The guests this year represented nearly 40 different nationalities and added up to approximately 250 people.

The following took place on stage:

Lord Mayor, Jörgen Linder, welcomed the big gathering and also told about the history behind Göteborg. The international atmosphere has since history always been present in the city. From when it was founded, the city was built by immigrants from different parts of Europe, primarily Dutch people.

Petra Sedelius, Business Region Göteborg, spoke about the development of foreign owned companies in the region. Today, there are over 2 000 of them. This year's awards were handed out by Petra Sedelius and Lord Mayor, Jörgen Linder:

The Key to the heart - award went to the Irish Life Science-related company PM Group which established its Nordic head office in Göteborg.
The award to the foreign-owned organisation 2009 went to Consulate-General of the
People´s Republic of China in Gothenburg.

Helen Teame, Business Region Göteborg, talked about what's available for expats in the region, such as useful brochures, websites, clubs etc. Ben Kendall, Göteborg Daily, said some words about the website which has local news in English. The web address is: www.goteborgdaily.se

Byron Smith, an expat from Wales working at Eka Chemicals, was the afternoon's last speaker. Byron shared his story about living and working in the region and made it very amusing and entertaining.

Like previous years, the programme ended with a beautiful Göteborg Lucia train.

Thanks to all our guests!

Pictures from Expat Christmas Event 2009:
(Photos by: Magnus Hall)