Swedish nurses go viral with bizarre fitness video

What do you get if you mix a group of medical staff, a world famous Swedish disco tune, and fears of rising obesity? A hospital-themed fitness video that went viral in Sweden in just a few hours, of course. The Local has spoken to one of the orthopaedic nurses behind the unusual smash hit.

t was certainly an unexpected hit. But a spoof fitness video recorded by a group of nurses at the orthopaedic clinic at the Norrland University Hospital in Sweden’s far north became one of the main topics of conversation in the Nordic country on Wednesday.

To the tune of Swedish Eurodance group Alcazar’s tune ‘Stay the Night’, orthopaedic nurses Linda Åström and Erica Prytz dance around the hospital in the clip, singing their renamed version ‘Kom i form’ (‘Get in shape’), written by their colleague Cecilia Lundberg.

“We released it yesterday and this morning it had had over 50,000 views on YouTube. Many people have told me that ‘okay, now I know what song I’ll be listening to on my runs from now on’,” Åström laughed as she described the internet sensation to The Local on Wednesday.

The timely video came as new figures from the World Health Organization warned that almost one in four Swedes are predicted to be obese by 2030.

“[Obesity] seems to have become a problem, with more and more people turning to junk food. A lot of people would benefit even from just moving around a bit more than they currently do,” said Åström.

It is not the first time staff at the hospital in Umeå have become social media celebrities. They previously had a smash with a recruitment video to the melody of Queen’s ‘We are the Champions’.

“We got help from the production company Neat Solution this time, so it looks more professional than our previous videos. But we had no idea it was going to become this huge. I think that it could be because we address an important topic in a different and humouristic way,” said Åström.

Formed in 1999, Swedish Eurodance group Alcazar are one of Sweden’s most successful music groups of all time, with hits such as ‘Crying at the Discoteque’, ‘This is the World We Live In’, and of course ‘Stay the Night’ played on dance floors worldwide. And the Umeå nurses’ new cover of the latter even got the blessing of one of the original tune’s composers on Wednesday.

Mårten Sandén, who wrote ‘Stay the Night’ together with Anders Hansson and Alcazar, shared the video on Facebook, writing: “The orthopaedic department in Umeå has to have the country’s most creative and ambitious staff. In addition to their important work in the clinic, they create entirely voluntary wellness videos to popular melodies. Anders Hansson, Alcazar and I feel honoured that they chose Stay the Night this time!”

 

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