The State Prepares for War: Now We Will Practice Mass Evacuations

For the first time in over 60 years, exercises for mass evacuation of civilians in Sweden will resume this autumn. The first exercise will take place on Gotland and aims to ensure that Swedish authorities can handle a situation where large parts of the population need to be evacuated in the event of a crisis or war.

During the autumn’s exercise on Gotland, up to 300 volunteers will act as extras and be evacuated using local buses, as a realistic simulation of a crisis situation.

An even larger exercise is planned for northern Sweden in 2027, where more civilians and resources will be involved. The purpose is to give authorities practical experience in logistics, communication, and coordination during a large-scale evacuation.

Historically, several mass evacuation exercises were conducted in the 1950s and 1960s. The largest of these took place in Stockholm in 1961 and gathered 30,000 participants. That was also the last time Sweden tested preparedness at this level.

“A Signal to the Outside World”

By resuming the exercises, Swedish authorities want to both strengthen internal preparedness and signal capability and determination to the outside world.

– That being said, it sends a signal to the outside world that we can handle it, says Alf Söderman, Director of Defense at the Gotland County Administrative Board, to Swedish Radio.