CPH Post 28 February - 12 March 2020 by The Copenhagen Post

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February has again seen a greater influx of tourists visiting Copenhagen than in previous years, but at what cost to the capital?

Discover why so many Danes are visiting the Philippines, a nation where unlimited fun can be spent under the sun on sandy beaches and scuba diving

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CPHPOST.DK 28 Feb - 12 Mar 2020

LOCAL Shorter sentence than expected for Britta Nielsen

TRANSPORT

Denmark's Dr Beeching? Transport minister either a genius or a wally

SUPER'LÆKKER'!

Nothing for Sherlock to worry about! BEN HAMILTON

NATIONAL Longer hours beckon with foreign labour in freefall

6 BUSINESS

Them and US States sales soar: now our biggest trade market!

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VER THE first ten months of 2019, 489 Brits were granted Danish citizenship – over three times the number during the same period in 2017.

grate to Denmark, the situation will change, though. “After 1 January 2021, they will become third-country nationals,” said Tesfaye. “Then the same rules will apply to them as anyone who immigrates from outside the EU.”

No worries SINCE Brexit, the number of applications from the 18,500-strong community has been soaring. However, according to Mattias Tesfaye, the integration and immigration minister, Brits with residence permits have nothing to worry about. “If you already have a residence permit in Denmark, your rights will be continued. We have made sure of that, and we have no intention of changing that,” he told DR. For Brits who want to immi-

Sherlock’s suspicions DR TOPPED off its coverage by finding a ‘new Dane’ with the most British-sounding name possible: Gary Sherlock. And like Sherlock Holmes, he is looking between the lines. “I don't think you want to send us home, but you never know,” he said at his citizenship ceremony in Holstebro. “Besides, it is much easier when me and my family can travel around Europe on a Danish passport,” he added.

10-15 Cultural travel concerns

Wetter than the sea

TV2 REPORTS that young Danes from minority backgrounds are increasingly feeling pressured into sampling the culture of their parents – invariably the Muslim country their folks immigrated from. According to figures from the RED Center, the number complaining that their families plan to immerse them in another culture has more than doubled since 2014, from 70 to 158 last year.

STRONG wind, heavy rainfall and flooding due to high water levels – mostly timed over the weekends – has made it a testing month for Denmark, which is on course for its wettest ever February and warmest ever winter. Surprisingly Storm Ciara, after ravaging Scotland on February 8, failed to satisfy the necessary criteria to be rechristened when it arrived in Denmark.

Weekend weakness

Gang killers get life

DANES consume 20 percent more calories on Saturdays, and move 20 percent less on Sundays, compared to regular weekdays, according to the DTU Food Institute. They eat 36 percent less fruit and 25 percent fewer vegetables, whilst consuming 39 percent more sweet and savory snacks at the weekend.

TWO MEN have been sentenced to life in prison for murdering the reformed gang member Nedim Yasar in Nørrebro in 2018. Frederiksberg Court heard how the men shot Yasar, who had become a radio host since leaving his life of crime, after an event to mark the release of his book.

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LOCAL

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

Heavy embezzler gets off lightly

ONLINE THIS WEEK VALENTINE’S Day marked the fifth anniversary of the Copenhagen terror shootings and there were a number of events organised to mark the occasion. A peace walk with candles traced a route from the Great Synagogue to Krudttønden theatre – the scenes of the two murders – Parliament held a series of talks, and Kærlighed og kage held a ‘peace party’ where copious amounts of cake were consumed.

Inception in the city AN INTERACTIVE exhibition has opened at the Guinness World Records Museum where visitors get to imagine what the city would be like if it was slanted 45 degrees – like in the film ‘Inception’. Designer Mikkel Sonne describes ‘Ripley's Believe It or Not!’ as an optical illusion space.

Parliament attacked

More funds for Nørrebro

CHRISTIAN WENANDE

N DENMARK, the maximum sentence for financial crime is eight years, but in particularly grievous cases the defendant can have an extra 50 percent added to that – making it 12 years. However, Copenhagen City Court on February 18 ruled that there was nothing “particularly grievous” about a trusted employee of the state stealing 117 million kroner over a period of 25 years from funds earmarked for society’s most vulnerable people. Furthermore, very little of the money has been recovered, and Nielsen, who made an initial confession when she was arrested in November 2018, has not helped the investigators. Out in 2025 at the latest BRITTA Nielsen – who was

found guilty of serious fraud, abusing her position in the public sector and forgery – only got six and a half years in prison. With time served, the 65-yearold will be released in 2025 – at the latest. The prosecution had two weeks in which to appeal, but it accepted the ruling on February 26, despite having previously called for a minimum eight-year sentence. On the first day of the trial, Nielsen admitted to stealing the money, although she didn’t admit that it happened throughout the entire 25-year period. Kids in dock soon HOWEVER, a sting in the tail might be coming, as the trial of Nielsen’s three children – Jimmy, Jamilla and Samina Hayat – will begin at Glostrup Court on March 4 where they are charged with serious theft. In total it is alleged that Nielsen transferred 50 million kroner – almost half of what

It was a life of glamour

she embezzled – to her children between 2007 and 2018. The prosecution will seek to prove the children knew or certainly suspected that the money came from criminal acts. Additionally, Jimmy Hayat, 39, stands accused of helping his mother to conceal funds and possessing child pornography, which was found on his computer's hard drive. He is expected to plead guilty – along with one of his sisters – while a son-in-law of Nielsen's has also been charged with complicity in her theft.

Major shake-up for troubled estate Owner confirms plans to sell 260 homes in Mjølnerparken next month VALMIRA GJONI

COPENHAGEN Mayor Frank Jensen has pledged 7 million kroner towards making the area around Nørrebro Station greener with the installation of vegetation, gravel paths, lights and flowerbeds. The new urban space could be finished by the end of 2021.

Editorial offices: International House, Gyldenløvesgade 11, 1600 Copenhagen Denmark

OR OVER a decade, Mjølnerparken in Nørrebro has been one of Copenhagen’s most notorious neighbourhoods. A regular on the government’s ‘Ghettolisten’ since its introduction in 2010, it is home to around 1,500 people. But now – in line with the

controversial ‘Ghetto Package’, which was approved by Parliament in 2018 – many of them will be resettled in the near future, as part of a bid to reduce the estate's public housing ratio down to 40 percent by 2030. Buyers in place BO-VITA, which owns 510 ‘family homes’ in the area, has confirmed plans to sell 260 of them by the end of March. It is believed there are at least three potential buyers.

ONLINE THIS WEEK Murder in Christiania AN ENGLISHMAN in his 50s, Ian Roy Parkin, was stabbed to death in the early hours of Sunday morning near Woodstock, the Christiania bar where he worked as a bartender. Police are looking for an eastern European-looking man, who is believed to be homeless.

Tall tree planted

FLICKR& KIM BACH

A MOLOTOV cocktail was thrown at the gates of Parliament on February 7. The cocktail did not ignite, which is fortunate as the Christiansborg gates were made of wood. The police then arrested a man throwing another bomb a day later.

Next up are Britta Nielsen’s children whose trial starts on March 4

FACEBOOK/BRITTA NIELSEN

Terror shooting memorials

28 February - 12 March 2020

A 12-METRE oak tree has been planted in a new square on the corner of Grønningen and Esplanaden not far from Kastellet – one of the tallest to be planted in Copenhagen in recent times. Designed by Gehl architects, the square is currently being built by the Thylander group.

Fill them up! AN INITIATIVE has been launched in the suburb of Køge to encourage visitors to its beaches to help clean them. Project Clean Beach has placed green baskets at various entrances, inviting beach-goers to fill them up.

Fire at nightclub LILLE Vega in Vesterbro had to cancel a week’s worth of concerts following a fire on January 29 that burned for two hours, damaging its stage. Nobody was injured and the cause of the fire is still undetermined.

Swedes face trial This way to the 'ghetto'

Bo-Vita (formerly Lejerbo København) plans to use part of the proceeds from the sale to relocate the residents, as well as to construct new public housing elsewhere in the city.

FIVE SWEDISH men, ranging in age from 17 to 25, have been charged in connection with the murder of two men in the suburb of Herlev last June. Their trial starts on August 10 at Glostrup Court. The killings were connected to a Stockholm gang dispute, and they involved no Danes.

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28 February - 12 March 2020

ONLINE THIS WEEK

JENS STOLTENBERG, the general-secretary of NATO, has commended Denmark ahead of its scheduled assumption of the leadership of NATO's training mission in Iraq at the end of the year. The training was suspended following the US's assassination of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani and Iran's retaliation, but the Iraqi government wants it to resume.

Released to Latvia MANY FEARED that the Latvian woman Kristīne Misāne, in custody in Denmark for over a year, would be extradited to South Africa to face charges she abducted her daughter from her former husband’s home there. But on February 20 it was decided to send her back to Latvia, where the sentencing is expected to be far more lenient.

Pledge to Ukraine THE FOREIGN minister, Jeppe Kofod, visited Ukraine from February 6-7, where he confirmed Denmark has earmarked further funding of 220 million kroner to continue the Danish Neighborhood Program.

Hold your Tongue plans! HOTELIERS in the area around the Scottish village of Tongue are up in arms over Anders Holch Povlsen's plans to establish a huge hotel complex there. They claim the new hotel represents unfair competition.

ONLINE THIS WEEK PIXABAY

Praise for Denmark

Still no confirmed cases of Coronavirus Denmark has had several false alarms, but so far no carriers have penetrated its borders DOMINIE MCINTOSH

ENMARK has pledged 8 million kroner towards the international fight against COVID-19, the name officially given to the Coronavirus, in an effort to take “co-responsibility in the global response to health crises”. The donation will go towards the WHO’s Contingency Fund for Emergencies, which is currently targeting COVID-19. Following many false alarms and precautionary quarantines, there remain no confirmed cases

Increasingly at the top of most countries' agendas

Increased precautions HOWEVER, in response to Italy’s escalating situation – where there have been 200 positive diagnoses and seven deaths – the national health board, Sundhedsstryrelsen, is broadening the scope of its preventative measures.

Søren Brostrøm, the head of Sundhedsstyrelsen, explains that the health board will no longer only be checking people entering Denmark from China, but also from other countries where virus cases continue to grow. To date there have been over 80,000 confirmed cases and over 2,700 deaths worldwide.

Frigate to join French

Another op for Freddie

Cohabiting central

AT THE end of March, a Danish frigate, ‘Niels Juel’, will join up with a French aircraft carrier group led by the ‘Charles de Gaulle’ in Aarhus. From there, they will head off to the North Sea on a training mission.

CROWN Prince Frederik has undergone an operation on his shoulder at Rigshospitalet after injuring it whilst skiing in his favourite resort Verbier, where his children are attending the local international school.

SOME 9 percent of all adults in Denmark cohabit, according to a Eurofound analysis, ranking the country sixth. France, Sweden (both 13 percent) and Finland (12) topped the rankings, while in Greece and Lithuania it is just 1 percent.

More Chinese displeasure

Saudis asked to explain

Architect criticised

THE CHINESE Embassy is displeased that Pia Kjærsgaard, the former speaker of Parliament, visited Taiwan in October 2019, reports Jyllands-Posten. The politician, it claimed, “expressed herself in a way which the embassy found unsatisfactory”. Kjærsgaard, who supports Taiwan’s sovereign status, told TV2 she met its president, but only to extend “ordinary courtesies”.

THE SAUDI ambassadors in both Denmark and the Netherlands were summoned by the countries’ respective governments to explain the activities of four members of Iranian group, the Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahvaz (ASMLA) , who have allegedly been spying on behalf of an unnamed Saudi security agency. Three were arrested in the Ringsted area.

ARCHITECT Bjarke Ingels has been criticised for meeting Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro in January. According to DR, both men were present at a meeting in northeastern Brazil regarding the establishment of a sustainable tourism plan. DR asked its readers whether they too would “work for a man who has stated that he would rather have a dead son than a gay son?”

dAnCe WitH Me

of the virus in Denmark.

LOVE LOSS LONELINESS LAUGHTER – REFLECTIONS TROUGH A WOMAN’S MIND

Double standards? GREENPEACE is alarmed to note that Greenland is offering tax rebates to companies interested in drilling in the Arctic, reports DR, whilst also increasing the geographical coverage. PM Kim Kielsen, who recently attended an oil event in Houston, will continue to drum up business “as long as a large part of the world's energy consumption is covered by oil and gas”.

US consulate plans THE US believes it will need 4 million kroner to set up a US consulate in Greenland's capital, Nuuk – plans that the Danish Foreign Ministry endorsed back in December. The last time the US had a consulate in Greenland was in 1953 after it opened one in 1940 after Nazi Germany's occupation of Denmark.

