Year in review 2020

 
 
 
Of course there will be an annual chronicle again this year! Now that I've been doing this for so long, I can not stop. And when a year has been as strange as this, then it's probably pretty good to try to gather thoughts a little about what actually happened.
 
(Excalimer: Since the original post in Swedish was so long, I didn't manually translate it into English, but used Google translate. I have been trying to go through it to find any errors in grammar or language, but you might catch some more. Bare with me).
 
It is a few days into the new year, and a lot has already happened in the world (America). But I have to save that for the next annual chronicle's news section.
There will be such a section this year too, but I will start with my personal 2020. However, much of what you have been able to do this year has been marked by the news year, so it will be woven into each other more than in my previous chronicles.
 
 
 
 
Now that everyone is reading this, you know what applies to 2020. It is the corona pandemic that has shaped the whole year, at all levels, privately and in world politics. The disease covid-19 has killed millions around the world, close to ten thousand in Sweden alone. Everything was shut down, sort of.
But if I, or you, read this after several years, you may not remember what it was like.
 
 
  • My personal 2020
  • The news year 2020
  • The sports year 2020
  • Entertainment year 2020
  • Good songs from 2020
  • Deceased celebrities 2020
 
 
My personal 2020
 
 
If I start chronologically, it is interesting to see that it was just over two months that was not about the corona pandemic, at least not so much in Sweden.
 
2020 started abroad, because Therese and I had celebrated New Years in London. It was a wonderful trip where we could tourist, go to a musical (The Lion King, really good!), stroll around the streets, squares and parks, and eat well and have fun.
 
 
 
 
 
 
2020 was also the first full year that I lived in Laholm, after moving there in September the year before. It has been very good.
 
A personal change took place in the spring, and that is that I now have glasses. It's not because I'm starting to have lesser vision,  because, to be honest, I've had that for a while. But I have become a little more mature and realize that I have to get my S together and do something about it. So now I have got glasses, and got a completely new view of life (haha).
 
So it has nothing to do with me turning 35, as I did in February.
 
I could celebrate my birthday four times, on different days. My grandma and aunt were visiting with mom and dad, Therese's family was here, and we were out with her dad and wife on a little trip in Skåne on my birthday weekend. Of course, it was also a celebration with friends (although, today there is no such thing as celebrating your birthday with a big party…). A combined 35-year party for me and a moving-in party for Andreas in his new apartment in Halmstad was also the beginning of the Melodifestivalen year (Swedish show and preselection for Eurovision song contest).
 
This year I had three famous people from Halland and Halmstad that I could cover on behalf of my newspaper, Hallandsposten. Host Linnea Henriksson, veteran artist Mariette and "rookie" Amanda Aasa. All of these, plus myself, had attended Sturegymnasiet High School in Halmstad, and would also take part in the same competition - in Luleå, far up in northern Sweden!
 
So therefore I went up to Norrbotten for a few days in February, which was great fun. Just seeing snow for the first time in a long time was great, and then I had a lot of fun that week, with a lot of work, watching rehearsals, doing interviews, going to press conferences and writing articles, but of course also going to dinners, parties, bar hangouts and after parties. Oh, what I miss about such things, I notice now when I write about it.
 
 
 
On site in Luleå.
 
 
 Me at the welcome dinner for semifinal 3, with the host Linnea Henriksson and the artists Amanda Aasa and Mariette.
 
However, I did not go to the final in Stockholm. Concerns about the pandemic situation had begun to become a little too great. The same evening that tens of thousands gathered in the audience at Friends Arena in Stockholm, Denmark's final was held, and there they chose to remove all the audience.
I chose to stay at home and watch the final with my friends in Halmstad, and then go out. It would turn out to be one of the last party nights of the year, and then it was only the beginning of March.
 
As spring passed, the corona pandemic had begun to spread more and more around the world, reaching Europe. Especially in Italy, it was really bad early. Therefore, a trip was canceled. My parents turned 70 this year, and I 35, and therefore we had planned to make a big trip as a joint celebration, with Therese as well. We would have gone on a cruise in the Mediterranean, with two stops in Italy and two in Croatia. But since the pandemic was at its greatest there, we had to cancel the trip.
 
