Home at last! Or hotel, anyway. And what an ace day it has been! I *heart* Sweden 4eva!

After we unpacked and discussed plans for the week, we went off into Gothenburg to look around. We even found the Rocks record store where I bought A*Teens and Bosson for the equivalent of £5 each!

At about 6pm we went to the Kungstorget (which we think translates as King's Square) where the Goteborgskalaset (Gothenburg party/festival) is being held. We stood in the crowd for a while listening to Rix FM (my dad was not keenon Blue Lagoon and tutted at Amy Diamond's young age) and waiting for the show to begin. At last, the first act arrived and it was Marmaladorkestern (Marmalade Orchestra?), who were what is known as the 'party band', which means warming up the crowd with covers of popular songs. They began well with Heaven Is A Place On Earth, Jump (For My Love) and Det Gor Ont, but soon deteriorated into Robbie Williams and a terrible traditional Swedish song.

When, after at least an hour, they finished, it was time for some real pop stars! First up were the girls - Pandora (she's had hits in Australia, you know!), followed by Elin Lanto (rubbish) and Anna S (ace). I then realsied there was only boy-rocker wannabes (who actually sing ballads) Anders Johansson and Niclas Wahlgren, and actual rockers (except they were in Melodifestivalen...) Nordman to go before BWO (the finale) so we went off to get drinks. I popped back to the main stage area periodically so I could see a bit of each act and take photos. Anders and Niclas were quite boring but Nordman were surprisingly fun! They are really popular too.

Finally it was time for BWO! And guess what happened as soon as they appeared? It began to rain and everyone put up their umbrellas so I couldn't see. There was only one thing for it - I gave up my be nice to Swedes policy and burrowed my way to the front. Soon I had a great view of the stage and noticed that it was only Martin and Alexander, no sign of Marina, but the fact that they were wearing their ace 16 Tonnes of Hardware outifts more than made up for it, although Martin has taken his jacket off in my photos. As for the music and performance, it was utterly fantastisk! If they weren't already my fave pop band, they would be now!

Pandora:



Elin Lanto:





A very dark Niclas Wahlgren:



Nordman on night vision:





Bodies Without Organs:



Martin BWO:



Alexander Bard: