommodation, meals and ac-
tivities.
A variety of event-based products are also
offered in conjunction with for example
events and major concerts.
G Ö T E B O R G – C I T Y O F T O U R I S M
Göteborg has a big attraction for tourists,
particularly during the summer, but
increasingly at other times of the year as
well. In spring and autumn the city draws
visitors for its culture, entertainment and
shopping, and for the last few years, A
Göteborg Christmas has made the city a
very attractive destination for tourists from
both northern and southern Europe.
47
48
Information service on location • Kungsportsplatsen tourist information
office receives more than 400,000
visitors each year and has blue and
yellow approval, which means that we
provide information about the whole
of Sweden as a tourist destination.
During the high season the tourist in-
formation office can provide informa-
tion in 13 languages.
• Nordstan tourist information office,
which we run in collaboration with
Nordstan marketing management, has
green approval, meaning that we pro-
vide information about the region and
about the Nordstan shopping centre.
• At present there are 90 brochure
stands and terminals linked to gote-
borg.com placed at hotels, camping
sites, airports and other locations.
• Touch screen display in one of the dis-
play windows at Kungsportsplatsen,
where visitors can surf goteborg.com
“through the window”.
In the peak season, each of the tourist
information offices gets 2,000–3,000 vis
itors each day. Together, the tourist infor-
mation offices are open every day except
Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, and in
summer from 10.00 to 20.00.
During big events we have staff on
hand at airport and arenas. When cruise
ferries dock at the harbour our staff go
aboard with tourist information.
Our tourist information offices have
been voted Tourist Information Office of
Year several times. In 2008 we received
the Children’s Tourism Prize as Best Tour-
ist Information Office.
Collaboration with other organisationsStrategically important partners in the
marketing of Göteborg as a year-round
destination include hotels, passenger car-
riers, museums, Liseberg, Universeum
Science Discovery Centre, Stena Line,
Strömma canal boats, Göteborg Opera
House, GotEvent, theatres, sightseeing
companies, restaurants, the retail trade,
events organisers, etc.
Göteborg is a member of the Swedish
Cities alliance, together with Stockholm,
Malmö, Visit Sweden and LFV. Swedish
Cities markets and promotes the cities in
selected European destinations.
Göteborg also collaborates with other
cities in Scandinavia with the aim of stim-
ulating interest in our part of Europe.
One of the most welcoming airports in EuropeGöteborg Landvetter Airport is the gate-
way to Göteborg, and the region as a
whole. Göteborg Landvetter Airport and
Göteborg jointly manage a project with
the aim of marketing the Göteborg region.
Joint initiatives should make Göteborg
Landvetter Airport one of the best airports
in Europe for making passengers feel wel-
come in terms of identifying with the des-
tination and in developing and marketing
Göteborg to the international market.
Development workPossibly the most important project in
the development process is our initiative
to make goteborg.com one of the world’s
best online destination sites. Building a
network with other European cities is an
important part of this development pro-
cess. In 2009 the City Break Expo will be
held in Göteborg. The City Break Expo is
organised by Reeds Exhibition in co-op-
eration with European Cities Marketing.
What we offer
• Good accessibility to our company’s tourism products
• The Göteborg Package and Göte-borg Pass, which can be tail ored to suit the requirements of diffe-rent tour operators/cust omers.
• Collaboration with organisers of events/conferences and local companies in the tourism indus try.
• Visitor services through our tourist information offices (information, accommodation bookings and tickets for excursions).
• Tourist information at a number of strategic locations.
G Ö T E B O R G – C I T Y O F T O U R I S M
49
50
Total retail sales in the Västra Götaland
region in 2008 were just over SEK 100
billion. It is estimated that almost 50
per cent of this amount was spent in the
Göte borg region. Tourism’s share, in other
words the proportion made up by tour-
ism spending, corresponds to almost 20
per cent of total trade. Tourism shopping
in the Göteborg region is estimated at
around SEK 9 billion in 2008.
A trend-setting design cityIn recent years, Göteborg has developed
into a trend-setting design city that offers
modern interior design stores, innova t-
ive design and art & craft shops. It is also
home to the Röhsska Museum, Sweden’s
only museum of design and decorative
arts.
Several well-known designers who
work in Göteborg have launched popu-
lar brands, including Maria Westerlind,
Nudie Jeans, Stylein, Velour, Prickig Katt
and Twist & Tango.
Great range of shopping within 15 minutes’ walkAvenyn, the main boulevard and enter-
tainment thoroughfare in Göteborg, is li-
ned with open-air cafés, bars and shops.
There are almost 200 shops around
Avenyn and Vasastaden.
The inner city within the moat (Vall
graven) consists of narrow courtyard
streets with small shops and an entire
block of large well-known department
stores.
Nordstan is Sweden’s leading shop-
ping centre and was the most visited
shopping centre in the country in 2008.
By the end of the year over 35 million
people had passed through the shop-
ping centre. The largest increase was in
March–April, and in October, when sev-
eral events and exhibitions took place in
Göteborg.
Design and good-value shopping
G Ö T E B O R G – C I T Y O F S H O P P I N G
Shopping is an important part of the travel
experience, whether you are a conference
delegate, event visitor or tourist. Shopping
gives added value to a journey or stay, and
is the single area where visitors spend most
money.
Choice of charming districtsA walk or a short tram journey takes you
to the cobbled streets of Haga with its dis-
tinctive timber buildings, which provide
an intimate setting for cafés, specialist
shops, fashion boutiques and second-
hand shops. Linnéstaden, which sur-
rounds Linnégatan, Göteborg’s second
boulevard, is a Bohemian but trendy dis-
trict with a wide selection of shops, bars,
pubs and local restaurants.
51
Ida Wadenrud
Rickard Lindqvist
Hanna Lindström
52
Food – an ingredient for successThe food served in Göteborg’s restaurants
is of a world-class standard and plays an
important part in the marketing of our
region. Göteborg has five restaurants in
the Michelin Guide: Sjömagasinet, 28+,
Base ment, Fond and Kock & Vin. Chefs in
Göte borg have a unique reputation for sur-
prising and inspiring colleagues and
diners. Collaboration with Göteborg Res-
taurant Association (GRF) means that
culinary experiences are a guaranteed
element of every arrangement involving
Göteborg & Co, such as site-visits with or-
ganisers of conferences or events, press
visits and activities in Sweden or abroad.
Delice – good food cities of the worldGöteborg’s good reputation as a food city
is demonstrated by the fact that it is one
of a select group of cities that have been
offered membership of the Delice network
of good food cities of the world. The exclus-
ive nature of this club is indicated by its
other members, which include Lyon, Bar-
celona, Montreal, Geneva, Milan, Guang-
zhou, and Osaka. Delice singles out food
as an important factor for quality of life.
The network promotes the exchange of
experi ences in areas such as training and
research, marketing and food in the public
sector. Members of Göteborg Restaurant
Association can swap experiences with in-
ternational colleagues within the network.