Then it went fast. The spread increased in Sweden, hundreds died, thousands, and one by one various things were shut down. First, the audience limit for events was lowered to 500 people, then to 50. In practice, this meant that no concerts or sporting events wanted to take in any audience, and all intended cinema visits, soccer matches and night outings were cancelled. No warm summer soccer nights where you could follow the national team, because the whole European Championship was canceled, as well as the Olympics and Eurovision Song Contest. 
 
Liseberg theme park also had to cancel the whole year, so for the first time I do not know how long there were no rides for me and my friends during the summer. No fun days with pentathlon, Helix or Flumeride. It was not open on Halloween or Christmas either.
You could not go to the gym, nor to cramped shops, theaters or nightclubs.
Nightclub, you could go to a little during the summer if you wanted. Then Boomboom room night club in Halmstad ran a concept where they only took in 50 people, who had tables to sit at. On the dance floor, they had painted squares where you could dance one by one, at some distance from each other. We were there after Katta's birthday party, but not again. Fun idea, but not as fun in reality.
 
We also had to stop going to the quiz at Harry's, as well as the floorball that I have played once a week.
 
But the saddest thing was that you could not meet  people as before. Especially in the spring, everyone over 70 was urged to stay isolated, as the elderly belonged to a risk group for becoming infected and seriously ill. Since my mother belonged to several other risk groups, we could not see each other as before. You should not hug or shake hands, something very boring and difficult. You could meet if you kept your distance and were preferably outdoors, so we have met, but not as much as we would have liked. There were no big birthday parties on their birthdays, nor for Grandma who turned 90 in April.
 
 
 Both my parents turned 70, but we could only celebrate on a small scale, like here on this photo, at  Dad's birthday at Ulvered's deer enclosure.
 
 
You have been forced to get used to not being close to each other, but perhaps necessary if you are to survive the pandemic.
 
You were also told not to meet too many new people, especially those living in other regions. Therefore, I have not been able to meet friends from other parts of Sweden as I have wanted. Contacts with friends at home have also decreased, which I find very sad. But especially towards the end of the year, it has been self-chosen, as the infection spread increases more and more with each passing day and healthcare is on its knees, but I miss hanging out with my friends as I have done before.
 
Therese and I had two big concerts we were going to, The Ark in Borgholm's castle ruins in July and Celine Dion at Friends Arena in Stockholm in August. These were postponed until the summer of 2021, but the question is whether they will even happen by then.
 
 
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs advised against all travel abroad, to all countries in the whole world, so you had to spend your holidays at home. This meant, among other things, that I could not go to my friend Lauren's wedding in California in August. But since the United States was hit even harder by the pandemic than Sweden, she had to cancel the wedding, and it is supposed to be held this summer, I think. It remains to be seen if it is possible to get there even then.
 
So when you could not go abroad, did not want to visit the big cities (where the spread was at its worst), you had to find something else to do, and Therese and I have really succeeded. On the one hand, we have done a lot in the garden. We have set up a glass railing on the terrace, but we have also planted several trees. We got two of the trees from newly moved neighbors who wanted to dig them up from their yard. It meant a lot of digging there, and even more in our garden, because the trees need very large and deep holes so that the roots can spread really well. But now we have globe maple, copper wood medlar, quince and several other new magestic trees in the garden. Or, magestic in a few years at least.
 
 
We did this for a large part of the summer.
 
 
In addition, we had to redo our garage driveway. The municipality had decided that they would pave our street a little more, so all garage driveways would be raised a few centimeters - so we had to fix that. Together with Therese's dad, we did a pretty good job with that, I must say.
 
 
 
 
Then we also started hiking and running trail (forest running, outside the exercise trails). This to be able to be outdoors, do something new but still travel around Sweden without having to be so close to other people. In July we were on Österlen in the south, where we combined to live in tents (on a campsite, we are not there that we camp in the wilderness yet), discover the beautiful surroundings, and hike in Brösarp's slopes.
 
 
The tent set up and the food is ready ...
 
... at a campsite outside Simrishamn.
 
