Valborg, the celebration of the arrival of summer, and the ‘Tandem’ bike relay race are two of spring’s main events in Lund. As an international student, you should not miss out!
It is barely noon but I am holding my beer, smiling under the cloudy spring sky. This is it. The biggest event to happen in Lund all year: Valborg – or siste April, ‘the last of April’. Traditionally, it is a celebration of the arrival of summer and culminates in the lighting of a bonfire at night. In Lund, it is the highlight of many students’ calendars and when they talk about it, their excitement becomes palpable.
Nothing can really prepare you for Lund on April 30th; the hum of thousands of people, laughter, yelling, the booming music of AF Radio in the background mixed with the smell of spring flowers, cheap beer and even cheaper wine. There are students sitting in small and big groups, plain on the ground or on chairs brought to Stadsparken at the crack of dawn to make sure there would be space to use them.
Advice for Valborg-beginners is plentiful; my friends, for example are telling me to get to the park early and to remember that Systembolaget will be closed. It is good to keep in mind that you do not want to be “that person” stuck in the line at the grocery store trying to buy food and drinks.
There is apparently no shame in taking a disco-nap in-between a morning at the park and a night at a party. Don’t forget to eat and, as Lund has taught you by now, ‘water is good and always free’. So drink some of that too.
No matter how you feel about Lund’s student parties, this is an experience you don’t want to miss out on. A day which starts off with a breakfast with friends, drinks and music at the park, a barbecue for lunch; then drop in at an early corridor party and warm up your dancing shoes to later join Tegelbruket (Sydskånska, Helsingkrona & Krischan) or any of the other parties going on all over town.
Valborg ends up being a long, long day (and night) but for those up for another 24-hour party marathon, the weekend after April 30th holds the ultimate answer. In another annual spring tradition, around 1,000 students, split up in different teams, participate in a bike relay from Gothenburg to Lund. The relay is made on tandem bikes, giving the event its simple yet daring name: Tandem.
Dressed up in team costumes and supported by party busses, the participants leave Gothenburg in the early evening to ride, party and persevere through the night. About 300km and twenty hours later, the tandem bikes arrive in Lundagård bringing with them the sound of hoarse voices, the smell of cold sweat and stale beer but also the looks of happiness and accomplishment on the students’ faces.
There are few annual events in Lund that are more typical of the Lundian student experience than Valborg and Tandem. If you have the chance to be there and see how the city blossoms into life after winter, why miss them?
Valborg weekend tips
> Kvalborg at Hallands and Västgöta’s nation: live artists during the afternoon of April 29 and nightclub afterward (ticket required)
> Nations games: Tug-of-war between the nations in Lundagård on the afternoon of April 29
> The evening bonfire at Stadsparken at 20.00.
> Tegelbruket: Big nightclub at Helsingkrona, Sydskånska & Krischan (ticket required).
> AF Radio’s club and live music at Mejeriet: Eric Lundin & Michel Dida