Maersk ship hijacked MAERSK Tema, a container ship chartered to German company Schulte, was taken over by pirates off the coast of Nigeria on February 14. No Danes nor Maersk crew members were on board.

Danes held in Morocco THREE Danes were arrested in Tangier in northern Morocco on February 14, where they are being held in connection with the discovery of large amounts of cannabis and money. Two of the three are expected to be extradited to Denmark.

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28th FEB – 21st MAR Vesterbrogade 150 København V

FEATURE

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

28 February - 12 March 2020

Is year-round tourism in Copenhagen a blessing or a curse? SOMA BIRÓ

E ALL KNOW how famous Copenhagen is. Home of hygge, Nyhavn, the Little Mermaid, bikes and Michelin star restaurants. Green city and happy people. You’ve probably also heard that Lonely Planet crowned it the number one city to visit in 2019. Then, a few months later, it published an article asking ‘Is Copenhagen the latest city to fall victim to overtourism?’ The source of its worries was an EU report that answered the question with a ‘yes, it is.’ One possible solution presented by the municipality and Wonderful Copenhagen, the city’s official tourism agency, is to spread visitors throughout the year and across the Greater Copenhagen area. The goal is to encourage tourists to explore less popular places around the city as well as to have some of them visit outside the summer months. This is part of the ‘Tourism for Good’ strategy that aims to achieve sustainable tourism. Certainly this month, we’ve had far more events than ten years ago. Tivoli has been open, new events such as the Copenhagen Light Festival, Cocktail Week and Copenhagen Dining Week have been packing them in, and there have been winter versions of CPH Pride, Jazz Festival and Fashion Week. But is this really spreading the load or just attracting far more tourists? Like butter on bread “IT’S ONLY good that it’s spread out instead of being concentrated in a few months,” contended Henrik Appel Esbensen, a member of the city council’s culture and leisure committee. Anders Rosbo, the head of corporate communications

at VisitDenmark, concurred. “Only a relatively small number of people visit us in the winter, so this time of year is not very crowded anyway,” he said. Anders Kongshaug, a board member at Copenhagen Light Festival, also agrees. “It’s not only good for tourism but also for expats and other Copenhageners in general – that they feel they can always find something that suits them in this city,” he said. “It also attracts labour. If you want someone to come here and work for you, they need to feel like Copenhagen is an awesome city to live in.” According to a 2018 Wonderful Copenhagen report on tourism (‘10xCopenhagen’), most locals agree with Kongshaug: “66 percent perceive tourism as having a positive impact on the overall city atmosphere, and 62 percent state that tourism positively influences the range and diversity of activities on offer.” Nothing but an illusion HOWEVER, Anne-Mette Hjalager, a professor at SDU and tourism expert, believes we might be fooling ourselves. “The problem is that there is still an overload of tourists in the summer period, so that hasn’t gone away,” she said. “This is just an overall growth. And we don’t know whether tourism will eventually also become massive during the off-season. We can already see Christmas markets being crammed with tourists in some European countries.” Hjalager pointed to the rising number of visitors as an indication that her warnings stand on solid ground: “Statistics show that there has been a very strong growth in Copenhagen in the past years.” Indeed, according to Wonderful Copenhagen, tourism has swollen by 74 percent in the last decade, and in 2018, the capital saw more than 10 million overnight visitors – a figure that’s expected to hit 16 million by 2030. “This suggests that we’re not

WONDERFUL COPENHAGEN

More tourists. More events. Is the slow death of the offseason boosting or damaging the Danish capital?

just spreading tourism from the summer to the off-season but witnessing an overall increase. This is what sounds the alarm for many people,” said Hjalager. Dark side of tourism ONE OF the negative aspects of over-tourism is the increase in transport, according to 63 percent of the locals consulted by Wonderful Copenhagen. “I believe that the city centre has reached a breaking point in terms of tourists and tourist buses – especially during the summer,” asserted Franciska Rosenkilde, the mayor for culture and leisure in Copenhagen. “Tourist buses and cruise ships are a significant nuisance for both the residents and the environment.” The municipal council recently passed an Alternativet initiative to work on finding solutions to limit the buses in the city centre, which is expected to be ready later this year, Rosenkilde revealed. One possible solution, suggests the mayor, could be replacing the buses with electronic bikes, leaving tourists with no option but to actively explore the inner city. “Greener energy sources for cruise ships are also in the works, as well as shore power to reduce the large amounts of CO2 they emit while in dock,” said Rosenkilde. Go hard or go home HJALAGER doesn’t think enough is being done, however. She identifies three types of measures against over-tourism – hard, medium hard and soft – and categorises all Wonderful Copenhagen initiatives, such as the de-marketing of places burdened by tourism, as soft measures. “I would suggest the municipality pauses for a moment to think about how to handle the situation,” she said. “Bringing the construction of new hotels to a halt – which is a hard measure – could provide that room for reflection. Because hotels

On, off, or preferably banished forever?

generate the activity. In the off-season, for example, they decrease prices to attract more people. Their capacities determine what happens and when it happens in tourism.” Jobs – yes please! FOR THOSE who make a living from tourism, which is responsible for 60,000 jobs in Copenhagen, non-stop action is a godsend. “If you can keep tourism running all year long, you have the opportunity to create more sustainable jobs,” contended VisitDenmark’s Anders Rosbo. “The longer the season, the more durable the jobs. Today, these mean almost all-year employment. And they are not exported out but stay in Denmark and restart each time the season begins.” But how many of these jobs are filled by Danes, questions Hjalager. “Many are Swedish or eastern European,” she pointed out, meaning less revenue trickles back into Danish society. And the same is true of many of the businesses benefiting. While the Danish capital makes more than 51 billion kroner from tourism per year, according to Wonderful Copenhagen, a lot of it is slipping through its fingers, argues Hjalager. “There are leakages that are out of our control. Some of the big hotels are owned by international companies, for example,” she said. “Also, we know too little

about how much economic benefit we really derive from cruise ships: they too are owned by foreigners and are often all-inclusive. The claim is that cruise ship tourists spend a lot of money on shopping in Copenhagen, but I have my doubts. They don’t eat out, for example – maybe they buy a cup of coffee in the city, or an ice cream, but then they go back to the ship to take advantage of the all-inclusive deal they paid for. And there are also a lot of shops on the ship itself.” The bigger picture BUT AS Rosenkilde said: “Tourism is more than consumption and profit,” she said. “Tourists ensure that Copenhagen is a lively city at all times. Tourism is also a cultural exchange that helps to open up our city and our society.” Esbensen takes this point further. “I’m proud, because I think Copenhagen is the greatest city in the world. We have ensured that we can all live here: tall and short, rich and poor,” he said. “Through tourism, other nations can spread the word about Denmark and the way in which our society has been constructed – a society where we take care of each other and where we don’t have 10,000 homeless people stranded on our streets. A welfare society that shares the goods. We need to promote this.”

TRANSPORT

28 February - 12 March 2020

TRANSPORTMINISTERIET

Step forward Denmark’s Dr Beeching? Time will tell whether the transport minister will be hailed as a visionary or a wally DOMINIE MCINTOSH

SK A BRIT about the history of the railways and don’t be surprised if they grimace at the mention of Dr Beeching. In the 1960s, he closed down thousands of stations, changing the rail map of Britain forever. And now, Benny Engelbrecht, the transport minister, is threatening to revolutionise Denmark’s railways. The question is whether history will remember him as a visionary or ‘Dr Benny (over the) Hill’. Bus replacement service! FIRST off, his ministry has launched a study to assess whether replacing severely dilapidated rails on Østbanen, which runs south from Køge, with modern bus lanes is the best and most cost-effective response. That’s right, buses! The ministry is

ONLINE THIS WEEK Electric car incentive VENSTRE and Radikale would like to introduce toll-free travel for electric vehicles travelling across the Storebælt, the bridge that links Funen to Zealand. The parties estimate the measure would cost 255 million kroner over four years up until 2025. The standard charge is 130 kroner. In related news, two new ‘Ultra Fast Chargers’ have been introduced at stations for motorists heading south out of Copenhagen.

Jail for speeding EXTREME speeding could in the future land you in jail for 20 days if new proposals from the Transport Ministry are approved. It recommends the sentence, along with a three-year ban from driving for anyone driving in excess of 200 km/h on motorways, above 160 km/h on rural roads and over 100 km/h in urban areas.

SAS ad a dud A NEW SAS ad highlighting how most Scandinavian traits originated abroad, with the central message ‘Travel enriches us’ (see page 18), was withdrawn following an avalanche of criticism in mid-February. MPs and online commenters condemned the ad as “devilish nonsense” or “self-hatred”.

considering paving 50 km of railway to create a carriageway for BRT (bus rapid transport) buses, which Engelbrecht describes as a “kind of train on rubber wheels”. Although the ministry has managed to share the 3 million kroner costs with Region Zealand, criticism is mounting, and it will be interesting to note the results at the end of May. In its defence, it has been reported that BRT buses are more environmental, as they are more fuel-efficient and leave a smaller carbon footprint than trains. So like Scalextric? AND SECONDLY, the ministry is currently testing battery-powered trains between Hillerød and Helsingør in northern Zealand, with the intention of introducing them by 2030. Engelbrecht has told Politiken that his ministry is open to running the trains along all railways without overhead lines – although some MPs question whether it would be too early to discard perfectly

Fewer mobile users RIGSPOLITIET reports that 21.5 percent fewer motorists are using their mobile phones whilst driving following the introduction of new legislation last September, which punishes offenders with a clip on their licence. Three clips results in a ban from driving. In related news, a third of cyclists aged 18-65 regularly use their phones in traffic, according to a Epion survey for Rådet for Sikker Trafik. Cyclists aged 18 to 35 are the most likely to offend.

More deaths on roads SOME 205 people lost their lives in traffic in Denmark during 2019 – a significant rise on the 171 who died in 2018, and 175 in 2017. Vejdirektoratet – which several years ago set itself a target of no more than 120 deaths, not least because there were 406 deaths in 2008 – blamed the rise on motorists driving at increasing speeds.

Paint your wagons! FOOD WAGONS are returning to DSB trains on selected services – only this time it will be somebody with a backpack and a limited range. In collaboration with 7-Eleven, the service is being tried out on 15-18 services a day between Copenhagen and Fredericia. DSB withdrew the wagons back in 2014 because they were losing around 100 million kroner a year.

Bloody batteries! Where's Ivor the Engine when you need him?

adequate diesel trains. Batteries have come a long way since the days of Scalextric. Japan has been running battery-operated trains since 2014, and Schleswig and Holstein recently ordered 55, with plans to have

them up and running in the next two to three years. Four leading manufactures have put in bids to have their battery trains used – possibly in southern Denmark and over the border into Germany.

NATIONAL

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

ONLINE THIS WEEK

AN AUDIT of TastSelv Borger, a site used by self-employed people to enter their tax information, has revealed that the CPR numbers of 1.26 million people have been shared with Google and Adobe. The bug was finally fixed on February 7, five years after the breach started. In related news, the data of 5,000 Nemlig.com customers dating back to 2016 has accidentally been shared online.

Fixed on big four A SURVEY of 17,000 gymnasium graduates with an average grade score of 9.1 or above found that 30 percent applied to just four of the 900 higher education courses on offer: medicine, law, political science and psychology. In related news, Parliament has approved the removal of the education ceiling that prevented students from taking a lower or equivalent course within six years of graduating.

Sea eagles thriving OVER 100 pairs of sea eagles have been counted – a new record for a species that was reintroduced back into Denmark in 1996 after leaving the country in the late 1800s. In total, 1,100 different sea eagles have been counted since then.

Army’s hijab storm THE DEFENCE minister, Trine Bramsen, insists the withdrawal of a young Muslim woman from the Armed Forces was in keeping with the state’s 2018 ban on headscarves. However, government allies SF and Radikale question how her hijab would pose a security problem. In related news, SF is fronting a proposal to cease municipal funding for religious daycare facilities.

Camping out big time IN EXCESS of 210,000 people spent a night in nature last year, according to figures from the Environment Ministry. The number is twice as many as those who camped out in 2013 – the first year the ministry started compiling figures.

Fewer foreigners = more hours for Danes EU PARLIAMENT

Major security breaches

28 February - 12 March 2020

Experts warn that the working week could get longer if the number of international workers continues to dry up BEN HAMILTON

NLY 9,476 FOREIGN nationals entered the Danish labour market in 2019 - barely half of the 17,365 who took jobs in 2018. It was the first time since 2013 that the foreign labour numbers failed to exceed 10,000. The slowdown was particularly pronounced among people arriving from the EU. In 2018, there were 8,462 new arrivals, but in 2019 just 1,416. In the last nine months of 2019, there was no net gain of EU workers. Experts warn this could have a profound effect on Denmark’s economy.

is enabling Polish and Romanian workers to return home to enjoy a three-month holiday. The EU wants to make the eligibility period six months.