 
 
 
At Kivik's museum and the apple plantation.
 
 
 
And then out and hike in Brösarp's slopes.
 
In September there was more hiking in Skåne, on Söderåsen, but then in October we made our longest trip so far, when we took a few extra days off around a weekend. We went to a hostel in Dals-Rostock in Dalsland, and from there we went out and did day-long hikes, in beautiful forests and in fantastic environments, such as at Sörknatten.
 
 
 
The back pack is on during a hike in Dals-Rostock.
 
 
Just a hundred meters from the hostel there was a mountain where we went up to check when the sun rose one morning. Totally amazing!
 
 

 At Sörknatten there were also wonderful views, once you had gotten up a bit.
 
  This is how happy you get when you have reached the top!
 
 
 
Then it all ended with us going to Strömstad and a spa and eating good food.
 
There have been some small trips in the immediate area during the year, especially around Knäred, Hjörnered and on Hallandsåsen. Then we could also go to Öland in the summer, and meet my grandmother and aunt. It was good to keep our distance, because we could live in different cabins, and be outside a lot.
 
 
My aunt Helena with the dog Moa, grandmother and I, when we made an excursion to Gråborg, as so many times when I was younger.
 
 The pier at the cottage on Öland.
 
 
 
 
 
Therese and I took a road trip one day and went to northern Öland, where I have not been as much as in the southern part of the island.
 
That trip to grandma on Öland came to mean a lot, it would turn out. In December, my grandmother passed away. She, who has been a big and important part during my upbringing no longer exists, and it has been very sad and hard to take in. Every summer since I was born, I have been with her on Öland. Some years I was there all summer vacation and played with my cousins, and when I was 17 and 18 I lived with her all summer while I worked at Öland's zoo and amusement park.
 
The funeral was on December 22, two days before Christmas Eve. This in combination with the fact that strict restrictions applied in Sweden, which meant that you would not meet so many, made it a very different Christmas. But it turned out to be a nice Christmas. Therese and I celebrated Christmas and New Year on our own, which was very cozy. We had it so nice, and were able to decide on our own when we ate, handed out packages or watched fireworks. We could meet our families in different rounds, for short periods, in the middle of the day.
 
Very many around the world have described 2020 as a shitty year, and it has been. So much that has been cancelled, has become different, it has not been possible to meet. Nearly ten thousand Swedes have died, hundreds of thousands have been infected. I have not been allowed to hug my family, my grandmother passed away, and a lot of other sad things. But the year has meant many fun moments as well, and I am so grateful to have my partner Therese to share everything with. This, plus several wonderful moments with friends and family, who after all have gotten rid of, makes it not entirely possible to dismiss 2020 as a shitty year. Just a little.
 
 
News year 2020 - Corona and US elections
 
Everything that has happened during this year has been about the coronavirus, regardless of which country it is about and at what level. So much has happened, while nothing has happened because everything has been canceled. That's how it feels anyway.
But the year has also been a lot about the US election, which was also strongly affected by the pandemic.
 
But some other stuff happened too. I start with some completely corona-free stuff, which happened before.
 
Australia kind of burned up. Very large parts of the country were ravaged by fire, and an enormous number of animals died. Major rescue efforts were made to help the unique fauna. California also suffered severe fires during the year.
 
Then it became almost World War III, do you remember that? The United States killed an Iranian military man. The war of words escalated, but then Iran happened to shoot down a civilian passenger plane. This became a kind of attenuation in the escalated mood.
 
American basketball legend Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash, along with several others. Including his daughter.
 
In February, prosecutor Krister Petersson shocked the world and said that they had found out who murdered Swedish prime minister Olof Palme in 1986. However, they would wait until the summer to tell it. Everyone waited anxiously and on June 10, it was announced that it was probably the so-called Skandiaman, Stig Engström, who was guilty. However, they had no evidence. An enormous anticlimax was the result, and many have questioned the reasonableness of this. However, the investigation has now been closed.
 
US President Donald Trump was tried for impeachement for asking foreign politicians for help in setting up his potential presidential opponent (as it also became) Joe Biden. But because that process is not legal but political, he was acquitted in the Republican-controlled Senate.
 
