Sweden’s National Rock Day

As the country’s new national bank holiday falls one day before the start of Sweden Rock, Ingolf Persson and the event organizers have decided to add it on to the festival and expand this year’s gathering to four days.

It will now open June 6th, which has been Sweden’s Flag Day since 1916 and its official National Day since 1983. But it only became a public holiday after parliament voted for it a few years ago.

"We’ll do it this year because 12,000 people are usually on site a day before we start and this year there will probably be even more because of it being a holiday," Persson explained. "Some people say three days is enough and others send e-mails telling me the festival should last for a week, so we’ll do it this year and see what happens.

"Next year National Day will be on the Friday and that’s already part of the festival, but we’ll still look at the demand for four days."

The 16-year-old event at Solvesborg, on the Baltic coast of southern Sweden, added a third day five years ago and has sold out all three days for the last four years.

This year’s June 6-9 event won’t be short of major rock and heavy metal acts to fill the extra time.

The lineup includes The Australian Pink Floyd Show, Meat Loaf, Thin Lizzy, Quiet Riot, Thunder, Aerosmith, Skid Row, Scorpions & Uli Jon Roth, REO Speedwagon, Blind Guardian, Motorhead, Iced Earth, and Heaven and Hell.