EU vs government DENMARK has incentives of its own, although the government is anxious to close one loophole that eastern Europeans are taking advantage of. The number receiving Danish unemployment benefits whilst living in their home countries more than doubled to 1,570 between 2015 and 2018, according to Employment Ministry figures. Some MPs claim the money

Gucci reverses decision IN OTHER employment news, former PM Lars Løkke Rasmussen has taken on an advisory role at the law firm Gorrissen Federspiel, which he will start on April 15. However, Rasmussen is adamant this does not mean his political career is over, as he will retain his position on the Foreign Policy Committee. Meanwhile, former PM Helle Thorning-Schmidt had decided not to become the co-chair of the UN panel on tax evasion and tax havens. Criticism followed her appointment, citing her close ties to Denis Viet-Jacobsen, the former chair of scandal-hit marine fuel company OW Bunker. The pair are fellow directors on the boards of two companies perceived to be tax shelters, and questions have been asked about some of Thorning-Schmidt’s shareholdings.

Record for overnight stays

Can they be tried twice?

More bans in place

THE NUMBER of overnight stays in Denmark increased to an all-time record of 56 million in 2019 – up 2.2 million on 2018. Germans accounted for two-thirds of the 21 million overnight stays at cottages. In related news, Aarhus hotels clocked up an all-time record of 932,106 overnight stays – up 39,000 on 2018, beating the record it set as the 2017 European Capital of Culture.

NICK HEKKERUP, the justice minister, has suggested to Berlingske that foreign fighters convicted in the Kurdish justice system are not immune to prosecution in Denmark, even though it would contravene the international double jeopardy law. In tune with the government’s ban on the fighters returning home, Hekkerup clarified that the fighters “are not welcome here”.

SUPERMARKET chain owner Coop – which runs Kvickly, Fakta and Brugsen – is not interested in banning energy drinks for the under-16s, ruling that it should be a political decision. However, the German chain Lidl, Min Købmand in Daugård and Risskov School in Aarhus have all introduced bans. The food minister, Mogens Jensen, promises he will take a closer look at the legislation.

Worrying trend NIKLAS Praefke, the chief economist at the Ledernes trade union for management professionals, is worried by the trend. “It could become a very serious stomach upset for the Danish economy,” he told Børsen. There are currently 290,000 foreign nationals in the Danish labour market, and Praefke is concerned the overall number could fall. Politicians need to take action, he recommends, and make it much easier for companies to recruit from abroad. Or, alternatively, the Danish workforce needs to increase its hours!

Smugglers busted SOME 27 foreigners have been charged with smuggling 100 kilos of cocaine into Denmark on a cargo ship. Three people were arrested in Spodsbjerg on Langeland after picking up the cocaine from the cargo ship, where a further 24 were arrested. The smugglers were from the Philippines, Russia, Latvia, Ecuador, India, Poland and Ukraine.

Prison for embezzler

Free to move, and free to leave

Weakened performance THE SHORTAGE of labour has been felt most acutely in the construction industry, where fewer eastern European workers can be found than in recent years, warns Michael Svare, a professor of economics at Aarhus University. “Foreign labour covers the jobs that Danish labour is unable to cover,” he told Børsen. “If we can’t get the foreigners, then it increases the risk of bottlenecks and weakens the competitiveness of companies.” In recent years, countries such as Poland have been encouraging their nationals to take more jobs in their homeland.

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THE PRESIDENT of the Kræftens Bekæmpelse cancer society has been sent to prison for 18 months for embezzling millions of kroner from donations made between May 2016 and June 2017. Of the 4.7 million kroner received, only 500,000 made its way to young cancer patients. He was found guilty of serious fraud at Odense Court on February 14.

Showcase for shoppers A JANUARY 17 formation flight to mark the 40th anniversary of the F-16 aircraft, which will soon be replaced by the F-35, gave the Ministry of Defence a showcase for prospective buyers. Bar a couple that will be exhibited in museums, it intends to sell most of the 43 aircraft, although the US Department of Defence must first approve any sales.

PM cancels speech PM METTE Frederiksen has decided not to give a speech at the May 1 celebrations in Fælledparken in light of how the occasion has become increasingly rowdy of late. Last year, the audience started fighting while she spoke. The LO-Hovedstaden trade union is adamant it will not be spending extra funds on security.

New rape law expected THE GOVERNMENT is expected to formulate a new rape law proposal in April that stipulates that consent to sex “must be expressed through words or actions or be apparent in the specific situation and context”. Few convictions are secured in Denmark despite a high number of reported rapes.

SCIENCE

28 February - 12 March 2020

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GIRLS are entering puberty three months earlier every decade, according to a study led by Anders Juul, a senior consultant at Rigshospitalet, which started in 1977. Premature puberty increases the risk of sexual abuse, drug abuse and suicide attempts. Between 10 and 20 percent of eight-year-old girls have entered puberty.

Pesticides still present VEGETABLES sprayed with the banned pesticides chlorpyrifos and chlorpyrifos-methyl, which cause brain damage to foetuses and newborns, could conceivably still be on sale in the supermarkets. The vegetables could have been sprayed in the spring of 2019, well before the EU banned the pesticides in December.

Novo expansion boost NOVO NORDISK plans to invest 800 million kroner into expanding the world's largest insulin factory in Kalundborg by a further 1,400 sqm – a plant that is already the size of 181 football fields where 3,000 employees work. Novo has invested more than 16 billion kroner in the plant since 2000.

Iron Age hall discovered A 250 SQM IRON Age hall, which probably housed a tribal chief around 1,500 years ago, has been discovered near Fuglebjerg in South Zealand. Excavators from the Museum of Southeast Denmark are struggling in the wet conditions!

Risk factor far greater in other major cities, according to new report ROSELYNE MIN

HE EFFECT of climate change on Copenhagen will be negligible by 2050 compared to other cities around the world. According to a ranking released by Nestpick – which assessed parameters including Climate Shift, Water Stress Increase and Potential Sea-Level Rise Impact – the Danish capital placed 41st.

PIXABAY

Early puberty concerns

Climate won’t change capital considerably Blame it on Rio? LEADING the way were Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City and Amsterdam – mostly due to their high Potential Sea-Level Rise Impact scores. Meanwhile in the safe zone, Marseille, Orlando and Rio de Janeiro had the lowest scores. Consumption changes IN RELATED news, some 56 percent of Danes have reshaped their consumption habits over the past year in response to the threat of climate change, according to a YouGov study carried out for Nordea.

An unlikely foretelling?

Cat action urged

Rare whale found

Robot central

THE NUMBER of new cat residents at the animal shelter Dyrenes Beskyttelses Denmark shot up by 40 percent to 8,870 in 2019, meaning felines account for 80 percent of all the animals at the shelters. Cats do not need to be registered or chipped – as is the case with dogs – thus making it harder to find the owners. The Food Ministry is under pressure to take action.

A SIX-FOOT Cuvier’s beaked whale (Ziphius cavirostris), which is most commonly found in deep waters in the Northern Pacific Ocean, washed up dead in Rømø on February 14, becoming the first of its kind ever seen in Denmark. An autopsy three days later confirmed the whale was an adult male. Its skeleton will end up at the Museum of National History.

DANISH companies Universal Robots and Mobile Industrial Robots are investing a quarter of a billion kroner into robot development and production in Odense, which is quickly emerging as a cobot hub. A 50,000 sqm site has been acquired. Some 3,900 of the 5,000 people who work in the Danish robotics industry are based in Funen.

Robots love fake news

Organic champions

Miracle side-effect?

REGIONAL newspaper JydskeVestkysten has been accused of running pieces written by robots that are factually incorrect. In one case, a CEO claims he was never interviewed for a piece in which he was widely quoted. Editor Mads Sandemann is unapologetic, maintaining the robot journalism is properly informing readers.

DENMARK has the highest rate of organic consumption per capita in the world, according to the World of Organic Agriculture report. Organics held a 11.5 percent market share in 2018, ahead of Switzerland (9.7) and Sweden (9.6), and it has already been confirmed that there was a 10 percent rise last year.

NEW RESEARCH from the Danish Cancer Society suggests that Antabuse, a drug that treats chronic alcoholism, may extend the life of patients with terminal cancer. Accordingly, 29 incurably-ill patients are participating in trials in collaboration with Odense University Hospital, Rigshospitalet and Herlev Hospital.

ONLINE THIS WEEK Sayonara soya? SOME 71 percent of the soya beans imported to Denmark, which is mostly used as animal feed, is grown at the expense of the rainforests of South America, according to a University of Copenhagen study. Last year, Denmark imported 1.8 million tonnes. The study recommends that Denmark looks for alternative sources of protein.

Huge cancer study

Women tend to be more focused on food and clothes, and men on transport.

RESEARCHERS from Rigshospitalet and Aarhus University Hospital have carried out a huge cancer study assessing the data of 2,600 patients spanning three continents (with 38 different varieties of cancer) in a bid to see whether gene changes directly cause the disease. It concludes that only five of 100,000 gene changes directly do.

What baby boom? THERE were 61,167 births in 2019 – significantly fewer than the 64,400 predicted by Dansk Regioner, which has foreseen a 20 percent increase by 2025. In anticipation of the baby boom, the government earmarked an extra 50 million kroner a year from 2017. In fact, a manager at Rigshospitalet’s maternity unit resigned in protest against the ‘extra’ work.

Tickety boo TICKS are expected to arrive earlier than usual due to the unseasonably warm weather. According to experts, they will happily survive in temperatures above 5 degrees.

CULTURE

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

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CPH CULTURE, the reviews site, has again overlooked English-language theatre in its annual awards. Dawn Wall missed out on best supporting actor to Anne-Lise Gabold, who had about ten lines in 'Richard III'. Gabold's biggest flirtation with English-language cinema came in the 1971 extremely dark version of 'King Lear' starring Paul Scofield (who bizarrely won the Bodil for best actor).

Oscar misery

MARIA Lucia, the star of Danish-language version of 'Frozen 2', was brought on stage at the Oscars along with a host of other Elsas to belt out a medley version of 'Into The Unknown'. Idina Menzel, who sang the original, also took part. Menzel's name was famously mispronounced by John Travolta at the 2014 awards as 'Adele Dazeem'.

Ultimate vegetation THIS JUNE’S Distortion is embracing the countryside, as its Distortion Ø weekend event on the island of Refshaleøen is relocating to the same site where it hosted Karrusel last August, a hilly area with lots of vegetation.

ROSELYNE MIN

HE INTEREST in the film ‘Parasite’, since it became the first non-English language film to ever win the Oscar for Best Picture on February 9, is quickly becoming paranormal in Denmark. As of February 13, 100,000 tickets had been sold, and with 100 movie theatres screening the film, there’s no telling how many will end up watching it – particularly as a black and white version was recently released in the US. In typical Danish fashion, Grand Teatret in Copenhagen marked the achievement with cake. Curveball hit in Denmark BUT THE interest doesn’t end with the film, as unprecedented numbers are showing an interest in Korean cuisine – most particularly the dish ‘Ram-Don’, which one of the characters requests her housekeeper to make. Curiously the dish is a combination of the cheap (two different types of instant noodle) and the gourmet (a choice cut of tender beef ), and according to Jeong Hwa, the co-owner of the Korean restaurant Ssam in Copenhagen, it has never been on its menu – before now. “We simply did not think that

ONLINE THIS WEEK

the Danes would want to eat it,” she told DR. “In Denmark, food has to be organic, homemade and fresh, and instant noodles don't exactly fit into that picture.” Lost in translation TECHNICALLY, ‘Ram-Don’ is actually the dish ‘Jjapaguri’ – a controversial translation has been blamed for the confusion – which was invented by a man tired of choosing between his favourite instant noodles. “It's a bit like going to an Italian restaurant and not knowing

what to choose between spaghetti bolognese or spaghetti carbonara,” explained Jeong. Nongshim, the manufacturer of the noodle brands, has released a YouTube video of the recipe in 11 languages.

