Swedish taxpayers fund Almedalen week, spending rises to 90 million kronor

Public authorities in Sweden spent at least 90 million SEK on the Almedalen political week in 2026, a 39 percent increase from the 65 million SEK reported for 2025. The cost includes expenses for venues, staff and related activities for nearly 400 public events, as well as numerous closed‑door meetings and networking receptions.

Finance Minister Elisabeth Svantesson criticised the level of spending, calling it “unreasonable” and demanding explanations for why such a large sum of taxpayers’ money is used for a single week of seminars and mingling in Visby. Individual agencies disclosed their own outlays: the Defence Ministry reported participation in over 100 seminars and a budget of about 650 000 SEK, while the Prison and Probation Service (Kriminalvården) spent roughly 600 000 SEK.

The figures were highlighted by the taxpayers’ association Skattebetalarnas Förening, which argued that many policy discussions could be held during regular parliamentary weeks rather than concentrating them in a week‑long event that incurs high public‑sector costs.