Council targets rowdy revellers with lollipops
Free candy is to be handed out to encourage calm summer nights in the Swedish city of Karlstad, with 10,000 lollipops distributed to revellers in the early hours of Saturday and Sunday.
“We have orange, green, yellow, pink, blue… Everything from raspberry to orange, so I am sure we have something for everyone,” said Matilda Hansson of the local authority behind the scheme, to local paper Nya Wermlandstidningen (NWT)
From this Friday night, volunteers will be distributing the colourful array of sweets on the streets of Karlstad to the general public as they emerge from the bars and clubs at closing time.
The scheme, which has had its inspiration from similar efforts in Derbyshire in the UK, was first tested in Karlstad on New Years Eve when volunteers distributed bags of onion rings to the public when the bars closed. According to Hansson it was a great success.
“People were happy to get a snack in the early hours – and also someone to chat to. We thought that a follow up was in order,“ said Hansson in a statement.
She said that the contact with those who dole out the sweets could be as important as the lollipop itself. Giving out lollipops will therefore be one way of making contact and increase safety on Karlstad’s streets during the summer.
“You are seen and heard by someone, and you get something to do for a short while,“ she said to NWT.
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“We have orange, green, yellow, pink, blue… Everything from raspberry to orange, so I am sure we have something for everyone,” said Matilda Hansson of the local authority behind the scheme, to local paper Nya Wermlandstidningen (NWT)
From this Friday night, volunteers will be distributing the colourful array of sweets on the streets of Karlstad to the general public as they emerge from the bars and clubs at closing time.
The scheme, which has had its inspiration from similar efforts in Derbyshire in the UK, was first tested in Karlstad on New Years Eve when volunteers distributed bags of onion rings to the public when the bars closed. According to Hansson it was a great success.
“People were happy to get a snack in the early hours – and also someone to chat to. We thought that a follow up was in order,“ said Hansson in a statement.
She said that the contact with those who dole out the sweets could be as important as the lollipop itself. Giving out lollipops will therefore be one way of making contact and increase safety on Karlstad’s streets during the summer.
“You are seen and heard by someone, and you get something to do for a short while,“ she said to NWT.
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