Plans for food weekA development project is in progress with
the aim of introducing a food week that
will celebrate all aspects of food. Possible
activities include an exhibition, seminars,
happenings in the city and competitions.
Kungsfenan preserves our cultural heritage
Kungsfenan – The Swedish Seafood
Award – is intended to inspire and stim-
ulate the continuing healthy development
of the fishing industry. This work is car-
ried out by the newly formed Kungsfenan
association. In addition to Göteborg & Co,
members include the University of Goth-
enburg, the Swedish Board of Fisheries,
the County Administrative Board of Västra
Götaland, the Västra Götaland region, the
West Sweden Tourism Board, the Swedish
Exhibition Centre and the Fisheries Sec-
retariat. The presentation of the Swedish
Seafood Award took place at the Göteborg
Opera House together with an exhibition
and seminars on the theme of sustainable
fishing for future fishlovers.
A taste of Göteborg
The 2008 Kungsfenan award for Sus-
tainable Fishing went to Mats Ulmestrand,
from the Fisheries Secretariat’s sea fish
laboratory. The award for Maritime Gastro-
nomy went to Moreno Cedroni and Mauro
Uliassi, Italy. The 2008 Innovator of the
Year award was won by the Swedish Fish
Trade Federation for arranging the Swed-
ish National Seafood Championships.
Göteborg Fish Festival In September, the Fish Festival was held
at Fiskhamnen for the second year. The
public had opportunities to cheer on the
future Swedish Champions in seafood
and oyster opening, as well as the Nordic
champion in filleting fish! Visitors were
also able to enjoy the entertainment, sam-
ple a variety of delicious fish dishes, see
the world’s longest fish counter and bid
for their dinner at a fish auction.
Chef of the YearChef of the Year is the official Swedish
championship of the culinary profession.
The winner receives the gold medal of
the Swedish Gastronomic Academy and
the title of Chef of the Year, and gets the
opportunity to join the Chef of the Year As-
sociation. In 2009 the competition will be
held in Liseberg Hall, live on television.
G Ö T E B O R G – C I T Y O F F O O D
Food is a universal language that is
understood by everyone. “The Capital of
Taste”, as Göteborg is sometimes known,
has a culinary range and a tradition of
good food that has greatly contributed to
the city’s success as a city for conferences,
events and tourism. The theme is “Get a
taste of Göteborg” – an invitation that is
well worth accepting. Closeness to the sea
and the forest means good access to the fin-
est ingredients. Fresh fish and shellfish are
often on the menu.
53
54
The participating companies and organ-
isations take part through their appointed
representatives, each of whom devotes a
great deal of time to the task of develop-
ing Göteborg in a variety of areas. This
commitment is very valuable.
Göteborg & Co serves, through its
Trade & Industry Group (TIG), as a plat-
form for collaboration between trade and
industry, organisations, municipalities
and universities, with the aim of making
Göteborg even more competitive.
Focus on trade and industry, the learning environment and events TIG initiates projects and gives grants and
supports to trade and industry, education
and events, all with the aim of contrib-
uting to growth in the region. TIG supports
and initiates projects that
• stimulate the development of compet
itive trade and industry
• supports the development of Göteborg
as a competitive city of learning and
• brings events in culture, sports and en-
tertainment to Göteborg.
Trade and industryInfrastructure is one subject that was ex-
amined closely by TIG during 2008. This
work involved discussing how the city can
develop from the enterprise viewpoint. We
considered needs, priorities, plans and
future scenarios.
The Göteborg Companipris Award has
been awarded annually since 1994 by the
financial markets society, Börssällska-
pet. The prize gives recognition to small
and medium-sized companies in every
sector. This year’s prize was won by two
companies: Quest, which has developed
a control computer for wind farms, and
Auto-adapt AB, which adapts vehicles for
use by people with restricted mobility and
physical disabilities.
A business environment study is car-
ried out every three to five years. Its aim is
to find out how entrepreneurs and others
feel about doing business with Göteborg,
as well as their perceptions of the city.
Learning environment Göteborg is a city of learning. The Univer-
sity of Gothenburg – the largest univer-
sity in the Nordic region – and Chalmers
University of Technology (with a total of
60,000 students) are immeasurable
assets to Göteborg. Over the years there
have been many collaborative projects
between Göteborg & Co, the School of
Business, Economics and Law at the Uni-
versity of Gothenburg and Chalmers Uni-
Collaboration sets Göteborg apart
versity of Technology.
A key ambition is to persuade students
to choose Göteborg and to stay here after
they complete their studies, as well as giv-
ing those who leave the city an incentive
to return with new experiences.
Student08, a programme of welcoming
events for students that has been held
annually since 2003, receives financial
support from TIG. Read more on page 36.
The International Science Festival is an-
other annual event that helps to promote
interest in higher education. Read more
about the Science Festival on page 36.
Young Enterprise, in which TIG is a part-
ner, aims to show upper secondary school
students the opportunities that exist for
starting their own companies. The stu-
dents are encouraged to develop their
creativity, initiative and entrepreneurial
skills. Over a period of a year they get to
run their own companies and sell goods
and services. An advisor from local trade
and industry is affiliated to each Young
Enterprise company. The Young Enterprise
companies replicate the entire life cycle
of a company.
The Global Forum, which takes place
every second year (the next is in 2009)
was formed in 2000 and provides a meet-
ing place in western Sweden to discuss
G Ö T E B O R G – C I T Y O F I N D U S T R Y
Göteborg & Co is a platform for collabora-
tion. Collaboration with traditional trade
and industry is managed by Göteborg
& Co’s Trade & Industry Group. This
group currently has 27 members, includ-
ing representatives of trade and industry
in Göteborg, the city of Göteborg, the
Göteborg Region Association of Municipal
Authorities, Business Region Göteborg,
Chalmers University of Technology and
the University of Gothenburg.
55
During the 2008 visit by Göteborg Symphony Orchestra to
Stockholm, politicians, representatives of trade and indu-
stry and the media were invited along and informed about
Göteborg Plus, a concept for marketing the city and the
region in Sweden and abroad, in collaboration between Gö-
teborg & Co and the West Sweden Tourism Board. The con-
ductor is Gustavo Dudamel.
56
globalisation and its consequences. The
organisers behind the Global Forum are
the LO union federation, the Confedera-
tion of Swedish Enterprise, the Västra Gö-
taland Region, Business Region Göteborg
and Göteborg & Co TIG.
The CIP-Forum is organised in collabor-
ation between the University of Gothen-
burg, Chalmers University, the Västra
Götaland Region, the city of Göteborg,
Business Region Göteborg and Göteborg
& Co. From 2009 Göteborg & Co will be
responsible for project management for
the CIP-Forum. Within the CIP-Forum
issues of importance for knowledge-
based economic growth are discussed.
EventsThe Culture Festival has been held annu-
ally since 1992, previously under the
same of the Göteborg City Festival. The
event is project managed by Göteborg &
Co. As a main partner, the Trade & Indus-
try Group has the task of bringing events
to the city and developing the festival.
