Side by Side History

In 2014, Side by Side was developed as one of Gothenburg's jubilee projects following a citizens' proposal for a music Gothia Cup. The El Sistema Sweden foundation was commissioned to run the camp and the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra was also on board. During two intensive days, 565 children, young people and leaders gathered to sing and play side by side in central Gothenburg. Dinner, mingling and hanging out took place in a tent outside the Gothenburg Opera and Gothenburg's streets were lit up by blue camp shirts. The camp ended on the main stage of the Gothenburg Opera.

In 2016, Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra went from being one of the camp's partners to officially taking over the organizing role for Side by Side. We also refocused the camp more on music again and decided that each camp year would have its own t-shirt color. We changed into pink shirts and played on buses around Gothenburg. 1250 participants came to the camp divided into three orchestras and three choirs. We had a BASECAMP with a stage for hanging out in Hvitfeldtska's schoolyard and played our Festival Concert for the first time in Lisebergshallen.

In 2018 we switched to the purple color and took our seat in Scandinavium for the first time. Finally we had a concert arena where we had room to grow! And good thing we did, because this year there were 1,800 participants divided into six orchestras, six choirs and an ensemble for Side by Side! We had sing-alongs at The Garden Society of Gothenburg and at the World Culture Museum as well as concerts at the Academy of Music and Drama, at the Concert House, and at Scandinavium! The big song of the year was Symphony and it also became one of our favorite music videos!

2020 was our ocean green year and we had just received a record number of registrations for the camp when the pandemic hit. We were shocked to say the least, but quickly decided that there had to be a camp anyway. So we ventured into something new and created Side by Side: Digital, a platform with tons of pre-recorded material, a chat, and the ability to submit your own videos in response to our challenges and lessons. 703 participants from 36 countries (a new record!) participated from their homes, schools, churches, ensemble rooms and local stages around the world. They recorded their own videos where they danced, fooled about, played and sang. Together we created a digital circle around the world and the best version of The Lion King's Circle of Life ever seen (yes, we said it!). There wasn't a dry eye after that.

In 2022, Side by Side was summer green and back with full physical force in Gothenburg. We had the Opening Ceremony for the camp out on Götaplatsen so that the whole city could see that we were finally back on site. Götaplatsen also became the stage for our pop-up concert with the Upper Intermediate Orchestra, Wind & String Orchestra, Upper Voices Choir and Pre-Upper Voices Choir who performed the fast-paced Baba Yetu from Civilization IV. Now we once again had over 2000 participants and our many concerts were more than well attended. It was an audience record at the Festival Concert!