Press Release May 10, 2019
Monday 13th of May marks the unveiling of a fresh design at Icebar by Icehotel Stockholm – Sweden’s coolest bar, attracting 115000 visitors a year.
The Promised Land
The theme of this season’s bar is The Promised Land and tells the story of a time when Swedes travelled across the Atlantics in hope of a better life.
These days Sweden is known as one of the safest countries in the world. This was however not the case back in the 19th and early 20th century when 1.3 million Swedes escaped their homeland, hoping for an improved life in America.
– This year's theme is extremely important to us. We want to remind our guests that Sweden also has a history where a large part of the population fled their homes because of poverty and misery. Given the time that we live in, with many people having to leave their native countries, it feels important to highlight this part of our history, says Kristofer Skoglund, Director of Sales and Marketing at Hotel C in Stockholm, which has been hosting the Ice bar since 2002.
Icebar by Icehotel Stockholm is the world's first permanent ice bar and opened in 2002. Every year, it’s interior and design are renewed with ice from the Torne River with the help of skilled ice sculptors from Icehotel in Jukkasjärvi. This work is done in collaboration with Hotel C Stockholm.
– The Swedish emigration to America is an interesting historical event. Using it as a starting point was our way of connecting the past to the present. The balance of power and access to resources has always shifted and will shift again,” says designer Karl-Johan Ekeroth, who worked on the concept in partnership with Christian Strömqvist. With the help of ice art, contemporary descriptions and storytelling, visitors are guided through the journey that the fleeing Swedes went through.
– We are - literally - Stockholm's "coolest" bar, where joy, laughter & curiosity take place. We see it as a fantastic opportunity as well as a great responsibility to give our visitors a glimpse into an important time in the Swedish history. I am very proud of what we have created together with ICEHOTEL and look forward to showing this year's theme to our guests, says Kristofer Skoglund.
Icebar by Icehotel Stockholm is open all year round and maintains a constant temperature of -5 degrees.
