Official reception at City Hall

What is an official reception?

A reception lasts for 2 hours, between 19:00 and 21:00. A host from the city greets you, then a standing dinner buffet or drinks and canapés are offered. Finally, depending on the number of guests and what is going on in the rest of the building, a guided tour of the City Hall can be offered.

Below you will find information about the conditions of such an arrangement and how to submit an application to the City of Stockholm for a reception at City Hall.

Conditions:

• The conference/congress must be of a Nordic, European or international character, and the majority of the participants must have travelled to Stockholm from abroad. A justification must be provided for why Stockholm, in its capacity as Sweden’s capital, should arrange an official reception for the participants.

• The conference/congress must take place in Stockholm, and the participants must stay in hotels in the city.

• The conference/congress should be of a high scientific level.

• The City of Stockholm would prefer that there be not less than 150 guests, and that the reception does not take place the night before the conference itself begins, nor on the last evening. In the City of Stockholm’s experience, many conference/congress participants often skip events held at these times.

If the above conditions are fulfilled, it is possible to apply for an official reception. However, there is no guarantee that your application will be granted.

Application process:

• Contact evenemang@kth.se  at KTH before you start writing your application to the City of Stockholm for an official reception. The event team at KTH will first contact the City of Stockholm to check if the desired date is available and whether or not it is possible for you to apply for an official reception.

• The application must be in Swedish.

• Before the application is sent to City Hall, the application should be sent to evenemang@kth.se , as this team has extensive experience with submitting applications to City Hall. The event team may then submit comments if there is something missing from the application.

• The application should be addressed to the Presidium of the City Council but e-mailed to protocol@stockholm.se  or sent to the Protocoland Events Unit, City Hall, 105 35 Stockholm

• There is no special time when the application should be received, but the sooner it is submitted, the greater the chance that the date will be available. Once the application has been submitted to the City of Stockholm, the Protocol and Events Unit will make a preliminary booking for the requested date, pending a decision. However, you will be informed of the decision regarding your application no sooner than 1.5 years before the conference itself and the reception are scheduled to take place.

• Once a decision has been made, the applicant will be notified by the City Hall’s Protocol and Events Unit (by letter or e-mail), with a confirmation letter describing what information we are requesting and when we wish to receive it.

What the application should contain:

• Desired date for the official reception.

• Number and type of participants attending the conference (over 50% must be travelling from abroad).

• Purpose and brief description of the conference/congress.

• Where the conference/congress will take place.

When an application has been granted and the reception at City Hall is described in the conference/congress programme, the City of Stockholm wishes for it to be made clear that the city is the sole host of the reception and that it is free of charge for conference participants; for example “the reception is generously hosted by the City of Stockholm and will take place in the beautiful and famous City Hall”.

If, against the odds, the representation reception needs to be cancelled, this must be done in writing at least three months before the booked date.