Allsång på Skansen - Week 1, 24.06.08

"Stockholm i mitt hjärta....." The annual Swedish weekly singalong returned to SVT last night and was the usual mix of the good (Håkan Hellström) the bad (those singing kids) and the just plain weird (Miss Li). Christer Sjögren was there with his dancing girls and sang - what else but - "I Love Yoo-Rup", whilst Arja Saijonmaa was, let's just say, not to my musical taste. Still the good thing about Allsång is that it really does have something for everyone, every week of its summer run. Last night's show also broke viewing figures records for the series, with 2.3 million viewers in Sweden tuning in.


Above: Håkan Hellström wows the Skansen crowd (photos courtesy of Aftonbladet)

This week, for me, Hellström was superb, the show's standout performer and he set the standard for the rest of the series. I've never been been a fan of the Gothenburg singer but I had to acknowledge that he really put on a great show last night.

The real star of Allsång is of course Skansen and Stockholm itself, as the skyline provides a superb backdrop to the show. It's great to have it back again, if only to prove that summer is here - even if, where I live, we have been freezing in unseasonably low temperatures and wonder if it will ever stop raining!!

Next week: Magnus Uggla, Sanna Nielsen, and ....E.M.D. !!!!