Göteborg International Film Festival
receives a development grant from the
Trade & Industry Group, which also insti-
tuted the Nordic Film Award. In 2008, this
prize went to Roy Andersson for the film
You, the Living.
A variety of culture projects, such as
theatre groups, can apply for financial aid
from TIG. Each year, around 20 associ-
ations each receive SEK 5,000–20,000
in grants. For many associations, having
the Göteborg & Co logo on their posters
is a stamp of quality. Other, non-monet-
ary forms of support are currently being
developed, such as training in business
management for cultural associations.
Partnerships between cultural associ-
ations and trade and industry could also
be developed.
Other activitiesIntegration issues are a subject that is
discussed by the Trade & Industry Group.
In 2008 the group took part in an inte-
gration day, after which the Marketing
Ass ociation in Göteborg (Mig) attended a
shorter version.
Göteborg Symphony Orchestra has an
agreement with the Trade & Industry
Group. When the orchestra is performing
in other locations, TIG accompanies it
and conducts marketing activities. Once a
year the Symphony Orchestra gives a con-
cert in Stockholm, during which TIG and
the Västra Götaland Region (which owns
the orchestra) jointly invite company dir
ectors, members of parliament from the
G Ö T E B O R G – C I T Y O F I N D U S T R Y
west of Sweden and government minis-
ters to an information meeting. The del-
egates are also invited to a meal prepared
by top chefs from Göteborg.
Collaboration with BRGThe Trade & Industry Group works closely
with Business Region Göteborg (BRG),
which markets Göteborg and the Göte-
borg region, with the aim of attracting new
enter prises and contributing to the contin-
uing diversification and development of
industry in the region. This collaboration
can take the form of joint production of
market ing materials that are intended
to make the region more competitive.
Each year, TIG awards SEK 90 million to
a vari ety of projects, as well as attending
various trade fairs with appropriate target
groups.
57
The Nordic Film Award was presented during the Göte-
borg Film Festival. The 2008 prize went to Roy Anders-
son for the film You, the Living. The Göteborg Big Film
Prize was introduced by Göteborg & Co Trade & Indus-
try Group.
58
Since 2004, when the original version
of goteborg.com – the official visitor and
events guide to the city of Göteborg – was
launched, Göteborg & Co has put consid-
erable effort into developing and main-
taining its website. The website has been
developed in close consultation with our
stakeholders, primarily the West Sweden
Tourism Board.
Goteborg.com has contributed to the
clear success of the tourism and visitor in-
dustry in Göteborg. Our companies’ prod-
ucts have been made easily available and
online bookings have increased markedly
since the website was launched. The tech-
nology has improved so much that it is
now high time to build the next version of
goteborg.com. Websites today rely heav-
ily on interaction and sharing information
online. Companies must now take into
account social networking channels and
interact with their customers. In 2008,
Göteborg & Co therefore went through a
procurement process, and has now signed
an agreement for the production of a new
version of the website. This work is expect-
ed to be completed in summer 2009.
Web 2.0The new version of goteborg.com will
communicate and strengthen the Göte-
borg brand and promote sales of the
company’s tourist products. Web 2.0 will
focus on the data that users supply them-
selves and the potential for mixing and
matching information from different ser-
vices. The common feature of Web 2.0 is
that users will have good opportunities for
interactivity. Consumers will no longer be
passive, but have an active role.
Smart and appealing packaging of our
products will make it easy for the cus-
tomer/user to buy our products and hence
increase our sales. Activity on the site will
increase as a result of simpler and faster
update features, which will improve visib-
ility in search engines. Visibility can also
be improved by linking the new version of
goteborg.com to some of the larger social
networks that are becoming increasingly
popular as communication channels.
The mobile phone – an important channelInformation has to be made available
wherever the target group is. Visitors to
Göteborg are now no longer limited to
find ing information in printed form or on-
line. While on holiday, tourists can explo-
re the city’s current offerings in culture,
shopping and restaurants from their mo-
bile phones, simply by visiting the address
Two million visits to goteborg.com
mobil.goteborg.com. Visitors to the mobile
site already make up almost 10 per cent
of visitors to goteborg.com.
The growth in visits to the mobile site
basically follows the same trend as for
goteborg.com. The mobile is an integral
part of the life of young people and will
become increasingly important. It has the
potential to become the major outlet for
ticket purchases. The new version of
goteborg.com will provide more opportu n -
ities to link mobile and web services.
G Ö T E B O R G – V I R T U A L C I T Y
The Internet has changed the way we
choose experiences and the way we choose
to travel. The global traveller uses the
Internet to find new destinations and
experiences. The choice of destinations and
activities is growing rapidly, and it will
become increasingly important to present a
clear brand and explain the values behind
it. Bookings are made immediately online
and therefore impose greater demands on
the accessibility of companies in the tour-
ism industry.
What visitors look for
A survey was carried out in sum-mer 2007 to find out what informa-tion visitors to goteborg.com were searching for and what they wanted to do.Here are the results:
What is there to do? 49%What events are taking place now? 32%What accommodation is on offer? 33%Bookings for Göteborg Package/Pass 28%How do we get to Göteborg? 23%Where can we eat? 12%
Number of visitors to goteborg.com:
2004 1,087,0002005 1,394,0002006 1,713,0002007 2,120,0002008 2,368,000
59
60
In recent years, Göteborg & Co and other
organisations have been committed to a
long-term strategy to improve accessib-
ility, mainly through economy air travel.
In the current situation of global financial
unrest and organisational changes in the
air travel industry it is even more imper-
ative to continue developing such links.
We there fore need to intensify our efforts,
firstly to retain the direct flights that have
come to Göteborg in the last few years,
and secondly to attract more airlines to
add flights to Göteborg.
Fewer departures can be com-pensated for by more arrivalsThe reality is that airlines keep flying
routes as long as they believe they are
profitable. At present, accessibility re-
lies largely on foreign travel by Swedes.
If Swedish demand for foreign travel falls
during the recession there is a risk that
several direct routes could become un-
profitable and be withdrawn.
To reduce this risk we need to con-
tinue aggressively packaging export-ready
products and invest even more in mar-
keting them to foreign markets. Göte-
borg & Co has operational responsibility
for marketing, under agreement with the
West Sweden Tourism Board. In 2008
the working model that was developed
over the last few years was implemented
among the airlines.
This approach has further enhanced
the way we are perceived as a destina-
tion by airlines and has been very well
received. Being an attractive destination
means that we have now had positive re-
sponses from all the airlines in the desti-
nations that are currently on our wish list,
a list that is regularly updated in consul-
tation with BRG, the LFV Group, the West
Sweden Chamber of Commerce and large
international companies.
