Fancy bowling among sharks and squids, enjoy eating out or dance the night away under the same roof? Well, now you can! Stockholm’s newest entertainment centre Tolv (Twelve in Swedish), opens its doors on October 26th.
Tolv is like a massive American shopping mall, inspired by similar centers in Los Angeles and London – but there’s no shopping. And whereas a typical shopping mall may be some place you dash through in a dizzy time crunch, or bustle hurriedly from boutique to boutique, Tolv’s goal is to be a place you go for an experience, and to make the most of your time.
“With Tolv, we have created a brand which is both a destination and a frame of mind,” the centre’s website reads, “unchained from the irregular rhythms of the sports and music event calendar.”
The grounds of Tolv cover 12,000 square metres, and it will be open at least 12 hours a day all 12 months of the year. Tolv also has a “microhotel” with 12 tiny rooms, a karaoke bar, night club with a Vegas vibe, bowling alley, mini-golf, and an absolutely massive O’Leary’s sports bar with its own mini sports theater. When it comes to lunching and munching they’ve also got something for everyone – frozen yogurt, a hot dog factory, salad bar, bakery, and an Italian restaurant with pistachio-hued sofas made from the same leather used in Ferraris.
“We don’t want to have a niche,” Julia Frändfors, in charge of the Solidaritet night club at Tolv, told YLC, and the statement seems to apply to the entire centre. Frändfors is a veteran of the Stockholm club scene, and has previously worked at Spy Bar and other swank Stureplan clubs. Solidaritet is already a hit club in Stockholm, but Frändfors said Solidaritet Arena is going to be something unique.
“We’re going to attract a different group. We want to create a natural place for all types of music and dance. Solidaritet on Stureplan has a specific group, and they don’t play hip hop. Here there will be a lot hip hop and other styles.”
The Solidaritet night club at Tolv will have three dance floors featuring different styles of music, along with six bars. The club opens on Saturday along with the rest of Tolv, but Frändfors said the first big event will be a Halloween party the following Friday.
Tolv is located in the southern part of Stockholm, frequently called Söder City, right by and partially underneath the Tele2 Sports Arena. It’s located a short commute outside of the downtown “inner city” area, but Tolv hopes to shift the focus south.
“You don’t need to have that inner-city perspective, that people need to come ‘way out here’,” development manager Stefan Prucha said.
“This is part of the inner city. We hope that it will become a destination for Stockholmers and for others even when there’s no event going on. Like on a rainy day in October. That people will say, ‘Let’s go to Tolv.'”
The YLC’s top 12 what not to miss when Tolv opens on Saturday:
12. Create your own hot dog at the Printz sausage deli and factory.
11. Feel better about that hot dog you just ate by topping it off with ecological, fat-free frozen yogurt.
10. Get a taste of Eastern Europe meets Brooklyn at Davaj Delikatessen.
9. Get your Swedish sing-along on in the &E Secret Karaoke bar…once you find it.
8. Be one of the first to stay a night in the arena itself, in a “sleep box” in the “microhotel”.
7. Learn your way around Stockholm through a round of picturesque mini-golf
6. Lounge on real Italian leather in Enzo’s football bar. And gaze longingly at the neon orange Vespa in the corner.
5. Forget about bar stools and watch the next sports event in comfort at the O’Leary’s theater.
4. Dance in three different clubs in one at Solidaritet.
3. Meet-and-greet the stars of Swedish Idol, who will be there for a press event and to take photos with guests.
2. Take a picture-postcard of yourself and send it to the folks at home in one of 12 interactive multimedia “capsules”.
1. Go bowling under the sea with sharks and 3D-effects.
Solveig Rundquist
Solveig is a recently-graduated American cactus who plucked up her ancient Scandinavian roots and transplanted them back to snowy Stockholm soil. When not writing for YLC she can be found cantering about town in search of culture, cheer and a career.
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