There is a country in the world with 267,570 islands, a record, with a great desire to share them. We are obviously talking about Sweden and a truly curious initiative: through the official tourist agency Visit Sweden and in collaboration with the National Property Board, it has launched “Your Swedish Island”, an international competition that offers five private islands as prizes for an entire year. They are not for sale, nor for rent, but only for safekeeping, and will go to anyone who can explain and motivate, in a minute of video, why they should deserve a similar opportunity.
The project is open to international travelers from around the world, with one exclusion clause that has made the rounds in the global press: billionaires can’t participate. To be precise, anyone with a net worth of more than one billion Swedish crowns – around 94 million euros, you just need to be 93 to participate, how nice these Swedes – is out of the game. A deliberate, almost philosophical choice, where the luxury that Sweden wants to talk about does not belong to those who can already buy everything. A luxury that would like to be “democratic”.
The five islands
The selected islands are Medbådan, Flisan, Storberget, Tjuvholmen and Marsten, each with a distinct personality. Tjuvholmen is located on Lake Vänern, covered with pine and fir forests, frequented by terns, gulls and sea eagles. Medbådan, shaped by the last glaciation, can be reached by canoe and provides calm waters for swimming. Storberget and Marsten instead overlook the Baltic Sea, with open horizons and salty winds.
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Each island is remote, but not unreachable: each is located within a reasonable distance from a local community, close enough to stock up at the shop or take part in the Midsommar celebrations, the famous midsummer festival.
What it means to be “guardian of an island”
As mentioned, the winner will not become the owner of the island, mind you: he will receive an official diploma, a right of use contract (nyttjande-/upplåtelseavtal) lasting twelve months and a return flight to Sweden (worth around 20,000 SEK). You will be able to camp, swim, invite friends, and live according to the rhythm of nature. However, he will not be able to rename the island, start commercial activities or prevent access to other visitors, because Sweden has the Allemansrätten, the public right of access to nature, which guarantees everyone the freedom to move in the natural territory.
These are the words of Susanne Andersson, CEO of Visit Sweden, released to the magazine afar.com:
Our goal was to reflect the extraordinary geographical and ecological diversity that characterizes Sweden and to demonstrate that the term ‘luxury’ can have very different meanings depending on which part of the country you are in. Each island is a true universe in its own right
How to apply
To participate, simply record a video in vertical format (9:16), lasting a maximum of one minute, upload it to the official website visitsweden.com and explain why you should deserve an island all to yourself (here you will find the form to register).
Applications will close by midnight on 17 April 2026, then the jury will announce the winners in May. Sharing the video on social media with the hashtag #YourSwedishIsland and @visitsweden will increase the chances of selection, although it is not a mandatory step. As mentioned above, in addition to the island the prize includes a return trip to Sweden. The competition is reserved for non-residents of Sweden, with a minimum age of 18. And, of course, to non-billionaires.