Anna Ancher

The Visit

ART

Not blindfolded to the quality

THEATRE

««««««

A NEW EXHIBITION at Denmark's National Gallery SMK (ends May 24) makes a compelling case for Anna Ancher being the first truly modern Danish artist. A contemporary of the Skagen group, Ancher followed her own path with studies in light. Two visits to Paris introduced her to Impressionism, which she took to immediately. Perhaps more than any other Danish artist of the time, she was very much tuned into the international currents in art and brought them back to Denmark. (SG)

ONCE HANS Christian Andersen (Peter Holst-Beck) had outstayed his welcome at the home of Charles Dickens (Ian Burns) in 1857, the Englishman couldn’t wait to be rid of his Danish guest, but this is one visit that you won’t want to end! Holst-Beck and director Barry McKenna have fashioned a wonderfully witty script based on the true story of the writers’ encounter, and Burns and HolstBeck make a delightful pairing. The stage is pretty minimalist, but with actors this good, your imagination doesn’t need to work hard. (BH)

READ THE REST OF THESE REVIEWS AT CPHPOST.DK

Spacey stymied Stender BENJAMIN Stender – the star of ‘Hamlet Live’ at Kronborg Castle these past four summers, as well as a number of That Theatre productions – has told DR how the MeToo movement led to his film being axed. He appeared alongside Kevin Spacey in ‘Gore’, a biopic about Gore Vidal, but Netflix distanced itself from the project when the revelations surfaced.

Backgammon dominance

THAT THEATRE COMPANY

Oscar joy

The ‘Ram-Don’ dish currently wowing Danes should really be called ‘Jjapaguri’

SMK.DK

DANISH producers Sigrid Dyekjær and Kirstine Barfod put on a brave face as 'The Cave' failed to win the Oscar for Best Documentary at the Oscars – the second time Syrian-born, Danish-based director Syrian Feras Fayyad has missed out.

Parasite recipe really takes the cake CAMERA FILM

Anglos snubbed again

28 February - 12 March 2020

DENMARK won the World Team Championship in backgammon for a fourth time in a row in January. A squad of six contested 28 matches spread across a week in France – 100 hours of backgammon that culminated in a 4-0 defeat of Greece in the final.

Artful anniversary ART GARFUNKEL is marking the 50th anniversary of the release of ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ with a concert at Falkoner Salen on November 26. In related news, Queen’s stand-in frontman Adam Lambert is performing at Vega on September 9 to promote his new album, ‘Velvet’, and Faith No More and FKA Twigs have been added to the Roskilde Festival line-up.

Olympic gold for chefs COMPETING in Stuttgart last week, Denmark won its first ever gold medal at the 2020 Culinary Olympics – the unofficial Olympics for chefs – taking first place in the buffet for 120 people category.

SPORT

28 February - 12 March 2020

2021 Tour de France: set in stone

BETWEEN 55.9 and 59.6 percent of the tickets sold for the Euro 2020 games against Finland, Belgium and Russia at Parken have been sold to Danish fans, according to UEFA. In contrast, a maximum of 27.6 percent have been sold to opposition fans.

Copenhagen time trial is shaping up to be an absolute cracker of a stage

Call him Mr 14 JOACHIM Blichfeld recently became the 13th Dane to play in the NHL when he laced up for the San Jose Sharks, and now the Sharks are at it again, this time making center Alexander True the 14th Dane to play. True, 22, the cousin of Winnipeg Jets star Nikolaj Ehlers, duly racked up two assists in his first four appearances.

Marathon record KRISTINA Schou Madsen, 34, has smashed the women’s world record for running seven marathons in seven days on seven different continents. Her total time was 24 hours, 1 minute and 40 seconds – beating the old record by over 15 minutes. She ran marathons in Antarctica, Cape Town, Perth, Dubai, Madrid, Fortaleza and Miami.

Not laughing now THE DBU dropped three under-17 national team players from two recent international matches after they abused laughing gas at a training camp in Cyprus. Neither the players nor their clubs have been disclosed.

ONLINE THIS WEEK Barons of badminton KK.DK

ONLINE THIS WEEK Home support advantage

CHRISTIAN WENANDE

AN YOU imagine it? The likes of Roglic, Fuglsang, Bernal and Alaphilippe blasting past an intersection on Bredgade in the city centre, before standing up in the saddle on those final metres on HC Andersens Boulevard. Well that’ll be a reality next year as the Tour de France opens with three stages in Denmark – the first being a 13 km time trial in Copenhagen. The routes of the three stages were unveiled earlier this month and sports enthusiasts will be licking their chops at the prospect of seeing the stars barrelling down Danish roads and streets. In doing so, Denmark will become the tenth country other than France to host stages, following the Netherlands, Ger-

A bit like the City Ring, but without Nørrebro

Søerne to Sønderborg IN COPENHAGEN, the stage will start on Nørre Farimagsgade in the city centre, as the riders are sent off around the city’s famous Lakes over to Østerbro, past Langelinie and the waterfront, before racing back to finish on HC Andersens Boulevard. The second stage is a 199 km

New sprint record

Second world champ

From Boro to Barca

SPRINTER Kristoffer Hari, 22, has set a new Danish indoor record for the 60m, shaving 0.03 seconds off the record Benjamin Hecht set in 1999. Racing for his US university team, the Arkansas Razorbacks, Hari clocked 6.62 seconds. Hari emerged as a talent aged 15 when he ran the 100 metres in 10.37 – the second fastest time for a 15-year-old that year.

DENMARK has a second women’s world boxing champ following Sarah Mahfoud’s defeat of Argentine fighter Brenda Carabajal in Frederiksberg to win the IBF featherweight crown. Undefeated in ten fights, Faroese-born Mahfoud, 30, is ranked the third best featherweight on the planet. Dina Thorslund, meanwhile, is the WBO super bantamweight champ.

IN THE biggest shock move involving a Dane since Thomas Graversen joined Real Madrid in 2005, Barcelona has paid 135 million kroner for Martin Braithwaite, 28, from Leganes. Just over a year ago, he was at English Championship side Middlesbrough, but ten goals and eight assists in 43 matches got Barca's attention. On Saturday, he grabbed two assists in his first game!

many, Belgium, Switzerland, the UK, Ireland, Spain, Luxembourg and Monaco.

HISTORICAL MUSICAL By HØG · AAGAARD · SVANEKIER Politiken

Ungt Teaterblod

Scenekanten

Mortenbuckhoj.dk

Voksenlivsstil.dk

Iscene

Kr. Dagblad

XQ28

Sceneblog

WRDSMTH

Kop Kultur

MARCH 1-29

DENMARK’S best male tennis player, Mikael Torpegaard, has jumped up 57 spots to 177th in the world rankings following victory in the final of the Cleveland Open, a Challenger Tour event, against Japan’s Yosuke Watanuki. Meanwhile, teen starlet Holger Rune, in his first season as a senior, is number 851.

Best for away fans FOOTBALL fans believe FC Midtjylland and Esbjerg offer the best conditions for away fans in the Superliga, according to Bold.dk. Fans assessed aspects such as viewing conditions, security, infrastructure and food booths. The top five was completed by Randers, Brøndby and Horsens, with FC Copenhagen and Hobro rated the worst.

FCK sell Cypriot striker FC COPENHAGEN have sold Cypriot striker Pieros Sotiriou, 27, to FC Astana of Kazakhstan in a deal estimated to be worth 37 million kroner. He had scored 35 in 110 appearances, including nine in 18 league games this season, since joining from APOEL Nicosia in 2017.

SH S LI E S G ITLEND EN BTWEEK SUON

A Column of Fire Berlingske

EARLIER this month, the Danish men's badminton team won their eighth European Men’s & Women’s Team Championships in a row – and the women their fourth – in Liévin, France. The men, who defeated Germany, completed the tournament without dropping a set, notching up a 48-0 record.

Rankings surge

route beginning in Roskilde that will snake its way past the city’s famous cathedral and the ongoing music festival before following the Zealand coast down to the Great Belt Bridge, crossing over, and concluding in Nyborg. The third stage will take the riders 182 km from Vejle to the Jelling Runes and then south past Kolding and Haderslev for a finish in Sønderborg. The race then heads back to France for the fourth stage.

POV International

10 COVER

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

28 February - 12 March 2020

New Fem: Who’s the best football club for female supporters? This was a rivalry within a rivalry, as two reporters from Canada and the US, respectively, visited Telia Parken and Brøndby Stadion to assess which club offers the best matchday experience for women

Lauren Beauchamp

S A CANADIAN, when someone mentions ‘football’, the typical reaction is “Oh, you mean soccer? Yeah, we have that too.” However, up in the Great White North, the beloved international sport does not have the same worship or status in society. We do however take pride in our so-called ‘American football’. Being invited to witness my very first football match at Telia Stadium was exciting. I was briefed on how mad the FCK fans were after watching videos on social media taken by friends and colleagues. I even saw spectators waving around fire-lit torches in the stadium. What I didn’t realise was this match would be the most notable of the season for two reasons: one, they had just won the Superliga title and now was the time to celebrate; and two, they were playing one of their local-ish adversaries, FC Nordsjælland.

Supporters IN A SEA of Vikings, I couldn’t complain about the supporters surrounding me. Their energy, fuelled by passion and beer, was contagious. As a non-Dane, I wasn’t sure how I would be received at this match, but I was standing in the rowdiest section, Sektion 12, and it didn’t seem to matter. The fans who could hear my North American accent acted intrigued and were determined to teach me all of the chants within moments of meeting. In the 13th minute of the match, the entire stadium threw bright coloured floaties shaped in objects ranging from popsicles to swans, and the match took a pause. It was unbelievable. Atmosphere IN HOCKEY-CRAZED Canada, we like to think we get very loud during the playoffs. I was proven wrong. The volume in Sektion 12 was constantly at a 10 the entire 90-plus minutes. As FCK fans blurted chants at the top of their lungs, I struggled to make sense of them using the little Danish I knew. Amongst the easiest chants to pick up was “FC København, vi vinder guld igen!” (FCK, we’re winning gold again). The infectious ambience commenced at the pre-game rally outside in Fælleparken and continued at the post-game celebration with the team and whole football club’s organisation. Practical FOR THOSE non-super-fans or more relaxed supporters, the stadium is divided into different sections. There are family sections for younger/older age groups, while the rowdier, more ferocious enthusiasts are in 12. The fadøl (draft beer) comes in regular and extra-large sizes (even large by North American standards). You’ll most likely want to go with the larger size because Carlsberg flows like it’s water at Telia – thankfully, the toilets are only a couple of steps away from the crowds. If you aren’t a season ticket owner, getting tickets is only occasionally challenging, like if it’s a big European fixture or a New Firm derby with Brøndby. Female View AS A FEMALE viewer, I appreciated the gold crowns sported by both the men and the women (gender is a construct in Denmark, isn’t it?), but was less enamoured by the stadium, where there is no feng shui in sight. The Danes don’t really stand out for their style – a more low-key approach to fashion is usually present – and that was the case here as well. A last word of advice: this is a football match, not a trendy cocktail bar, so go for a beer, as Tuborg or Carlsberg is your only decision to make (Carlsberg is one of the largest sponsors of FCK).

SUPPORTERS 1 Manliness - 4 out of 5 2 Cuteness - 4 3 Courtesy - 4 4 Humour - 3 5 Camaraderie - 4 19 points ATMOSPHERE 1 Volume - 4 2 Chanting - 4 3 Music - 4 4 Electricity - 5 5 Tifos - 4 21 points PRACTICAL 1 Seating - 4 2 Food/drinks - 4 3 Toilets - 4 4 Accessibility - 4 5 Kids - 4 20 points FEMALE VIEW 1 Colour aesthetics - 4 2 Feng shui - 4 3 Club fashion - 4 4 Supporter fashion - 3 5 Special beverages - 4 19 points TOTAL: 79 points

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28 February - 12 March 2020

FC Copenhagen vs Brøndby IF

RØNDBY won my heart. But not in the conventional sense. There was a little bribing from the boyfriend. He made a customised jersey for me with my name on it, and then a friend showed up in a jersey with “FCK R.I.P” boldly printed across the back. This was the first time that I’d attended a Danish football match. I was in the fan zone, southside at Brøndby Stadion, where the supporters were wild and passionate. They say that love is blind, and this is exactly what blind love is supposed to look like. The fan love that I witnessed was like “for better or for worse, till death do us part”. I passively watch a lot of football these days. It’s just on while I do whatever. By osmosis, I’m slowly getting the gist of what’s going on. But this, the live experience, it’s a total high. I get it guys!

