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08.08.08: a symbolic day for festive Stockholm
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-08-09 11:04 STOCKHOLM - 08.08.08 may be more universally known as the start date for the Beijing Olympics, but in Stockholm a different celebration is taking place.
08 refers to the Swedish capital's telephone area code and the city kicked off its "Go08 Festival" with a giant water fight. "We are very proud of our beautiful city and we had to find a day to celebrate it," Monica Ewert, director of communications for Stockholm Business Region, told AFP. "August 8 2008 seemed an ideal date." The 08 symbol has been used to describe Stockholm ever since it was chosen as the city's telephone area code in the 1960s. In Sweden the capital's residents are sometimes referred to as "08-ers" ("noll-aattors" in Swedish). 75,000 people are expected to attend the city's festival, that will include concerts, dance shows, a karaoke competition and a fireworks display. Between 7,000 and 10,000 people, armed with waterpistols, took part in a water fight Friday afternoon between a team from the north of the city and the south. A group of teenagers first proposed the idea of a water fight on Facebook, the online social networking site.
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