Stockholm

Sweden’s island city is also the pop capital of the world. Everyone, from Justin and Britney to Shayne Ward and Westlife, has gone there to lay down hits. Lara Palamoudian finds out where you should go if you want to eat, drink, sleep and party like a chart topper

Forget Hollywood, Miami Beach or Knightsbridge, Stockholm is the place to go for a spot of secret starspotting. Why? Because a hit factory of new home-grown songwriters has made the Swedish capital a huge draw for pop stars looking for a catchy new melody. Britney Spears, Westlife and Shayne Ward are just some of the big names who have hotfooted their way over to get a fix of pure Swedish pop.

Robyn, local girl turned international pop star and style icon, knows why. “People appreciate a good song here. We’ve always had a strong tradition of melody in Sweden, even before Abba,” says the girl behind such hits as Handle Me and Be Mine, “I’m inspired by lots of things in Stockholm: music, dance, cartoons, comics, video games – popular culture in general.”

Jörgen Elofsson, one of Sweden’s top songwriters who has written global hits for stars such as Westlife, Leona Lewis and Britney, agrees. “We have a tradition of great, catchy songs here – I love making records that will change the face of music a little.”

But it’s not just native Swedes who have fallen under Stockholm’s spell. X Factor winner Shayne Ward may be Mancunian born and bred, but he counts Stockholm among his favourite cities.

“I spent a good few weeks there and loved it,” he says. “The city is beautiful and people go out of their way to make you feel welcome.”

On his new album, Ward worked with three Stockholm producers – Rami, Arnthor and Savan, aka Maratone Production – who are in demand from big American and British pop stars for their songwriting and production skills.

“Those guys are incredible,” explains Shayne. “They’ve worked with everyone from J-Lo to Pink. I was in awe of their talent.”

Of course, when the world’s biggest pop stars hit town they need to hang out too. But where do they gather when not creating top ten hits?

Eat

HERR SPIRIDONS ALLEHANDA
Robyn recommends this deli specialising in vegan raw food. “I have lunch here. They have raw food of the finest quality and the owners of the place are the nicest people. You’ll get a free history lesson about the food if you ask about it.”
88 SANKT ERIKSGATAN, VASASTADEN. WWW.HERRSPIRIDONS.SE/HERR_SPIRIDONS/INDEX.

BEIRUT CAFÉ
This Lebanese restaurant is popular with celebrities. “The food is absolutely amazing and I loved eating there whenever I could while I was in Stockholm,” says Shayne Ward. When Justin Timberlake was on his recent European tour, he and girlfriend Jessica Biel – along with a 13-member entourage – also had dinner here. Afterwards owner Elias Karroum told People magazine: “They tried to smoke a water pipe with apple-fl avoured tobacco. They said they’d tried it before, but we had to show them how to do it properly.”
37 ENGELBREKTSGATAN. TEL: +46 (0)821 2025,
WWW.BEIRUTCAFE.SE/DEFAULT.ASPX

LISA ELMQVIST OYSTER BAR
“For Swedish seafood, go to Östermalmshallen, the central market hall and sit at this bar,” recommends Robyn. “Have anything on the menu, but be sure to try the Swedish Belon oysters, they are my favourite kind.” ÖSTERMALMS SALUHALL. TEL: +46 (0)8 5534 0410, WWW.LISAENQVIST.SE, WWW.SALUHALLEN.COM

EAST
This pan-Asian restaurant is a hit with Jörgen Elofssen. “When Westlife are in town, we often head here.” It also turns into a mini club at night. i 13 STUREPLAN. TEL: +46 (0)8611 4959.WWW.EAST.SE

MATHIAS DAHLGREN
“I love to have dinner here,” Robyn tells us. “It’s a fine dining restaurant in the Grand Hôtel. It’s expensive, but worth it. It doesn’t have a stuckup vibe at all and the food is always lovely, with a local connection.” 6 SÖDRA BLASIEHOLMSHAMNEN. TEL: +46 (0)8679 3584, WWW.MDGHS.COM

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