Queue to quaff? Pandemic poses problems for Sweden's state booze monopoly


  • World
  • Thursday, 11 Mar 2021

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - On a chilly Saturday in central Stockholm, around 150 people queue on a street, squinting into the low sun, checking their watches and hoping to make it into Systembolaget - Sweden's state alcohol monopoly - before it shuts at 3 p.m.

"This is the last chance to buy alcohol before Monday," says musician Calle Lehman as he stands in the ever-expanding line. "The big Saturday afternoon queue is a bit of a tradition."

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