City Hall’s largest banquet venue is the Blue Hall. Original plans called for the bricks in the hall to be painted blue but the architect had a last-minute change of heart and chose to keep the natural red color of the bricks instead. At this point however the name Blue Hall was so firmly established that it was too late to change it, and the name remained despite the fact that the hall isn’t blue at all.

The Blue Hall houses one of Northern Europe’s largest organs which has some 10 000 pipes and 135 stops. The Blue Hall is probably best known as the venue for the world-famous Nobel Banquet which takes place on December 10 every year. Following the Nobel Prize ceremony at Stockholm’s Concert Hall some 1,300 guests make their way to City Hall for the sumptuous banquet. 

After an exquisite meal in the Blue Hall, the Nobel banquet guests make their way up the stairway to the dance in the Golden Hall. The walls of the Golden Hall are covered with more than 18 million glass and gold mosaic pieces, the work of artist Einar Forseth. Using a Byzantine inspired style the mosaics depict portraits of historical figures and events in Swedish history.

The hall is dominated by the ”Queen of Lake Mälaren” on the northern wall which represents Stockholm being honoured by the East and the West.

Directly across the Civic Court lies the Council Chamber where Stockholm’s City Council meets every third Monday. The meetings are open to the public. The interior of the Council Chamber is majestic and its 19 meter-high ceiling takes its inspiration from the Swedish Viking Age. The public gallery has room for about 200 spectators. 

The furniture was designed by Carl Malmsten and the textiles by Maja Sjöström.

The Vault of the Hundred serves as the City Hall’s entrance of honour, and leads directly to the banquetting halls. The vaulted ceiling is made up of one hundred segments. On the balcony on the northern wall, you find the Saint George clock-work figures. In the summer, at 12.00 and 18.00, these figures appear on a balcony outside, while the bells in the tower play the 15th century ”Song of St. George”.

The Oval is a vaulted antechamber whose name derives from its oval shape. The walls of The Oval are covered with a series of five, 300 year-old tapestries. These tapestries were made in Beauvais in France. Every Saturday civil wedding services and partnership registrations are conducted in the Oval.

The Prince’s Gallery, which runs along City Hall’s southern long side is primarily used for receptions of honoured guests. The French windows running the length of the Gallery’s south side offer a stunning view of Lake Mälaren and Södermalm. This panorama is reflected on the Gallery’s opposite wall in the form of an al fresco called “Stockholm’s Shores” created by Prince Eugen, artist and brother of the Swedish King Gustav V.

The Three Crowns Chamber is named after the three chandeliers which hang from the beamed ceiling. The southern and northern walls are covered with silk brocades woven in China. Among the paintings in the room you find Elias Martin’s ”View from Mosebacke” painted in the 1790s.

Every year since 1930, with few exceptions, the Nobel Prize Banquet has been held in the City Hall. Following the prize ceremony at Stockholm Concert Hall, some 1,300 people, including 250 students, make their way to the City Hall for one of the world's most exclusive banquets. The guests include the Nobel Laureates, their families, the Swedish Royal Family, representatives of the Swedish Government and other distinguished guests from all over the world.

Read more about the Nobel Prize here