Halmstad's 700^th anniversary celebrations

Halmstad's new work of art, 0+0=8 by artist Fredrik Wret-man, was unveiled on the New Year's Eve. The work is a sculpture in the form of a zero that when reflected in the water forms an eight, symbolising the century to come and a reminder of the fantastic anniversary year as Halmstad celebrated its 700^th anniversary.

Halmstad - The Golf Capital of Scandinavia! This was evident when the city staged the 2007 Solheim Cup. Halmstad, with a population of around 90,000, hosted one of the golfing worlds biggest tournaments as Europe and Americas best women golfers competed on Halmstad Golf Club's north course. An event that over a few days attracted more than 100,000 visitors and was broadcast to more than 500 million TV viewers around the world. Apart from the proud feeling among the people of Halmstad, the Solheim Cup also contributed more than EUR 8,4 million in extra tourist turnover to Halmstad and a PR value at an impressive EUR 5 million, only for five countries.

The people of Halmstad's own celebrations kicked off with a sunny birthday party and a mediaeval village. Halmstad's history was played out along the river Nissan, from the middle ages to the present day. Perhaps most appreciated of all was the Halmstad's Marine Festival with the Baltic Sail. Halmstad harbour was filled with impressive ships and the highlight of the festival was when the East Indiaman Gotheborg arrived in Halmstad after returning home from China. Halmstad's Marine Festival and the Baltic Sail will return 17-20 July 2008 and are an important occasion for Halmstad to show off its maritime legacy and its participation in the development of the Baltic Region.

Halmstad's location on the west coast opposite Denmark provides a pleasant climate throughout the year. One of the challenges is to lengthen the tourist season and develop year-round tourism. This will be one of the main tasks for the new municipal company Halmstad & Co, which was started in order to manage tourism, events, congresses and experiences. The company will also now cultivate the Anniversary year's effects around the world. This will include nurturing relationships with hundreds of thousands of tourists who visited Halmstad during the year and encourage them to return and be good ambassadors for Halmstad as a destination.