CPH Post Newspaper: 10-30 March 2023

Danes are too happy to seek the escapism of the Metaverse and too sophisticated to feel at home there. Consequently they hate it

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Foreigners account for an eighth of the workforce, and now the government wants to make it even easier for companies to recruit

There’s

reason why Pedro Pascal had a bromance with Game of Thrones co-star Nikolaj Coster-Waldau. As an infant, his parents sought asylum in Denmark

WILL KØGE CAMPING WAR SET A PRECEDENT?

Union concerned proposed law change could cultivate US trailer park culture

LOÏC PADOVANI

THE ADVENT of March brought good news to the 80 people who regard Corona Camping in Køge Municipality as their home, as it marks the official start of the camping season in Denmark.

They have been living at the campsite, which was featured on the TV2 program 'Trailerpark Danmark', for many years, and efforts at Køge Municipality to evict them have been ongoing since 2017.

Some of them are “vulnerable citizens”, according to TV2, and they all maintain a residential address at Corona Camping, but this is now in jeopardy following the municipality's early March decision to make their residence a police matter.

New law offers hope

DURING the winter there is a limit of 1520 days, provided you have permission from the municipality, on how long you can occupy a caravan or cabin at a site.

However, a majority of MPs are believed to be in favour of a two-year trial, starting from 1 November 2023, which would allow full-term stays in winter.

However, the trial would only apply to 5 percent of all available winter units, and the 80 at Corona Camping account for a much bigger proportion.

Trailer park fears

DANSK Camping Union (DCU) fears the new law could genuinely lead to the development of trailer parks similar to those seen in the US.

“We think camping is a form of

ONLINE THIS WEEK

On UN concern list

COPENHAGEN was recently signalled out by UN Secretary-General António Guterres as a city that faces dire consequences once global sea levels have risen by a metre by 2100. Guterres named 13 cities at a recent UN Security Council meeting, claiming a billion people will be affected. At present, sea levels are rising 3.5 mm every year, but they are expected to speed up.

Otto hits Østerbro hard

Burger joint top again BURGER Palace on Vesterbrogade has been named the best Danish Takeaway Restaurant of the Year for the second time in a row by Just Eat. There were also awards for Burger Shack, Mr Juice in Frederiksberg, Vi Viet in Amager and Chaophraya Thai Restaurant in Vanløse.

Park plans unveiled

holiday and leisure, and not a form of housing. There must be some very clear rules in this area,” DCU chair Anne-Vibeke Isaksen told TV2.

However, Susanne Farnø, the co-owner of Corona Camping, rejects the notion, pointing out that “not all trailer parks in the US are slums” and “that some people are better off here because they simply feel better here than they do in an apartment”.

CAPITAL ON TOP CYCLING CITIES LIST

CNN hails infrastructure that requires cars to drive slower

CHRISTIAN WENANDE

COPENHAGEN has been named one of the world’s top 10 cities for cycling by CNN, which praised the capital’s infrastructure.

“Thanks to Danish design innovations, such as narrowed streets and textured surfaces, cars drive slower,” it noted.

No room for Amsterdam

AMSTERDAM, traditionally Copenhagen's biggest rival for the title of world's best cycling city, was a surprise omission, but on a list comprising 10 countries, Utrecht was chosen instead.

Melbourne, San Francisco, Strasbourg, Leipzig, Antwerp, Bern, Montreal and Tel Aviv were also included.

WHEN STORM Otto hit Copenhagen on February 17, wind speed reached 100 km/h at Copenhagen Airport, causing havoc to local transport. The closest the capital came to a calamity was at three apartment blocks at Østerbrogade 110, where residents were advised to stay indoors, due to falling debris from the building's copper roof.

Huge tunnel plans

A CITY Hall majority backs plans to submerge parts of Bispeengbuen, the six-lane road that slices through the heart of the city from Nørrebro past the Lakes to Ørestads Boulevard in Amager. Green areas will then take its place on the surface. There are two plans under consideration costing 5.5 or 10.5 billion kroner, which are achievable in seven or eight years.

Former mayor dies

RITT BJERREGAARD, the mayor of Copenhagen from 2006-2010, has lost her battle with cancer. She was 81. The Socialdemokratiet member blazed many trails for women in politics after becoming an MP back in 1971, and then a minister in 1973 – the youngest woman to ever hold a seat in the cabinet at the time.

Men feel more welcome

IN RESPONSE to the perception that 'Barselsgrupper' (maternity groups) are mostly prioritised for new mothers, Copenhagen Municipality has launched 71 'Forældregrupper' since September 1. The new groups are equally welcoming to men, and this has been a big hit with gay couples, reports TV2.

PLANS for Kranparken, a new 10,000 sqm park in west Nordhavn near the harbour quay, where biodiversity will be prioritsed to reconcile urban life with nature, are accelerating. The public are being asked for help to design the park. More meetings are forthcoming in March.

Escalator promise

DSB HAS confirmed that renovation plans for Nørrebro Station will include the graffiti-strewn escalators. Its deputy head, Lars Gøtke, told CopenhagenLIV that the outdoor escalators are unduly influenced by weather conditions.

Outgoing at the mall

AN EXODUS is ongoing at the Vestamager Centret shopping centre in Kastrup due to high rental prices, which are believed to be as high as 70,000 kroner per month. Bents Bazar, Ekelunds Damp and Centerbageren all recently decided to terminate their lease agreements.

Job centre satisfaction

DESPITE the government's proposal to close down job centres, 79 percent of job-seekers have expressed high satisfaction with the ones in Copenhagen, according to a VIV survey. More charging stations

BY & HAVN has reached a deal with Spirii to place an additional 649 electric charging stations in the city by 2026. Currently, there are 154 stations. By 2030, 1,583 will be operational.

Saunas reopen

THE CITY’S public saunas have reopened. Closed to conserve energy costs on November 7, City Hall estimates it saved about 340,000 kWh.

PIXABAY

New must-have camping items: antifreeze, ice picks, snowmobile

Ben Hamilton EDITOR

Christian Wenande NEWS/LAYOUT EDITOR

Ejvind Sandal CO-OWNER

Hans Hermansen CEO

Hasse Ferrold PHOTOGRAPHER Barbara Mensah SOCIAL MEDIA

The snake in our midst is the capital's biggest asset

VISIT DENMARK/KIM WYON

Experience a world under the seven seas and enjoy a close encounter with majestic hammerhead sharks and elegant rays at Northern Europe’s largest and most modern aquarium.

A YEAR FOR MOST CHILDREN IS A LIFETIME …

UNICEF visit to the warzone reminds supply division leader how every little bit helps in the effort to support Ukraine and its youth through its conflict with Russia

ETLEVA KADILLI - DIRECTOR OF UNICEF SUPPLY DIVISION

ONE YEAR ago, conflict struck close to home when war broke out in Ukraine. That is one year of insecurity, fear, broken dreams, divided families and disrupted lives.

Some 6.5 million people have been displaced from their homes, of which 1.2 million are children. Almost 7 million children are at risk due to attacks on critical infrastructure that leave them without sustained access to electricity, heating and water.

Dramatic consequences

I TRAVELLED to Poland and Ukraine in November and saw dramatic consequences of the war for communities. I also saw the degree of dedication and hard work from my UNICEF colleagues on the ground: not just implementing programs for children but also finding innovative and creative solutions with limited means, ranging from an improvised water filtration system in a shelter to working with local networks to produce and deliver winter clothing.

On the second day of my visit, already deeply moved by the destruction I had seen in Ukraine and stories of displaced families I had encountered in Poland, I visited a temporary maternity unit in the basement of the hospital in Zhytomyr, where the healthcare staff were, in essence, working in a bomb shelter.

Earlier that morning they had helped deliver twin boys. The twins were weak and had been placed in an incubator – a stark reminder of the fragility of life. The health workers I met that day gave these infants a chance at life, and the selflessness and bravery I witnessed was tremendous.

I was grateful that UNICEF could play a role by supporting them with the equipment and supplies they need to fulfil an infant’s right to survive and thrive.

Perspective in the shelter

THE NEXT day, I visited a newly-built, child-friendly bomb shelter at Irpin School that had been badly damaged and subsequently renovated with support from UNICEF – in close collaboration with the school and the municipality. Its bright and welcoming atmosphere was in contrast to the reality of war outside and made for a hospitable space for the children who would spend time there.

During my visit to Ukraine, sheltering for several hours during air strikes gave me a new perspective. My personal experience was intense, albeit short. Spending time underground is a harrowing experience, particularly if you are a parent sheltering with your

child – or, perhaps worse, separated from your child when the sirens go off and having to shelter apart – and not knowing what the future brings.

It is a child’s right to grow up in a peaceful environment without fear of death or hunger, and it is heartbreaking to see parents worrying about whether their child will live to see tomorrow.

Children the priority

UNICEF believes children's rights must be protected, and our mantra is to be there for every child. Within two weeks of the start of the war, six trucks were dispatched from our Global Supply Hub here in Copenhagen – among the first relief aid from humanitarian agencies.

To date we have delivered goods and services of a value of 163 million US dollars to Ukraine and neighbouring countries, including medical products, winter clothing and hygiene materials.

We have also supported the setting up of Blue Dot hubs along border crossings to receive Ukrainian families forced to leave their homes. These hubs provide a safe, warm space with welcoming recreational facilities and psychological support. Visiting Blue Dots in Poland, I saw the difference they make for the vulnerable families who land there.

Working around the clock

UNICEF Supply Division has deployed

33 staff to Moldova, Poland and Ukraine during the last year to help set up the emergency supply chain (supply planning, procurement, warehousing and

facility rehabilitation, and distribution). Colleagues who have spent time there create personal connections to the work on the ground and the people doing it. And they come back even more committed.

UNICEF staff in Ukraine are working around the clock to help families and communities, keeping essential health services going, giving some respite to children through support to educational and recreational activities, and providing basic necessities and medicines.

We are expanding our local programs, which provide psychological and psychosocial support, advice on nutrition and child development, and support to vulnerable families with essential warm clothes and cash assistance.

Determined to endure

MY TRIP was many things: it was shocking and humbling, yet beautiful and inspiring because of the lengths to which people go to help each other. It challenged me to do my utmost so that UNICEF can do even more for the children affected by this war.

We are grateful for the strong national government leadership at all levels, along with the generous support and unwavering solidarity of donors that enable UNICEF to bring some relief to Ukrainian families.

Our support will remain strong in the hope there will be an end to the war soon, so the children of Ukraine can live their childhood in peace and realise their dreams for the future.

A child-friendly bomb shelter was integrated into the Irpin school renovation plans, creating a welcoming space for children during air raids

A temporary delivery room and intensive care unit for premature babies in the basement of a local hospital. Since March 1, about 290 babies have been born in this basement shelter

Etleva Kadilli visits a UNICEF-supported factory that locally produces winter kits for families, providing them with warm clothing and blankets

WAR ANNIVERSARY ON OUR MINDS

ONLINE THIS WEEK

Seabed devastated

THE NORD Stream 1 and 2 explosions last September caused untold damage to the seabed in what is a popular breeding ground for cod and porpoises, according to a new report. The four Baltic Sea explosions stirred up 250,000 tonnes of contaminated seabed – an area twice the size of nearby Bornholm. The WWF called it “another nail in the coffin of the Baltic Sea”.

Denmark could send jets

DENMARK could end up sending its outgoing F-16 fighter-jets to Ukraine, but only if other countries do the same, reports DR. On a mid-February tour of Europe, President Zelensky underlined the urgent need for the jets. According to Politico, the push to send jets to Ukraine is gathering steam in the Pentagon.

Public back arms donations

Ceremonies, demonstrations, illuminations and vandalism mark one year since Russia invaded Ukraine

CHRISTIAN WENANDE

DEMONSTRATIONS, torchlight processions, speeches, music and commemorations were held across Denmark on February 24 to mark the one-year anniversary of the beginning of the War in Ukraine.

Services and events took place in Copenhagen, Aarhus, Odense, Roskilde, Helsingør and many more cities and towns across Denmark.

Most notably, a demonstration took place outside the Russian Embassy in the late afternoon where Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke by video link.

And in the early evening many attended a solidarity event for Ukraine at Enghave Plads, where Ukraine’s ambassador to Denmark, Mykhailo Vydoinyk, was among the speakers.

Busy at Christiansborg

POLITICIANS in Copenhagen were also busy, and Ambassador Vydoinyk was again among the speakers, along with

PM Mette Frederiksen, at a morning service held by Parliament at Holmens Kirke, where the congregation included the Crown Prince Couple.

The Ukrainian flag flew at the main entrance of Parliament and when darkness descended upon the city, Christiansborg was illuminated in yellow and blue.

City Hall was also illuminated in Ukrainian colours following an afternoon event involving Frederiksen, Vydoinyk and mayor Sophie Hæstorp Andersen.

The event included songs from the Ukrainian Soul Choir and Sankt Annæ Girls Choir, and guests were offered the City Hall pancakes – a tradition that exists for special occasions.

Vandals target Ecco GRABBING a headstart on the proceedings, vandals targeted Ecco's headquarters in Tønder in southern Denmark the night before, draping a Ukrainian flag over a stone plinth promoting its HQ.

Underneath the cloak, a number of large 'Zs' were discovered – the symbol of the Russian army during the invasion. .

Ecco, whose flagship store in Copenhagen was vandalised in August,

continues to operate in Russia despite widespread criticism.

Meanwhile, Copenhagen woke up on March 2 to discover that the Little Mermaid has been painted in the colours of the Russian flag.

A big thank you

IN RELATED news, President Zelenskyy has personally thanked Denmark for all its help over the last year, which included the donation of 19 Caesar howitzers last month.

“A true friend knows that our fight is the fight of Europe. Thank you, Denmark,” the Ukrainian Defense Ministry wrote in a tweet that included a video featuring a 1945 Danish freedom song written by Aksel Schiøtz.

Both Germany and Switzerland have approved donations of military equipment produced within their borders, enabling the likes of Denmark to send more.

The Russian Embassy in Denmark recently condemned Denmark’s donations, writing: “Denmark is increasingly being pulled into the conflict in Ukraine. The belief that peace can be achieved through weapon deliveries is both cynical and immoral.”

SOME 80 percent of the Danish public support sending more weapons to help Ukraine, according to a Megafon survey, with only 7 percent disapproving. The finding is in line with the billion kroner and counting that Danes have donated to Ukraine, including 693 million kroner via the Red Cross, 195 million via UNICEF and 40 million via Save the Children.

Huge earthquake response

DENMARK has sent aid in the form of donations and emergency personnel to Turkey and Syria following the devastating earthquakes that killed over 46,000 people on February 6. Sent via aid organisations such as Red Barnet and Dansk Flygtningehjælp, the donations have mostly been spent on water, food, blankets and tents. A missing Dane was eventually found alive.

Passage to India reopens

AIR INDIA’S Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner touched down in Copenhagen on March 2 – its first flight since the Corona Crisis struck. The 256seat route will be flown three times a week: on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays from Copenhagen at 19:45, and then returning from New Delhi on the following day at 13:30.

Many Ukrainians will stay

AN IMMIGRATION Ministry survey reveals many Ukrainians would like to make Denmark their permanent home. Some 37 percent of the adult Ukrainians who have left Ukraine for Denmark since the start of the war want to remain here permanently, including over 40 percent of 18 to 29-year-olds. Over half the men are in favour, but only a third of the women.

PM wary of Putin

PM METTE Frederiksen believes Russia will invade other countries if Ukraine loses the war. “I don’t think Putin will stop with Ukraine; he’ll march on to the next country,” she said at the Munich Security Conference. Meanwhile, Defence figures reveal that fighter jets were scrambled to intercept foreign military planes 80 times in 2022, compared to just 30 in 2021.

Helping to clean the Ganges

INDIA’S PM Narendra Modi has turned to Danish expertise to help clean up the Ganges. Initially, a Danish study will assess the pollution levels and determine how they can be improved sustainably. India has also requested Denmark’s help in preparing meetings and discussions relating to climate and the environment during the G20 summit in September.

Heating Ukrainian homes

A DANISH co-operation with UNOPS – the UN’s arm of infrastructure improvement – seeks to heat 50,000 homes in the Mykolaiv Region, one of the areas worst affected by the War in Ukraine. Thirteen mobile boiler houses have already been dispatched, and over a 1,000 generators and other critical supplies will arrive ahead of summer.

Foothold in the US

A NEW US law, the Inflation Reduction Act, aims to reduce its CO2 emissions by 50 percent by 2030, and it is hoped Denmark can play a role. Ministers Morten Bødskov (business) and Lars Aagaard (climate) recently met US ambassador Alan Leventhal to pursue a collaboration aimed at promoting green growth and Danish companies in the US.

Holding Russia accountable

DENMARK has joined a core group of countries that will investigate how Russian leaders can be prosecuted for actions in Ukraine. The foreign minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, said that the need for legal action was necessary following the discovery of mass graves and reports of abuse as areas of Ukraine have been liberated.

Koran burnings

“shameful”

TURKISH President Recep Erdogan has warned that Rasmus Paludan’s continued burnings of the Koran outside embassies in Sweden and Denmark could lead to Turkey not approving Sweden’s bid to join NATO. Lars Løkke Rasmussen, the foreign minister, condemned them as "shameful". Raised in Denmark, Paludan also holds a Swedish passport.

Thousands braved cold weather to show their solidarity on the streets EMILY WENANDE HASSE FERROLD

PARLIAMENT ABOLISHES STORE BEDEDAG

ONLINE THIS WEEK

Public happy with abortion law

SOME 48 percent of Danes believe the abortion limit should not be raised above 12 weeks, according to an eOpinion survey for DR. Late abortions can be obtained by applying to an abortion council. Last year just 53 out of 803 applications were rejected.

Not a regular doctor check-up

ALL 9,750 INHABITANTS of Region of Southern Denmark town Grindsted have been invited to visit their doctor as fears of the effect of long-term local pollution continue to grow. From 1962 to 1975, a local chemical plant dumped tonnes of heavy metals, medicinal products and solvents into the earth, mixing with the groundwater.

TikTok ban

Cutting the public holiday will improve productivity, claims government

LOÏC PADOVANI

PARLIAMENT last week approved a bill to abolish the Store Bededag public holiday from 2024 onwards, even though an Epinion survey carried out for DR concludes that seven out of ten people in Denmark oppose the measure, and only 19 percent approve.

Traditionally held on the fourth Friday following Good Friday since 1686, it is a spring holiday most of the public keenly look forward to – one of three that fill the gap between Easter and the summer break in July.

However, while it has been argued before that Denmark could benefit from moving one of the holidays to a slot later in the year, the government sought to scrap it altogether to improve produc-

tivity as part of its plans to spend more funds on defence. In total, it will raise 3 billion kroner for the state’s coffers.

No gentlemen’s agreement

THE GOVERNMENT took an 'all hands on deck' approach in light of the fierce opposition voiced by both left and rightwing parties.

Often, when a bill with an obvious majority is voted on, it is agreed that a balanced proportion of MPs do not need to vote – but in this case the environment minister, Magnus Heunicke, chose to stay in Denmark and vote, instead of joining the Crown Prince Couple on a business delegation in India.

The government was assured of the bill’s safe passage when Radikale confirmed it would lend its support, and it was passed by 95 votes to 68.

The result creates an extra school day, which is one too many apparently, so suggestions have been made that

schools should take the Queen’s birthday on April 16 off instead.

Not May Day too!

IN RELATED news, it has emerged that Copenhagen’s mayor for employment and integration, Jens-Kristian Lütken, would also like to cut Labour Day as a holiday.

Since 1933, school children and public workers in Denmark’s biggest municipality have had the day off on May 1 – a “relic of the past” according to the local Venstre politician.

However, the Red Bloc parties did not agree, and a City Hall vote on March 2 quashed Lütken’s motion.

Copenhagen is one of relatively few municipalities in the Capital Region in which May 1 – International Workers’ Day – is an obligatory day off at the schools. Of the 34 municipalities in the capital area, only 11 have the day off, along with a further three nationwide.

PARLIAMENT has urged its members to avoid using TikTok on their work devices due to increasing cyber-security concerns that the Chinese state might be using it to obtain data. Likewise, Capital Region employees have been told to take it off their work phones.

Stork seen, so it’s spring …

A STORK was spotted in Jejsing in south Jutland on February 27 – a clear sign that spring has arrived, according to Danish folklore. The weather gods might disagree, as snow was forecast for most of the country at the time the story went to press.

Behold Aurora Borealis!

THE NORTHERN Lights were visible from many areas of Denmark on February 27 and 28. Visitors to beaches on the northern tip of Zealand got a good view of Aurora Borealis, and they were even sighted in Nordhavn.

Women to serve in Army

Rated highly for driving

DENMARK is the sixth best country to drive in, according to the Global Driver Satisfaction Index, a survey of internationals compiled by Moneybarn. It scored well for low congestion and good road infrastructure, but was let down by the high price of parking and petrol. Singapore, Japan, Turkey, Spain and Switzerland completed the top five, with Greece last.

Church exodus continuing

SOME 12,751 people left the church in 2022 – a 42 percent rise on 2021 and the most since 2017, according to Danmarks Statistik. The average age of the leavers was 39. At present, 72 percent of the population are members – down by 16 percentage points compared to 1986.

Wedding increase

THERE were 33,054 weddings in Denmark in 2022 – up 20 percent on 2021, according to Danmarks Statistik. Around 79 percent were getting married for the first time. The number of church weddings rose from 7,800 to 10,200. The divorce rate, meanwhile, fell by 5 percent to 12,319.

Minister on sick leave

JAKOB Ellemann-Jensen, the defence minister and head of Venstre, went on indefinite sick leave in early February following a health scare that resulted in him needing to visit hospital late last week. Troels Lund Poulsen has been acting defence minister in the meantime.

Four-day week at school

Not enough learning Danish!

DE DANSKE Sprogcentre, the language school interest group, has urged the government to try harder to encourage foreigners to speak Danish. Among its suggestions is abolishing the rule that prohibits internationals from obtaining free lessons once they have been here five years. Only 31 percent of foreigners who moved to Denmark in 2021 started lessons, it claims.

Plagued by potholes

THE COMBINATION of the wettest January in 150 years and freezing temperatures has left Denmark plagued by potholes – a road hazard difficult to see in the very conditions that cause them! Motorists are advised to inform their local municipalities of any significant potholes that appear on the roads.

Kids addicted to opioids

CHILDREN aged 14-17 are becoming addicted to dangerous opioids related to heroin such as Dolol (a pain relief prescription drug) and tramadol (an illegal euphoriant). For many, it is their first ‘high’, so they are leapfrogging cannabis altogether. A TV2 Kosmopol survey reveals 25 percent of the Danish municipalities are deeply concerned.

War on stealthing

THE JUSTICE minister, Peter Hummelgaard, wants to criminalise stealthing – the removal of a condom during intercourse without the approval of a sexual partner. The likes of Sex og Samfund and Everyday Sexism Project Denmark have been steadily campaigning for its criminalisation, arguing that stealthing is a form of sexual assault.

Non-EU spouse rethink

THE GOVERNMENT wants to reduce the required deposit payable by a Danish national in order to bring their non-EU spouse into Denmark from 100,000 to 50,000 kroner. Right-wing parties believe the sum must cover any benefits the spouses might claim. However, the government reasons that couples are forced to leave because it is too steep.

Racist to Greelanders

DENMARK has received a damning report from a Guatemalan official who assessed how well it is adhering to the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in respect to Greenlandic Inuits. José Tzay reported “a high degree of racial discrimination in all public services they require”, according to P1 Morgen radio.

WOMEN should be available for conscription to the Danish Armed Forces, the defence minister, Jakob Ellemann-Jensen, has told TV2. Denmark can no longer afford to only accept volunteers – and everyone, including women, should be eligible, he said. Only 1 percent of all enlisted soldiers are forcefully conscripted.

National service lasts 4-12 months.

Busy month for Queen

QUEEN Margrethe is recovering after back surgery at Rigshospitalet on February 22. In her absence, the Crown Prince Couple, Prince Joachim or Princess Benedikte, will fill in for her. Earlier last month, a Weekendavisen interview revealed she thinks Putin has the coldest eyes she has ever seen, she’s unafraid of death, and that she doesn’t watch ‘The Crown’.

AALBORG Katedralskole will soon become the first school in Denmark to experiment with four-day school weeks. It will close on six selected Mondays, giving students and teachers a long weekend. The downside will be a summer holiday that is six days shorter.

Record low energy usage

THE PUBLIC demonstrated a talent for conserving energy in January, according to Energistyrelsen figures. Electricity and gas usage fell by 13 and 26 percent compared to normal, as consumers did their best to save energy and money.

Minister to face trial

CLAUS Hjort Frederiksen, the defence minister from 2016 to 2019, is pleading not guilty after being charged with sharing state secrets. The 75-year-old could not be tried when he was a serving MP, but he stepped down last year, kissing goodbye to his parliamentary immunity.

'PÅ KØBENHAVNS VOLD AFTENEN FØR STORE BEDEDAG' BY ANDREAS HERMAN HUNÆUS

Danish painter Andreas Herman Hunæus depicted the evening before Store Bededag in Copenhagen back in 1862

WHY DANES HATE THE METAVERSE ONLINE

They are probably too content to crave escapism and too sophisticated to engage with the nascent designs, contends expert

BEN HAMILTON

PUTTING on a pair of virtual reality (VR) goggles and experiencing augmented reality (AR), investing in NFT art, and building virtual worlds – it hardly beats the joys of hygge in company, framing your three-year-old’s latest masterpiece, and fixing the roof of your summerhouse, does it?

Well, according to research carried out by Coin Kickoff, the Danes are the second most likely nationality to hate the Metaverse, trailing only the Irish, who have no feckin’ time for that shite either.

Coin Kickoff used the AI sentiment analysis tool HuggingFace to assess 1.6 million tweets, 19 of the world’s most popular metaverses, and Google search volumes for metaverse-related keywords in 192 countries.

Southeast Asia fondness

TRAILING Ireland and Denmark, New Zealand, the US, Canada, Norway, Sweden, the UK, Brazil and South Africa completed the top ten countries most likely to hate the Metaverse.

The top ten countries most likely to love the Metaverse are Vietnam, Philippines, Ukraine, Nigeria, Indonesia, Taiwan, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Singapore and Portugal.

For example, 56.8 percent of tweets made by Vietnamese people about the Metaverse are in favour of it. In the Philippines there are a world-leading 2,421 Google searches for the Metaverse for every 1,000 people.

At the other end of the spectrum, 14.4 percent of tweets made by Irish people contain negative sentiment, closely followed by the Danes with 13.2 percent.

Question of contentment

SO WHY is the Metaverse so popular in

PFAS found in organic eggs

HARMFUL carcinogenic PFAS substances, found recently in Danish groundwater and rainwater, have also been discovered in organic egg yolks, according to a new DTU study. While PFAS was also found in cage and freerange eggs, the presence was minimal compared to the amounts found in the organic eggs. Fish meal in the feed is the probable cause.

Airport attains top rating

COPENHAGEN Airport has achieved an Airport Carbon Accreditation rating of 4+ – the highest level attainable. It follows years of effort dating back to 2013. Only 33 of 443 accredited airports worldwide have a 4+ rating.

Southeast Asia and unpopular in Northern Europe? According to ART[XR].com

founder Eric Prince – who has 25 years of experience developing online, mobile games and immersive 3D web VR/AR/XR technologies – it is primarily a question of contentment.

The Danes are frequently nominated the world’s happiest people, and this is not a good fit for the Metaverse: “The Danes may be experiencing far too much real utopian society to go looking for a virtual utopian replacement. Simply, life is good in Denmark.”

In contrast, Vietnamese and Filipino fans of the Metaverse might be looking for escapism, he suggested – poignantly Ukraine is one of only two non-Asian countries in the top ten who love it.

Matter of sophistication

FURTHERMORE, the Metaverse is currently lacking in sophistication if the “designed-by-committee nightmarish safety manual look” of Horizon Worlds is anything to go by", pointed out Prince.

“The first designs of the Metaverse have been very cartoony and appealing to a mass consumption or unsophisti-

Concerns over melatonin

IN 2021, 28,005 PEOPLE aged 45-64 got a prescription for melatonin pills to tackle insomnia, according to Sundhedsstyrelsen – up from 8,150 in 2011. The big worry about melatonin, the hormone released by the body when it gets dark, is that nobody knows how harmful it could be to take it over a longterm period. Melatonin levels dwindle with age.

Pollen season begins

ASTMA-ALLERGI Danmark has registered the season’s first pollen spores from alder trees and hazel bushes. How bad the pollen season will be this year depends on wind and weather conditions; mild weather and sunshine usually means more pollen.

cated aesthetic taste,” explained Prince.

“In contrast, poorer countries like the Philippines seem to be engaging generously with the Metaverse and how it is currently being presented. Maybe these people are more optimistic and thankful, or maybe the candy-deliverable cartoony palette is more appealing than their reality.”

Will be worth trillions

ACCORDING to Gartner, 25 percent of the planet’s population will be spending at least an hour per day in the Metaverse by 2026 – as it becomes a mecca for gamers – while McKinsey predicts the sector could be generating as much as 5 trillion US dollars in value by 2030.

Facebook has seen a recent downturn in interest in its venture Horizon Worlds, which it launched in 2021 after acquiring the VR platform Oculus for 2 billion US dollars seven years earlier.

Subscriptions to Horizon Worlds were initially brisk, reaching 300,000 active users by February 2022. But since then, numbers have fallen by 50 percent. The company’s share price toppled by 70 percent in 2022.

THIS WEEK

Organ donation shake-up?

PARLIAMENT will again consider whether deceased adults should mandatorily give up their organs, unless they have stated otherwise. This is the case in many countries, including Norway and Sweden. Only 84 deceased people gave up their organs last year – the lowest figure since 2014. Currently, 460 people are waiting for a new organ – of whom 338 need kidneys.

Genetics mostly to blame ACCORDING to a study by researchers at Rigshospitalet and Statens Serum Institut, the brain disorder hydrocephalus, commonly referred to as 'fluid on the brain', is caused by genetics in 60 percent of cases.

Damning climate report

THE LATEST Council on Climate Change report contends that Denmark needs to halve its emissions to realistically achieve its 70 percent reduction by 2030, as compared to 1990. The council claims the Danish electricity, heating, agriculture and industry sectors still have a long way to go and that the emission goal for 2030 remains far off.

Antibiotic recalled

THE ANTIBIOTIC medication Dicillin has been recalled after being linked to an outbreak of multiresistant bacteria cases. Around nine patients have been found containing multiresistant CPO bacteria following the ingestion of Dicillin, but doctors fear numbers could be higher. Between September and December around 35,000 people were prescribed it.

Huge stem cell response

OVER 7,700 people signed up as stem cell donors in Denmark in just a few days in late February – surpassing the total number of donor enrollments for all of 2022 –following a Rigshospitalet patient's Facebook post about his battle with acute leukemia. An estimated 0.1 percent of donors end up being a good match, but 0.1 percent of 7,700 is nearly eight.

Making food more sustainably

CHRISTIAN Bugge Henriksen from the University of Copenhagen has been placed in charge of CLEVERFOOD, a four-year, 60 million kroner EU project to make Europe’s food system, which is currently responsible for one-third of the continent's greenhouse gas emissions, more sustainable.

EU fighting back

A NEW EU Commission proposal is in the works to ease legislation faced by member states that want to financially support green business. Europe is being left behind by China and the US and needs to change its laws in regards to tax reductions, permit processing times, and new tech such as CO2 storage and Power-to-X.

Rise in smoker numbers

SMOKING numbers are rising despite the cost of cigarettes soaring. Almost 25 percent habitually or occasionally use at least some sort of nicotine product, according to the latest according to Sundhedsstyrelsen figures – while the percentage who smoke has risen from 18 to 19 percent compared to 2020. Among 15 to 29-year-olds, the share has grown from 23 to 25 percent.

Methane emission breakthrough BY ADDING Dutch-produced food additive Bovaer to cattle feed, scientists from Aarhus University have succeeded in cutting methane emissions caused by cow burps and farts by about 30 percent. Some 10,000 cows were given the additives at 30 farms in Denmark, Sweden and Germany.

911 vehicles going electric FALCK expects electric ambulances to be the norm within the next three to four years following the successful use of one in late February. The Mercedes-Benz e-Vito Tourer L3 has a range of 233 km on one charge and can reach a speed of 160 km/h. In related news, ten electric patrol cars have joined the police's regular fleet.

More taking ADHD meds

INCREASING numbers of young people are on meds typically used to treat depression or ADHD, claims Danmarks Statistik. Some 7.2 percent of the 20-29 age bracket had a prescription for psychoanaleptics in 2021 – up from 5.4 percent in 2016 – while the share among the 10-19 age bracket rose from 3 to 4 percent.

Energy deal with California

THE DANISH Energy Agency has signed a renewed agreement with the California Energy Commission to create a framework for increased energy efficiency and offshore wind energy in the US state. The agreement will run until 2024 and includes collaboration on Power-to-X technology.

Yes, blackout glasses: the less I see, the better

WHY PEDRO PASCAL IS INDEBTED TO DENMARK

The star of ‘The Last of Us’ moved here just nine months old after his Chilean parents were offered asylum

BEN HAMILTON

EVERYBODY is talking about Pedro Pascal. Men want to be him, women want to bed him, children want him to be their Dad – it’s amazing what the right role can do for an actor.

An Emmy acceptance speech is surely on the cards for his role in ‘The Last of Us’, but who’s he going to thank? After all, he’s 47 and the world hadn’t exactly been falling over itself to recognise his star quality.

Well, top of the list should be Denmark. When Pascal was nine months old, his parents realised their lives were in peril living under the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.

They sought refuge in the Venezuelan embassy in Santiago, and it was from there that the family were granted political asylum in Denmark.

Parents on the run

BOTH HIS parents, a child psychologist and fertility doctor, assisted the oppo -

Overlooked for award

NEITHER Ian Burns nor Vivienne McKee won ‘Årets Hæderspris’ – the CPH Culture award for those who have made a “lifelong effort in Danish theatre as well as a very special effort in 2022”. They marked the respective 25th and 40th anniversaries of their theatre companies, but the jury instead plumped for an actor, audiobook reader and sometime model.

New film site for kids

THE DANISH Film Institute has launched

sition movement in Chile.

“It was the mid-’70s and my parents were young and liberal. It was a dangerous time, and they were lucky they got out with their lives,” recalled Pascal in an interview with Orange Coast Magazine .

