What a line-up for Sweden ... Borg, ABBA, IKEA

The land of smorgasbord and Saab might have a reputation for dullness, but it's totally undeserved. To mark the meeting of our two great nations, here are 10 revered Scandinavians who would liven up any party, as hand-picked by

King Gustavus Adolphus 1594-1632

The Swedes are supposed to be peaceful, but nobody mentioned that to King Gus, who led them into the Thirty Years War which kicked off in 1618. In 1632, the Swedes beat the Germans at Lutzen, but Gus missed the Final when he was dragged from his horse and murdered.

Alfred Nobel 1833-96

The Stockholm-born chemist invented dynamite, but was upset when the world used his discovery to blow people up. What else did he expect? In a humanitarian gesture, he left his fortune to a foundation which funds annual awards in fields of peace, medicine, physics, chemistry and literature.

August Strindberg 1849-1912

If you discount the linguistic genius behind ABBA's work, Strindberg was the greatest Swedish writer ever. He had what you might call a full life. Strindberg began as a newspaper reporter and worked his way up to become a manic depressive, a misogynist and an alcoholic. He married three times, but never happily. The poor chap died a solitary, miserable death. But that's the way he would have wanted to go. Two of his least unpopular works are a play called The Dance Of Death and a novel entitled Loneliness. That gives you a flavour.

Greta Garbo 1905-1990

"I want to be alone," the lady said, and she wasn't kidding. After travelling from her native Stockholm to Hollywood, Garbo became the world's biggest female star. But disenchanted with the picture business, she packed it in early and lived as a recluse in a New York apartment for the last 30 years of her life. As enigmatic, camera-shy hermits go, she made Howard Hughes look like Michael Barrymore.

Ingrid Bergman 1915-82

If there was a World Cup for the sexiest film stars of all time, Bergman, representing Sweden, would certainly be in the Final. She might win that clash on penalties against England, in the figure of Julie Christie, possibly, but we'll never know. One thing is for sure. The shimmering, sophisticated cool she showed in Casablanca makes the current crop of Hollywood leading ladies look like a bunch of blowsy street-walkers. Harsh? Perhaps. But director David Selznick was convinced. He said: "The minute I looked at her I knew I had something. She had an extraordinary quality of purity and nobility and a definite star personality that is rare."