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NYSE hung the Swiss flag instead of Swedish flag for Spotify’s IPO

NYSE hung the Swiss flag instead of Swedish flag for Spotify’s IPO

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Music Streaming Service Spotify Goes Public On The New York Stock Exchange
Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Spotify launched its initial public offering (IPO) today at the New York Stock Exchange, but unfortunately things didn’t start off on the right foot.

The NYSE hung the flag of Switzerland rather than Sweden outside the building beside two American flags. But Spotify is based in Stockholm, Sweden and not Switzerland. They aren’t even neighbors.

The NYSE swapped the flag today and tweeted a statement about the mistake, with a joke that gave a nod to Switzerland’s international role, “We hope everyone enjoyed our momentary ode to our neutral role in the process of price discovery this morning.”

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

The NYSE also tweeted, in a since-deleted tweet, that “Our flag guy was rocking his Spotify playlist a little hard this morning and grabbed the wrong flag.”

The Swedish-American Chamber of Commerce New England appeared not to be offended by the error, as it tweeted in response that it was a common mistake to get the two European countries mixed up. We’ve reached out to Spotify for its reaction.