NordenBladet — On General Riho Terras invitation Commander of the Swedish Armed Forces, Micael Bydén, has given the Swedish Royal Guards the task of participating in the yearly Independence Day Parade. The parade is an essential part of Estonia’s Independence Day celebrations that take place every year on the 24th of February.
The Royal Guard Company will participate with 11 soldiers wearing a dark blue uniform from year 1886. They will also parade with 1896 model rifles (mauser). The Royal Guard Company is especially trained for protection duties and war fighting in urban environment. They also act as honorary guard at state ceremonies. The Company is part of the Royal Guard that is one of the world’s oldest today active military formations. The Royal Guard dates back to the time of Gustav Vasa and the year of 1523.
The Royal Guard Company is here to celebrate the Republic of Estonia 100th year of independence and to show the close and highly valued co-operation that exists between Sweden and Estonia.
NordenBladet — Drottningholm Palace will host activities for all the family, including fun and educational image hunts for children and adults alike. The image hunts will take place during regular opening hours.
Go on a journey of discovery through the rooms of the palace! Borrow a map with pictures of details from the palace’s interiors, then find out where they are located in the palace and what the images show.
Choose between the Lion Safari to hunt for a lion, Flora to find plants and flowers, Fauna to track down animals or the Gold Hunt to find gold! Suitable for children aged 4–12, but just as much fun for the whole family. All children who take part will win a reward at the end!
All the image hunts are available at the entry to the palace, and can be carried out during opening hours.
NordenBladet — The Swedish Ambassador Mr. Anders Ljunggren had the pleasure of hosting a Total Defence Seminar on February 6 th in Tallinn. Participants from different governmental and parliamentarian offices in both Sweden and Estonia had the opportunity to meet and exchange views on topics regarding Total Defence.
The Chairman of the Swedish Defence Commission, Mr. Björn von Sydow, was one of the keynote speakers. The Estonian Minister of Defence, Mr. Jüri Luik, was also one of the distinguished guests during the event.
The seminar consisted of presentations and interesting discussions regarding the development of Total Defence concepts in each country. The ambassador Mr. Anders Ljunggren and the Embassy of Sweden would like to thank all participants for their significant contributions during the seminar and look forward to continued cooperation between Sweden and Estonia.
The event was moderated by the Swedish Defence Attaché, Lieutenant Colonel Mathias Järvare.
NordenBladet — Princess Madeleine and Mr Christopher O’Neill have decided that their third child will be born in Sweden. The Princess will arrive in Sweden in mid-February and the birth is expected to take place in March 2018.
As Princess Madeleine and her family are not registered residents in Sweden, all hospital care costs associated with the birth of their third child will be paid for using personal funds.
NordenBladet – We must be prepared for the risk of a hard Brexit, Swedish Finance Minister Magdalena Andersson has said. The Social Democrat minister was quizzed on a number of issues in an interview with Swedish news agency TT released on Thursday, including talks following Britain’s decision to leave the European Union.
“I really hope that these negotiations move forward fast, that would be very good and important,” she said. “But at the same time it is important to prepare for the possibility of ending up in a situation where there is a hard Brexit, if you do not agree and move forward. It’s important that everyone is prepared for that risk.”
Fellow non-euro country Sweden has long seen Britain as one of its closest partners in the union, and concerns have been raised that pressure for Sweden to join will increase when its ally leaves the EU.
NordenBladet – There has been speculation that the streaming firm will go public for some time but Spotify has largely chosen to keep quiet on the matter. On Wednesday both US website Axios and news agency Bloomberg reported that the Swedish company has finally made its move, citing “sources familiar with the matter”.
According to both reports, the tech firm filed documents in the US to go public at the end of December, and hopes to list its stock in the first quarter of 2018, but there is conflicting information over whether the documents were for a traditional IPO or a direct listing on the New York Stock Exchange.
Direct listings are not common for major companies, but was last year reported to be Spotify’s preferred option as it does not need to raise any new money thanks to a subscriber base of over 60 million paying customers.
The last valuation of the company made public was $8.2 billion in June 2015.
Spotify did not comment on Wednesday’s reports.
The news comes in the same week it emerged that a music publisher is seeking at least $1.6 billion from the Swedish streaming giant in a copyright dispute.
NordenBladet – The Swedish Transport Agency has given the go-ahead to the first driverless buses on a public road in Sweden and Scandinavia. “This is an historic decision which promotes the development of new, innovative technologies which are important for the development of society. Extensive research and trials are necessary to develop automated road traffic in a sustainable and safe way,” Jonas Bjelfvenstam, the Transport Agency’s director-general, said in a statement on Wednesday.
Bus company Nobina is behind the venture, in cooperation with tech experts at Ericsson, SJ, KTH, Klövern, Urban ICT Arena and Stockholm City, funded by among others Vinnova via Drive Sweden.