SUPPORTERS 1 Manliness - 5 out of 5 2 Cuteness - 2 3 Courtesy - 5 4 Humour - 1 5 Camaraderie - 5 18 points ATMOSPHERE 1 Volume - 5 2 Chanting - 5 3 Music - 5 4 Electricity - 5 5 Tifos - 3

Ester Rose

Supporters I WOULD say that testosterone levels were very high. The guys were polite, but at the same time totally into the game and the beer was flying. On this, my boyfriend commented: “You don’t go to a sports event to be courteous.” The crowd was intense; there wasn’t laughter, but lots of cheers and boos. It was emotional. And camaraderie – I couldn’t even begin to explain the looks I was getting while I was on the train in the blue and yellow jersey. Pretty much half the train were dressed in Brøndby colors and so many guys gave me a “Ah yea” look of approval. One even attempted to pay for my train ticket! Atmosphere SO, I WAS in the fan zone. No one was sitting and everyone was chanting and doing that pointing-towards-the-field thing. I was just trying to hold onto my hot dog and drink my beer without making a massive mess and trying to dodge the beer sprays. Then one guy from the front came and told me off: “You are in the front; you have to chant and give support because the ones in the front are the ones who the team can see.” But it was electric – frenzy-level support and drums beating furiously. The guy leading the chants lost his voice by the end!

23 points PRACTICAL 1 Seating - 3 2 Food/drinks - 3 3 Toilets - 4 4 Accessibility - 4 5 Kids - 4 18 points FEMALE VIEW 1 Colour aesthetics - 3 2 Feng shui - 4 3 Club fashion - 4 4 Supporter fashion - 4 5 Special beverages - 4 19 points TOTAL: 78 points

Practical BEFORE the game, I had this idea in my head that I’d be sitting, eating and drinking, but that wasn’t about to happen. Not in the fan zone anyway. I was about to sit down, but all the chairs seemed to have a small lake of beer, with popcorn or pork rind chips floating around. Something that surprised me was that there wasn’t a line outside the ladies’ toilet. This is a big deal – the ladies know what I mean. Normally standing in the bathroom taking selfies is just not cool, because so many are outside waiting. But given that there was no hurry, I proudly snapped a couple in my wild-coloured jersey. Female View BEFORE I put on that freakin’ yellow jersey that my boyfriend bought for me, I told him: “I haven’t even seen them play, so they better be good.” I don’t own anything else in those colours. I felt like a highlighter. The merchandising shop had a lot of variety though. There was clothing for all seasons and sizes. A couple of dads stood in line with baby bodysuits. During the game there wasn’t much variety for drinks and snacks. But the fan zone area was designed with the ladies in mind, with different drinks and seating areas with parasols. And the female bathrooms were a little fancier.

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THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

28 February - 12 March 2020

Giant: Europa League, New Firm ... who said Danish football was boring? ALL PHOTOS: CHRISTIAN WENANDE

What else could English football learn from the Danish set-up here? The Ultras are far more organised: leading chants, arranging banners etc. The atmosphere is so much better during slow games, and the way clubs are integrated into the community through the youth teams seems further-reaching than most English set-ups. How do the two countries compare price-wise? There’s no comparison: it’s a third of the price for a season ticket. Fan benefits and events far outweigh the Premier League and matchday costs are in line with local prices. How does the New Firm compare to the fierce rivalries you’re used to, like the one your own club has with Portsmouth? It’s a good derby, and a much bigger rivalry. Pompey are almost never in the same division as Saints. I think if they went out of business most of us wouldn’t notice.

T DIDN’T take FC Copenhagen long to establish themselves as the undisputed giants of Danish football following the club's foundation in 1992 – a certain Roy Hodgson landed their second title just nine years later. As the reigning Superliga champions, they are strongly tipped to make the knockout stage of the Europa League

and fly the Danish flag in Europe next year. Given that Dan Savill is an executive at Carlsberg, one of their main sponsors, perhaps it was always on the cards that he’d end up supporting the Lions. We caught up with the Brit to find out more about his new-found love in Copenhagen. any you’re particularly proud of mastering? Have you tried writing some yourself? I’m not sure there are many clean enough to be proud of mastering, and I’ve no need to make my own up. My friend Lars has that department covered with his ‘super song’ that fits any player/scenario.

How does a life-long Southampton fan end up supporting FC Copenhagen? When I went to a few FCK and Malmö FF games with friends and colleagues, I realised I missed the ritual of regular football. FCK was my local team, so I joined up with some friends who were already going regularly. Besides, I was fed up with the disappointment of following a small club! When you arrived in Denmark, were you one of those expats who was a little sceptical about the domestic game, or were you immediately keen to explore your avenues? I was keen to watch European matches and internationals, but before arriving had never thought about whether or not to watch the Superliga. When did you start considering yourself a fan? It wasn’t until I renewed my first season ticket that I first considered myself a fan. That and the fact we travelled away to Madrid made me realise I was hooked. Presumably the chants are initially difficult. Are there

How many FCK games do you attend every season, and how many Southampton games? If push came to shove, who would you support if they met in the Europa League? I only miss three to four home games a season at FCK and up until last year made sure to see at least one Saints game a season. We are going to hopefully go over as a group to St Mary’s early next year, which is great: to be able to share my club with the lads. That probably gives you a strong hint that 40+ years and at least four generations as a Saint is too much to push aside at this point. Southampton aren’t strangers to the lower tiers of English football … and you could argue that many of the Superliga clubs wouldn’t be out of place there. Are those low stand stadia part of the appeal of Danish football? I don’t think the standards are too bad. I’d take half a dozen Superliga stadia over Selhurst Park, and the real nature of the smaller stadiums is far more fun than the new stadia teams like West Ham are in. You work for Carlsberg, so it’s safe to assume you like a beer or two – it must be nice to drink in the stadium. Being treated like an adult is fantastic, and there’s always an alcohol-free alternative like Nordic if I can’t keep up with the locals.

Is it fair to say that following FCK has enabled you to integrate with Danish people in a way you might have struggled to down the pub or with colleagues? Most definitely. I’ve found Danes keep their friendships compartmentalised and the football breaks down a few barriers and gives us a common subject to discuss. I think we are as divided on Pieros Sotiriou as the UK is on Brexit. Are the friendships you have with the Danes you go to football with different from the ones you have with fellow Saints friends? No, not at all, and that’s the great thing. I missed the match day, meeting for a beer, talking about the game, walking to and from the stadium. We even meet occasionally for an away game and watch it in a local bodega. In a nutshell, what is it you like most about Danish football that you wish could become part of the English landscape. Beer on the terraces, standing, and the connection to the community.

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28 February - 12 March 2020

Or giantkiller? Sometimes it's more fun at the fuzzy end of the lollipop

like my club from the start. Besides, an old historic club, in the same colours, who never really win much ... it was meant to be. When you arrived in Denmark were you one of those expats who was a little sceptical about the domestic game, or were you immediately keen to explore your avenues? I've always enjoyed watching football no matter what the level is. Going to live games and exploring new stadia is where the enjoyment is for me, so I was immediately keen to go to games here.

REMAD Amager are a club on the rise. With new owners and a former English Premier League star as their coach, they rocked the Danish footballing world in 2019 when they knocked FCM out of the Danish Cup. Nevertheless, for the time being, they remain in the Danish First Division, and that is a major part of their appeal, according to Dan Davies, a Welsh expat and long-time Amager resident, who has now been a fan for over a decade. We caught up with the Brit to find out more about his support for his local side. How does a life-long Cardiff City fan end up supporting Fremad Amager, a team in the second tier of Danish football? The first game I went to in Denmark was a Fremad Amager one – versus BK Skjold, I think, in 2005 – as it was just down the road from my girlfriend’s. A club chooses you, and not the other way around I believe. It always felt

Like Cardiff, they’re a relatively small club – weren’t you tempted to support a big side for a change like FC Copenhagen or Brøndby? I've generally grown up watching struggling sides for the most part, so supporting the big boys would have felt like cheating! Also, FCK playing in white would never have worked being a Cardiff fan (Swansea, Leeds, England ...). If push came to shove, who would you support if they met in the Europa League? I have a season ticket, and I get to quite a few of the away games that aren't in Jutland. After living on the island for so long, I feel closer to Fremad Amager these days, especially after the re-brand years at Cardiff. It'll never happen, but I would have to say Amager now. Amager’s ground is pretty small. Low stands, terraces … is that part of the appeal: being so close to the players you can hear them breathing? The relaxed standing atmosphere is definitely one of the attractions. I'll take Sundby over Parken every time! You can stand and chat properly with your mates whilst enjoying a pint or 10.

It must be nice to drink in the stadium. It's a social occasion for us as much as the football I would say, so the beer is part of that. Also, the John Faxe years were seriously bleak, and the beer was the only entertainment on offer! The football has thankfully improved since though. What would you say to any internationals out there who love their footy but restrict themselves to just one or two live games a year. I would say get down to your local ground and watch a few games. The football might not be Premier League standard, but it's ultimately far more fun, social and affordable. Why should they support Fremad Amager? Is it true what they say: are they really going places? I don't think anybody has ever said that – not even the board! I do see a lot of potential here though – with all the development and new people moving to Amager. The club needs to tap into that, whilst retaining the old Amager identity. Why should they support Fremad Amager? Because it's a lot of fun and a friendly, easy-going club.

14 COVER

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

28 February - 12 March 2020

Putting the 'super' back into the Superliga ALL PHOTOS: FACEBOOK

INCE BECOMING the Superliga in 1991, the top flight in Denmark has undergone significant change as it has attempted to evolve in response to the trends and developments of modern football. It’s certainly been a struggle at times, and the new league has endured everything from waning attendances and hooliganism to betting scandals, but the league seems to have finally begun to hit its stride. A recent change to the format and a new main sponsor seems to have revitalised the Superliga, which continues to approach a product that is palatable for more and more fans. Branding THE CLUBS themselves have also recognised the potential in rebranding themselves.

Back in the day, lots of teams took their names from dates they were founded, such as B1903, B1909 and B1913. And while these teams still exist, in some shape or form, the top teams began developing identities that were regional and financially more sustainable. For instance, two historic teams B1903 and KB merged to form FC Copenhagen in 1992 and since then other clubs have also reworked their brands, including FC Midtjylland (Herning Fremad and Ikast merger), FC Nordsjælland (from Farum BK ) and SønderjyskE (from Haderslev), to mention a few. It’s just not that easy to market a club that has a name that sounds like a U-boat. Attendance INITIALLY, fans flocked to the stadiums to take in the

new product and average attendance almost doubled in the 1991/92 from about 4.400 per game to over 8,600 for the 2008/09 season. But then Danish football began seeing a decline in crowd attendance and the average dropped to 6,000 in 2016/17. Something needed to happen. And change came a few years ago when the Superliga changed its format to become a 14-team league, including championship and relegation playoffs that brought more games to the table that had something at stake. Since then, attendance has picked up once more and was up to over 1.6 million last season. Next season, the league will reduce the number of teams to 12 to cut away some of those less appealing games. Of course there are several other options to increase

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28 February - 12 March 2020

interest in the league, such as axing undesirable game days. One of the major fan gripes is the league’s decision to cut all Saturday games because they feel that there is too much competition from the big European leagues on that day. But comparable countries like Sweden, Norway, Finland, Austria, Switzerland and Belgium all manage to have Saturday games. Additionally, it’s difficult for many fans to travel to attend evening games on Mondays and Fridays – you try getting to Esbjerg for a 20:00 kick-off on a rainy Monday night and then get home for work the next morning. Sponsorship step BUT ATTENDANCES will likely rise in the future anyways 3F, Denmark’s biggest union and main league sponsor, providing free Superliga tickets for all of its 272,000 members this season. 3F is the sixth main sponsor of the Superliga since Coca Cola started things off in the 1995/96 season. Since then Faxe Kondi, SAS and Alka have all had a go. The Superliga product is continuously improving. For instance, there are loads more options for kids and families going to games now – FC Copenhagen has an entire tribune dedicated to families. Bringing in the expats BUT ONE area the league could definitely shape up in is catering to Denmark’s growing international community. Only FC Copenhagen offers comprehensive updates and information in English, while a few clubs have some basic details about the club in English. This trend also spills over to Denmark’s national team, where little information in English is available for international fans. It’s strange that few Danish teams seek to embrace expats and immigrants looking to get involved, particularly given the minimal effort required to bring them into the fold and the increasing number of foreign players in the Superliga. But the clubs are engaging more with fans in general at least, such as organising pre-match events, free tickets for certain games and deals on food, drink and merchandise for season ticket holders. Also, did you know that one of the few times a Dane will embrace a stranger is during goal celebrations? So get involved and get stuck into some hugs!