Strength lies in offering a com-plete packageOlle Sundin, Airport Director of LFV Göte-
borg-Landvetter International Airport and
regional airports, and newly appointed
Chairman of Airport Council International
(ACI), puts it as follows:
“The strength lies in being able to offer
a complete package for the destination
through collaboration between trade and
industry, the visitor industry and the air-
port, which is the gateway to and from the
west of Sweden.
This package gives us a competitive
advantage that we will make the most of
now and over the next few years before
Carrier Wanted
G Ö T E B O R G – T H E I N T E R N A T I O N A L C I T Y
Accessibility is one of the key requirements
if Göteborg is to build on its position as a
city for tourism, conferences and events.
our market position is annexed by other
destinations. We’re not competing with
other airports, but with the complete
packages that other destinations offer. It
is important that we exploit the lead and
the position we have so far managed to
create for ourselves through this collab-
oration.”
When Ryanair reported in a press re-
lease on the new route between Göteborg
and Bremen, Wilhelm Hamilton, head of
Nordic operations, said of the partnership
with Göteborg: “Göteborg is a good tour-
ist city and Göteborg & Co is by far the
best in Sweden at selling its product. At
pres ent over 40 percent of traffic through
Göteborg is incoming passengers, but
that figure could rise to 60 per cent”.
Göteborg and the West of Swe-den at air travel fairsThe biggest event is the annual Routes
air travel fair in September, which brings
together representatives of airlines, air-
ports and destinations around the world,
to decide on the development of new and
existing routes. We have attended this fair
since 2006, in partnership with Business
Region Göteborg, the West Sweden Tour-
ism Board and the LFV Group.
At Routes 2008 we shared a stand
61
with the LFV Group, Stockholm and Mal-
mö under the Swedish Cities project. The
collective campaign theme was “Carrier
Wanted”.
Göteborg and Göteborg Landvet-ter International AirportIn June 2008, the LFV Group commis-
sioned a survey in which 26 airlines, some
of them network airlines and some econ-
omy airlines, were asked to compare
Göteborg Landvetter Airport with nine
other European airports. Göteborg Land-
vetter Airport was rated “Best in Class”
for collaboration with the local tourism
organisation, and for overall customer
satisfaction.
62
Lennart AlexanderssonManaging Director, Swedish Property
Federation Göteborg First region
“After ten years of being involved in
Göteborg & Co’s Trade & Industry
Group we have seen how Göteborg & Co
success fully combines public and private
business in a way that contributes strongly
to the development of the city. The event
that I particularly remember last year is
A Göteborg Christmas, which grows each
year and has benefited the visitor industry
and trade, and hence our members.”
Malin Franck Director, Hotell Radisson SAS
“I remember the big events most clearly
of all. The World Figure Skating Champi-
onships were fantastic, and so was the
Göteborg Horse Show. A Göteborg Christ-
mas was a high point that filled the hotels
in November and December. The regular
summer events are also good for cover-
age and for our profits over the period. We
especially noticed that the Bruce Spring-
steen concert attracts an affluent group
of people who expect good accommoda-
tion and good food. Göteborg & Co is in-
valuable to Göteborg!”
Pam Fredman Chancellor, the University of Gothenburg
“Göteborg has become a world-class city
for events. This is where Göteborg & Co
has played a key role, with its professional
approach and strong personal commit-
ment. It gives our conferences and other
events gravitas and polish. What I remem-
ber most in 2008 was Student08, during
which we worked closely with Göteborg &
Co. The aim is to welcome all new univer-
sity students to Göteborg and give them
the opportunity to make new contacts.
Student08 was a great success.”
Richard Fredriksson Director, Quality Hotel Panorama,
Chairman of Storhotellgruppen
“2008 was a year of big events. The World
Figure Skating Championships were a
magnificent success at what is normally
a quiet period in the hotel business. Then
there were the two concerts with Bruce
Springsteen and one with Iron Maiden,
which drew capacity audiences in the
summer. Way Out West also made a big
contribution in August. Göteborg & Co is
the glue that holds the city together, by
working closely with all the parties invol-
ved to strengthen Göteborg as an interna-
tionally significant destination for events,
exhibitions and conferences.”
Voices from industry
Thomas Johansson Chairman of the Board of Live Nation
“It’s always a smooth process working
with Göteborg & Co and the city of Göte-
borg when it comes to events. The estab-
lished network of contacts with the city’s
administrations means that words are
easily translated into action, which is es-
sential in our business. The events I re-
member most of all in 2008 were the two
sell-out concerts with Bruce Springsteen.
The concerts and shows mean it’s always
busy and it’ll be the same in 2009. Göte-
borg is my favourite city in every way!”
Tom Johnstone CEO, SKF
“What I recall from 2008 was the meas-
ures to spread awareness of environmen-
tal and climate issues. The meeting with
Al Gore, when he was presented with the
Göteborg Prize, was handled very profes-
sionally. From my viewpoint the Bruce
Springsteen concert at Ullevi was a high-
light. Göteborg & Co does an important
job in continuously developing Göteborg
as an attractive place, especially for those
of us who live and work here, both com-
panies and individuals. Another important
part of this work is marketing Göteborg to
the world, so that more people discover
the benefits of our ‘little big city’”.
G Ö T E B O R G – C I T Y O F P A R T N E R S H I P S
Göteborg & Co’s business idea is to be a
leading platform for collaboration in the
development of Göteborg as a destination.
This has proven to be a successful business
idea. Several representatives of trade and
industry give their views below.
63
Stefan Karlsson Restaurateur, Restaurang Fond
“The event I remember most from 2008
is the STCC race at Bananpiren, when we
served up 5,500 portions of food within
a few hours. Göteborg Restaurant Associ-
ation enables our industry to collaborate
and make Göteborg even more competi-
tive as an events city. The collaboration
that has resulted in a vocational training
course at Burgården upper secondary
school is a good example. The training lev-
el is being improved so that we can take
the food culture to the next level. The
exchange of restaurant staff with other
Euro pean cities within the Delice organ-
isation makes a very valuable contribu-
tion to this work.”
Joakim Kenndal Communications Director, Stena Line
“The whole calendar of events, big and
small, attracts Swedes, Danes and Ger-
mans to Göteborg. These activities are in-
credibly important. A Christmas Göte borg,
on which we work together, and Way Out
West are two excellent ex amples. Perma-
nent attractions such as the Universeum
Science Discovery Centre persuade Swe-
des to choose Göteborg as their depar-
ture city when they fly out to Europe.”
64
Anders Larsson Director, Nordstan shopping centre
Representative of Cityföreningen trade
association
“Over the last few years we have seen a
number a successes at weekends, mostly
due to the growth in tourism. The Sum-
mer City and A Göteborg Christmas activ-
ities are good examples of how working
together can stimulate tourism and make
Göteborg more attractive as a shopping
city. All the events that take place also
boost Göteborg’s attraction as a shopp ing
thoroughfare. Göteborg & Co is the
motor behind the growth of collaboration
in Göte borg.”
