You could probably call this the Fat Bear Week of Sweden — millions of viewers are expected to tune into a livestream of moose migrating. The event is known as Den stora älgvandringen, which translates to The Great Moose Migration or The Great Elk Trek. It’s a roughly three-week event in which moose migrate to their preferred summer habitats.
Swedish public broadcaster SVT has been hosting a livestream of the migration on its on-demand platform since 2019. The first year it drew about a million viewers, but in 2024 that number had grown to 9 million. According to devoted viewer Ulla Malmgren, there’s just something wonderful about the fact that so many people want to tune in and cheer on the moose as they navigate the difficult landscape.
It’s no small feat to bring the migration to the masses, either. SVT had to start the show on Tuesday, a week ahead of schedule, because the weather has been warmer than usual and so the moose have been getting an early start. But the crew of 15 is ready, with 20,000 meters of cables and more than 30 remote video and night vision cameras. They operate out of a control room in Umeå, 400 miles north of Stockholm. “There are a lot of moose about,” said producer Stefan Edlund. “They’re waiting for us. We’ve had to adjust. But it should be OK.”
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