THE BIG ONE There's just no getting around it. FC Copenhagen versus Brøndby is as good as it gets in the Superliga. Dubbed the 'New Firm', you'll be hard pressed to get a ticket to this game unless you're a season ticket holder. Season tickets go for anywhere from 600 kr for kids, up to 3,600 kr for the best platinum cards for adults for FCK and 300 kr (kids) and up for Brøndby. Season tickets are highly recommened for fans wanting to catch games reasonably regurlary, as you'll make your money back quickly, particularly if your card includes European and cup games. You won't get a better atmosphere anywhere else in Danish football than when these two bitter rivals clash.

GOING LOCAL If you're hankering for an experience that is more local and more community-oriented, there are plenty of options in Copenhagen. Frem, AB, Lyngby, Fremad Amager, Brønshøj, Hvidovre and B93 are just a handfull of smaller Copenhagen clubs that offer a rich taste of how football once was. It's about supporting your local club, embracing a community feel, enjoying a cold beer and a solid stadium sausage (Lyngby is known for having Denmark's best). There is something magical about attending these often lower-league games, as they have more character than the big proffesional games and can be seen at a fraction of the cost. Plus, you'll get to sit next to boozy old Torben every second week. Now won't that be a treat.

OUTSIDE THE CAPITAL There is ample opportunity to get stuck into football games outside the capital. AGF Aarhus and AaB Aalborg is always a heated Jutland classic, as are smaller rivalries, such as FC Midtjylland-Viborg, Randers-Silkeborg, Vejle-Horsens or Esbjerg-SønderjyskE. Because there aren't any other big teams in Funen, OB Odense fans usually consider Brøndby to be their main rival. AGF don't like the Boys from the Western Suburbs either. A little closer to the capital, Lyngby vs FC Nordsjælland is an emerging rivalry in north Zealand.

16 BUSINESS

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ONLINE THIS WEEK

28 February - 12 March 2020

US our top market, but at what cost? PIXABAY

Banks in SKAT’s sights THE SKATTESTYRELSEN tax agency has issued a demand for 880 million kroner in compensation from nine banks in relation to the share dividend scam, which has defrauded the treasury of 12.7 billion kroner. The amounts range from 14 to 224 million. The banks are Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, Citi Bank, UBS, Morgan Stanley, Barclays, Bank of America/Merrill Lynch and Bank of Nova Scotia.

Banks see profits dwindle BOTH NORDEA and Danske Bank saw a major decline in profits in 2019. Nordea’s profits halved to 11.5 billion kroner, as revenue fell 6 percent to 64.5 billion and total expenses rose 19 percent to 44.7 billion. Danske Bank’s profit, meanwhile, fell 6 billion to 13.8 billion. However, it made a net gain of 23,600 customers following a net loss of 11,000 in 2018.

June merger expected DANSK Industri and Dansk Byggeri are planning a merger, with June mentioned as a possible date. While Dansk Industri counts over 11,000 Danish companies among its members, Dansk Byggeri represents about 6,000 companies in the construction industry.

Arla’s GM pledge IN APRIL 2021, Arla will cease producing milk from cattle fed genetically-modified feed. Around 10 percent of its dairies use GM feed, but consumer demand for GM-free milk has forced Arla’s arm to make the pledge.

In thick cement FLSMIDTH has come under heavy fire for its involvement in a huge corruption case in Tunisia. The case stems from 2010 when FLSmidth and Turkish outfit Prokon-Eko paid Carthage Cement 281 million euros to build a cement factory – a price that a Tunisian court has ruled was 30 million over the odds.

ONLINE THIS WEEK Top shares thriving THE DANISH C25 stock market enjoyed a scintillating start to 2020 – its best since 2014. Almost half, eleven of the companies, enjoyed gains of over 10 percent, and 20 saw their share prices rise. Pharma firm Ambu led the way with a 45 percent increase, with GN Store Nord, Pandora, Novozymes and Coloplast not far behind.

Another loss for Maersk Busier in 2019, but slowdown expected in 2020

Declining production abroad means fellow EU states will sub-contract less from Danish companies

keep your job at the company most of us know as Denmark.

year”, as despite the success there have been many obstacles, such as the continued controls on the borders with Germany and Sweden, the riots in Copenhagen, the US trade war with China and Brexit.

MAERSK has posted a 2019 loss of about 300 million kroner on turnover of 269 billion. This year promises to be quite a challenge due to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak and new legislation regarding shipping fuel. Nevertheless, it recently acquired the US logistic company Performance Team for 3.8 billion kroner.

N THE BUILD-UP to the 2019 General Election, this newspaper ridiculed Enhedslisten leader Pernille Skipper for not knowing that Germany was Denmark’s biggest export market, questioning how it would look if Denmark was a company and an employee didn’t know who its biggest client was. But a major shake-up last year has seen the economically-stronger US jump three places to overtake Britain, Sweden and top dog Germany, all of whom struggled in 2019, to become Denmark’s largest export market. In 2019, Denmark exported goods worth 157.6 billion kroner to the States, compared to just 155.7 billion to Germany. Apologies, Pernille, you can

Paradoxical year BROKEN down (based on a graph supplied by Danmarks Statistik), 53 billion kroner of the exports to the US came from Denmark (compared to 99 billion to Germany), 45 billion from outside Denmark (10 billion) and 60 billion were services (47 billion). Maritime transport accounted for 43.4 percent of Denmark's total service exports to the United States, compared to 18.9 percent of the services to Germany (second biggest behind travel, which accounted for 36.3 percent). Overall, Danish exports were at their highest level for eight years – a net surplus of 185 billion kroner – with pharmaceuticals and wind energy leading the charges thanks to the strong performance of Novo Nordisk and Vestas. Jeppe Juul Borre, the chief economist at Arbejdernes Landsbank, described 2019 as a “paradoxical

Solution to rust

Lego victory is absolute

Top for business again

Lundbeck’s headache clears

A 28-YEAR-OLD PhD student at Aarhus University had developed a means of detecting rust in the steel girders used in construction. By placing sensors smaller than rice grains on each piece of steel, Jaamac Hassan Hire claims rust can be detected at an early stage, thus eliminating the possibility of collapsing structures such as the bridge in Genoa that killed 43 people in 2018.

LEGO IS free to sell its products in China with the knowledge they won’t be sharing shelf space with duplicate products like Lepin, which uses identical branding. Rulings made by Guangzhou Intellectual Property Court in 2018 are now legally binding after a host of appeals failed to land. The defendants were made to pay Lego 4.5 million kroner and make several public apologies.

DENMARK has again topped European Chamber’s Best European Countries for Business index. It scored 86 out of 100, ahead of Sweden (84), Norway (83), Finland (83) and Switzerland (81), with the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Iceland and Austria completing the top ten. Ukraine was ranked last, preceded by Bosnia & Herzegovina, Albania, Russia and Moldova.

LUNDBECK'S migraine treatment, Vyepti (aka Eptinezumab), has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. In what is a saturated market, Lundbeck’s treatment should stand out as it is administered by a quarterly IV infusion. Most rival treatments require monthly injections. SVB Leerink predicts annual sales could hit 5 billion kroner by 2030.

ROSELYNE MIN

Does not bode well HOWEVER, the struggling German economy does not bode well for Denmark, warns Dansk Industri’s chief economist, Allan Sørensen, who cites a dip in the export of raw materials and parts to other European countries as a foreshadowing of a likely decline in 2020. “Unfortunately, declining production abroad means that they will also sub-contract less from Danish companies,” he told Danmarks Statistik. “German industry is in big trouble. Production is at its lowest level since 2014. That does not bode well for our exports to Germany.” Looking ahead, Sørensen sees great uncertainty – particularly in light of the ongoing coronavirus.

Jysk opening in Russia JYSK IS opening its first two stores in Russia on April 2 – the 41st birthday of the furniture retail chain. For over a year, the country manager Igor Raic worked on his own in Russia, but he has now been joined by 16 others.

SAS suspends flights DUE TO the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, SAS has extended its suspension of all flights to and from China until March 29. The suspension will cost SAS an estimated 140 million kroner. In related news, Postnord has confirmed it is not able to deliver mail to the country.

28 February - 12 March 2020

BUSINESS OPINION

DANIEL K REECE MIND OVER MANAGING Daniel is the managing director of Nordeq Management (nordeqmanagement.com), managing cross-border investment projects with a focus on international corporate and tax law issues. Educated as a lawyer, Daniel also teaches in the International Business and Global Economics department at DIS Copenhagen. Daniel is passionate about mindfulness as a means of personal transformation.

Cars: more and bigger IT IS THEREFORE difficult to know how to interpret the figures released last week regarding Danish car consumption in 2019. According to figures from Danske Bilimportører, sales in Denmark may have only risen by 3 percent last year, but the 225,594 new cars was more than double the number in 2009. More alarmingly, from a climate perspective, sales of SUVs (which because of their size consume more petrol) rose from 2 percent of all cars sold ten years ago to 34 percent last year. The

P DANISH CAPITAL IN 2020

ART OF the media’s role in politics is to sort out the spin from the facts. In terms of analysing the American economy, the media have failed. They have wholeheartedly embraced the Trump administration’s narrative that America is witnessing a groundbreaking performance when, in fact, the performance is decidedly average and well below the Trump’s administration’s goal.

Neil is a Scottish-educated lawyer with 18 years’ experience in corporate structuring and general commercial matters. Based in Copenhagen, he primarily advises on international deals. Out of the office, his interests include sports and politics. His column explores topical international financial and economic issues from a Danish perspective.

Subscribing to a sham WITH THE 2019 figures in, the average growth rate for the last three years has been 2.5 percent. This is below the average since World War II, broadly similar to President Obama’s second term, and well below the 4 percent President Trump promised (the Clinton administration, uniquely in recent decades, got close to this figure).

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Global Denmark

small car share, meanwhile, fell from 47 percent in 2009 to 34 percent in 2019. Lars: rich and spending SO WHAT'S going on here? A partial explanation can be found in fiscal policy: the tax payable on petrol cars was reduced by successive governments in 2007, 2015 and again in 2017, whilst in the same period the tax on electric cars has increased. The economy has also improved significantly since 2009 in the immediate aftermath of the financial crisis. Additional spending power could have a lot to do with it. But what if the truth, as the Danish comedian Mikkel Klint Thorius eloquently puts it regarding climate change, is that we “just can’t stop when we’re having so much fun”. This theory would appear to To make these bald numbers worse, this is after an unfunded tax cut that inflated the figures and pushed a significant liability onto future generations. Stock prices are at an all-time high, but this only benefits selected individuals and tells us little about the living standards of ordinary people. The unemployment rate is admittedly low, but mainly because of the strong figures inherited from the Obama administration. Slightly fewer jobs have been created under the Trump administration than during the final three years of the Obama administration.

Dead as a dildo in the realm of penis envy

be backed up by Jytte Norden, a car salesman with 25 years experience, who told the Danish daily Information recently: “It’s very fashionable at the moment to think about the climate, but you don’t see that reflected in decisions when we buy cars.” Ours: seizing the day THIS STATE of cognitive dissonance – believing two opposing things simultaneously – and the tics show a higher current account deficit under Trump than Obama. Most significantly, the huge trade deficit with China has been historically high in recent years – despite the president’s dubious claim that “trade wars are easy to win”. Most of the initiatives launched by the administration have been quick hits: like unfinanced tax cuts, or a reduction in environmental legislation. One policy the administration did have, which would have increased the economy’s long-term potential, was a fund to update the US’s decrepit infrastructure (over 50,000 bridges are structurally deficient). However, this project has slowly died, emphasising the short-term nature of thinking.

stress created by it could also explain some of the justifications for business as usual that are often used. “You only live once” (also an explanation provided by Norden) is an example of this. It could also be a reflection of last-minute panic. The consumption of cars, meat and dairy etc could all be limited by legislation in the not too distant future, so it's better to buy while you still can? So, are the final sales now on?

Funny? It's been three years

Economy of truth, stupid FINALLY, the one metric for

which the economy is doing well is consumer confidence, but it would be circular logic to use this as proof it is succeeding. It’s hardly surprising ordinary people feel the economy is moving in the right direction, when the media is full of talking heads outlining the latest 'gangbusters' performance. Instead of accepting the Trump administration spin, the media should do its job and scratch beneath the surface. There you will find short-term thinking and a relatively average economy that isn’t even matching Trump’s own yardsticks.

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Startup Community

Fit For Business

The Valley of Life

Bucked off that horse LET’S NOW turn to one of President Trump’s hobby horses: trade. The president previously alleged that he would stop other countries “cheating” the US – but the statis-

Union Views

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Y LAST column in this newspaper talked excitedly about the last election being dominated by a 'green' agenda with seemingly huge support from the general voting populace.