Bengt Linde Restaurateur, Babar Restaurang,
Chairman of Göteborg Restaurant
Association
“2008 was a fantastic year. Each year
Göteborg seems to outdo itself. For ex-
ample, A Göteborg Christmas gets better
every year. It was also great to get the edit-
ors of the world’s newspapers here. Our
strength lies in working together. We don’t
complicate things, but allow everyone to
voice their opinion and then bring all ideas
together to reach quick and sensible deci-
sions. Göteborg wouldn’t be the place it is
today without Göteborg & Co.”
Carlo Mandini Director of Elite Plaza Hotel & Elite Park
Avenue Hotel
“Collaboration between Göteborg & Co
and our hotels and restaurants is a very
important factor for success, since they
always look at the whole picture in order
to make Göteborg the ultimate destina-
tion for events, conferences, individual
visitors, cultural events, etc. The hotels
and restaurants are still free to compete
for market share. On the business front,
I think that the WAN conference was an
excellent event that allowed Göteborg to
show off its abilities as a conference city.”
Leif Mannerström Restaurateur, Sjömagasinet
“What I remember most in 2008 are the
many big trade fairs and events, espe-
cially Bruce Springsteen. Göteborg & Co
means a great deal to the restaurant in-
dustry in the city. They do a very success-
ful job of attracting people to the city, and
that provides an important customer base
for the restaurants.”
Mats Nilsson Vice President AB Volvo,
Chairman of the Trade & Industry Group
“Co-operation between Göteborg & Co
and trade in the city through the Trade
& Industry Group are tremendously im-
portant. Göteborg & Co is active in many
areas that help make Göteborg an attrac-
tive place for people to live and for com-
panies to do business. It’s important that
there is a rich variety of culture and other
experiences of different types in the city.
I’d also like to stress the importance of
striving to keep our skills at the highest
level. Activities such as the International
Science Festival and the events for stu-
dents lay the foundation for this. Good
universities and colleges attract students
here, and making this an exciting city con-
vinces them to stay. The high skill level
then brings more companies here. It ben-
efits everyone, business and residents.”
Markus Odenstad Director, Hotel Royal,
Chairman of the Association of Göteborg
Hotels
“We feel reassured by having a close rela-
tionship with Göteborg & Co, which looks
after the interests of the region in such
a simple, clear and concrete way. As a
co-owner in Göteborg & Co our member
hotels have a mutual interest in the mar-
keting of the region and ensuring that the
resources of Göteborg are used to the full.
The good occupancy figures for our hotels
in recent years are clear proof that they
are doing a fine job!”
G Ö T E B O R G – C I T Y O F P A R T N E R S H I P S
Network for promoting mutual interests
Göteborg & Co is a partner in several important networks, both national and international:
Storstadsgruppen (City Group) is a partnership between tour-ism organisations in Göteborg, Malmö and Stockholm.
The GO collaboration is a Nor-wegian-Swedish partnership between the municipalities of Oslo, Akershus, Østfold, the city of Göteborg and the Västra Götaland Region.
Göteborg is a member of a vari-ety of networks for the devel-opment of destination tourism, along with several major Euro-pean city destinations:
European Cities Marketing, the most influential network for tourism in Europe. Around 130 of the biggest European cities are members.
International Congress & Con-vention Association, ICCA, is a worldwide organisation.
65
Olle Sundin Airport Director, Göteborg
Landvetter Airport
“Collaboration with Göteborg & Co is vital
for the attraction of more popular air
routes to Göteborg and the west of
Sweden. The fact that Göteborg Land vetter
Airport is working with the city and the re-
gion gives us better potential to influence
the destinations that are accessible from
the region. Göteborg & Co and the LFV
Group are pioneers in the field of gathering
a strong team made up of both destination
developers and the air travel sector. Many
others are starting to follow our lead.”
Håkan Thörnström Restaurateur, Thörnströms kök
“Collaboration and an open dialogue be-
tween us and Göteborg & Co benefits us
as an individual restaurant business, and
the overall impression of Göteborg as a
competitive, high-quality restaurant city.”
Petter Ullberg Deputy Managing Director,
Swedish Exhibition Centre
“You could say that the Swedish Exhibi-
tion Centre has a symbiotic relationship
with Göteborg & Co. As we continue to ex-
pand our conference and exhibition cap-
acity we can offer continuously improving
facilities that Göteborg & Co can offer in
turn to national and international confer-
ence organisers, and the more events and
visitors we get, the better the resources
we have to further improve the standard
of our venues. The fact that this partner-
ship has worked so well over the years
demonstrates its value very clearly.”
Mats Wedin President, Liseberg
“From the viewpoint of Liseberg it is the
successes of Christmas at Liseberg and A
Göteborg Christmas that I remember and
think about. In an autumn when the na-
tional economy slumped dramatically, the
successes of November and December
were exceptional achievements, with fig
ures even higher than in 2007, which was
a record year itself. This is great confirma-
tion of the quality of our products and our
partnership! Collaboration between the
city’s parks and Göteborg & Co also
raised the profile of Göteborg as a green
city. Göteborg & Co has a very positive
effect on our business. Over the past
couple of decades our approach has had
a unique influence in encouraging people
to work together in the tourism industry.
In the future I believe that by working as a
collaborative platform for Destination
Göteborg, we and Göteborg & Co will
serve as an example for destination
development in Scandinavia.”
66
T H E G Ö T E B O R G B R A N D
Göteborg in the media
Göteborg & Co’s Media Centre provides
services to journalists from all over the
world in those areas where Göteborg &
Co is active. We organise press days, at
which we inform people about the city and
arrange guided tours.
Independently and in collaboration
with Visit Sweden, the West Sweden Tour-
ism Board, airlines and other partners, we
also invite foreign journalists from daily
newspapers, magazines and television
companies to come here and produce re-
ports about the city. Each year we arrange
visits for around 200 foreign journalists,
mostly from Norway, Denmark, Great Brit-
ain, Germany and Italy, but we also get
visits from countries such as the USA, Chi-
na and Japan.
We also arrange press activities ab-
road.
In 2008, events such as the World Fig-
ure Skating Championships, Gardens of
Göteborg and A Göteborg Christmas re-
sulted in good editorial exposure for the
city’s brand. Our commitment to the tele-
vision medium bore fruit. The four films
linked to A Göteborg Christmas that were
posted on the NewsMarket news portal
were downloaded a total of 108 times by
around 60 television companies in 33
countries. It is estimated that they were
watched by a total of over 10 million tele-
vision viewers.
The way that Göteborg is described in
newspapers, magazines, on television,
radio and on websites in Sweden and
abroad has a big influence on the city’s
brand. In Sweden and the rest of Scan-
dinavia, Göteborg is well known as an
attractive tourist city. In the international
market, especially Europe, there is a great
deal to gain from spreading awareness of
the city and the region.
Here is a selection of quotes from the
international press in 2008.
Made in Sweden
Gothenburg’s glorious Garden Festival
showcases the best of modern, naturalistic
planting styles. Stephen Lacey is impressed.