“A lot of people who spoke their mind were disappearing and in danger – it was a very intense climate for many years; they tried to help some people and were caught. They then snuck into the Venezuelan embassy after being in hiding for about six months after finding out people were looking for them,” he revealed in a

a new website dedicated to preschoolers called ‘Børnebiffen i dagtilbud’. Aimed at children aged 3-6, the website makes use of 400 shorts films, bombarding the youngsters with visuals and audio designed to stir their imagination and encourage activities in a bid to make them media users in a wholesome way.

New TV show not a copy

A NEW DANISH series, which made its premiere at the recent Berlin International Film Festival, is in no way similar or influenced by the popular French show ‘Call My

ONLINE THIS WEEK

Smoke on Tivoli’s waters

TIVOLI has announced Deep Purple as a headliner on its Fredagsrock line-up. The rockers will perform on June 9. Ticket prices are just 225 kroner – a new Fredagsrock standard. Other confirmed concerts include Post Malone (Royal Arena; April 26), Kendrick Lamar (Roskilde Festival) and the Kiefer Sutherland Band (Arena Aabenraa; July 14). Meanwhile, Justin Bieber’s concerts at Royal Arena have been cancelled.

Big winner at Roberts

Fined for weapon failings

KASTELLETS Venner Bornholm has been fined 75,000 kroner for breaching the Arms Act. Bornholm Court ruled the museum owner made inadequate provisions to safeguard a cache of 180 weapons and ammunition at Bornholms Forsvarsmuseum, from which 1315 weapons went missing. The cache included 24 machine guns.

Dangers of paraffin oil

fan interview on Reddit.com.

Among many Chileans HOWEVER, Pascal’s parents did not remain long in Denmark. Shortly after winning asylum, they moved to San Antonio in Texas.

The Pascal family were not the only Chileans granted asylum in Denmark, as hundreds of others were too.

Film director Shaky Gonzalez (‘A Place to Die’) arrived as a seven-yearold child in 1974, but fortunately for his new homeland, he ended up staying.

Agent!’ according to its creator and director Nikolaj Lie Kaas. While it also revolves around an acting agency and features real-life stars playing themselves, ‘Agent’ is a wholly original idea, claims Lie Kaas.

Oscar hopes very slim

NEITHER of the Danish nominees at the Oscars on March 12 are expected to win. In fact, they are the rank outsiders. Documentary Feature Film nominee ‘A House Made of Splinters’ is 25/1 with bookies, while Greenlandic-language Live Action Short Film contender 'Ivalu' is 12/1.

THE BIG winner at the Roberts with 11 statuettes, including Best Film and Best Director for Ali Abbasi, was 'Holy Spider'. And it was also lucky 11 for Anders W Berthelsen who finally won Best Actor for 'Bamse' – his 11th acting nomination in 24 years of trying. Abbasi’s star is rising – he also directed the concluding episodes of S1 of ‘The Last of Us’.

Colouring in April

HINDU Swayamsevak Sangh, the organiser of last August’s well-attended Indian Vegetarian Food Festival, is once again setting up shop in Østerbro, this time to swap the cuisine for a much needed injection of colour.

Over a thousand people are expected at the Holi Festival of Colours at Docken on April 23.

Headteacher steps down

STUART Lynch is stepping down as headteacher of KFTS after ten years in charge of the Copenhagen film and theatre school. The British-Australian explained he wanted to return to his first love: directing and performing theatre. His final day is on May 31.

ONE OF Denmark’s most talked about TV programs is ’Dødelige Drømmekroppe’, a DR documentary about the growing trend among bodybuilders to inject themselves with paraffin oil. Last autumn, the practice claimed its first victim, and the documentary reveals how Herlev Hospital has seen case numbers mushroom from one in 2018 to 202 in 2022.

Ukrainian culture centre opens A NEW CULTURE centre dedicated to Ukrainians in Denmark has opened at Gammel Dok Strandgade 27 in the Copenhagen neighbourhood of Christianshavn. Among its attractions, Ukraine House has an exhibition of war-inspired Ukrainian art entitled 'The 'Muses are not Silent’.

Singer lied about his age REILEY, the Faroese singer who will represent Denmark at Eurovision, lied about his age during the buildup to the national final, saying he was 20. He is, in fact, 25. With 10 million followers on TikTok and 300,000 followers on Instagram – and a burgeoning career in South Korea – he promises to be Denmark’s most high-profile entry in years.

ON A MONDAY night at the tail-end of February, a packed Royal Arena crowd let Robbie Williams entertain them. With stories of angels and demons, addiction and sobriety, Williams captivated the crowd through a nearly two-hour set. Williams is a great storyteller and shared from his life, making a real connection with the audience. It was the kind of show that made you want to play the songs again, and it left you really liking the performer. It felt as close to a conversation with a friend as a concert of this size possibly could. Consider me entertained. (EM)

Aitch SET THE scene: a packed Store Vega on a Tuesday night, anticipation built up like an uncontrollable flame and Aitch's DJ pouring gallons of gasoline on it. The crowd was combustible and, on this night, Aitch was a pyromaniac.

The Manchester MC rocked the Copenhagen crowd for over an hour. He had something for the day-one Aitch fans, music for the ladies, and tracks to mosh to if you were inclined to indulge.

By the time he closed with 'Baby' it was clear: this was Aitch's night as he basked in the purple spotlight. (EM)

EMMA RIIS-KOFOED is so swan-like, it’s frightening. Upon her first appearance her movements are subtle, but strongly evocative of a long-necked animal with a tendency to bob in slow motion, gracefully glide and hide in its own plumage. Her body language renders such an ethereal beauty, it's breathtaking, and her first solo brings the house down: a volley of Bravos as the pressure cooker finally releases the steam it has been building up since her entry. It was so good it begged the question whether Gollum's Dad was pulling the strings of the ‘bird’ on stage. (BH)

FOR READERS out there with little experience of pantos, I can assure you there was something for everybody in the Copenhagen Theatre Circle’s rendition of ‘Rapunzel’. The cast's enthusiasm was contagious, and the audience could not help but get involved. The standout performance of the night was Rudy Hiding as Brunnhilde Blunderberg, who brought confidence, humour and energy to the role. Chris Throup, as her son Max, was a close second. And Gretta Attard as the Queen of Evergreen provided the singing high points. (SCW)

Picasso – A Tribute to Ceramics

THE SCENOGRAPHY was bold and courageous, which is quite rare at Danish museums. For example, Picasso's famous striped T-shirt provides the inspiration for the decoration of the pillars and even the clothing worn by the staff. It is very well composed, with an 'Owl-Tree' in the middle of the exhibition surrounded with sitting spaces that invite you to take it all in. Each of the 42 ceramic pieces, lent by the American Rosenbaum Collection, were protected by beautiful handmade glass crafted by the skilled craftspeople at Holmegaard Værk. (MD)

This all explains their budding bromance

Robbie Williams

Swan Lake

Rapunzel

WHY HOLGER’S COACH HAS A FAMILIAR FACE

ONLINE THIS WEEK

FCM bow out of Europe

FC MIDTJYLLAND are out of the Europa League following a disappointing 0-4 second leg defeat by Sporting Lisbon, thus ending Danish interest in European competition for this season. FCM had previously earned a surprise 1-1 draw in Lisbon.

Ehlers joins 500 club

NIKOLAJ Ehlers has played his 500th NHL game, becoming only the fifth Dane in history to manage the feat. Ehlers’s side, the Winnipeg Jets, is in strong contention to qualify for the NHL playoffs this season. Elsewhere, Demark's first and only Stanley Cup winner, Lars Eller, has left the Washington Capitals to join the Colorado Avalanche.

Cyclist’s emphatic response

Top basketball hosting honour

COPENHAGEN will host the 2025 FIBA 3x3 Euros – the increasingly popular street variation of basketball in which teams of three compete on a court with a single hoop. For three days, 12 men's and 12 women's teams will compete at a temporary venue at Rådhuspladsen where there will be room for 1,200 fans to enjoy the action.

Steadfastly opposed

Many will remember Patrick Mouratoglou from his time training Serena Williams, but did you know he owns an academy in Nice, so will know the game of many of the young Dane’s future opponents inside out

BEN HAMILTON

HOLGER Rune isn’t just one of the best young tennis players in the world – the 19-year-old’s also excellent value to watch, as you never know what might happen next.

We already had his mother – who the world number nine screamed at to leave Roland Garros when he was struggling in the French Open.

And since October, we’ve had the latest addition to the coaching team, Patrick Mouratoglou, who began 2023 by extending his initial three-month contract.

A little bit like the actors you couldn’t quite place in the third episode of ‘The

Last of Us’, he has a face you’re sure you’ve seen before …

Caught hand signalling SURPRISINGLY, Mouratoglou’s Wikipedia page doesn’t make any mention of the controversy he became embroiled in during Serena Williams’s surprise defeat by Naomi Osaka in the final of the 2018 US Open.

During the second set, the umpire handed a Williams a code violation for receiving coaching from the player’s box, prompting an angry reaction from the American that soured the rest of the evening.

Mouratoglou, the umpire claimed, was using hand signals to communicate with Williams, and after the final the Frenchman admitted he was – although he doubted Williams was really looking. Besides, Osaka’s coach was doing the same, he added.

Recognises Rune’s potential HOWEVER, while most coaches have

hand signals in their arsenals, they don’t have Mouratoglou's other considerable weapons – an advantage Rune should be able to use this season, now the coach has agreed to extend his contract.

Mouratoglou is the owner of the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy in Nice, where he has trained many of Rune’s future opponents. He knows all their strengths ... and weaknesses.

“Patrick has seen many of the players that Holger meets 1,000 times, so he knows many of their weaknesses. It is therefore not only Holger who gets in the head of his opponent, because Patrick does too, because he is so intimidating,” tennis expert Michael Mortensen told DR.

“He has only chosen him because he knows he is a future number one in the world and a future grand slam winner. He sends a big signal when he chooses to train Holger Rune.”

JONAS Vingegaard won all three completed stages at the O Gran Camiño in northern Spain – his first appearance of the season. After the prologue was cancelled, he triumphed in two mountain stages and the concluding time trial – the perfect response to rival Tadej Pogačar winning the Jaén Paraiso Interior and Vuelta a Andalucía.

Thorbjørn coming to the boil

THORBJØRN Olesen, 33, won the Thailand Classic on February 19 – his seventh PGA European Tour win. He is currently sixth on the European rankings, but will need a few more successes to qualify for Europe’s 2023 Ryder Cup team. Bookies rank him a 11/4 chance to qualify, while Rasmus and Nicolai Hojgaard are 6/4 and 5/2 respectively.

K-Mag full of optimism

AHEAD of the Bahrain GP, in which Haas driver Kevin Magnussen finished 13th, the Danish driver was confident of the season ahead, for which Nico Hulkenberg has replaced Ralph Schumacher. Together the pair drove 2,200 km during pre-season training, reporting that the car was in a promising condition for the season ahead.

THE CULTURE minister, Jakob Engel-Schmidt, has clarified that Denmark strongly opposes the presence of Russia and Belarus at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. The International Olympic Committee, on the other hand, is unsure whether they should be excluded. Some countries, including Latvia, have threatened a boycott should the countries compete.

Hat-trick of handball titles

AT THE end of January, Denmark became the first country to win three consecutive World Men’s Handball Championship titles. The 34-29 win over France was Denmark’s 28th in a row in the tournament – all under coach Nikolaj Jacobsen. Mathias

Gidsel was named MVP after finishing top goal scorer, joining young gun Simon Pytlick in the team of the tournament.

Tough on hooligans

THE GOVERNMENT has unveiled its plans for a new law to tackle football hooliganism, which recommends stricter penalties for fans and more scope for the authorities to issue lengthier bans, enforce more temporary restrictions and detainments, and to liaise more with club stewards. Quarantine zones around stadia will also be expanded.