Give Yourself a Chance

UK-DK Trade

18 OPINION

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28 February - 12 March 2020

STEPHEN GADD

International fever

N OUR SUPERMARKET we can find Corona beer on sale at a 50 percent discount. In the international arena, we have witnessed a 200 percent jump in hysteria spreading faster than the Coronavirus itself.

Media’s gloomy focus MOST HEALTHY people develop the necessary antibodies and recover, but the media don’t seem to care. They are only focusing on the growing number of infections and rarely tell us about the huge numbers who have fully recovered and are now immune to the virus. The over-reaction we are seeing is creating a lot of disruption: to transport and travel

Time for central ground BACK HOME, our famous Danish solidarity could be put to the test if events like those seen in countries like Italy unfold here. Specifically, the Robin Hood ethos of ‘Udligningsordningen’ – taking from the rich in the cities to give to the poor in the country – will come to the fore. For the government, this will further force its hand to reach across the political spectrum and find a new main ally in Venstre, as a crisis will require an even-handed approach with no room for trivialities on the left or the right. In the meantime, with springtime approaching, and festivities planned to mark her majesty’s 80th birthday and the centenary of Nordslesvig becoming Sønderjylland, there is plenty to look forward to. Remember to always look on the bright side of life! (ES)

Straight, No Chaser An Englishman abroad, Stephen has lived and worked in Denmark since 1978. His interests include music, art, cooking, real ale, politics and cats.

NE THING you do at your peril in Denmark, it seems, is belittle the country, its customs or its food. Scandinavian airline SAS found this out the hard way the other day when its advertising bureau &Co launched a new campaign video entitled 'What is truly Scandinavian?'. After a promising start with the title, things rapidly went downhill as far as the chaps in adland were concerned. It turned out that 'absolutely nothing' was the answer. Everything from democracy to windmills, bicycles and votes for women has been imported. Worse still, liquorice is from China, rye bread from Turkey and the famous smørrebrød open-sandwiches are Dutch. Hands off our rye bread DANES rapidly rushed to heap opprobrium on SAS on social media. The whole thing blew up into a shitstorm about national identity. After all, there are limits when the archetypal favourite liver paste with beetroot on rye bread is under attack. The ad was released on February 12, but the adverse reaction caused it to be pulled a day later, after which a slightly edited version was released, although the full version is still available on YouTube. Kristoffer Meinert, the hapless SAS head of media relations, defended the decision to edit by citing reports that the airline had been the victim of a co-ordinated cyber attack – possibly by known Swedish extremists. The poor man had only been a week in the job, so perhaps he could be forgiven for getting the jitters. The debacle continued with a bomb threat to the advertising

SAS

Much worse than flu? WE HAVE seen a virus, originating literally from the middle of China, spread all over the world by millions of travellers. And thousands have died – well, nearly three. But in our panic we are doing our best to ignore the voices of reason. One such pragmatist, a scientist in Italy, has been raising hers. “Calm down,” she has told the few who will listen. “It is just flu – and not even a serious one.” The numbers stack up. With a mortality rate of 2-3 percent, it carries the same likelihood of killing somebody as normal seasonal flu, which many Danes are rightly vaccinated against. And it’s not just anybody who’s at risk, as the only people who carry a reasonable chance of dying are the elderly, infants, and people with chronic illnesses.

plans as borders are closed, to major events as they are postponed or cancelled, and to bilateral trade. Thousands of goods are also stranded, both on the roads in China and at the major ports, as supply lines across the globe grind to a halt, and shares are in freefall. However, interest rates and petrol prices are also falling, so the world will survive. In fact, the whole episode has been an eye-opener to how sensible infrastructure and logistics have become. At this stage we can remain confident that the virus will leave its mark for a while, but will probably soon be forgotten.

Surely, there's already enough Turkish on our plate

agency’s offices in Adelgade in central Copenhagen, which necessitated the closure of a number of nearby streets by the police for a couple of hours before it was decided the threat was a hoax. Bewitched, baffled, bewildered AS WELL as a nationalist backlash, there seemed to be genuine puzzlement amongst people interviewed on the streets by public broadcaster DR. Some liked it but the underlying message had simply gone over most people’s heads. The video is actually positive about Scandinavia – and, of course, it encourages travelling and broadening the mind. It concludes with: “Going out into the world makes us think big even though we are quite small because every time we go beyond our borders we add colours, innovation, progress. Adding the best of everywhere to here. In a way, Scandinavia was brought here piece by piece by everyday people who found the best of our home away from home. We can’t wait to see what wonderful things you’ll bring home next.” Lager louts THIS IS not the first time a Danish company has released a controversial advert that left a

lot of people baffled. Carlsberg in the UK decided to tweak its recipe for lager and launched a campaign in support of this stating that it was ‘Probably NOT the best beer in the world' (after having said exactly the opposite for almost 46 years). As always, tweets soon appeared. These were actively endorsed by Carlsberg although written by people who didn’t like their beer. One such tweet was supplied by Roy@roystar11: “Our generation have trust issues because we were all raised on those awesome adverts saying Carlsberg is the best lager in the world only to finally taste the shit and realise it’s like drinking the bath water your nan died in.” Honesty, indeed! Rather cleverly, Carlsberg even made a video quoting some of the tweets afterwards. You could argue that this is a very risky strategy, especially for a successful brand. However, it does not seem to have led to the kind of backlash that SAS is experiencing over its video. Perhaps British consumers found it easier to see the funny side than their Scandinavian counterparts. However, woe betide anyone who implies that the Brits didn’t invent fish and chips and mushy peas!

OPINION

28 February - 12 March 2020

VIVIENNE MCKEE

Straight Up

Crazier than Christmas

A Dane Abroad KIRSTEN LOUISE PEDERSEN IN 2 ISSUES

PIXABAY

T’S FREEZING February! TS Eliot called April “the cruellest month”, but what did he know? He didn’t live in Scandinavia.

Cot you laughing A RECENT survey revealed that on average infants laugh as many as 300 times a day, but by the time we've reached 50, it has dropped to just three. Also, men over the age of 50 are generally more grumpy than women. I know a few wives who can attest to that. An American professor of psychiatry, as an experiment, infected volunteers with cold and flu viruses and found out that happier people were less

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ZACH KHADUDU

Vivienne McKee, Denmark’s best-known English entertainer, is this country’s most beloved foreign import. Over the last 36 years, hundreds of thousands of Copenhageners have enjoyed her annual Crazy Christmas Cabaret show at Tivoli, marvelling at her unique, wry Anglo wit and charm.

Laughter lozenges THIS IS the month when we get those nasty colds and flu viruses because we are all huddling together around flickering candles (which the Danes insist on calling 'hygge'). Or we’re packed onto public transport because it’s too icy to use our bikes. How on earth can we put on a happy face in wintry Scandinavia? Well, we must try because (the bottom line is) feeling happy also makes us healthier. This is not fake news. Physically, every time we laugh, this is what happens: six times the normal level of oxygen enters our lungs and brain, whilst reducing our blood pressure, the tension in our face, shoulder and stomach muscles, and the amount of stress-inducing chemicals. It also increases the level of salivary immunoglobulin A – an antibody that defends us against viral infections. Apparently this means that many good laughs a day keep the doctor away!

Mackindergarten ADRIAN MACKINDER

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An Actor’s Life

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IAN BURNS

Early Rejser ADAM WELLS Happiness: foreheads and foreskins, apparently

likely to catch the virus. Happier people are more productive too. In another experiment, volunteers were shown a funny film and then set mental tests, after which their results were compared to the performance of volunteers who had seen a serious film. The ones who had seen the funny film performed 12 percent better – which leads to an important conclusion. If you are going to volunteer for a study, choose an economist's experiment rather than a psychiatrist's. It seems that one of the best ways of getting rid of illness is also one of the most underused resources we have: our sense of humour. Happiness is a penis ANOTHER survey (yes, there is always one) reveals that the average man knows only two jokes and most women don’t know any. Maybe that’s because we women can never be described as 'average'. The ability to tell jokes is not

the same as being happy. “Happiness is a warm gun,” sang the Beatles, and probably many Trump supporters would agree. Danes feel happiness if they get a strong wind behind them when they’re cycling. As for the French, when President de Gaulle retired, his wife was asked what she was looking forward to in their retirement years. She replied “a penis”. A shocked silence followed until the president said: “Ma cherie, I believe zee Americans pronounce zat word ‘appiness?” Our sense of humour is a cholesterol-free, nicotine-free, fat-free, environmentally-friendly option that we have 12 months of every year – and ‘til death us do part. As an English comedian said: “I wanna die in my sleep with a happy smile on my face, like my father did … not screaming in terror like his passengers!” So, if you want to stay healthy in February, enjoy yourself. And if you can’t enjoy yourself, enjoy somebody else!

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The Road Less Taken JESSICA ALEXANDER

Mishra’s Mishmash MRUTYUANJAI MISHRA IN 5 ISSUES

Englishman in Nyhavn JACK GARDNER

Green Spotlight SIBYLLE DE VALENCE

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ABOUT TOWN

28 February - 12 March 2020

PHOTOS BY HASSE FERROLD

The Bangladeshi Embassy were the proud hosts of a celebration to mark International Mother Language Day on February 21 at Asia House. Bangladesh ambassador Muhammad Muhith (seventh right) presided over a cultural program that included contributions from Bangladeshi, Indian, Nepalese, Danish, Chinese and Swedish artists

Japanese ambassador Manabu Miyagawa has been here less than six months, but he has already made a good stab at mastering Danish, he revealed at a celebration of the Japanese Emperor’s Birthday at his residence on February 20, which was attended by a great many members of the diplomatic corps

Crown Prince Frederik was the guest of honour at the opening of ‘Lad Legene Begynde’ (let the Games begin), a new exhibition at Experimentarium looking ahead to the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics. Throughout the year, the public are invited to visit the museum and knowledge centre in Hellerup to test their speed, responsiveness, mental strength and precision

In her role as her country’s representative during its presidency of the EU Council, the Croatian ambassador Tina Krce was at Parliament on February 20, where she met with Michael Aastrup Jensen (right), Venstre’s foreign affairs and EU spokesman to discuss the priorities of Croatia’s six-month term in charge

The team behind ‘The Visit’, a new That Theatre play that envisages HC Andersen’s house call to Charles Dickens in 1857 – what should have been a weekend visit ended up being a stay of five weeks – enjoyed a well-deserved drink after their premiere at Krudttønden on February 19: (left-right) Peter Holst-Beck (Andersen and co-writer), Barry McKenna (director and cowriter), Andrew Jeffers (all other roles!), and Ian Burns (Dickens)

Eleanor Bergstein, the writer of the screenplay for the 1987 film ‘Dirty Dancing’, was the guest of honour at a recent performance, where she posed for photos with the main stars Silas Holst (Johnny) and Mathilde Norholt (Baby). Based on her own experiences as a teenage Mambo queen – her nickname at the time was Baby – Bergstein followed up on the film with a stage version that she created in 2004

COMMUNITY

28 February - 12 March 2019

the year at Pool-Pub Copenhagen in Nordvest. Step forward Cafe Mønten, a popular bar on Holbergsgade a few steps away from Nyhavn. They dispatched 2017 champs The Dubliner (John White, centre right) in the final to land the crown, with their fearless

landlady Patricia Quinn (centre left) sinking the winning ball, although she claims she has no memory of the deciding game! Pictured centre are the winning squad of Patricia Quinn, Brian Le Gear, Jeff O’Donoghue, Pernille Juhl and Niall Hanly. Now in its eleventh year, the

16-team tournament is keenly contested by the Irish pubs and bars of the city, along with a few honorary guests. After the hard work of the festive period, it is regarded by many as their unofficial julefrokost. Sponsors Tullamore Dew (right) lay on a handsome

EVENT FACEBOOK PAGE

Enjoy good food and atmosphere at Cosy Wednesdays at KU.BE and get to know new people. Join the long table dinner filled with delicious dishes focused on ecology and health. Check the website for the menu (March 4, 17:30; KU.BE, Dirch Passers Allé 4, Frederiksberg; 84kr for adults, 53kr for children; kube.frederiksberg.dk)

Green Week 2020 kicks off at oikos-Copenhagen with an overview of the program. Register for free to all Green Week events, including movie screenings, panel discussions, seminars and workshops, networking fairs for businesses, and games (March 4 & 10-12, various times; oikos Copenhagen, Solbjerg Plads 3, 2000 Frederiksberg; Free adm, eventbrite.com)

Impress your guests at your next dinner party by learning how to pair wine with cheese. The evening is completed by a fun quiz that tests your skills and includes some surprise wine and cheese introductions (Feb 27, 19:00-20:00 & March 7, 10:0015:00; Not Your Usual - Wine Bar, Lavendelstræde 13, Cph K; 189kr, madbillet.dk)

