Local events

The British International Primary School and Embassies in Stockholm celebrate the Olympic Games

On 26 April, the British International Primary School Stockholm (BIPSS) will hold an Olympic themed Sports Day at Stockholm Stadion. This event will embody the school’s international character and will celebrate both the 100th anniversary of the Stockholm 1912 Olympics as well as the forthcoming London 2012 Olympic Games.

In true Olympic fashion, the sporting event will begin with an Opening Ceremony Flag Parade, symbolising the 48 nationalities of the children at the school. In order to celebrate the international spirit of London 2012, we brought a touch of GREAT Britain to our preparations for the flag parade. On 19 April the British Ambassador to Sweden, Paul Johnston, together with a collection of pupils, staff and parents  from BIPSS, toured Stockholm on a London bus, collecting 10 of the flags from the embassies with the most common nationalities at the school. The Swedish flag was collected from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A photo from the bus tour is attached.

The flags will all go on show during the Opening Ceremony of the children’s sporting event on 26 April.  The British Ambassador, who will open the event, said: 

“On July 27 2012, the Games will open with a spectacular ceremony in London to welcome the world to Britain. I am delighted that the British Embassy and the British International Primary School hold their own Opening Ceremony here in Stockholm, albeit on a smaller scale. The event which will bring together children of almost 50 nationalities will truly bring to life the Olympic spirit.”

 Carl Hutson, Principal of the British International Primary School, said: “Like the children I am really excited about the school’s Olympic Event. The principles of the Olympic Charter include the goal of building a peaceful and better world without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit, which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play. These are values our students are taught from day one at school and this event gives the children a wonderful opportunity to embrace and celebrate our diverse school population. We are very grateful to all the Embassies and Visit Britain for supporting this event and particularly to the British Embassy for their help and support.”

Ambassadors, dignitaries and businessmen, as well as the children's parents, are invited to participate in the audience in the magnificent Stadion, whilst the children compete in an Olympic themed games.

Swedish media is invited to join the Olympic event at Stockholm Stadion 26 April. If interested please contact: Anna Coyet, British Embassy Stockholm anna.coyet@fco.gov.uk or telephone 08 671 3043 / 0736-31 83 99

Notes for editors: BIPSS is a non-profit making school in Danderyd, established 30 years ago by, amongst others, the then British Ambassador to Stockholm Sir Jeffrey Petersen KCMG, to provide international education in English to internationally minded families. The school currently has 250 pupils aged between 3 and 11 representing almost 50 nationalities, with numbers rising every year.  Although many of the children come from transient expatriate families from all around the world, 20 per cent of the school’s pupils have at least one Swedish parent. With more and more families choosing an international career path, demand for a BIPSS education is increasing all the time.

The BIPSS pupils are currently studying the Olympics as part of the International Primary Curriculum. Over the course of the next term pupils will be learning about the history of the Olympic Games, developing geography skills as they research the countries that have hosted the Games, and will also complete art, science, music and PE tasks with an Olympic theme.

The GREAT campaign highlights the best of Britain around the world in 2012. The campaign consists of different themes such as “Innovation is GREAT”, “Green is GREAT” and “2012 is GREAT”.

UK Minister for Trade and Investment visits Sweden

UK Minister for Trade & Investment Lord Stephen Green visits Sweden on 23 and 24 January 2012 to speak at a conference on smart grids.

Lord Green will speak about the major investments being made in the UK to modernise the electricity network.  Infrastructure investments needed are estimated to be worth 100 billion pounds.  The UK electricity market regulator Ofgem is investing 500 million pounds.

Lord Green says: The UK has many opportunities for Sweden's innovative smart energy companies. By 2020 we are committed to generating 15% of our energy from renewable resources and to cut our carbon emissions to 34% of 1990 levels by 2020. The UK also has a large skilled workforce and, as a recent World Bank survey concluded, is the easiest place to set up and run a business in Europe.

The Minister will meet Sweden’s Trade Minister Anna-Karin Hatt and Financial Markets Minister Peter Norman to inform about the tax break for investors in the UK and discuss different ways to help these companies to expand.

Lord Green will also participate in a panel discussion together with Pär Boman, CEO Handelsbanken, and Jens Henriksson, President Nasdaq OMX, about future global challenges for businesses and nation-states.  The programme also includes a lunch together with major Swedish companies interested in the economic development in the UK.