Purple Flag
We want a vibrant, safe and attractive city center, which feels welcoming and invites to activity and stay. Since the fall of 2016, Purple Flag has been working together and through broad collaboration to create an equal, safe and attractive city with a varied range of activities for everyone, even after 17:00.
The Purple Flag method comes from England and in Sweden it is Svenska Stadskärnor that trains in the process and certifies the action plans that are developed. The action plans are concrete and have an implementation period of two years. The work is then evaluated and a new action plan is produced for recertification. In Helsingborg, HBG City owns the process.
The purple color symbolizes the warm and safe evening light.
We have three Purple Flag areas in Helsingborg
Maria torg
The area around Maria Torg is Helsingborg’s first Purple Flag process. It started in January 2016 and the action plan was certified in the fall of 2017. In December 2019, October 2021 and October 2023 we were recertified for new updated action plans. 2019 we expanded the area, so that our different Purple Flag areas are connected.
Söder
In connection with the certification of Helsingborg C in 2018, we started the Purple Flag work at Söder. There is a lot going on at Söder right now and the work with Purple Flag is part of the site collaboration Älskade Söder. In November 2020, we were certified for our action plan for the area and in November 2022 we were recertified for a new updated action plan.
Helsingborg C
In July 2017, the Purple Flag process started for the Helsingborg C area, a natural continuation of the Purple Flag work around Maria Torg. We were certified for our action plan for the area in October 2018 and in November 2020, November 2022 and October 2024 we were recertified for new updated action plans.
Map of our areas
The area within the oval shows Helsingborg’s Purple Flag areas: Maria Torg, Helsingborg C and Söder. On Söder, the solid area within the oval refers to the primary area for businesses. The area with dots is the primary area for residents and students.
Purple Flag City of the Year 2018
In 2018, we won the Purple Flag City of the Year award for our work towards a vibrant and inviting city center, which feels bright, warm and safe with a wide range of offerings – even after 17.
– “We are extremely happy and proud of this award. There is a lot of hard work behind it and many of us are part of this,” says Ann-Charlotte Wedelsbäck, process manager for Purple Flag.
– “This award shows that we are on the right track in how we work together to develop our city center. We are used to planning for the daytime, but as we get more restaurants in the city center, the experience of the city during the evening and night becomes increasingly important, says Hanna Candell, CEO of Helsingborg City.
Since the fall of 2016, we have been working with Purple Flag. In October 2017, our action plan for the area around Maria torg was certified (recertified in 2019 and 2021) and in October 2018, the action plan for Helsingborg Central was certified (recertified in 2020 and 2022). The action plan for Söder was certified in 2020 (recertified in 2022).
Motivation:
Helsingborg has thoroughly incorporated the Purple Flag experience into its political and commercial decisions. The city has made major physical changes to the cityscape and rallied key stakeholders behind its efforts.
In its self-analysis, it has been honest and transparent about its strengths and weaknesses, giving it the power and energy to improve and develop. With the vision of more people choosing to visit the city more often, stay longer and experience something worth sharing, Purple Flag has become an accepted way of working with the intention of developing the work further in more areas to make the city safer and better, day and night.
Helsingborg is a very good example of how Purple Flag unites and improves the possibilities of creating an attractive evening economy and they can proudly hold the purple flag high!
