Säpojoggen refers to two annual

jogging Jogging is a form of trotting or running at a slow or leisurely pace. The main intention is to increase physical fitness with less stress on the body than from faster running but more than walking, or to maintain a steady speed for longer periods ...

events in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. One of them is arranged in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

and the other one at the

Almedalen Almedalen (, ) is a park in the Swedish city of Visby on the island of Gotland. It is well known in Sweden as the central site of the annual Almedalen Week. In medieval times the area, just outside the city walls was the city harbour. Due to t ...

park in

Visby Visby () is an urban areas in Sweden, urban area in Sweden and the seat of Gotland Municipality in Gotland County on the island of Gotland with 24,330 inhabitants . Visby is also the episcopal see for the Diocese of Visby. The Hanseatic League, ...

. The inspiration came from the 2010

wedding of Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden, and Daniel Westling The wedding of Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden, and Daniel Westling took place on 2010 in Stockholm Cathedral. It had been described as "Europe's biggest royal wedding since the Charles III, Prince of Wales Wedding of Prince Charles and Lady ...

, where four

bodyguard A bodyguard (or close protection officer/operative) is a type of security guard, government law enforcement officer, or servicemember who protects an very important person, important person or group of people, such as high-ranking public offic ...

s from

Swedish Security Service The Swedish Security Service ( , SÄPO , , formerly , RPS/Säk, until 1989) is a Sweden, Swedish Government agencies in Sweden, government agency organized under the Ministry of Justice (Sweden), Ministry of Justice. It operates as a security ...

(Säpo), dressed in suits, could be seen jogging next to the procession with the couple.

Stockholm event

The Stockholm event takes place on 19 June, the anniversary of the wedding. Participants are encouraged to wear dark unbuttoned suits and white shirts in the same style as the bodyguards had during the 2010 wedding procession. Female participants are exempt from wearing a tie (the female bodyguard did not wear one during the royal wedding). The run starts at 16.40, and follows the route

Storkyrkan Storkyrkan (, ), also called Stockholms domkyrka (Stockholm Cathedral) and Sankt Nikolai kyrka (Church of Saint Nicholas), is the oldest church in Stockholm. Storkyrkan lies in the centre of Stockholm in Gamla stan, between Stockholm Palace and ...

—

Slottsbacken Slottsbacken (, "Castle Slope") is a street in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden. It stretches east from the Stockholm Cathedral and the Royal Palace down to the street Skeppsbron which passes along the eastern waterfront ...

— Kungsträdgårdsgatan— Hamngatan— Kungsgatan—

Strandvägen Strandvägen () is a street on Östermalm in central Stockholm, Sweden. Completed just in time for the Stockholm World's Fair 1897, it quickly became known as one of the most prestigious addresses in town. Stretching 1 km (3.500 ft) ...

—

Djurgården Djurgården ( or ) or, more officially, , is an island in central Stockholm, Sweden. Djurgården is home to historical buildings and monuments, museums, galleries, the amusement park Gröna Lund, the open-air museum Skansen, the small resident ...

. The total length of the track is . It is not a competitive event; the runners are supposed to keep together in a formation throughout the track and the goal is to keep the same pace and time as the actual bodyguards. About one hundred participants attended the first event. Some of them wore earphones, sunglasses and

water gun A water gun (or water pistol, water blaster, or squirt gun) is a type of toy gun designed to shoot jets of water. Similar to water balloons, the primary purpose of the toy is to soak another person in a recreational game such as a water figh ...

s. At the second event in 2012, the number of participants was reported to be around 40.

Almedalen event

The event in Almedalen is arranged by actual Säpo personnel as a PR event in conjunction with the political activities during the

Almedalen Week The Almedalen Week (, ), also known as Politician's Week in Almedalen () is an annual event taking place in week 26 in and around Almedalen, a park in the city of Visby, Gotland, Sweden. With speeches, seminars and other political activities, ...

. It takes place in the morning, and is open for the public to join. It also differs from the Stockholm event in that it is arranged as a competition, and that there is no dress code; regular training clothes are worn by the attendees. After finishing, members of public are invited to chat and ask questions about the tasks and purposes of Säpo, and how the bodyguards prepare themselves for their missions. The track length is about .

References

External links

Säpojoggen 2013, filmed with a head-mounted camera
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sapojoggen Flash mob Culture in Stockholm Sport in Stockholm Visby 2010s establishments in Sweden