The buses are set to run between Kista mall and Victoria Tower in northern Stockholm along a 1.5 kilometre pre-recorded path at a speed of 20 kilometres an hour, using GPS and sensors to ensure they do not divert from the path.
They have no steering wheel as such but can be operated manually. A driver will be on board to take control of the bus in case of emergency, as is required under current legislation in Sweden.
“The applicant has to show that the vehicle can be driven without impacting traffic safety. Our role is to ensure that that is the case,” said Bjelfvenstam.
The buses in Kista will be free to use and both have space for 12 passengers at a time. They are expected to start running in mid-January next year, Nobina told The Local on Wednesday.
The Transport Agency is currently processing another seven applications for self-driving trials, and more applications are expected in 2018.
Photo: Stockholm gets Scandinavia’s first driverless buses on public road (Nobina)
NordenBladet – There is a lot going on all the time.. I would like to keep you updated with 100% of my ventures, yet I doubt if I have the capacity to reflect on 10% of everything that is going on daily. Here I am facing the dilemma – whether to post blogs more frequently and more briefly or, on the contrary, more seldom but also more exhaustively instead. Which option would you like more?
NordenBladet and the OHMYGOSSIP sites that belong to it are expanding rapidly! Such increase in growth couldn’t have been hoped for in wildest fantasies! Today NordenBladet has an overlapping share of readers with the TOP 10 of Scandinavian media groups (Bonnier, Sanoma, MTG, Schibsted, Egmont, Aller, YLE, Otava, Alma, NordenBladet), being in the social media steadily located in the TOP 5 best Scandinavian editions – the latter position is due to OHMYGOSSIP’s enormous international pool of readers. It is my dream to build NordenBladet into Scandinavia’s #1 newsletter and online journal!
I am well aware that I dream big – however, when one looks at other players on the Scandinavian media scenery then it becomes evident that we are on the right course – NordenBladet (as well as Sanoma and Modern Times Group) when beside other media editions are kiddies with regard to the year of establishment! Bonnier was founded 213 years ago and NordenBladet 5 years ago – the fact that we are already compared alongside one another is a considerable accomplishment in my eyes! Of course, there is still plenty of room for growth, but I feel in my heart that we are on the right track moving upwards and this achievement makes my heart beat faster!
A concise overview of the TOP 10 Scandinavian media groups:
Bonnier – founded 213 years ago Bonnier is a Swedish publishing company established in 1804. The company came to life when Gerhard Bonnier founded a bookstore in Copenhagen. A book publishing company Albert Bonniers Förlag was founded in Stockholm in 1837. In the year 1924 the Bonnier family purchased the majority of the partnership in the Swedish daily newspaper Dagens Nyheter, and in 1929 purchased Ahlen&Akerlund, at that time the largest magazine publishing company. In 1944 Bonnier founded the successful evening paper Expressen. In 1950 Bonnier began publishing comic strips. In 1965 began issuing hobbies related journals. In 1973 the one family company expanded towards the film industry, purchasing the largest Swedish filmmaker SF. In 1976 began the publication of Dagens Industri, a newspaper on the topics of economy, belonging to the Bonnier family. In 1984 Bonnier began publishing Science Illustrated. In 1989 Bonnier launched the newspaper Äripäev. Since 1997 Bonnier has gradually taken up shares in Sweden’s largest television channel TV4, as of today 99% of the shares belong to Bonnier. In 2005 Bonnier purchased the Finnish television channel MTV3 and the radio station Radio Nova. In 2006 Bonnier attained partnership in the U.S. publishing company World Publication which is issuing ca 50 periodicals and runs half a hundred web sites. Nowadays Bonnier is represented in 25 countries, the media group has got shares in the total of 175 companies. Bonnier is to this day a family enterprise.
Sanoma – founded 18 years ago
Established in 1999 Sanoma Oy (until 2008 Sanoma WSOY) is Finland’s largest media group and the second largest in the Nordic countries, active in more than 20 European countries. The company’s headquarters is located in Helsinki and ca 19500 people work for the company. The biggest newspaper in Finland and the Northern countries, Helsingin Sanomat, belongs to this media group. Nelonen Media, also belonging to this group, runs 6 television channels, the most important of them being Nelonen.
Modern Times Group (MTG) – founded 20 years ago
Founded in 1997. Modern Times Group (MTG) is a Swedish media company. MTG was summoned in 1997 by Kinnevik, an investment company hosting various media enterprises, via the assemblance of Viasat and Metro International under the name Modern Times Group. Viasat is made up from a bunch of television channels, including for example TV3 (the first commerce channel in Sweden, launched in 1987), ZTV, Viasat Sport and TV1000. Metro International manages a chain of newspapers delivered free of charge. MTG is issuing shares on the Stockholm stock exchange, referred to by the symbols MTGA and MTGB.