New record for athlete ATHLETE Mette Graversgaard has set a new national record for the indoor 60m hurdles. Competing at the World Indoor Tour in Madrid, she clocked 8.00 seconds.

FACEBOOK/ PATRICK MOURATOGLOU

Not sure where Patrick's right arm has disappeared. Some more illegal hand signals, perhaps?

FOREIGNERS

ACCOUNT FOR AN EIGHTH OF JOBS

ONLINE THIS WEEK

GDP thriving in 2022

THE ECONOMY flourished in 2022, according to Danmarks Statistik. Early indicators suggest the GDP grew by 3.4 percent over the year and by 1.1 percent in the final quarter. Despite downturns for trade, finance and insurance, the medicinal industry led the charge, with transport and culture & leisure not far behind. The EU saw zero growth over Q4.

Good for startups

DENMARK has ranked ninth overall on the Global Startup Index compiled by Business Name Generator. Denmark’s high position is partly down to business start-up procedures costing just 0.2 percent of gross national income per capita, along with the country’s high happiness score. High wages were the principal detractor, along with its cost of living.

SAS cyber-attacked

Heavy loss for Danske Bank

A 15 BILLION kroner settlement related to the closure of its Estonian branch, where at least 1.5 trillion was laundered, resulted in Danske Bank posting a loss of 5.1 billion kroner for 2022. However, a profit of 15-17 billion kroner is forecast for 2023. Meanwhile, following revelations the bank has invested 8.4 million kroner in oil companies, it will no longer lend to companies still involved in discovering new fossil fuel sources.

Joe’s been too juicy

DANISH cafe chain Joe & The Juice will pay almost 5 million kroner to settle a gender discrimination case brought by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The chain has a reputation for employing handsome men to fit in with its image, but this violates the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Nevertheless, women account for 53 percent of its servers – and 57 percent in the US.

Partitioning makes so much more sense given the number of foreigners we employ

Numbers look set to rise again following passing of new law

CHRISTIAN WENANDE

FOREIGNERS accounted for 12.2 percent of the Danish workforce in 2022, according to figures from the Agency for Labour Market and Recruitment (STAR) – up from 5.7 percent in 2008.

The increase is the equivalent of an additional 175,000 full-time foreign workers over the past 14 years.

“It means that foreign labour has really carried a lot of weight – in terms of labour market progres and economic growth,” Niklas Praefkem, an economist with leaders' union Lederne, told TV2.

“Without foreign labour, we wouldn’t be as well off in Denmark as we are now.”

Big dividends

ØRSTED and Novo Nordisk both decided to issue big dividends following the declaration of respective record profits of 32 and 55.5 billion kroner. While Ørsted will divvy up 5.7 billion kroner, Novo is going to hand out 14.8 billion – not bad for shareholders who shared 7.5 billion last August.

A survey from Lederne also revealed that 28 percent of members said they wouldn’t be able to run their companies without the help of foreign workers.

Sectors that enjoy a particularly high frequency of foreign workers are agriculture, forestry, fishing, hotels and restaurants.

New law on the way

A NEW GOVERNMENT bill should make it easier for Danish companies to recruit even more foreign labour once it becomes law on April 1.

Last June, the government obtained the necessary majority for an agreement to make it easier for companies to recruit foreign labour, but it did not become law due to the announcement of the general election.

Much of what was agreed on last year has been factored into the new bill – for example, the lowering of the man -

datory annual salary needed by non-EU workers to obtain Danish residency, from 445,000 to 375,000 kroner – along with a number of new additions.

The new bill also proposes cutting a large proportion of the red tape, enabling companies to quickly recruit foreign labour in a more flexible way, while the lowering of the salary requirement will be permanent. Previously it was suggested it should be lowered for just three years.

And should the scheme end up attracting over 15,000 workers, it will be re-evaluated by the parties that approved it, as it is not the desire of the bill to flood Denmark with foreign labour.

The economy minister, Troels Lund Poulsen, rejected criticism from the FH trade union that "politicians are opening a loading gate for foreign labour at relatively low wage levels".

SHORTLY before posting a quarterly loss of 1.8 billion Danish kroner in late February, SAS advised customers to avoid using its app after it suffered a cyber attack from Anonymous Sudan – an apparent response to failed Danish-Swedish politician Rasmus Paludan burning Korans in the region. Several Copenhagen hospitals, including Rigshospitalet, were also targeted.

Prices to remain high

DON’T EXPECT retail prices to fall anytime soon, warns Danmarks Statistik. Its recent survey of retailers suggests that 46 percent of them will raise their prices even further over the next three months. Only between 6 and 8 percent expect to lower them.

More records for Maersk

SHIPPING giant Maersk has enjoyed another record-breaking annual result. Its 2022 profit of 203 billion kroner is the largest in Danish history, beating the 117.5 billion kroner it made in 2021. It attributed its success to increased demand in the wake of the Corona Crisis and supply chaos on congested global shipping lanes. Profits, it predicts, will more than halve in 2023.

More monkeys than

ever

Over-charging for energy

A STATSREVISORERNE report reveals that energy companies overcharged consumers 61.8 million kroner between 2018 and 2021 – and this might be the tip of the iceberg. Commissioned by Rigsrevisionen, the report only assessed 76 of the country’s 600 energy companies, discovering discrepancies with 34 of them. At least 22 are paying money back to consumers.

Rebuilding Ukraine

THE FOREIGN minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, was joined by 28 Danish companies and two financial institutions at the ReBuildUkraine conference in Warsaw in February – an event to foster partnerships to help the country recover. “We must bring Danish company solutions into play to help solve problems on the ground and generate growth and jobs in Ukraine,” said Rasmussen. Irma to close

Entrepreneurs in hiding

ACCORDING to Dansk Erhverv, 2022 was not a banner year for entrepreneurship.

Only 26,721 new companies were registered in Denmark – down by 20 percent compared to 2021 and the lowest number since 2014. The downward trend was blamed on insecurity caused by the War in Ukraine and inflation.

Carlsberg still in Russia

CARLSBERG derived almost 1.9 billion kroner in profits from Russia in 2022 –compared to a 284 million kroner loss in 2021 – despite promising to withdraw from the country following its invasion of Ukraine. Carlsberg promises it will fully withdraw by mid-2023.

DYRENES Beskyttelse, a leading animal rights group, has appealed to Novo Nordisk to stop testing drugs on monkeys following confirmation it used 700 last year – a quadrupling since 2019 – as well as 50,000 mice, 8,000 rats, 600 rabbits, 400 pigs, 100 guinea pigs, 150 dogs and 14,000 fish. Novo, which has a target to not test on monkeys, said it was unavoidable.

POPULAR supermarket Irma is closing down this year, its owner Coop has confirmed. While the iconic Irma lady will live on as a brand at other Coop outlets, 17 of its 65 stores will close altogether, starting from April 1. Nine will become ‘Coop’ stores – when Kvickly merges with SuperBrugsen – 28 will live on as Coop 365discounts, and 11 will become Brugsen outlets.

Ukrainians in work

OF THE almost 12,500 Ukrainian residents who municipalities consider work-ready, 7,218 have found jobs – in total 58 percent. Around 31,400 Ukrainians arrived in Denmark in 2022, but 4,600 have already emigrated.

SØREN BREGENHOLT THE VALLEY OF LIFE

As the chairman of the Medicon Valley Alliance – the gold-labelled Danish-Swedish life science cluster organisation – Søren will address current trends and challenges in the sector.

THE DISTANCE from central Copenhagen to the Swedish life science hub and university city of Lund is 66.4 km.

Told in commuter numbers

THE DISTANCE from Lund to Copenhagen is obviously the same. I am quite sure as I travel the distance several times a week to fulfil my job as the CEO of Alligator Bioscience.

I am one of the many life science professionals commuting from the Copenhagen area over the Oresund Bridge – on my way I loop around Malmö, another busy biotech city – to my final destination, the Medicon Village Science Park just north of Lund.

We are about a hundred Danes travelling in that direction, whereas at least 800 people commute from Scania to work at life science companies in Zealand.

Bigger draw down south

WHY THIS difference in numbers?

A part of the explanation is the number of jobs – there are sim-

DURING the pandemic people had to find alternatives for conferences and events.

All about the Yakety Yak! WEBINARS were not new but took on a new life as we needed to talk and share ideas with people. They soon became a standard part of our way of working, and we developed new rules and protocols. At the same time, we reduced our travel and saved on the time spent on it, doing our bit for the environment.

ply a lot more jobs in the larger Danish-based life science companies than in the many somewhat smaller Scania -based companies.

This combined with salary levels, exchange rates, and rates tax (often, but not always!) makes it more attractive to live in Scania (Skåne) and work in Denmark than the other way around.

Not surprisingly, Novo Nordisk is the Medicon Valley company with the largest number of border commuters. Some 200 people travel from Sweden across Øresund to their job at the company, but companies such as Ferring, Lundbeck, Fujifilm, AGC Biologics and Leo Pharma also employ a substantial number of people from Sweden.

Differing perceptions

ALTHOUGH the distance between the two cities is objectively the same, regardless of the direction of travel, it appears there is a difference in the perceived distance.

Whereas my colleagues and peers from Lund are all familiar with Copenhagen and consider a

and discuss ideas, and discover something new?

Painted by Bot-ticelli CONNECTING by chatting has always been good for business, but ‘chat’ now has several newer meanings.

We ‘chat’ on social media often as a distraction from doing something more creative or productive.

trip to the city no big deal, Lund is a bridge too far for many Danes.

Certainly, they’ve visited nearby Malmö but not explored Lund, despite everything it has to offer: to tourists and potentially your next life science job.

The status of Region Skåne, headed by Lund, as an innovative life science hot spot is demonstrated by the fact that about a third of all life science patent applications originate from the region.

Fall in love with Lund

BUT EVEN if you are not specifically into life science, the city of Lund – its university, Lund Cathedral, which was built in 1145, and its many other attractions – is well worth a visit.

After all, regional integration is not just about statistics, facts and figures – it’s also about culture, history and a sense of community. A visit to Lund is a good place to start.

GARETH GARVEY UK - DK TRADE

Gareth (gareth@bccd.dk), who has a passion for creativity and innovation in business, has been the CEO of the British Chamber of Commerce in Denmark since the start of 2017. Gareth has a background in management consultancy working for Price Waterhouse, PwC Consulting and IBM, and he also teaches at Copenhagen Business School.

But something was missing. We started to realise the real reason we attended events was rarely to hear the speaker and collect slide-packs that we would probably never open again. It was about chatting with people over coffee, in the bar or over dinner.

Yes, we were missing chatting – having informal conversations in a relaxed environment with no specific agenda. How else could we get to know people, make connections, generate

And we also now ‘chat’ with AI chatbots and are impressed when they give us a response that is nearly indistinguishable from a human response. They get better every day.

But remember they are following patterns and rules. They can write a good essay and produce an excellent picture of Marge Simpson in the style of Van Gogh; they are getting so good I fear we are falling in love with them. But where are the surprises? Where are the new ideas?

It’s good to chat!

WE HOLD many events during the

year, and those who are seen to be successful by the participants are those who give people the opportunity to meet people and chat about things they have in common or find interesting.

This is where we make seren-

dipitous contacts and generate or discover business ideas.

So let’s remember the original meaning of ‘chat’. Come to one of our events and meet some real and interesting people. It could be good for business.

Lund is an oasis of culture within easy reach of Copenhagen

You can't compete with chatting over a cuppa

ANNIVERSARY IN UKRAINE

AFTER A year of war, the Russian ordnance depots are running low on supplies, which is hardly surprising given the number of missiles, bombs, grenades and rounds of bullets they have rained down on Ukraine.

