Festivals and Events
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New Year concerts
Popular concerts take place at various venues in the Greater Copenhagen area to ring in the New Year.
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International Fashion Fair
Autumn and winter collections at the Bella Center.
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National Film Festival
Features more than a hundred films by Danish and international directors.
http://www.natfilm.dk -
Queen Margrethe’s Birthday
At Amalienborg Palace with the royal guards in full ceremonial dress and the queen waving from the balcony at noon.
http://www.copenhagenpictures.dk/queen_bd -
Copenhagen Marathon
26 miles through the streets of the city for fun runners and professionals.
http://www.copenhagenmarathon.dk -
Roskilde Festival
Northern Europe’s largest rock music event.
http://www.roskilde-festival.dk -
Copenhagen Jazz Festival
One of the world’s major jazz events with indoor and outdoor concerts all over the city.
http://www.jazzfestival.dk -
International Ballet Festival
Top performers from the Danish Royal Ballet as well as international names.
http://www.copenhageninternationalballet.com -
Post Danmark Rundt
A gruelling 6 day and almost 900km professional bike race through Denmark.
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Copenhagen Pride
Also known as Mermaid Pride is the annual gay and lesbian parade through Copenhagen.
http://www.mermaidpride.dk -
Golden Days
This festival features art, poetry, theatre, ballet and concerts to commemorate Denmark’s Golden Age (1800-1850).
http://www.goldendays.dk -
Junge Hunde
A festival devoted to stage art.
http://www.jungehunde.dk/2005/default_eng -
Flea Market
Copenhagen’s Bella Centre attracts bargain hunters from all over the country for books, clothes, ceramics and much more.
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Christmas at Tivoli
The gardens are transformed into a winter wonderland with hundreds of thousands of lights and a chance to sample hot glögg (mulled wine spiced with raisins and almonds).
Theatre, Cinema and Opera
The Copenhagen Opera House is one of the most modern in the world. Several hundred square meters of 24 carat gold leaf cover the ceiling, and the walls and balconies are clad in shining maple wood. There are two parts: the main stage is used for the major performances while Takkelloftet is smaller and for experimental performances. Two out of three operas are performed in the Opera House and about a third of the Royal Theatre's ballet performances. Det Kongelige Teater, which first opened in 1748, is the national theatre and its repertoire includes international works, including Shakespeare, as well as classical and contemporary Danish plays. Copenhagen has a boldly experimental theatre scene and smaller local companies vie with one another for audiences. Copenhagen Theatre Circle has been providing high quality drama in English for some 40 years, with at least two full-scale productions every year. Details at www.ctcircle.org.
Copenhagen offers a wide variety of venues, concert halls, churches and other places for listening to your favourite composers, instrumental or vocal performances or symphonic orchestras. There’s a list at www.visitcopenhagen.com/tourist/...
One of the reasons why Scandinavians speak such good English is because films are shown in the original English language and seldom dubbed. Only those aimed at very young audiences will have Danish voices added. Danish movie theatres mainly feature the latest in big-name international films, but they also mix in some classics, art films and Danish titles. At most cinemas, ticket prices vary with the time of the day and the day of the week. The majority of Copenhagen’s cinemas are clustered within a few blocks of each other right in the city centre near the central station and the Radhuspladsen bus terminal. There are a number of film festivals through the year, including:
Copenhagen International Film Festival
Night Film Festival
Copenhagen International Documentary Festival
Copenhagen Gay and Lesbian Film Festival
Copenhagen International Film Festival for Children and YouthMuseums and Galleries
In Copenhagen, about 50 museums all tell their own story about the land, the city and its people. One of the most intriguing is the Viking Ship Museum which displays five reconstructed Viking ships from about AD 1000 which were excavated from the bottom of Roskilde Fjord in 1962. www.vikingeskibsmuseet.dk. At the Nationalmuseet, you can chart the origins of the Danish people. www.natmus.dk.
The Thorvaldsens Museum celebrates the work of the Danish sculptor who donated a stunning collection of items to his na
tive Copenhagen in 1838. www.thorvaldsensmuseum.dk.
The country’s national art gallery is the Statens Museum for Kunst, which features a diverse collection of Danish and international art from the 16th century onwards. www.smk.dk. In Copenhagen, there’s a Guinness World of Records museum, a Tussaud’s wax museum and a Ripley’s Believe It Or Not Museum as well as buildings dedicated to, among other things, theatre, tobacco and erotica.
For Children
Copenhagen is a wonderful place for children, and many so-called adult attractions also appeal to kids. Tivoli Gardens is an obvious choice, as is the statue of The LittleMermaid at Langelinie. Try to see the changing of the Queen's Royal Life Guard at Amalienborg Palace, including the entire parade to and from the royal residence. Kids also enjoy Frilandsmuseet, an open-air museum which consists of 100 historic buildings arranged to provide a sense of Danish rural life from various periods of history. Other attractions great for young ones include Bakken Amusement Park; Denmark’s Aquarium; Eskperimentarium (a hands-on science centre); Louis Tussaud Wax Museum; Tycho Brahe Planetarium and the Zoologisk Have (Copenhagen Zoo). Details on the Copenhagen tourism web-site www.visitcopenhagen.com