The Daily Telegraph, UK
Claws! – Sarah Lucas nips off to Sweden
on a lobster safari
Stefan Karlsson is Sweden’s Jamie Oliver.
Though he has cooked for Nobel Prize
dinners, he wants to “inspire schools to do
good food with the little money they have”.
He’s an evangelist for traditional food.
The Mail on Sunday, UK
Take a chance on Sweden
The Myth: Sweden is cold, wet, expensive
– especially the food and drink – and over-
flowing with blond ice maidens. Reality: Yes,
there are lot’s of pretty blonds, and that’s just
the men. Swedes do things simply and well
– think of Volvo, IKEA and Aga cookers.
They laugh a lot, rarely ware ties or high
heels and don’t do garish and hoardings,
graffiti or litter. And their cooking is dyna-
mite – another Swedish invention, by the
way.
Sainsbury’s magazine, UK
Style and substance
Swedes are ineffably polite, civic-minded,
friendly (in a grown-up, unclingy sort of way)
and have a dry sense of humour. They are
simultaneously fiercely sophisticated and
disarmingly informal. And speak English
better than most contemporary BBC broad-
casters.
The Irish Times, Irland
Es grünt so grün in Göteborg
In Schwedens zweitgrösster Stadt laufen
Gartendesigner aus aller Welt zu Hochform
auf. Neben all den Möglichkeiten zum
Kulturerleben, Shoppen, Ausgehen gibt es
da noch Göteborgs grüne Seele. Gärten und
Parks pflastern die Stadt, überall finden sich
Plätze, wo man sich auf Bänken oder auf der
Wiese liegend den Versprechungen der Natur
überlässt.
Saarbrucker Zeitung, Tyskland
Göteborg nyter smaken av suksess
For 35 år sidenvar Göteborgs fremste kultu-
relle eksportartikkel en skraphandel drevet
av Albert&Herbert. I dag er Sveriges nest
störste by et skoleeksempel på at samarbeidet
mellom näringsliv og kulturliv kan gi en by
et nytt image i en moderne opplevelse-
ökonomi. Blant de mange som nå nyter
smaken av suksess, er byens stjernekokker.
Kultmag, Norge
67
48 Stunden in… Göteborg
(Spezialitäten und Souvenirs:) Typisch
Göteborg? Keine Frage, frischer Fish!Weil
der im handgepäck aber nicht ganz so viel
Freude macht, wie wäre es stattdessen mit
Schwedens nationalgetränk, Kaffee?
Die Welt, Tyskland
Waterstad Göteborg
Snel last van heimwee? Ga dan naar een
plaats die door haar verleden een Hollandse
sfeer ademt. De gezellige singelgracht en de
kanalen doen meteen denken aan een van
onze eigen vestingsteden.
Allgemeen Dagblad, Holland
Göteborg – a misure d’uomo
Göteborg si è reinventata il futuro. A misura
d’uomo, in modo intraprendente e accat-
tivante, con fantasia. La città è raccolta e
poco estesa: basta mezz’ora per attravarsarla
da un capo all-altro in tram.
Qui Touring, Italien
Super shopping i Göteborg
Storby, shopping og champagne – og påfyll
av mat og kultur. Deretter enda mer
shopping. Jenteturen blir en sikker suksess
i Göeborg.
Norsk Ukeblad, Norge
Glade jul i glade Göteborg
Vaer så god – gaver, opplevelser, mat og
drikke. Göteborg er byen som tar julen på
alvor, i alle gater og parker er det pyntet för
höytid. Byen bugner av aktiviteter for hele
familien, jul på Liseberg er bare en av mange
nu i desember. Selv liker jeg å oppholde meg
sentralt i byen, og spesielt er gatene rundt
Kungstorget å fortrekke når julegavene skal
handles inn.
Ute og Hjemme magasin, Norge
Swedish Safari
Creations by Europe’s top designers make
Sweden’s Gardens of Gothenburg Exhibition
a must-see. You don’t need to take a crash
course in Swedish to understand the Swedes
– just visit their gardens…. Yet what’s in store
at the festival is much more than a look at the
glorious past of Swedish garden design but
rather an eyeful of Swedish minimalist cool.
Garden Design, USA
Delight in four wonderful gardens
If you want to see some of the best examples
of garden art and design then Göteborg is the
place to be this summer. Garden architects
from Sweden and abroad have created pleas-
ure gardens of the highest quality in the city.
Lifestyle section in Expressen newspaper
68
Anders LarssonRepr Cityföreningen tra-de association, Director of Marketing Nordstan
Mats NilssonChairman Trade and Industry Group, Vice President AB Volvo
Gunnel Aho (Vice Chairman), Party District Secretary (Con.)City of Göteborg
Göran Johansson (Chairman), Chairman of Göteborg City Execu-tive Board (Soc. Dem)
Bengt Linde Chairman of Göteborg Restaurant Association
Göran Bengtsson(coopted), Deputy County Governor of Västra Götaland
Börje Rådesjö Head of Education, Goth-enburg Region Associa-tion of Local Authorities
Richard FredrikssonChairman, the Associa-tion of Large Hotels
Lars Rehnman,(coopted) Managing Director, Universeum
Olle Sundin(coopted) Managing Director, Göteborg Land-vetter Airport
Lennart MankertManaging Director, The Swedish Exhibition Centre
Lennart Olausson, Managing Director, Business Region Göteborg AB
Claes BjerkneManaging Director, Göteborg & Co
Joacim CarlssonVice President West Swe-den Chamber of Commer-ce and Industry
Mats WedinManaging Director, Liseberg AB
Networking leads to motivation, ideas and new projects
Over the past few decades Göteborg has steadily raised its standing
as Sweden’s leading city and an attractive European alternative for
conferences, events and tourism. One factor that has contributed
to this success is the way we work. Because the board is made up
of representatives from the tourism industry, trade and industry
as a whole, the municipality and the region, and we also have
steering groups for meetings, events, tourism and collaboration
with industry, it provides many different opportunities for formal
and informal meetings between people. On the following pages we
introduce the board and the steering groups.