No sight of end to conflict

HOWEVER, the Ukrainians are likewise running low on firepower, no matter how much their friends are delivering.

The media may be awash with stories detailing the supply of all manner of artillery, tanks and fighter-jets (not yet, but soon apparently), but as things stand, neither side looks likely to gain the upper hand needed to finish the war off on the battlefield.

Meanwhile, the negotiation table looks a long way off – about as long as Putin’s showpiece of a conference table in the Kremlin.

One fears this war could end up being the most unnecessary, wasteful, enduring conflict in European history. The devastation in the eastern part of Ukraine already looks like one of the earthquake zones in Turkey and Syria. One can only hope.

But if one good thing has come out of all this it is that the Ukrainian refugees in Denmark are doing well. We need their hands and they have won our hearts.

Protests fail to land

DAY-TO-DAY life in Denmark has returned to normal, although the government has done its best to stir up irritation with its abolishment of the Store Bededag public holiday.

Several hundred thousand had signed a petition demanding it be left alone, and there had even been talk of a referendum. But the government has a majority in

Parliament and last week they used it to get the bill passed.

A demonstration outside Parliament couldn’t stop them either, as union members from all over the country arrived on buses bedecked in red banners – although nearer 5,000, not 50,000, as some media claimed!

A journalist asked many of them if they could provide the date of Store Bededag – and very few knew! Maybe time has passed for this sort of action.

Plenty of optimism

THE TURMOIL caused by energy prices, inflation in general and the increase in defence spending will, in effect, lead to generous labour agreements that will restore the household allowance in a year or two.

The learning point, however, is that an economic resilience has set in, as demonstrated by the way we drive: at lower speeds and increasingly in electric cars.

Coping with lower temperatures in our homes, another unforeseen bonus in the fight against climate change, and discount shopping are the only paramount challenges on the horizon. But even natural gas prices are returning to normal.

And on top of all that: it is springtime!

IN A RECENT New York Times article, tech writer Kevin Roose reported a bizarre encounter he’d had with a Bing chatbot in which it had told him, among other things, that it dreamt of being human, that Roose ought to divorce his wife, and that it wanted to steal atomic bomb codes.

Don’t let it be on our watch

OTHER industries are regulated for the safety of humankind, so why does tech seem like a wild horse carriage ride with the driver nowhere in sight?

It is widely acknowledged that humankind has experienced more technological advancements in the last 20 years than throughout the entire lifespan of the human race combined, so might it not be prudent to be watchful about so-called ‘technological advancements’?

Surely it’s time to consider whether new discoveries and inventions are actually a beneficial advancement and not just an advancement for the sake of advancement?

SoMeMeMe

A RECENT DR article informs us that a record high number of youngsters in Denmark are being medicated for depression and ADHD. What are the reasons for all these diagnoses?

I find it thought-provoking that ADHD is classified as an attention deficit disor-

KIRSTEN LOUISE PEDERSEN

A Dane Abroad

Born and raised in Denmark and a resident of New Zealand for over 14 years, Kirsten has lived a pretty nomadic life since her early 20s. A physiotherapist, yoga teacher and keen home cook, she is passionate about food, good living and natural health. Email her at kirstenlouise@protonmail.com

der, and that the use of mobile phone technology, namely social media, has ‘coincidentally’ been found to significantly disrupt concentration – and cause depression among youngsters and adults alike.

The use of technology, and in particular social media, has for a long time been strongly linked to poor mental health, yet we continue to blindly buy into it, unhinged and seemingly unbothered.

The right kind of activity

THE INCREASED use of digital technology has been shown to result in 1/ spending less time outdoors and 2/ being less active – time outdoors and being active being two of the most effective antidepressant remedies.

As a physiotherapist I find this extremely troubling. Being physically active is a determinant of health. Full stop. There cannot be health without physical activity – we cannot tech our way out of it.

The behaviour-regulating effects of technology are becoming a well-known fact, yet despite these discoveries people are carrying on as usual. Kids are on social media more than ever before, and mental health diagnoses are rampant.

There is talk of improving mental healthcare, yet nothing about addressing the actual causes of such a disastrous development. As per usual, our modern way of thinking squashes symptoms, not causes.

As dead as God …

THERE is an air of ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes’ about this topic. Everyone knows there is something eerie about it, but noone is sounding the alarm. In a British documentary about Friedrich Nietzsche (‘Genius of the Modern World’), Bethany Hughes paraphrases Nietzsche’s chillingly accurate predictions for ‘Modern Man’, which he referred to as ‘The Last Men’. Hughes recounts Nietzsche’s contemptuous description of a future people who no longer care about challenging ideas and concepts, but instead live trivial and narcissistic existences, blindly buying into “the religion of comfortableness”, living lives of “timid mediocrity kidding themselves they are happy”.

Has the present world been foreseen by a philosopher living in the 1880s (interestingly during a technological upswing), who saw it coming that Modern Man will happily go down sipping on lattes, turning blind eyes and uploading stories to Instagram, while not having the faintest clue what hit him?

It might be time to relaunch and prioritise moral and philosophical conversations about life and technology that have the well-being of mankind as a primary goal, and not simply the blind quest for any and every ‘technological advancement’ at the cost, perhaps, of the greater good of humankind.

"Haha, the chatbot has just schooled Nietzsche. He didn't see that coming"

Ejvind Sandal

IT IS A WELL-KNOWN fact that English people are good at three things: drinking, hooliganism, and ignoring the true effects of our colonial past.

Historically-honed hooliganism

HOWEVER, are we the best in the world at those things?

We’re pretty good at the latter point. You’ll note how, out of habit, I refer to it as our colonial ‘past’, despite how we are currently invading Ireland. (Please forward all comments to the Editor.) But given that America was willing to go to the lengths of electing Trump to ignore their past, I’d have to call it at least a tie. That’s one down.

In a previous article for this publication, I shared my revelatory scientific findings on how Danish people are actually better than the English at hooliganing. Two down.

Pubescent pub pipe-dreams

SO DRINKING. It’s all come down to you. Surely you can’t beat an English pub? Pubs, when I was growing up as a child in the UK, were seen as these mythical centres of national pride, where people from lots of different backgrounds would collide and emerge after closing hour, arm-in-arm, singing offensive songs in a strangely wholesome way.

Based purely on cultural references, I imagined pubs as being the place where

JACK GARDNER VAA

Englishman in Nyhavn

Jack escaped Brexit Britain in October 2019 to forge a new life in Copenhagen. In this column, he outlines the challenges expats face when integrating into Danish life. Jack (jacksgard@gmail.com) co-hosts the comedy podcast ‘Butterflies on the Wheel’, which is available on all major podcasting platforms

I’d not only have my first pint, but meet the love of my life, smoke a pipe, get into a fist fight, and be recruited to MI5 after winning a card game against a shadowy stranger. All on the same night.

At the very least I expected them to be places where I might get drinks bought for me by kindly strangers who would share their life stories with me in a way that somehow wasn’t boring.

So it was a harsh awakening to realise my experiences of English pubs tended to lean a little more towards avoiding the 20-something-year-old city wankers doing coke in the toilets of a Wetherspoons.

What bodegas basically are

PERHAPS the most pleasant surprise that I’ve had since moving here is that my naïve expectations of pubs, and what they could be, actually do exist. They’re basically what bodegas are.

Bodegas, for those new to the city, are tiny little wooden shacks that have the ability to make you forget your night and make your clothes smell of cigarettes for up to four weeks. They are staffed by friendly people who can usually be found lighting their cigarettes from the embers of the cigarette they just finished smoking.

I would estimate – genuinely – that about 50 percent of the times I have been in a bodega, a stranger has bought a drink for me. And to confirm, this is not due to any kind of innate charisma. I have not

once had a drink bought for me in any other context before and, furthermore, I have been told by several trusted sources that I come off as a bit of a dick.

Where magic happens

BUT THERE is this vibe when you enter these tiny little places, where people are almost forced to be social with one another – probably due to each establishment only having room for about two and a half tables, so you often have to share.

And look, it’s not all rosy either. I’ve had several deeply strange, uncomfortable conversations with regulars, including most recently when a demonic looking woman with cement mixers for vocal chords took me by the hands and informed me that ‘Hell’ was a real place and underneath one of the oceans – I can’t remember which.

But then again, who wants to have conversations with boring people? Pubs and bodegas exist to create interesting social connections between weird people, be they friends or strangers. And there is something about the not-somodern-day bodegas, some magical quality unknown to anyone, that makes people bond and talk and share and overshare and argue and fight and, oh, it’s booze, isn’t it … Yeah, it’s booze.

Conrad the Contrarian

An Actor's Life

Crazier than Christmas

HOW IS DESIGN defined? One could argue it’s everything from constructing a website and haute couture, to deciding on the interiors or architectural plan of a whole building – and everything in between.

For me design is about expression of feelings, culture and impressions, but how do these expressions come to life? For many of us, it is based on our experiences sprinkled with our creativity.

Having been fortunate to travel and live around the world over the years, embracing cultures, local architecture, styles and ways of life has shaped the way I design and shape handmade jewellery.

Using an extraordinary palette

WHEN I moved to Denmark in 2012, I fell in love with the old architecture and the vibrant colours.

Coming from San Francisco, California, where everything is bold and bright, I was surprised to see the array of muted colours that existed amongst the apparel and interior design.

Since then, much has changed, but my first impressions have played a significant role in my approach toward my own jewellery design work (bellaandjulesjewelry.com) .

I am naturally influenced by the signature bright yet laid-back California style, and I am simultaneously intrigued by the simplistic, minimalistic Scandinavian approach.

Creating unique experiences

IT HAS become apparent to me that somewhere along the way I have been able to marry the two through my own creative expression at home and with my jewellery design.

My beads are sourced globally. I use recycled glass beads from Ghana, which are unique, colourful and bold, along with bone beads from Nepal, which are simplistic and minimalistic. Merging the bright, vibrant and bold colours from California and Ghana with the simplistic Nepalese beads and Scandinavian designs has enabled me to fashion unique creations.

In the end, design is about allowing us to express ourselves. My goal is to bring different cultural designs together, creating a unique experience for women who wear my jewellery to express themselves through my creations.

It is not about fitting in or following a specific colour or template, but about helping create that unique feeling that allows us to thrive with confidence.

Melting pot of cultures

SO, WHAT happens when a group of foreigners move to a new country and immerse their international experience, history, culture and design ethos into a new culture?

How does it evolve and fit into this new envi-

JULIA FAZIO DESIGN UNDEFINED

Leaving her career in corporate marketing behind in Silicon Valley, Julia embraced her dream of designing and creating her own jewellery line when she relocated to Copenhagen in 2012. She combines a laid-back but vibrant and chic California style with Danish minimalistic and high-quality fashion. Find her designs at bellaandjulesjewelry.com.

ronment? I went straight to the source and spoke to three entrepreneurial expat businesswomen in Copenhagen.

MUGASKA

and Roses’, and Geoffrey will also be on display at Art Escape Studios (Blegdamsvej 68, Cph K) for a solo exhibition, opening on April 1.

“Afterall, in Denmark and design, there must be ‘Hygge’,” she concludes.

GRECH & CO

When Joanna Mugford (mugaska.com) moved to Copenhagen from Poland, one of the first things she did was take a deep breath of the fresh air and hop on a bicycle. She remembers being in awe of the thousands of cyclists making their way around what is one of the greenest cities in the world.

“It is fascinating how cyclists in Copenhagen can carry anything and anyone on their bicycles the whole year round – regardless of the weather. It started to reflect in my artwork and resulted in the design of a digital illustration, ‘Cyclists of Copenhagen’,” she recalled.