Schibsted – founded 178 years ago
Established in 1839. Schibsted is a Norwegian media group active in 20 countries, mainly Norway and Sweden. It is noted at Oslo’s stock market. In the year 2013 it owned the newspapers Postimees and Õhtuleht in Estonia as well as the television channels Kanal 2 and Kanal 11. In the year 1998 it purchased the newspaper Sõnumileht. Schibsted activities re related with the following areas: printed news, film, publishing, multimedia, mobile services. Schibsted stock is at Oslo’s stock exchange.
Egmont – founded 139 years ago Egmont media group (previously Gutenberghus media group) is a media enterprise founded in Copenhagen in 1878. Egmont Group was founded by Egmont Harald Petersen in the year 1878.
Aller – founded 144 years ago
Established in the year 1873, Aller Media is a Northern media group with the headquarters located in Denmark, Copenhagen. Best known brands from Aller Media are Elle, Cafe, Familie Journlen, Femina, Allers and Se og Hor. Aller Media was established in the year 1873 in Copenhagen by Carl Aller and his wife Laura aller and in the 1890s the company expanded to Sweden and Norway and in 1992 also to Finland.
Yle – 91 years ago Yle (the full name in Finnish is Yleisradio and in Swedish Rundradion Ab) is a Finnish official television- and broadcasting group established in the year 1926. Yle is a broadcasting organization with a lot in common with the British broadcasting BBC, since it has been their example while designing Yle. Yle belongs to the Finnish republic (98,88%). Yle transmits four national television channelds, 13 radio networks and 25 regional radio channels. Finland is an officially bilingual country – ca 5,5% of the Finnish population speaks Swedish as their mother tongue.
Otava – founded 127 years ago Otava (officially Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava) is among Finland’s oldest and largest publishing companies. Otava has published, among others, writings from Eino Leino, Veijo Meri, Marja-Liisa Vartio, Paavo Haavikko, Tuomas Anhava, Mauri Kunnas, Antti Tuuri, Kjell Westö and Laila Hirvisaari (Hietamies). Otava is a public limited company, established in 1890. It is one part of the Otava group (Otava Oy). The editor-in-chief since 2009 is Pasi Vainio. The sales of the publishing company in 2014 was 54,5 M euros, the profit was 7,2 M euros.
Alma – 168 years ago
Established in the year 1849. Alma Media is a media enterprise mainly focussing on digital services and publishing. The best known brands of Alma Media are Aamulehti, Iltalehti, Kauppalehti, Talouselämä Monster.fi and Etuovi.com. About 2400 people work for Alma Media.
NordenBladet – 5 years ago
NordenBladet is the largest readership owning media groups in the Northern countries (over 7 million readers monthly), its headquarters are located in Estonia, Tallinn. Established in 2012 by the owner of international OHMYGOSSIP sites and Scandinavia’s best known blogger and most followed woman in social media Helena-Reet Ennet. Active in 17 countries worldwide, mainly in Estonia, Finland, Sweden, America, England, Brazil and Russia. The best known brands from NordenBladet are NordenBladet, OHMYGOSSIP, OHMYGOSSIPteen, Ohmygossip Couture and Bloglist24.
NordenBladet — Alongside Midsummer, the Lucia celebrations represent one of the foremost cultural traditions in Sweden, with their clear reference to life in the peasant communities of old: darkness and light, cold and warmth.
Read more about the tradition Sweden.se
The Swedish St Michael’s church in Tallinn, Rüütli 9, is celebrating Lucia on December 13th at 6 pm. St Michael’s church
NordenBladet — We are pleased to announce this year’s winners and thank everyone who participated in the Swedish Business Awards Estonia and helped to make it a success. Incap Electronics is the biggest manufacturer of electronic equipment in Saaremaa. The company has operated in Kuresaare since 2000 and employs over 80 people.
Incap Electronics has demonstrated true commitment to sustainable and responsible business practices with regards to lean manufacturing, commitment to local education system and community development. The winner of the Sustainable Growth Award is an inspiring example to all of the companies in Estonia with its never-give-up attitude and community engagement initiatives.
Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award | Kristel Kruustük, CEO and Founder of Testlio
Kristel Kruustük is the founder and CEO of the international IT company Testlio. Kristel’s journey towards becoming an entrepreneur started with her passion to improve the working conditions and environment of software testers. This is how Testlio started in 2012, and over 5 years, it has developed into a global network of testers and a platform offering software testing as a service.
By finding a growing niche market, this young entrepreneur has become a respected player on a global scale. She is an inspiring role model for hundreds of women who wish to work with technology and dream of becoming entrepreneurs.
Technological Innovation Award | Protex Balti
Protex Balti is a leading provider of advanced textile solutions to the Scandinavian market. The company is a subsidiary of Protex (Norway) and currently employs 230 people in Tallinn and Pärnu.
Protex Balti has shown great care for contributing to a safer working environment. The company has successfully brought together scientific approach and industry needs in designing practical and innovative products.
