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Events in Denmark 2012

In Denmark you can experience history and culture in surroundings of calming nature as well as part of a pulsating city-life. From festive carnivals, historical re-enactments, food festivals, and nights of culture to the World Santa Claus Congress - Denmark has plenty of exciting events and festivities in the calendar to suit all tastes and ages of traveller. Below are just a few examples of what is taking place this year in the Danish capital and around the country.

Cycling race
Catwalk
Weekends throughout the year: Finn Juhl Centennial celebration
World-famous Danish designer, Finn Juhl would have turned 100 on January 30, 2012. His design legacy is alive throughout the world but nowhere as much as at Ordrupgaard Museum in Charlottenlund, just north of Copenhagen. There you’ll find Juhl’s home preserved, just as he left it, filled with furniture of his own design and artwork by contemporary artists of his day.

All year: ARoS - Your Rainbow Panorama
Find the end (and the beginning) of the rainbow in an outstanding, permanent artwork by Danish/Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson at ARoS Museum of Modern Art in Aarhus. Your rainbow panorama is sure to give its audience an unforgettable experience.
Throughout February: WonderCOOL
Throughout February, the Danish capital is totally WonderCOOL, celebrating a wonderful mix of design, music, fashion and gastronomy with more than 100 events taking place. Copenhagen Jazz Festival, the Danish Design Centre, Copenhagen Fashion Week, Copenhagen Cooking and the brand new FROST rock festival have joined forces to make February a cool time to be in Copenhagen.
 
May 5-7: Giro D’Italia
A first not just for Denmark, but for Scandinavia. This famous cycling race is this year starting off from Jutland, West Denmark. You too can watch the cyclists live at both Horsens and Herning.

May 30-June 3: Copenhagen Distortion
Celebrating street life and club culture – Copenhagen Distortion is a crazy annual party cavalcade, orchestrating 101+ parties in 101+ different locations with 101+ different hosts. Massive street party celebrations take place during the festival and it is free of charge.

May 25-27: Copenhagen Carnival
You do not have to go to Rio to take part in a real carnival. In Copenhagen you will experience fantastic costumes, samba dancing and lots of colorful acts when the annual Copenhagen Carnival hits the streets.

July 1-8: Roskilde Festival
Roskilde Festival is the largest North European rock festival and has been so since its start in 1971. It is an annual week-long international music festival offering performances by some of the best rock stars in the world.
 
July 6-15: Copenhagen Jazz Festival
Copenhagen Jazz Festival is one of the largest and most respected music events of its kind in Europe. Over the years, it has become the meeting point for Jazz enthusiasts from all over the world. With over 250,000 guests per year, this festival is just getting better and better. Copenhagen has a long jazz tradition and a close link to the international jazz scene, going back to the late 50’s when many jazz musicians came to Copenhagen to record and perform.

July 23-25: World Santa Claus Congress
The annual congress is a chance to put on that hot, itchy red outfit in the middle of the summer. The ho-ho-hos have been practiced in Denmark for the last 55 years. Danish entertainer, Professor Tribini, created the unusual tradition in 1957.

August 1-5: Copenhagen Fashion Week
Every February and August, Copenhagen plays host to northern Europe's largest fashion fair; Copenhagen Fashion Week. On the catwalks are a vast number of new and known Danish talents showcasing their upcoming collections, and at the trade fairs; Copenhagen International Fashion Fair – CIFF, CPH Vision and Gallery, you will find more than 1,100 exhibitors representing over 2,300 international fashion labels! Much is for trade only, but there are still many fashion events in the city open for all.

August 15-19: Copenhagen Pride
Copenhagen Pride is a weeklong festival celebrating Denmark’s gay and lesbian community. The festival culminates with a parade through the city.

