In 2010, the Lenin Award had gotten company by the Robespierre Prize and both awards were given out April 10th at Varberg Theatre, in front of an audience of nearly 250 people. This year's Lenin Award laureate was Roy Andersson and Kajsa Ekis Ekman received the first Robespierre Prize.
In addition to curious Varberg residents, the festivities attracted guests from all over Sweden and from Stockholm there was a chartered bus. The award ceremony was led by Lasse Diding and got a smashing start with a performance by Guldapan, a local “Blå Tåget”, that raised the temperature. They were followed by Tomas Bolme, Anders Forslund and Stefan Ringbom, all members of Fria Proteatern, who sang songs by Vladimir Vysotsky and some well-known numbers from the glory days of Fria Proteatern, among other things to honour the recently departed Gunnar Ohrlander, one of the group’s writers, as well as a member of the Jan Myrdal Society.
Jan Myrdal gave his speech to the award-winners, and chairman of the Jan Myrdal Society, Cecilia Cervin, elaborated on the justifications for the board’s election of award-winners and presented them. The award-winners thanked with spontaneous, inspired speeches and the photographers filled the stage. “I’ve never been to a better event. To meet people who show a seriousness and express it in a brilliant manner has been amazing. I hope the Jan Myrdal Society will be a treasure for Varberg that will outlive us all and become a new fortress in the city”, Roy Andersson concluded his acceptance speech.
After the almost three-hour program, the Jan Myrdal Society held their annual general meeting at Hotell Gästis. Then the hotel guests got the opportunity to enjoy the fantastic Lenin Spa. The evening ended with dinner at Hotell Gästis with top-notch entertainment by Lucas Stark and K-G Westman, for the evening renamed Leninz, with guitars, double bass and singing, eventually complemented by Anders Forslund’s double bass and a lovely violin. Anders and Stefan Ringbom sang a few more songs when Leninz paused. In the small hours, Roy Andersson showed his favourite film Bicycle Thieves and commented on scenes from it.