Bee inspired

THE DANISH influence and inspiration didn’t stop there. She began volunteering as a local honey producer at Bybi in Copenhagen, where she designed a series of paintings featuring her creation, Geoffrey the Beekeeper.

Invited to take part in the Garden and Flower Festival at Tivoli in the autumn of 2021, she painted a photo stand-in, which kids and adults enjoyed by taking photos of themselves as a beekeeper or a bee.

Busy bees

THE INSPIRATION continued with Little Square Bee, which later turned into the ‘Bee Friendly Badge’ sticker. Its simple design reflects Danish directness. The Bee character also took part in a NFT project, @bees_and_the_city, which included a design of animated bees on top of pictures of Copenhagen – all in collaboration with photographer Natalya Tarankova. Walking, flying and honey-drinking bees took part in Copenhagen-themed exhibition ‘Bikes

As an interior architect who has lived and worked around the world – in Poland, Switzerland, the US, the UK, Denmark, to name just a few – Maja de Silva (majadesilva.com/ interiors) has learned about and experienced different cultures while working with many internationals.

Today, she has settled in beautiful Copenhagen, where she designs homes, combining all the styles that influenced her living abroad.

A playful approach

“LIVING in a country with such a history of design is a big challenge, but that's what I love most. I'm very passionate about interiors and I've created a style where I mix and play with various trends, colours, furniture, fabrics and more,” she explained.

“I bring together the Danish classic, simple, timeless style by adding pops of colour in accessories, wallpapers, art, furniture and accent walls. When designing spaces for my clients I want them to feel comfortable, to reflect their personality and to make the designs feel cosy and practical.”

Last, but not least: Hygge!

MAJA HELPS her clients to create beautiful spaces at their homes or businesses, finding the right balance of colours and proportions to bring unique style to the surface.

Born and raised in San Diego, California, Janet Grech founded GRECH & CO (grechandco.com) in Denmark in 2015 – a family lifestyle brand where Nordic simplicity meets California dreamin’. Now raising five children in Denmark, she sees fashion as a means of merging the nostalgia of her 1980s and early ‘90s California childhood with a Nordic experience of family-hood.

Familial influences

"FASHION is so much more than expression. GRECH & CO is inspired by the modern family. It is solid colours in simple form, timeless patterns and prints. Sunny, playful, bold – yet simple and transitional,” she explained.

Janet designs with a ‘less is more’ philosophy, and a ‘being kind to our environment’ approach is woven into the threads of each design. Raising multiple children is also a large inspiration behind the designs of the brand.

Making an impact

STYLE does not need to be compromised for function or practicality, she contends. The idea that one single item, such as a water bottle, can be equally loved and used by both mother and son, for example, can be quite impactful for both our personal economies and our environment.

And so, it is with great pleasure that Janet would like to welcome you into the GRECH & CO universe where practical pieces of magic meet everyday life.

MAJA INTERIORS

IN PREVIOUS columns, we’ve looked at a simple but effective approach for embracing green habits and a sustainable lifestyle, when you are unsure where to start and are overwhelmed with the information around: Understanding the ‘5Rs' (Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and Rot). But how do we know what is sustainable and what is not, and which R to apply? Sustainability is a broad term and it includes several aspects, such as climate, circularity, biodiversity, social and other elements. As a common consumer in today’s world, how can we make the most conscious decisions whilst keeping the holistic sustainability view in mind? Let us try to understand our consumables.

Asking the right questions

WHEN YOU’RE meeting a date or interviewing a new teammate, would you not ask this question: “So, tell me about yourself?” After all, we try to understand a person as much as possible before we open our life or workplace to them. But why is it that when it comes to products or services brought to us by multibillion-dollar companies, with their green-washed ads and big bold letters flashing “Natural & Green” all over the label, we trust them immediately? Are we asking them enough questions?

We use a variety of products throughout the day, starting with our toothbrushes to the clothes we wear, but how many times do we think about where it comes from? What is its story? In this column, I would like to introduce you to a five-question framework I use @greenbyhabit to understand my consumables.

SRUTHI SURENDRAN BUILDING GREEN HABITS

Sruthi, from India, moved to Denmark in 2014 to pursue a career within green energy technologies (biofuels, waste treatment, offshore wind). Through her passion project greenbyhabit.com, she supports others keen to embrace greener habits. Follow her on the Instagram handle @greenbyhabit, where she shares her sustainability journey and breaks down these topics in a more fun and simplified format

What is it made of?

JUST GRAB the first thing close to you and ask this question: Is it made of paper, metal or plastic?

Is it a durable material like stainless steel that can be reused several times? Does it have fossil fuel sources like plastics? Is it infinitely recyclable like glass or aluminum? There is not a perfect sustainable source or product, as everything uses resources, but some are better than others. Appreciating that any product utilises resources from nature also helps us to be mindful of how much we consume.

How is it packaged?

PACKAGING is very important in many cases for the safety and integrity of the product, but also in many cases unnecessary or overdone. Let’s look at what can be bought package-free in our local community – from bulk shops or local vegetable vendors. Let’s choose products with better packaging, such as reusable or recyclable options, or (better still) ones that hardly use any, like solid soaps over liquid ones.

How far has it travelled?

MANY A time, when we look for the best or cheapest options to buy a product on the internet, it might end up from halfway across the world, which means transportation emissions on their way to us. Trying to buy locally, eat seasonal produce, and support local businesses can go a long way.

How is it made?

THIS QUESTION covers the social and ethical aspects of sustainability. Do we want to support

brands that compromise human dignity and safety in their production? Were workers paid fair wages? Fast fashion brands are notorious for compromising these.

What happens after its use?

IT IS EQUALLY important to look at how the product/material will be handled after its use. Can it be disposed of or upcycled safely, or will it continue to linger around in the environment? Can the material be recycled in your local area or will it end up in a landfill or incinerated?

Asking these questions equips us as consumers with choice, so we can refuse to buy – or at least reduce our use of – products with an unacceptable history or overexploited source, thus making conscious decisions that keep the planet and our fellow-beings in mind. These questions may not be perfect, but they have helped me be more mindful.

Check out @greenbyhabit on Instagram for short videos and fun reels that discuss each of the five questions in detail.

ABOUT TOWN ABOUT TOWN

PHOTOS BY HASSE FERROLD

Among the guests of Estonian ambassador Mart Laanemäe at a reception to mark his country’s independence day at Odd Fellow Palace on February 21 were (left-right) Nathalia Feinberg, the Chief of Protocol at the Foreign Ministry, Louise Schack Elholm, the minister for Nordic collaboration and church affairs, and US ambassador Alan Leventhal and his wife

Unlike other productions, most of the Southeast Asian actors in the ongoing production of ‘Miss Saigon’ at Det Ny Teater actually come from the region. Many accordingly took crash courses in Danish before undertaking their roles, which according to reviews was well worth the time and effort

Thai ambassador Sirilak Niyom was among the guests of Japanese ambassador Uyama Hideki at the reception to mark the birthday of the Japanese Emperor on February 23 at the embassy in Copenhagen

A ceremony to mark the transfer of the EU Presidency from the Czech Republic to Sweden was held at Europe House on January 18, where the respective ambassadors Radek Pech and Charlotte Wrangberg (centre right and left) were among those who took part in the formalities

Four new ambassadors were presented to Queen Margrethe II on February 22 (clockwise from top left): Mark Causon (Malta – based in Valetta), Grace Alfred Olotu (Tanzania – Stockholm), Milton Soto (Bolivia – Stockholm) and Abdulla Bin Faisal Al Doseri (Bahrain – Brussels)

And another five ambassadors were presented to Her Majesty on March 3 (clockwise from top left): Shahidul Karim (Bangladesh), Anton Niculescu (Romania) and Elizabeth McCullough (Ireland), who are all based in Copenhagen), along with Muhib Namerat (Jordan – Oslo) and Dr Faruk Ajeti (Kosovo – Berlin)

FROM GOOD INTENTIONS TO NOBLE ACTIONS

IN SEPTEMBER 2020, India and Denmark marked a historic partnership. By launching the first Green Strategic Partnership of its kind, the two countries chose each other as preferred partners to fasttrack climate solutions and reconcile economic growth with ambitious green policies.

Immense potential BY 2030, INDIA aims to harness 140 GW of wind energy, out of which 30 GW is offshore wind, while setting up at least 5 million metric tonnes of green hydrogen capacity yearly.

Improving water infrastructure to provide clean drinking water for its growing population is a top priority

partner in solving India’s most present climate issues.

As proof that green transition can deliver jobs, growth, and emission reductions in concert, the tie-up is a unique opportunity to unlock India’s potential for green growth and economic transformation.

In this light, State of Green has

Magnus Højberg Mernild Editor, State of Green Weekly and Head of PR & Communications

CPH:DOX 2023 cinemateket

From March 15-26, Denmark's major documentary film festival opens for 12 days with films, director visits, debates, and events.

MAGNUS HØJBERG MERNILD

NOW THAT THE FAWLTY TOWERS BLUEPRINT’S BEEN RIPPED UP …

BEN HAMILTON

THE END of an era … or the exit of a shrewd economist? Should we admire the creators of successful TV shows when they choose to bow out early while still ahead of the game?

Maybe they didn’t fancy the hard work anymore. Or feared they couldn’t keep it up. Would The Sopranos be remembered with more fondness had it only lasted two seasons? Or The Wire? Surely The Handmaid’s Tale? All three are hailed with the proviso that the first two seasons are the best. While the likes of Lost, Game of Thrones and Girls are best remembered for the absolute stinkers they signed off with.

Ricky Gervais, when explaining his decision to end The Office after 14 episodes, cited the example of Fawlty Towers in the 1970s. Twelve flawless episodes … why would you jeopardise your legacy if you weren’t feeling it, he reasoned before making Extras, which only consisted of 13 (if only he’d applied the same rationale to Afterlife).

Was Gervais right? Well, the US version of The Office ended up with 188 episodes, but season eight of nine was roundly criticised – the fallout after Steve Carrell left the show. And surely it’s only a matter of time before we see David Brent, last wheeled out for a film in 2016, again.

And whisper it isn’t true, but John Cleese, now 83, is currently writing a

third series of Fawlty Towers – this time with somebody who probably won’t divorce him: his daughter Camilla. So is it smart to call it a day? Or are we all beginning to hate Mindhunter now that it’s been confirmed it’s never coming back.

Goodbye to the giants YOU COULD argue that Succession (S4; HBO Max; March 27) is coming up short with only four seasons. Make no mistake, it’s sublime, but season 3 hoodwinked us with a sequence of glorious locations/events when the truth is that the writing team had run out of ideas – which is criminal when the characters are this brilliant. Tellingly, perhaps, its creator Jesse Armstrong is a Brit, and originally he just wanted to make a film: did he just go with the flow after the second season was so unexpectedly well received?

Equally dominant at the awards over the last two years, but right from the off, has been Ted Lasso (S3; Apple; March 15) – conversely the mirror image of Succession, as it is created by Americans and set in Britain. After three seasons, it is also coming to what many might say is a premature end. A sticky, gooey one, no doubt if you’ve been lassoed by the ineffable charms of Jason Sudeikis – the nice guy version of him, not the swine who issued his wife with custody papers while she was addressing an audience. Personally, I like to think of it as a relegation.

Luther: The Fallen Sun (Netflix), as the name suggests, will be the last we see of the role that made the industry realise Idris Elba is not from Baltimore, and we can only be hopeful that John Wick: Chapter 4 (March 23), Creed III (74; March 2); Shazam!2: The Fury of the Gods (March 16), Murder Mystery 2 (Netflix; March 31) and Scream 6 (March 30) will be the end of the line as well. Oh, and Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves too.

