It's Sweden, not Switzerland!

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In 2022, Joe Biden confused Switzerland with Sweden at a press conference on Sweden's accession to NATO. Then there was the Swedish national anthem played instead of the Swiss during the Champions League ice hockey tournament, and the Swiss flag hoisted at the New York Stock Exchange for the launch of Swedish giant Spotify... Not to mention a poll in which 43% of Britons and 50% of Americans admitted they couldn't tell the two countries apart

“Leaders and citizens of Switzerland, this is a message from Sweden. It’s time we made the distinction between our two countries as clear as day”, declares the Swedish actress Emma Peters in English. In a solemn speech, the actress proposes the signing of an agreement between the two countries, each with its own characteristics. For example, the Swiss keep their banks and the Swedes keep their sandbanks. The Swiss, the mountain tops, and Sweden, the rooftop parties. It's a long list that could be summed up as follows: if you like high mountains, money and tradition, go to Switzerland. But if you prefer wild landscapes, the avant-garde and ecology, choose Sweden.

For Visit Sweden, this campaign also aims to highlight Sweden's identity, attracting responsible tourists who prefer tagskryt (bragging about taking the train) to flying, and lagom (not too much, not too little) to the glitz and glamour of luxury hotels. This is tourism that blends modernity and moderation, a sort of call to the happy frugality long embodied by Scandinavian countries. A hashtag (#SwedenNotSwitzerland) has been set up and no fewer than 15,000 Swiss have posted critical comments, such as, “Yes, Ikea is indeed a Swedish company. Except that its founder Ingvar Kamprad has chosen to live in Lausanne for tax reasons. Confusing, isn't it?” So far, the Swiss tourist board has remained silent. Behind the scenes, however, word is that they are preparing a tit-for-tat response. Stay tuned…