But then it was this with the coronavirus, and the disease covid-19 that followed in its footsteps. It started in China. Officially on New Year's Eve 2019 (hence the name covid-19 and not 20). It started in Wuhan at an animal market, where a few different animals have been blamed as the start. Bats are the most common. An animal that was sick, that someone ate, and then everything broke loose. It spread to humans, and eventually out into the world.
 
In Europe, Italy in particular was hit hard at first. Northern Italy had to shut down, region by region. But also in the Alps it spread, and with the sports holiday and after-ski parties it could get real speed, and get to all European countries when the ski travelers went home.
In Sweden, the first case came in Jönköping on 31 January. March 11 came the first death, in Stockholm.
 
Then it took off a lot, and more and more people fell ill and died, especially among the elderly. In Sweden, restrictions, bans and new regulations followed almost every day. A visit ban was introduced on nursing homes. Audiences larger than 500 people were banned, and it was then reduced to 50. In practice, this meant that all sports were allowed to run completely without an audience, and cultural events could not run at all.
 
TV shows were recorded without an audience. People were first encouraged to work from home if they were a little unwell, but then to work from home if they could even if they were healthy. Stores were urged to keep their distance. They drew lines on the ground so that they would not stand too close to each other, and in the end the cashier got plexiglass in front of them. Suddenly there was hand sanitizer everywhere. Today it is a matter of course to spray your hands when you have been somewhere or are going to do something.
 
At the beginning of the pandemic, there was a shortage of toilet paper all over the world as people began to stockpile it.
 
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs first advised against travel to Italy, then more countries and eventually advised against travel to all countries around the world. This was eased a little during the summer, but then sharpened a little again.
 
The Swedish Public Health Agency began holding press conferences every weekday where current figures on infected and dead were reviewed. Above all, the state epidemiologist Anders Tegnell became a national celebrity.
Sweden's strategy, however, was largely about voluntariness, rather than coercion. Countries around the world shut down, for real, but in Sweden there was never a real "lockdown".
The strategy also met with criticism. Precisely the lack of coercion above all, and the authorities' strong reluctance to recommend the use of face masks. In many countries, there was a requirement to have a mask when moving outdoors, but in Sweden they resolutely said no.
 
Not until the end of the year did a message come that mask in public transportation. But it was also in practice voluntary, and only applies between 07-09 and 16-18, weekdays. Incredibly Swedish.
 
Criticism also came from the fact that restaurants, bars and nightclubs often had to take the big hit. Restrictions were introduced in the fall that you were only allowed to sit eight in each party (later reduced to four), and then came a ban on serving alcohol after 10 pm. This was then reduced to 8 pm. The places would also be closed at 10:30 pm. This at the same time as large shopping centers, mall and department stores were completely free from restrictions. Thousands could be crowded at, for example, Gekås in Ullared (which was often used as an example of horror), while restaurants were constantly hit with new and more difficult demands.
The government has paid compensation to many who have lost income, but how this has happened has also been criticized because it is difficult to get the compensation.
 
Another criticism has been leveled at the fact that high-ranking politicians and officials have not themselves followed the advices. Prime Minister Stefan Löfven was criticized when he had been out shopping for Christmas (when the government urged people not to go to stores around Christmas, and also indirectly urged stores to cancel the midday sales). Most criticism, however, came from the director general of MSB, the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency, Dan Eliasson. (By the way, he has a history of misbehaving in various government jobs.) After urging people not to make unnecessary trips. What does he do then? Well, he chooses to fly down to the Canary Islands and celebrate Christmas and New Year there. It gets even worse when he blames that it was a necessary trip, and that he was not able to travel so much earlier in the year (just like all other Swedes). Spoiler ahead of next year's annual chronicle: He was fired (or, resigned himself, as it is called in that world).
 
In Europe, Spain and France were hit hard, but then came Britain and there it got the worst. At the end of the year, a mutated variant of the virus also emerged, which spread even faster.
 
