Friday 25 October 1963 | Live | Sundsta Läroverk, Karlstad, Sweden
On 25 October 1963, the Beatles opened their Swedish concert tour with two shows at Sundsta Läroverk in Karlstad. The performances took place in the school’s Nya Aulan hall, with shows listed at 7pm and 9pm.
It was the beginning of a compact run of nine concerts in five days, taking the group from Karlstad to Stockholm, Gothenburg, Borås and Eskilstuna. The school-hall setting offers a striking contrast with the huge international venues that would follow later in their career.
The Swedish visit had already included a radio recording. Our Karlaplansstudion article for 24 October 1963 covers that separate Stockholm session. It should not be confused with the opening ticketed tour concerts in Karlstad.
Karlstad 1963: the essential concert facts
| Date | Friday 25 October 1963 |
|---|---|
| Venue | Sundsta Läroverk, Nya Aulan |
| City | Karlstad, Sweden |
| Performances | Two, listed at 7pm and 9pm |
| Reported set length | Approximately 25 minutes per show |
| Tour position | Opening two concerts of the autumn Swedish tour |
| Tour scope | Nine shows, 25–29 October 1963 |
| Reported ticket range | 12–20 Swedish kronor |
| Reported hall capacity | 750 |
| Setlist status | Likely repertoire, not a verified show-by-show running order |
From Stockholm to Karlstad
The group travelled from Stockholm to Karlstad for the opening concerts. The retrospective account describes a journey of roughly 300 kilometres through snow, with all four Beatles in one car and a larger convoy carrying the touring party and equipment.
The same account places their overnight stay at Karlstad’s Stadshotellet, with John Lennon and Paul McCartney sharing one room and George Harrison and Ringo Starr another. These are reported travel details, rather than a surviving minute-by-minute itinerary of their arrival.
The journey also underlines the practical scale of the visit. The tour involved repeated travel between cities as well as multiple performances on individual days, rather than a single Swedish showcase.
Two shows in a secondary-school hall
The venue was a hall in Sundsta Läroverk, a secondary school. The name Sundstaaulan also appears in concert listings, referring to the auditorium setting rather than an entirely different Karlstad engagement.
Each Beatles performance is reported as lasting around 25 minutes. That short format should be understood as the group’s contribution to a wider bill, not compared directly with a modern three-hour solo concert.
The dated account gives a hall capacity of 750 and an audience of around 600 for each show. Other retrospective descriptions use a roughly three-quarter-full estimate, so the attendance is best treated as approximate rather than as an audited ticket count.
Ticket prices are reported at 12–20 Swedish kronor. Those are historical prices, not present-day equivalents, and no modern purchasing-power conversion is implied.
The Beatles and the supporting bill
- John Lennon — vocals and guitar.
- Paul McCartney — vocals and bass guitar.
- George Harrison — guitar and vocals.
- Ringo Starr — drums and vocals.
Accounts of the supporting bill identify Svend Miller’s Popstars and The Phantoms; a fuller retrospective description names Ken Levy and the Phantoms and also includes Jack Dailey. The surviving summaries do not justify treating every shortened bill as a complete list.
By this stage, the four Beatles familiar from their recording career were together on stage. Their programme mixed original songs with material drawn from the group’s rock ’n’ roll and vocal-group repertoire.
The likely Karlstad setlist
The following nine titles are commonly reconstructed for the Swedish concerts. They are retained as a useful guide to the likely repertoire, not as a verified recording-based running order for both Karlstad shows.
- Roll Over Beethoven
- Please Please Me
- I Saw Her Standing There
- From Me To You
- A Taste Of Honey
- Boys
- She Loves You
- Twist And Shout
- Long Tall Sally
The exact order is not secure: retrospective accounts differ, including over the opening number. Listing the titles without numbering avoids turning one reconstruction into a certainty.
The repertoire gives a good sense of the concert’s range. Beatles originals such as “Please Please Me”, “From Me To You” and “She Loves You” sat beside forceful covers and the contrasting melody of “A Taste Of Honey”.
Complete autumn 1963 Swedish concert itinerary
The tour comprised nine performances across five dates. Every show is listed separately below so the three-show Gothenburg day and the double-show dates are not lost in a city-only summary.
- 25 October 1963, 7pm — Sundsta Läroverk, Karlstad — this article
- 25 October 1963, 9pm — Sundsta Läroverk, Karlstad — this article
- 26 October 1963, 5pm — Kungliga Tennishallen, Stockholm
- 26 October 1963, 8pm — Kungliga Tennishallen, Stockholm
- 27 October 1963, 3pm — Cirkus, Gothenburg
- 27 October 1963, 5pm — Cirkus, Gothenburg
- 27 October 1963, 8pm — Cirkus, Gothenburg
- 28 October 1963 — Boråshallen, Borås
- 29 October 1963 — Sporthallen, Eskilstuna
Other tour-concert articles were not identified in the archive search for this post, so those dates remain plain text, ready to link as coverage grows. The Stockholm radio session on 24 October is related coverage but is not counted as one of these nine tour concerts.
A first Swedish concert, not a first foreign performance
Karlstad opened the Beatles’ Swedish concert run. It should not be described as their first-ever performance outside Britain: their Hamburg engagements had already taken them abroad.
That distinction preserves what makes this date important without rewriting the earlier history. Sweden was a new concert destination for the group, while the experience of working away from Britain was not new.
Venue map: Sundsta, Karlstad
The map identifies the Sundsta school location in Karlstad for geographical context. It is not a plan of the 1963 auditorium, its seating or the stage used for the two performances.
Frequently asked questions
Where did the Beatles play on 25 October 1963?
At Sundsta Läroverk in Karlstad, Sweden, in the school’s Nya Aulan hall.
How many Karlstad shows were there?
Two, listed at 7pm and 9pm, with Beatles performances reported at about 25 minutes each.
How many concerts were on the Swedish tour?
Nine, across five dates from 25 to 29 October 1963.
Is the Karlstad setlist certain?
No. The nine titles are a likely repertoire reconstruction, not a verified running order for both shows.
Were these the Beatles’ first performances outside Britain?
No. Their Hamburg engagements preceded Sweden. Karlstad opened this Swedish concert tour.
Was the previous day’s radio recording part of the nine-show count?
No. The 24 October Stockholm radio session was a separate engagement and is linked as related coverage.
Continue exploring: Stockholm radio session, 24 October 1963 · Complete Swedish concert itinerary · On This Day in Beatles History.
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