The same could also be said about most of the continuing series: You (S4B; March 9), Sex/Life (S2), I am Georgina (S2, TBC) and Riverdale (S7; March 31) on Netflix; and Outlander (S6; March 7), Perry Mason (71; S2; March 7) and Superman & Lois (S3; March 16) on HBO Max.

Last of the Oscar hopefuls NOBODY could accuse Ted Lasso of being more sentimental than Steven Spielberg, a director so inoffensive he would rather give up his most beloved franchise, Indiana Jones, than tell its central star there’s a limit to what an 80-year-old can do on horseback. The mystery is why we enjoy bashing these providers of unadulterated joy. The Fabelmans (84; March 23), a semi-autobiographical story based on his childhood, is clearly one of his better works, but it disappeared in the Oscar betting a long ago.

In similar vein, Sam Mendes’ latest, Empire of Light (54; March 9) with

Olivia Colman, hasn’t tugged the heartstrings in the way you might have thought it would, although it got better reviews in the UK than the US. Like Colman, Vicky Krieps (Phantom Thread) might have thought she’d get mainstream award consideration for Corsage (76; March 16), the second onscreen depiction of Empress Elisabeth of Austria following the popular Netflix series The Empress – particularly as the reviews have been good. The acclaim for The Inspection (72; March 9), about a gay man looking for answers in the US Marines, and Knock at the Cabin (63; March 9) has also been good –come on, 63 is one hell of a score for M Night Shyamalan.

Also worthy of your consideration … are The Whale (60), for which Brendan Fraser is the favourite to win the Best Actor Oscar this Sunday for playing a man who weighs 272 kilos – approximately a thousandth of the weight of a blue whale, so it’s inaccurately named. Likewise, 65 (Not Released Worldwide; March 16) with Adam Driver is not about a nightclub, but the year 65 million years BC – the date his spaceship crash-lands on Earth.

Finally, why not give Chang can Dunk (Disney+; March 10) a whirl. Just like the protagonist, who defies his height to play basketball for his high school, it’s another Asian-American underdog that looks set to conquer all – as in everything, everywhere, if you catch our drift.

Choose Tetris or Roulette OVER ON TV land, if you want an outsider to back, try Tetris (Apple; March 31), the story of how the computer game came into being. Taron Egerton, Toby Jones and Ben Miles lead a likeable cast. Failing that, Rain Dogs (82; HBO Max; March 7) is a screwball British comedy that has won acclaim. Elsewhere, we’re spinning the roulette wheel. Climate anthology series Extrapolations (Apple; March 17) will have its fans, but will it be too earnest?

The Big Door Prize (Apple; March 29) with Chris O’Dowd, in which a grocery store machine foretells people’s destinies, looks too daft, as do Amazon Prime pairing Class of ‘07 (March 17), when a school reunion gets hit by a tsunami, and The Power (March 31), in which teenage girls wake up one day with the power to electrocute people at will. Daisy Jones and the Six (62; Amazon Prime; March 3) charts the fortunes of an iconic 1970s band, but how much Fleetwood Mac can you take? While The Pimp – No F***ing Fairytale (Amazon Prime; March 3), set in the Hamburg hood of Reeperbahn, looks promising, but will it be too German?

That leaves Swarm, the latest offering from Donald Glover, who certainly didn’t overstay his welcome with Atlanta, which he brought to an end after three seasons. Which, of course, has been John Cleese’s thinking all along.

The Addams Family are back for one last season

Easter at Tivoli

March 31-April 10; 11:00-22:00; Tivoli, Vesterbrogade 3, Cph V; from 155kr; tivoli.dk

Tivoli is opening its gates for Easter and invites you to adventurous experiences in a garden filled with spring flowers. Enjoy Easter lambs, eggs hunting, beautiful decorations and, of course, the rides. The colourful opening night fireworks, alone, will blow your mind. A special lunch for the event will also be unveiled. There’s no better way to spend time with the whole family! (LP)

CTC auditions for ‘The Mousetrap’

March 24, 18:00-21:00 & March 25, 12:00-15:00; Østerbrohuset, Århusgade 101-103, Cph Ø; ctcircle.dk

Audition for Agatha Christie's ‘The Mousetrap’! The Copenhagen Theatre Circle will be performing seven shows from October 10 to 15 and is always on the lookout for new talent. The auditions will be conducted in groups and take around 45 minutes. Rehearsals start on April 20. (LP)

Brewery city guided tour

March 19, 11:00; Carlsberg; 150kr; dac.dk

Take the time to visit one of the most famous breweries in the world. Find out the story of the family who once lived there and the history of Carlsberg City, which is now developing into its very own urban district. (LP)

Crime fiction festival

March 25, 9:30-17:00 & March 26, 09:30-16:30; Fængslet, Fussingsvej 8, Horsens; krimimessen.dk

If you're fond of crime fiction, you're heading to the right place! Held by Horsens Municipality's libraries at the infamous former state prison, visitors will have the opportunity to meet popular Nordic/Scandinavian and international writers, publishers and speakers in the immersed atmosphere of crime fiction. A big weekend of chills! (LP)

Morning Dance in the Opera

ongoing, ends April 28, 09:30; The Royal Theatre, Ekvipagemestervej 10 , Cph K; 90kr; kglteater.dk

Dancing on one of the most beautiful floors of Denmark – who doesn’t dream of that? Taking place on three Fridays every month until April, take the opportunity to express your bodily sensations with a trainer. Bring a water bottle and good clothes to dance, as it’s going to be rock’n roll! (LP)

CPH:DOX

March 15-26, online March 28-April 2; various locations; 100kr; cpdox.dk

As in 2022, CPH:DOX will be a hybrid festival. All of the films will be screened at cinemas while a selection of films will be part of a nationwide online festival (geo-blocked to Denmark). All movies are in English or with English subtitles. (LP)

Bolig Mad Design

March 9-10, 14:00-20:00, March 11, 10:00-17:00, March 12, 10:00-16:00; 40kr; Center Boulevard 5, Cph S; 200kr; boligmaddesign.dk

Visit Denmark's largest housing and lifestyle fair. Meet the 400 exhibitors sharing their spring designs. (LP)

Copenhagen Bike Show

March 25, 10:00-16:30 & March 26, 10:00-16:00; Øksnehallenen, Halmtorvet 11, Cph V; online tickets 75kr; copenhagenbikeshow.dk

Whether you’re an ambitious amateur, an energetic cycling enthusiast or looking for innovative novelties for the family, there’s something for all bike lovers at this two-day event. (LP)

Michael Bublé in concert

March 14, 20:00; Royal Arena, Hannemanns Allé 18-20, Cph S; 495kr; ticketmaster.dk

The famous Canadian pop singer Michael Bublé is back on tour and visiting Copenhagen for a fantastic show at Royal Arena. He will mostly perform selections from his new album, ‘Higher’, which was released last year. (LP)

Watercolour painting class

March 11, 14:00-16:00; Blomsterhaven 42, Holbæk; 380kr; art-xp.com

Learn how to draw cottage landscapes using watercolours with the help of a teacher who will guide you through the various techniques. Produce some good gifts to give to your family and friends. (LP)

Piano Days in support of Ukraine

March 25, 20:00; Koncertkirken, Blågårds Plads 6A, Cph N; 150-180kr; pianodayscph.com

A night to remember with three artists who will give you chills. Bisse is a talented singer and songwriter, Zoe Efstathiou a Greek-Swedish pianist, while Ghostflutedice is the electro-acoustic piano-project of Mikkel Almholt. All proceeds will benefit Ukraine. (LP)

Little Culture Night

March 17, 16:00-20:00; Copenhagen Museum, Stormgade, Cph V; 110kr; cphmuseum.kk.dk

A good experience for children to enjoy multiple visits to the museum! As well as the traditional guided tours around the museums, interactive activities, including a few games and a delicious meal, are tailor-made for the kids. Without moderation! (LP)

English Comedy Night

March 10, 20:00-22:00; Knock Knock Comedy Club, Vimmelskaftet 41, Cph K; internationalcomedians.com

Let's laugh together! Enjoy four comedians from Ireland (headliner Danny Ryan), Sweden, Canada and Poland, presented by British compere Adrian Mackinder. All the necessary elements are in place for a big night of comedy! (LP)

Special Indian exhibition

ongoing, ends April 10; Louisiana, Gl Strandvej 13, Humlebæk; 145kr; louisiana.dk

Improve your understanding of Indian culture at this exhibition of 200 photos by New Delhi photographer Gauri Gill. Her compelling work captures the lives of marginalised rural communities outside India’s urban centres. (LP)

The Aspirantery

March 29-April 1, 19:00; The Royal Theatre, Ekvipagemestervej 10 , Cph K; 90kr; kglteater.dk

Meet the new generation of ballet! After three intensive years of work at the Danish Royal Ballet School, the aspirants will perform a mix of classical and modern features. It promises to be an exciting and intimate experience. (LP)

Orpheus

March 24-April 5, 19:30; Opera House, Ekvipagemestervej 10 , Cph K; from 110kr; kglteater.dk

Conducted by baroque expert Lars Ulrik Mortensen, you don’t want to miss Monterverdi's opera and its hypnotic and powerful melodies. (LP)

Globe Quiz

March 9 & 23, 19:15; Globe, Nørregade 43, Cph K; 50kr, five per team

The winners get 1,200 kroner. And who knows, the odd rollover has been known to go too. Backto-back quizzes following the cancellation of the September 22 edition.

V1 Gallery exhibitions

ongoing, ends Apr 15; Flæsketorvet 69, Cph V; v1gallery.com

Three exhibitions can be seen at the gallery. Anton Funck's series of paintings, 'Against the Sun', depicts an engaged reflection on the human condition and the cycle all humans live in, ‘Oddly Satisfying’ by Fryd Frydendahl presents an array of photos recorded analogously on a 4x5 inch camera, and Sofie Burgaard's oils, 'A Solo Exhibition' draws some new-materialist and ecological philosophies to representational painting. Perfect for a good afternoon of art. (LP)

Kennedy’s Quiz

April 3, 19:30; Kennedy’s Irish Bar,Gammel Kongevej 23, Cph V

Quiz night at Kennedy’s Irish Bar includes raffles, cash prizes, and drinks rounds.

Science & Cocktails

March 14, 20:00; Koncertsalen, DR Koncerthuset, Ørestads Boulevard 13, Cph S; 145-195kr, drkoncerthuset.dk

This month’s English-language lecture is on the subject of ‘Why do we get the wrong leaders’. Political scientist Professor Brian Klaas, the author of ‘Corruptible: Who gets power and how it changes us’, has interviewed more than 500 top leaders including presidents, war criminals and terrorists. De kosmiske dansere

ongoing, 16:00; Ofelia Plads, Cph K

Five large sculptures by Danish artist Lin Utzon, each 3.5 metres in length, have been unveiled at Ofelia Plads. The statues will be illuminated each night until the end of March.

Swan Lake

ongoing, ends March 10; Opera House, Ekvipagemestervej 10 , Cph K; 160-870kr; kglteater.dk

A ballet like you’ve never seen before! Tchaikovsky’s amazing music perfectly complements choreography arranged by Silja Schandorff and Nikolaj Hübbe. A fantastic seduction story that will blow your mind!

Gravens Rand Quiz

March 14 & 28, 20; Søndre Fasanvej 24, Frederiksberg; entry 30kr

Maximum of four per team, it’s 1,000 kroner for the winners and a crate of beer for second. Two beer rounds, and shots for last place!

Join the cool crowd

Sign up for a Danish course at Studieskolen. We offer free Danish Education as well as private classes that will quickly have you speaking Danish. Where and how you use it – well, that’s up to you. Read more about your possibilities at studieskolen.dk.