The United States was for a long time fairly spared from the pandemic, but eventually it took off at an enormous rate and they became the hardest hit country in the world. More than 300,000 died there, and it continues to rise. President Donald Trump refused to realize that it was dangerous. At first he even refused to admit that it existed. And when it was not possible to dismiss that it actually existed, he said that it would disappear by itself, "like a miracle".
 
It is not really possible to summarize all the stupid things that Trump has said about the virus (just like everything else he talks about), but that you might be able to drink bleach to get well is perhaps one of the highlights.
 
At the same time, the primary election for a Democratic opponent was underway, and it was Joe Biden who won. He later chose Kamala Harris as his running mate. The election was largely about the corona pandemic, which gained extra relevance when President Trump himself fell ill, but came baack after some time in hospital. Many others in his vicinity also became ill, often ignoring warnings about not being close to each other or keeping their distance.
With the large number of dead, the corona pandemic became an election issue, but therefore Trump, Fox News and others on that flank tried to tone down the dangers, which also led to even more sick and dead.
 
In the end, however, Biden / Harris won the election. End of story. Or? No, far from it. Trump refused to admit defeat. It took quite a long time before any results came, because so many had postal votes with the pandemic, and these took a long time to count. A large majority of the postal votes fell on Biden, so after Trump had the lead on election night, Biden went over when all the votes were counted. But President Trump does not want all the votes to be counted (because it is Donald Trump we are talking about), and he went to court in every state where he thought he would win. There he got no hearing. He urged all his followers to oppose the "theft" of his election victory. This continued into 2021, and how it went I will discuss in the next annual chronicle, but it was not a fun start to the year in this regard.
 
In addition to the election and the corona, a major issue in the United States has also been racism and police brutality. Several high-profile incidents in which African Americans (especially George Floyd and Breanna Taylor) were killed by white police had their patience run out. The Black Lives Matters movement engaged millions, leading to several demonstrations, which in some cases led to confrontations and destruction.
 
During the year, the world's researchers worked hard to develop a vaccine against covid-19. In the end, several pharmaceutical companies succeeded almost simultaneously, and in December they could start vaccinating people around the world.
 
In Beirut, a huge explosion took place in the port, where hazardous waste had been stored. More than 200 people die and thousands are injured.
 
In Belarus, dictator Lukashenko wins in the election, just as he has decided and usually does. But this time the people are protesting, and the protests continued well into the year. Lukashenko remains in power, but his power has been called into question for the first time in a way that has not been noticed before.
 
The old conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh flared up again.
 
An earthquake shakes Zagreb, and at the end of the year a Norwegian village is hit by a devastating landslide.
 
The sports year 2020
 
A lot of sports had to be canceled during the pandemic. The biggest was that the Olympic Games in Tokyo were postponed for a year. Likewise the European Football Championship. It would have been played in several different countries, and Sweden was qualified. It was also postponed until 2021, which meant that the women's European Championships 2021 will be postponed until 2022.
 
The World Championship of Ice Hockey was canceled. The SHL was canceled after the regular season, and there were no playoffs, Swedish Championship gold or relegation and promotion of teams.
 
The NHL had to cancel the season in March. The regular season never ended, but instead the playoffs were expanded with more teams. They got to play in bubbles, without contact with the outside world, in Toronto and Edmonton. In the end, Tampa Bay won the Stanley Cup, and Victor Hedman became the playoffs' most valuable player.
 
The New York Rangers are still in their rebuild, but got to be part of the extended playoffs, where it did not go so well. But instead they won the first prize in the draft lottery and could therefore choose the hyped player Alexis Lafreniere.
However, this was also the year when Rangers got rid of their best goalkeeper ever, Henrik Lundqvist. After 15 years as number one goalkeeper, he was bought out from the last year on the contract, for the team to invest in younger players. He instead wrote for a year for the Washington Capitals, but after discovering a heart defect, he had to cancel the upcoming season and have surgery instead.
 
The NHL never started in the fall, but the hope is that they will start the season 20/21 in a compressed version starting in January 2021.
 
The Allsvenskan in soccer started during the summer. Malmö FF won. The Superettan was won by Halmstads BK, who now finally gets to play in the Allsvenskan again. They get to meet Varberg, but not Falkenberg, who left.
 