August 19-September 4: Copenhagen Cooking
Copenhagen will be alive and cooking with everything the Nordic cuisine has to offer during the annual Copenhagen Cooking festival. Visit food expos and street kitchens, learn how to cook like a pro, or give your children control of the ingredients. Eat at reduced prices at some of the best Michelin starred restaurants in the world and experience why Copenhagen is Europe’s new food heaven.
Vikings
Jazz Festival
August 24-25: The European Medieval Festival
Each year during the last weekend in August, the streets of Horsens in Jutland are filled with sounds of cheerful buskers, snaps from crossbows, and merry medieval music, when the European Medieval Festival conquers the streets along with its 100.000 visitors from around the world.

August 31-9 September: Aarhus Festival Week
Aarhus is renowned as a centre of art and culture, with plenty of events and happenings over the course of the year to add spice to any city break. A particular highlight of every
summer season is the Aarhus Festival, one of the largest cultural events in the whole of Scandinavia. This week-long extravaganza brings world-class opera, ballet, theatre, music and much more to the city centre.

September: Kopenhagen Contemporary
More than ever, Danish artists are achieving international recognition and turning Copenhagen into a pulsating art scene. September is the perfect month to explore what the city has to offer when it comes to the visual arts.

September: Copenhagen Design Week
Definitions of Danish design have filled countless books and newspaper articles over the last few decades, but its essence is to be found in timeless simplicity, quality materials and functionality. One thing is certain; Danes are among the leaders in world design. Every September Copenhagen is buzzing with exhibitions, furniture fairs, open showrooms, parties and lots of other activities showcasing Danish design.

September 9-18: Golden Days Festival in Copenhagen
The purpose of this historical festival is to enlighten, entertain and engage the residents of Copenhagen - and everyone else - in the city's history. The festival's profile ranges from popular to high culture. In 2012 the theme is the 1950’s, From Cold War to a New Youth Culture.

October 12: Night of Culture
A great time to visit Denmark’s cultural attractions is during the Night of Culture festivities when a plethora of cultural events take place across the country. On this occasion, museums, churches, exhibition halls, galleries and libraries are transformed into stages for musical performances, poetry readings, art exhibitions and more.

October: Copenhagen Blues Festival
Copenhagen Blues Festival presents an abundance of great international and homegrown blues music. The festival is a so-called city club festival, not taking place at one specific venue or large stage but rather spread out over the various clubs and venues in the city.

October: Halloween in Tivoli
Witches and carved pumpkins, fun and scary thrills. Halloween in Tivoli Gardens will definitely be frightening experience.

November: CPH DOX Festival
CPH:DOX, Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival, is the largest documentary film festival in Scandinavia. Each year the festival fills Copenhagen cinemas with a selection of more than 200 docu-mentary films from around the world. CPH:DOX is devoted to supporting independent and innovative film and presents the latest trends in non-fiction, art cinema and experimental film.

December: Christmas Markets and Christmas atmosphere
The magical Christmas Market in Tivoli Gardens, in the heart of Copenhagen, offers beautiful light decorations and cosy wooden stalls selling different Christmas items. This year 2011, Tivoli Gardens celebrates a Russian inspired Christmas with the launch of a 2000 m2 Russian city within the amusement park. Among the attractions of the Russian city is a Tivoli version of St. Basil's Cathedral at the Red Square in the Kremlin, featuring a 21 m tower with onion domes and a carillon.

December: Christmas in the Old Town (Den gamle By)
In the open air museum, Den Gamle By in Aarhus in Jutland you can experience how Danes have celebrated Christmas over the centuries. Exciting activities await the entire family with historical shops, traditional Danish treats and a Christmas market with entertainment each weekend.
Monday, December 05 2011
For all information on travelling to Denmark, please go to: www.visitdenmark.com  

Getting there…
Denmark is easily accessible by both flight and ferry from the UK.

SAS Scandinavian Airlines and Easyjet offer direct flights to Copenhagen, Norwegian offers direct flights to both Copenhagen and Aalborg while Ryanair offers direct flights to Aarhus and Billund.

DFDS Seaways offers a regular service of overnight departures between Harwich and Esbjerg.
For further information...
please contact Astrid Ruffhead, Press Officer, VisitDenmark UK
E: ar@visitdenmark.com, T: 020 720103970