Björn SandmarkHead of Cultural Affairs, City of Göteborg
Thomas TorkelssonManaging Director, Got Event AB
Sabine Söndergaard Secretary of the Board, President Law & Solution
Claes Berglund Route Director, Stena Line AB
Markus Oddestad Chairman of the Association of Göteborg Hotels
Siw FranzénStaff representative, Göteborg & Co
N A M E S A N D F A C E S
GÖTEBORG & CO: BOARD OF DIRECTORS
69
Olle SundinGöteborg Landvetter Airport
Bo AronssonGöteborg Region Associ-ation of Local Authorities
Mats BerghChalmers University of Technology
Mats Dynevik Skanska
Siv Bondenäs-Brink The University of Gothenburg
Eric NilssonThe Port of Göteborg
Joakim Kenndal Stena Line
Johnolof OlssonThe Gothenburg Trade Association
Carita Kalén Swedbank
Lars O Carlsson NCC
Mats Nilsson Volvo Chairman
Mats EngströmNordea
Ola RönnAstraZeneca
Bjorn Thorsteinsrud Handelsbanken
Henrik BrättemarkPosten
Claes Bjerkne Göteborg & CoVice Chairman
Magnus ErsmanSwedish Property Federation Göteborg
Claes LarsssonTeliaSonera
Birgitta L-Öfverholm Göteborg & Co
Petter UllbergThe Swedish Exhibition Centre
Bengt Magnusson Volvo Cars Sweden
Lennart Olausson Business Region Göteborg
Malin Engelbrecht Castellum
Ann-Charlotte Widén SAS
Bengt G JohanssonSCA Hygiene Products
Lennart SondénSEB
Gunilla Ekholtz Nobel Biocare
Ingalill Östman SKF
BUSINESS AREA Meetings
BUSINESS AREALeisure Travel
BUSINESS AREAEvents
CONCEPT & SUPPORT Trade & Industry Group
SUPPORT FUNCTION Economy, Legal A�airs,
Administration
SUPPORT FUNCTION Visitor Service
SUPPORT FUNCTION Marketing
Communications
MD
MARKET
Board of Directors
SUPPORT FUNCTION Media Centre
SUPPORT FUNCTION Research and Development
STEERING COMMITTEE GÖTEBORG & CO TRADE AND INDUSTRY GROUP
70
N A M E S A N D F A C E S
Cajsa EngströmGöteborg & Co
Carina HalvordUniverseum
Jerker Dellblad the Association of Large Hotels
Mats WedinLiseberg
Kristian Andreasson-the Association of Large Hotels
Charlotte Ljunggren Stena Line
Pelle JohannissonLiseberg
Bert Saluäär Association of Göteborg Hotels
Claes Bjerkne Göteborg & CoChairman
Lotta Vahlne-Westerhäll University of Gothen-burg/School of Business, Economics and Law
Lennart MankertThe Swedish Exhibition Centre, Vice Chairman
Håkan BeskowCity of Göteborg
Johan CarlstenChalmers University of Technology
Claes BjerkneGöteborg & CoChairman
Christer Johansson Göteborg Restaurant Association
Ninni LidénSJ
Björn RydevikUniversity of Gothenburg, Sahlgrenska University Hospital
Lena Stävmo The LFV Group
Magnus Hallberg the Association of Large Hotels
Malin Franckthe Association of Large Hotels
Torkild BerglundSAS
Ulrica Cramby Göteborg Convention Centre
Terese Wibeck Association of Göteborg Hotels
Lennart Johansson-Göteborg & Co
Marie Jacobsson Congrex
Henrik Svensson MCI
STEERING COMMITTEE GÖTEBORG & CO MEETINGS
STEERING COMMITTEE GÖTEBORG & CO LEISURE TRAVEL
71
Jerker Dellbladthe Association of Large HotelsNovotel Göteborg
Ronnie HallgrenGöteborg City Theatre
Bert SaluäärThe association of Göteborg Hotels
Lennart Blimanthe Association of Large HotelsFirst Hotell
Claes BjerkneGöteborg & CoChairman
Peter HanssonGöteborg Opera House
Mats WedinLiseberg
Thomas TorkelssonGot Event
Petter UllbergThe Swedish Exhibition Centre
Björn SandmarkGöteborg Culture Committee
Therese BrusbergGöteborg & Co
Leif NilssonGöteborg & Co
Birgitta L-ÖfverholmGöteborg & Co
Ed SmithGöteborg Concert Hall
Anna FalckGöteborg Book Fair
Claes BjerkneCEO
Leif NilssonVice CEO, Director Events
Cajsa Engström Manager Leisure Travel
Annelie Karlsson Manager Visitor Service
Lars ÅhrmanManager Administration
Camilla NymanManager Business Development
Lennart Johansson ManagerMeetings
Gunilla HammerManager Finance, Legal Affairs & Administration
Ossian Stiernstrand Manager Research and Development
Stefan GaddManager Media Centre
Agneta Forshufvud Manager Marketing Communications
Birgitta L-ÖfverholmManager Trade and Industry Group
N A M E S A N D F A C E S
MANAGEMENT GÖTEBORG & CO
STEERING COMMITTEE GÖTEBORG & CO EVENTS
72
Reassignment of roles for Göteborg & Co and Got Event Göteborg Municipal Executive Board has
approved a change in the responsib-
ilities of Göteborg & Co and Got Event.
Each company’s responsibilities have
been defined by their owners in an owner-
ship directive and shareholders’ agree-
ment, respectively. This reassignment
of roles between Göteborg & Co and Got
Event means that Göteborg & Co will be
responsible for business relations, plan-
ning, marketing and associated sponsor-
ship activities that are connected with the
city’s events activities.
Got Event AB will be responsible for the
management of arenas and, when re-
quested, for the hosting of events, as well
as carrying out arena activities that are
not assigned to another organisation.
Reorganisation of premises
Göteborg & Co rents premises from the
Swedish Exhibition Centre. Over the past
year these premises have been com-
pletely refurbished, primarily to adapt
them to suit our project-based working
approach. In addition to 80 permanent
staff, the organisation also employs
around 500 people each year on short-
term or long-term projects. Although the
average number of project staff in any
given day is considerably lower than this
figure, the new layout of the premises
makes it much eas ier to adapt to changes
in the number of people using rooms.
Roles of the various departments at Göteborg & CoManagement
Responsible for the overall, long-term,
strategic task of developing Göteborg as a
destination. Encompasses business plan-
ning, brand-building, market analysis and
competitor analysis, international net-
works and strategic agreements with sel-
ected partners.
Management is also responsible for over-
all business development and selected
strategic projects, such as GöteborgPlus,
Delice, the Flights project and the Cen-
tre for Tourism at the School of Business,
Economics and Law, etc.
The CEO also has overall responsibility for
all staff.
Number of employees: 3
Manager: CEO
Business Area Meetings
Göteborg Convention Bureau (GCB) is the
international name of the unit within
Göteborg & Co that handles meetings.
Focusing on the future
The purpose of its work is to attract more
congresses, exhibitions, conferences and
corporate meetings to Göteborg. Göte-
borg & Co acts as a link between meeting
organisers and local companies in the
meetings industry, as well as local de-
cision-makers. Collaboration agreements
have been drawn up with over 90 member
companies that represent the tourism
industry in Göteborg.
In 2005–2008 Göteborg & Co was also
commissioned by the West Sweden Tour-
ism Board to conduct promotional activ-
ities in universities and organisations in
western Sweden, with the aim of increas-
ing the number of meetings held in the
region. This project is financed by the
Västra Götaland Region.
Number of employees: 11
Manager: Lennart Johansson
Business Area Leisure travel
Göteborg & Co takes long-term initiatives
to market, package and sell Göteborg as
a destination. Göteborg & Co runs cam-
paigns that are primarily aimed at the
Swedish and Scandinavian markets, but
increasingly targets the rest of northern
and southern Europe.
