Marite
Well-known member
Welcome everyone to the 145th edition of the Forum Song Contest, taking place in March 2021!
After a wait of almost two years, Sweden has claimed the victory for the 6th time in the country's FSC history. Before we start the new show, it is time to once again congratulate the winner of FSC #144 in February 2021, which took place in Cehegín, Spain: Jon Henrik Fjällgren with Mountain Dance!
This month's host city for the FSC #145 is Uppsala, Sweden!
Uppsala is Sweden's 4th largest city, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö, and its metro area is home to just short of 200,000 people. It is located 71 kilometers north-west of Sweden's capital, Stockholm. With Stockholm being 40 minutes and the nearest airport less than 20 minutes away from the city center by train, Uppsala is an ideal location for people who work in Stockholm, but prefer not to live in the busier city itself. This also makes Uppsala an ideal place for tourists who find themselves in the area of Stockholm, as a day-trip to the neighboring city is easily possible. Similar to the majority of Scandinavia, the climate in Uppsala tends to be cold during winters and warm during summers, which makes it less surprising to hear that the Celsius temperature scale was invented in this region, which we will get back to later on during the show.
One of the main sights to be seen in the city of Uppsala itself is the Domkyrka, or Uppsala Cathedral, which is located roughly in the middle of the city. With its two prominent towers standing at 118.70 meters high, Uppsala Cathedral is the largest Church building in all of Scandinavia. Built in the lat 13th century, it is a church of the Church of Sweden and acts as the seat of the Archbishop of Uppsala. Additionally, Uppsala Cathedral is the burial site of the Swedish King Eric IX, who has since then become the patron saint of Sweden. Traditionally, the cathedral has become the location for the coronation of the new kings of Sweden. Naturally, it has become one of the main attractions in Uppsala and is one of the first things that come to mind when thinking of the city.
Direclty West of the Domkyrka, you can find the Gustavianum, which is the oldest standing building of Uppsala University. Built in the first half of the 1620s, it was later on expanded and since 1662 contains the theatrum anatomicum, which is a type of theater used to teach anatomy. Today, the theatrum anatomicum located within the Gustavianum is the second oldest anatomical theater in the world. At the end of the 20th century, the building was rebuilt into what is now the university museum of Uppsala University.
Speaking of Uppsala University, it is the oldest university in all of the Nordic countries that is still in operation. The university was founded in 1477 and is nowadays often ranked in the top 100 of the world's best universities. With roughly 44,000 registered students, the students make up a big part of the population within the city itself. An interesting aspect of student life at Uppsala University is the fact that students were divided into so-called student nations based on the origin of the students. The membership of one of these nations, which acted as student organizations, was a requirement for all students until 2010.
Uppsala University itself is also fairly well known for its academic achievements. A total of 8 Nobel Prize laureates are associated with the university and many other academics and scientists have made their start in Uppsala. Especially during the 18th centuries, many scientists at Uppsala University have become one of the main figures in their field of science. Carl Linnaeus, for example, has become the father of biological and mineralogical taxonomy, and the physicist and astronomer Anders Celsius, you may have guessed it, was the inventor of the predecessor of the Celsius scale, which is now used almost worldwide!
Another important building that may be found in Uppsala is the Uppsala slott, or Uppsala Castle. The castle was built in the 16th century and is located on a hill south of Uppsala Cathedral. In its early history, it played an important role in the history of Sweden as a whole. The castle itself served as the administrative center of the historical province of Uppland and is nowadays the residence of the County Governor of Uppsala County.
Other than the aforementioned physical buildings, Uppsala also offers some beautiful natural sights, such as the so-called Stadsträdgården. This city park located next to the Fyris river, which runs through Uppsala. The park was developed in the late 19th centuries and is now a great location for relaxing strolls in the middle of the city. Whether you would like to have a refreshing ice cream while walking through the park or you feel like riding along in a horse carriage, there is something relaxing to be found about this place for everyone.
This next stop on our tour of Uppsala leads us a bit outside of the city itself. Around 4 kilometers north, you can find Old Uppsala, or Gamla Uppsala, which is said to be the land of the Vikings. This region is now home to more than 300 burial mounds, which acted as the last resting place of Viking Kings, Queens, and more. You may find it interesting to visit the Gamla Uppsala Museum, where you can learn more about the history of Vikings from when they were the majority in this region until the establishment of Christianity in the 12th century, which led to major changes in area.
Now that we have seen some parts of Uppsala itself, it is time to find out where exactly the FSC #145 show will be taking place at. Our Host Venue for March 2021 is the Uppsala Konsert & Kongress:
The Uppsala Konsert & Kongress (UKK), also referred to as Musikens hus or House of music, is a concert hall and convention center located only 12 minutes away from Uppsala Cathedral on foot in the north-eastern part of the city center of Uppsala. The UKK has been inaugurated in 2007 and has since then become one of the most successful venues in the Nordic region. The building can host up to 3000 people and the Main Hall, where the FSC show itself will be taking place, has space for more than 1,100 people seated. So please, everyone, welcome in to the UKK. Make sure to find yourself a nice and comfortable seat while we begin the show!
Our FSC-Hosts for this month consisting of two generations of Swedish entertainers are none other than Lena Olin and Eric Saade:
Lena Olin is a 65 year old Academy Awards, Golden Globe Awards and Emmy Awards-nominated actress known for her roles in movies such as Chocolat, Enemies, A Love Story and The Reader as well as the TV-series Alias, Welcome to Sweden & Riviera, among others. At age 19, Olin was crowned Miss Scandinavia in 1974, which started off her career, not only in Scandinavia, but also worldwide. This month, she has traveled over from her nearby birthplace of Stockholm to be the first half of our host duo.
Eric Saade, who may be familiar to most participants in the Forum Song Contest, is a 30 year old singer from Helsingborg, Sweden, and will be our second host this month. He came third in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 with his entry Popular and has in total entered the Swedish national selection for Eurovision, Melodifestivalen. on 4 occasions; 2010, 2011, 2015 and this year 2021. Back in 2019, he was one of the co-hosts for the Melodfestivalen.
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