Vadstena Pride falls on Saturday 19 September 2026, and the municipality puts a rainbow week in front of it, starting on Monday 14 September. Our event page describes the parade and the town. Below is the week's programme with times, as published on upplevvadstena.se, so a visitor can plan more than the Saturday. It is nine years since the town held its first Pride.
The rainbow week, 14 to 18 September
- Monday 14 September, 13:30: a rainbow concert by the municipal arts school in the schoolyard of S:t Persskolan.
- Monday 14 September, 16:00 to 18:00: a presentation of the app Body of Mine at Vadstena library, for ages 12 and up.
- Monday 14 September, 18:00: an author visit at the library with Noah van Dorpel, who wrote Pappa sjöhäst.
- Monday 14 September, 19:30: a queer hangout at the library.
- Tuesday 15 September, 14:00: the library's film club shows a rainbow film.
- Tuesday 15 September, 17:30 to 18:30: a session run by the school health service on identity, sexuality and growing up, at Petrus Magni.
- Wednesday 16 September, 09:30: a rainbow story time at the library.
- Wednesday 16 September, 18:15 to 19:15: rainbow swimming at the Simhallen pool.
From Monday to Friday the folk high school, Vadstena folkhögskola, serves lunch in a rainbow setting from 11:30 to 13:00, and on Friday it comes with pride coffee and cake.
Saturday 19 September
The parade gathers in Hamnparken at 11:00 and sets off at 12:00. It is due on Rådhustorget at 12:45, where the rainbow flag goes up, there is a speech, and Eila Schagerström and Patrik Jean perform. The day closes with theatre: Bortom hemma is on the Petrus Magni stage at 19:00.
The organisers give the aim of Vadstena Pride as raising knowledge of LGBTQ issues within the municipality and putting norms under critical examination. Most of the week takes place in the library, the schools and the pool. We list no venues in Vadstena.
Sweden in brief
Sweden opened marriage to same-sex couples on 1 May 2009. A reform of legal gender recognition took effect on 1 July 2025: it dropped the requirement of a gender dysphoria diagnosis and lowered the age limit to 16 with a guardian's consent. Sweden scores 68.43 out of 100 on ILGA-Europe's Rainbow Index. Our Sweden page has the history.