It was announced on the 30th of August that Sweden will receive its first incoming State Visit in almost two years, after many had to be indefinitely postponed due to the global health emergency. Now, the court has shared more details of how the event will unfold.
Between the 7th and the 9th of September, the Swedish royal Family will welcome the President of Germany, His Excellency Frank-Walter Steinmeier, and his wife, Ms Ella Büdenbender.
The visit will focus on innovation, sustainability and democracy, as well as the strengthening of the already excellent relations between Sweden and Germany, which are key trading partners within Europe.
While a packed programme is planned, the Royal Household warns that it will be subject to last minute changes depending on circumstances.
But essentially it will be a traditional State Visit, both in length (3 days is the usual duration of both a State and official Visit) and in type of activities – it is expected that an official welcome, a Speech at Parliament, a State Banquet (or Gala dinner), and various visits will take place throughout the three days.
Specifically, the agenda states that the Crown Princess and Prince Daniel will welcome the President and his wife at the airport, and that the visitors will meet the King and Queen for a carriage procession that will lead them to the central court, where the official welcome will take place. After that, the King and President will deliver their remarks to the press.
For lunch, the President and his wife will stay at the Royal Palace with the King and Queen, while the delegation moves to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs where their Swedish counterparts will offer them lunch
In the afternoon, the President will deliver a speech in the Swedish Parliament before meeting the Prime Minister and then moving to the Royal Palace for the evening Gala Dinner.
On day two, the couples will split, with the King and President visiting Scania (the truck producing company) and Karolinska Institute and Hospital and the Queen and First Lady visiting a nursing home for patients with dementia and the Goethe Institute (the German Cultural Institute that has offices throughout the world). Lunch will be hosted by Stockholm City Hall.
Day three will be held entirely in the city of Kiruna, where the most important visit will be to the Esrange Space Centre. In the evening, the President and his wife will leave Sweden and head back to Germany.
It will undoubtedly be interesting to see how the Swedes navigate this new challenge, given the complications that arise with having to comply with health safety measures, and unexpected changes that may occur.
It is not the first State Visit to take place in Europe since the shutdown, but most of them have been in countries that very rarely pull out all the stops in terms of pomp and ceremony, and prefer to focus more on the strategic contents of the Visits.
Sweden, on the contrary, has been known for their attention to details and for their amazing gala dinners, and there is focus on whether this visit will feature the full trappings, including tiaras, even if access to them will be restricted to limit gatherings.