‘Not Another Networking Event’ is a get-together like no other. Aimed at anyone who has a big interest in the performing arts, Assemble Theatre Collective invites both professionals to amateurs to share conversations over drinks. Just remember! This is definitely not a networking event (Feb 27, 19:00-22:30; Dexters, Åboulevard 9ab, Cph V; free adm)

spread for them, including a buffer breakfast, an Irish stew for lunch and plenty of Irish coffee to drown the sorrows of any teams who fail to make the knockout stages – among them this year The Globe, who have still not managed to win despite playing every year. DAVE SMITH

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COMING UP SOON

Draw, paint, illustrate, create collages and monotypes at the Art Workshop Copenhagen’s series of workshops in English where you can learn different techniques and work with diverse materials (March 1, 10:00-12:00; ART Workshop Copenhagen, Cylindervej 31, Cph SV; 150kr, reserve via Facebook)

(PHOTOS: TULLAMORE DEW 9-BALL POOL INVITATIONAL FACEBOOK PAGE)

HE SHAMROCK is dead, long live Cafe Mønten! After two years as champions, it was the turn of another bar to lay its hands on the trophy awarded to the winners of the Tullamore Dew 9-Ball Pool Invitational, which was once again held on the second Sunday of

OUT AND ABOUT

Dance the night away with the Balkan Basterds. Groove to swingy circus vibes, jazzy tunes and World music laced with electronic beats (March 14, 22:00-04:00; Operaen Christiania, Pusher st, 1440 Christiania; 70kr, cash upon arrival) VALMIRA GJONI

EVENTS

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

28 February - 12 March 2020

A Column of Fire March 1-29, Sat & Sun 15:00; Bellevue Teatret, Strandvejen 451, Klampenborg; 350-450kr, discounts for under-25s, bellevueteatret.dk Following on from last year’s success with the Danish public, ‘A Column of Fire’ is returning to Bellevue Theatre to take audiences back to Elizabethan times in this Danish musical adaptation of Ken Follett’s medieval novels. The subtitles are shown on your smartphone or tablet through the free app thea dogood. (VG)

Something’s Missing? March 19 & 23, 18:00; Café KANT, Drejervej, Cph NV; 150 -225kr, billetto.dk The premiere of the new work Something’s Missing? has something for everyone. Expect hearty laughs and awkward dancing on an introspective journey that follows a character learning how he can overcome his greatest flaws. All capped off with an inventive, delicious meal with three dishes. Created and performed by Australian actor Hector Smith. (VG)

The Visit ends March 21, Mon-Fri 20:00, Sat 17:00; Krudttønden, Serridslevvej 2, Cph Ø; 175kr, teaterbilletter.dk This is the world premiere of a play based on an extraordinary true story. Set in 1857, it relates how HC Andersen visited Charles Dickens’ home and ended up staying six weeks. His limited English led to monumental gaffs, misunderstandings and odd adventures. Marvel at how the eloquent men got on without a means of verbal communication!

Dance with Me Feb 27-March 21, Mon-Fri 20:00, Sat 17:00; Black Horse Theatre, Vesterbrogade 150, Cph V; 40-205kr, teaterbilletter.dk Peter Asmussen’s monologue about loneliness, longing and love is being performed in English for the first time. Sue Hansen-Styles plays a woman abandoned by her lover for her best friend. Alcohol is now her only anchor. This is a testimony to what loneliness does to a human being as well as a heartwarming story about the human need for love and inclusion. (RM)

Smil Belinda March 13-14, 21:00; Krudttønden, Serridslevvej 2, Cph Ø; 175kr, teaterbilletter.dk Meet Franca and Frank, a cosmopolitan musical duo on a mission to refresh our common cultural heritage with newly interpreted songs that we all know and love from the 1960s, 70s and 80s. Smil Belinda is an entertaining theatre concert with a repertoire of music and theatre that challenges the audience to travel back to old times and think afresh about who and where we are now. (VG)

Ballet de Luxe ends April 4; Kongens Nytorv 9, Cph K; 105-655kr, kgl.dk Whether you are a true ballet aficionado who has seen almost everything, or a curious beginner with healthy enthusiasm, you can relax and look forward to this ballet. In what was one of George Balanchine’s last works, the choreography pushes the ballerinas to the limits of their physical abilities. (RM)

CPH Jewish Film Festival ongoing, ends March 1, various times; Cinemateket, Gothersgade 55, Cph K; 85-130kr, cinemateket.dk Jewish identity and overcoming suppression are among the themes of this popular film festival. Enjoy films and workshops over its final weekend, where no doubt a few of the participants will have an opinion or two on the abhorrent Hunters. (VG)

Beer, opera and pizza ongoing, ends 18 March, 21:30; Folkehuset Absalon, Sønder Blvd 73, Cph V; 50kr, billetto.dk Meet Voluptua who has a lover. Together they brew a poison to murder her husband with poisonous mushrooms in his favourite meal: pizza. Don’t choke on yours as you watch La Pizza con Funghi, a comic drama opera in English about love, adultery and murder. (VG)

Heads up! ongoing, ends March 15, open Tue-Sun 10:00-17:00, Thu 10:0021:00, Mon closed; Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Dantes Plads 7, Cph V; 85-115kr, glyptoteket.com Fresh from an excavation site, four Roman marble heads, all approximately 2,000 years old, are being exhibited at Glyptotek with traces of earth still on them – what a contrast to the manicured sculptures visitors normally see on display at a museum. (VG)

Hot Pink Turquoise ends May 17; Louisiana, Gl Strandvej 13, Humlebæk; 130kr, louisiana.dk What’s the brightest thing in the dark? The audience will be able to find the answer when visiting Ann Veronica Janssens’ exhibition during the darkest time of the year. Her artwork transcends borders between artforms. But one thing is ultimate: light. Who knows? You might get the shot for your 2020 Instagram profile pic! (RM)

CPH:DOX: Premiere launch Feb 28, 18:00; Imperial Bio, Ved Vesterport 4, Cph V; 90kr, kino.dk Ahead of the main event (March 18-29), CPH:DOX is screening the premiere of ‘Scandinavian Star’. (VG)

Boogie Wonderland Feb 28, 21:00-01:00; MellemRummet, Ravnsborggade 11, Cph N; free adm Be swept away by dance fever at the most shagadelic disco since Studio 54. (VG)

CPH VinterJazz ends Feb 29; various times and venues; jazz.dk Celebrating its 20th year, Vinterjazz will include more than 600 concerts at 120 venues. (VG)

Trypical Cumbia Feb 29, 22:00-04:00; Operaen Christiania, Pusher st, Christiania; 60kr in cash upon arrival Dance to cumbia and other traditional Latin American music at this gypsy-style Latin party.

Life Without Energy March 5, 12:00-18:00; Space10 Gallery, Flæsketorvet 10, Cph V What would life be like without electricity? Well, 2 billion people have little to no access, and this is their story. (VG)

Pub Quizzes Feb 27 & March 12, 19:30; The Globe, Nørregade 43, Cph K; 30kr; 5 PT March 2, 19:30; Kennedy’s, Gammel Kongevej 23, Cph V; 50kr; 4 PT The Globe winners get 1,000 kroner and at Kennedy’s 800.

Shoot Filmfestival 2020 March 5-8, 21:00; Husets Biograf, Rådhusstræde 13, 2th, Cph K; 70kr, billetto.dk This year’s football-flavoured program includes a wide selection of international docs. All films have English subtitles. (VG)

Danish on a Sunday March 8 & 15, 14:15; Cinemateket, Cph K; 80kr, dfi.dk Twice a month Cinemateket screens Danish films with English subtitles. March’s films are Sons of Denmark (2018) and Neon Heart (2019). (VG)

Visual Bluff March 11-12, 21:00; Krudttønden, Serridslevvej 2, Cph Ø; 175kr, teaterbilletter.dk With caustic actors and audience interaction anything can happen at Panda Project’s politically-charged performance. (VG)

CPH English Comedy Nights March 12, 20:00; Copenhagen Admiral Hotel, Toldbodgade 2428, Cph K; 90kr, billetto.dk Dana Alexander from Canada and ‘confused’ Italian stand-up Valerio Miconi are among the comics. (VG)

ENGLISH JOB DENMARK Recruitment Announcements Part of The Welcome Group DATA MANAGEMENT OFFICER (INSURANCE), (REF.: MA-238095), MAERSK You will have a key role in maintaining and managing insurance related data, documentation, processes, performance management and reporting across the company. Location: Deadline: Contact:

Copenhagen 31 March 2020 Katarzyna Kułak, katarzyna.kulak@maersk.com

PROJECT MANAGER, COMCORES Comcores is looking for a motivated and passionate project manager to join the operations group reporting to Comcores COO. Location: Deadline: Contact:

Lyngby 22 March 2020 Anne Voss Winther, +45 42 36 65 75

PHD - BLOCKCHAIN ECONOMICS INNOVATION AND EMPOWERMENT, IT UNIVERSITY OF COPENHAGEN (ITU)

To counter talent and knowledge shortage hindering the industry to mature further, two PhD positions on Blockchain economics, innovation and empowerment have been created at the European Blockchain Center at ITU. Location: Deadline: Contact:

Copenhagen 31 March 2020 Roman Beck, ITU, romb@itu.dk

To advertise your vacancy here and reach 60,000+ readers weekly, contact: info@englishjobdenmark.dk or call 60 70 22 98. For more information about what we can offer: https://englishjobdenmark.dk/

ENGLISH JOB DENMARK

GLOBAL HEAD OF CUSTOMER INSIGHTS, NILFISK

One of Nilfisk’s main strategic priorities is to become a customer centric organization. It will be your mission to help the company succeed with this. Location: Deadline: Contact:

Brøndby 16 March 2020 Charlotte Vittrup, VP of Insights & Analytics, +45 21 29 68 52

ENGINEER FOR WARRANTY DEPARTMENT, BURMEISTER & WAIN SCANDINAVIAN CONTRACTOR, BWSC

You will be responsible for the entire process of handling warranty claims issued by the customer. Location: Deadline: Contact:

Allerød 31 March 2020 Claus Berner, Director HR & Corporate Administration, clb@bwsc.dk

PROJECT SHIPPING COORDINATOR, ROCKWOOL

Working independently, you will have responsibility for both small and large shipping activities for the production infrastructure projects assigned to you. Location: Deadline: Contact:

Hedehusene 15 March 2020 Lisbet Bang Pedersen, Senior Transport Coordinator, lisbet.bang@rockwool.com

SENIOR IT ARCHITECT, PLM & MARKETING, ARLA FOODS

We are looking for a skilled Senior PLM Solution Architect who can expand the PLM footprint and pave the way for the architecture for related technologies like PIM. Location: Deadline: Contact:

Aarhus When filled Steffen Juhl Andersen, Director IT Solutions, +45 91 31 60 37

PERFORMANCE COACH, BESTSELLER

Can you grow talents? If you’re looking for a challenge, we offer you the opportunity to develop your training and coaching skills in a dynamic and international environment. Location: Deadline: Contact:

Brande 23 March 2020 Ciaran Kelly, +45 99 42 32 93

SENIOR PROCESS & COMPLIANCE CONSULTANT, ØRSTED

You’ll be responsible for the development and implementation of a global compliance framework for working with payroll and people master data. Location: Deadline: Contact:

Gentofte 6 March 2020 Anders Højer, Senior Manager, International Payroll Compliance & Audit, +45 99 55 73 72

GLOBAL TRAINING COORDINATOR, LEO PHARMA

You will play a key role in the establishment of the LEO Pharma Academy and it is therefore important that you a motivated by the opportunity to build and influence and that you do not expect a fully defined role. Location: Deadline: Contact:

Ballerup 8 March 2020 Birgitte Riis, Global Head of Learning & Development, + 45 20 21 07 02

LINKEDIN FOR EMPLOYMENT COURSE

Location: Copenhagen 11 March 2020 from 17:00-19:00 This course is designed to give you a thorough understanding and practical advice about how to optimise your LinkedIn profile to increase your network and so recruiters can find you easily. Contact:

twg-academy.com

Working together with internationals and companies to better understand the needs of one another. The Welcome Group has created this page and provides additional services, including an online community supporting employment for internationals on Facebook.

Danish will look fantastic on your lips

Kiss bad language learning goodbye We have been teaching foreigners the beautiful language of Danish for more than 40 years. So, if you are looking for high-quality learning, outstanding teachers and fast progression, Studieskolen is the place to go. Right in the center of Copenhagen. Choose from a variety of classes at Studieskolen.dk Check out how we look on SoMe