The Golden ball went to Zlatan Ibrahimovic, after being away from that discussion for a few years. But he made a grand comeback in Milan, and during the autumn he led the league in the entire Serie A. Zlatan had also been corona-sick earlier in the year. 
 
Sweden's biggest athlete during the year has, however, been pole vaulter Armand Duplatis. He broke several world records in pole vault, both indoors and outdoors.
 
In the United States, there has been a long debate about racist and less appropriate names and logos for sports teams. The focus has been on the Washington Redskins, who eventually chose to change their name. What the new name will be, however, is not clear. Also in Sweden, Frölunda Indians chose to remove their name, and even there a new name will come in 2021.
 
Entertainment year 2020
 
Just like with sports, a lot was canceled. Even more so in fact. Because when the sport could play matches that were broadcast on television, it did not matter so much that the audience was not there, but theaters, stand-up shows, concerts, gigs, performances, everything like that had to be canceled. Some things were recorded and broadcast either online or on television, but many artists and people who worked with events were hard hit.
 
One of the few big happenings that actually happened was the Melodifestivalen, because it was so early in the year. A good Mello year with several good songs, and for the first time in many years it was female at the top of the podium. For a long time it was about whether Anna Bergendahl, Hanna Ferm or the upstart Dotter would take it home, but in the final week, The Mamas came and sprinted past everyone and won with a meager point, before the second place, Dotter. The Mamas had the year before driven behind John Lundvik when he won in Sweden and got to compete in Eurovision. And it was a bit lucky, because The Mamas were never allowed to go to Eurovision this year, because the competition was canceled for the first time ever. SVT broadcast two substitute programs, one super bad and one that was quite good. 
 
Many TV shows ran a bit as usual, but without an audience. Danicing with the staes started but had to cancel several episodes when a number of participants became infected. Siw Malmkvist had to drop out because she was in a risk group, Anders Jansson became so ill that he had to interrupt, and the "Sun Doctor", Dr Mikael, dropped out to assist in the health care. John Lundvik won later.
 
The singing programs from Liseberg and Skansen ran singing without an audience, with clips from previous years.
 
Swedish Idol was also very corona-adapted. After several participants became ill, all participants had to run their first Friday final from their respective hotel rooms. It was otherwise a very good Idol season, where Nadja Holm finally won.
 
In the spring, the popular tv and radio host Adam Alsing died of covid-19, which came as a shock to many. The actor Sven Wollter also died after being infected with the coronavirus.
 
Virtually all cinema movies that would have premiered in 2020 were postponed until 2021. Some were released on various streaming services, but since virtually all cinemas around the world were closed, we have to wait further for a new James Bond film. And speaking of Bond, the original Bond, Sean Connery, passed away.
 
Instead of cinema, movies and TV were streamed from Netflix and other services like never before. One of the more talked about series that people fled into at the beginning of the pandemic was "Tiger King", about an eccentric and crazy zoo owner.
 
The most played song of the year on the radio was Weak with Viktor Leksell, and otherwise Miss Li had several songs that were played a lot.
 
 
 


Good songs in 2020

  1. Ava Max – Who’s laughing now
  2. Ava Max – Salt
  3. Anna Bergendahl – Kingdome come
  4. Robin Bengtsson – Take a chance
  5. Smith & Tell – Goliath
  6. Gustaf & Viktor Norén – Rise again
  7. Miriam Bryant – Nån av oss
  8. The Weeknd – Blinding lights
  9. Carola & Zara Larsson – Säg mig var du står
  10. Anis Don Demina – Vem e som oss

  

 

Deseased celebrities in 2020

Kobe Bryant, Kirk Douglas, Max von Sydow, Kenny Rogers, Hosni Mubarak, Adam Alsing, Terry Jones, Maj Sjöwall, Little Richard, Kristina Lugn, Ian Holm, Joel Schumacher, Ennio Morricone, John Lewis, Chadwick Boseman, Alex Trebek, Anita Lindblom, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Lars-Åke Lagrell, Agne Simonsson, Eddie Van Halen, Jan Myrdal, Sean Connery, Sven Wollter, Diego Maradona.