Göteborg & Co collaborates in its market-
ing activities with hotels, carriers, Lise-
T H I S I S H O W W E W O R K
Over the course of 2008 we initiated and
implemented several large change projects
to better equip ourselves for the future. A
business plan for the period 2009–2011
was drawn up during the year. After sev-
eral years of work we were able to agree the
foundation for our brand-building work
and put together a set of tools in prepara-
tion for the launch in 2009. As a direct
consequence of this work we also began a
review of the company’s graphic profile.
Another big development project is the
creation of a new version of the goteborg.
com website. Refurbishment work was also
carried out on our offices in 2008.
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berg, the Universeum Science Discovery
Centre, Stena Line, Göteborg Opera
House, Got Event, museums, theatres,
sightseeing companies, restaurants,
trade and industry, events organisers, etc.
Antalet medarbetare: 9
Chef: Cajsa Engström
Business Area Events
Göteborg & Co works to make Göteborg
one of the leading events cities in Europe.
We do this by contributing to a rich and
diverse range of events in Göteborg, with
the aim of making the city an even more
attractive place to live in, work in and vi-
sit. This is done by attracting new events,
supporting and developing regular events,
assisting and collaborating with arena
own ers and organisers in connection with
event organisation, and providing services
such as project management and prod-
ucing our own events.
Number of employees: 20
Manager: Leif Nilsson
Trade & Industry Group
Göteborg & Co’s Trade & Industry Group
is a platform for collaboration between
trade and industry, organisations, region-
al municipalities and universities, that is
intended to make Göteborg stronger and
more competitive. The goal is to help Gö-
teborg become one of the most welcom-
ing and attractive metropolitan regions
in Europe to live in, work in and visit. Our
activities centre on trade and industry,
learning and events. The group includes
around twenty large companies in addi-
tion to the City of Göteborg, the Associ-
ation of Local Authorities for the Göteborg
region, Business Region Göteborg, Chal-
mers University of Technology and the
University of Gothenburg.
Number of employees: 4
Manager: Birgitta L-Öfverholm
Research & Development
As part of the strategic task of destination
development there is a constant need to
extend our knowledge. Our organisation
had a research and development unit for
many years. In 2002 this unit formed a
separate spin-off company, the Swedish
Research Institute of Tourism.
The Swedish Research Institute of Tour-
ism is a long-term collaborative partner
that focuses on strategic destination dev-
elopment issues. Each year it performs a
number of special analyses, surveys and
studies relating to various events and att-
ractions. The Swedish Research Institute
of Tourism shares premises with the Cen-
tre for Tourism at the School of Business,
Economics and Law, at the University of
Gothenburg – the Nordic region’s fore-
most centre for education and research
into tourism and the visitor industry. The
general aim is to raise the level of know-
ledge about tourism as a subject through-
out Sweden, which in turn should play
an important role in raising the status of
tour ism as an industry.
Number of employees: 1
Project manager: Ossian Stiernstrand
Media Centre
Göteborg & Co works to promote interest
in Göteborg as a destination in national
and international media. This is done
through press visits, the Gothenburg TV
Commission, news and the website home
page.
The Media Centre also acts as a service
unit for Göteborg & Co’s other business
areas, and for key collaborative partners.
Activities include planning and implemen-
tation of targeted press activities, follow-
up work and analysis.
Number of employees: 4
Manager: Stefan Gadd
T H I S I S H O W W E W O R K
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Marketing Communications
In autumn, Göteborg & Co set up a special
unit for marketing communications. An
in-house bureau and web bureau handle
design and production of the company’s
communications through printed and dig-
ital channels. This is done on commis-
sion by, and in consultation with, the
company’s various business areas.
The in-house bureau produces graphics
and is responsible for contacts with out-
side consultants in this field, such as ad-
vertising agencies and printers. The unit
also handles the marketing of events, pre-
viously managed by Got Event.
The web bureau specialises in the use of
digital channels, particularly the Inter-
net. The bureau is responsible for the pro-
duction of Göteborg’s official destination
guide at goteborg.com. The web bureau
also produces a number of campaign sites
each year. Goteborg.com plays a central
role in the task of developing and exploit-
ing information technology. The web has
become an increasingly important channel
for information and bookings as the num-
ber of online visitors has grown. Extensive
development work is underway to develop
a new version of goteborg.com.
Number of employees: 8
Manager: Agneta Forshufvud
Visitor Service
Göteborg & Co endeavours to offer vis-
itors an internationally competitive vis-
itor service. Operations are run by the
Göteborg Tourist Information Centres at
Kungsportsplatsen and in Nordstan
Shopping Centre.
The Tourist Information Centres provide
information on attractions and events,
book accommodation, and sell souvenirs
and tickets for round trips and outings.
Brochures provide visitor information at
some 80 strategic locations including ar-
rival terminals, hotels and campsites. The
call centre books the GöteborgPackage,
hotel rooms, and school trip packages.
It also provides guides and bus arrange-
ments.
Number of employees: 17
Manager: Annelie Karlsson
Finance, HR, Legal
This unit is intended to support the
company’s business areas and service
units, in order to optimise the company’s
activities in terms of costs, efficiency,
skills and quality. The department also
works to promote cost awareness and
economy-mindedness throughout the or-
ganisation. A reliable and cost-effective IT
platform serves as a tool for these inter-
nal processes.
Number of employees: 9
Manager: Lars Åhrman
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We’re investing i Göteborg!
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Production: www.olssonlindgren.se Photos: Anders Palmnäs, Andreas Hillergren, Anna Hult, Anna Mjörnvik, Bert Leandersson, Björn Olsson, Brinkhoff/Moegenburg, Dan Ljungsvik, David Andersson, Dick Gillberg, Emma Andrea, Gunilla Persson, Göran Assner, Göran Olofsson, Hannu Sarenström, Hans Wretling, Henrik Larsson, Hotel Gothia Towers, Ingmar Jernberg, Jenny Lööf, Johan Ljungström/SR, Jonas Ingman, Jorma Valkonen, Kjell Holmner, Leif Gustafsson, Lisa Barryd, Lisa Brunnström, Lisa Nestorson, Liseberg, Mats Bäcker, Mikael Almse, Mikael Lammgård, Patrik Gunnar Helin, Philip Ljungström, Ragnar Lång, Rolf Andersson, Rolf Hallin, Sjömagasinet, Stadsteatern, Stefan Karlberg, Textilmuseet i Borås, Thomas Harrysson, Tristan Jones, www.svenskfisk.se, Åsa Dahlgren Printing: Göteborgstryckeriet.
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www.goteborg.com
Göteborg & Co Mässans gata 8 Box 29 SE-401 20 Göteborg Sweden tel. +46 (0)31-368 40 00 fax +46 (0)31-81 10 48 [email protected]