Bella Center (abbreviated BC) is Scandinavia's second largest exhibition and conference center (after Messecenter Herning), and is located in Copenhagen, Denmark. Located in Ørestad between the city centre and Copenhagen Airport, it offers an indoor area of and has a capacity of 20,000 people. Among the larger annual events is the Copenhagen International Fashion Fair, the main event of Copenhagen Fashion Week held twice a year - in February and August, and CODE, the main event of Copenhagen Design Week.

History

Bella Center takes its name from Bellahøj in northern Copenhagen where the convention centre was first situated. Its first building was constructed in 1965 to the design of the architect

Erik Møller Svend Erik Møller (7 November 1909 – 24 March 2002) was a Danish architect. Møller used to work with the famous Danish architect and designer Arne Jacobsen. Together they won the competition to design the new City Hall in Aarhus, which was ...

. During 1973–75, Bella Center was moved to its current location on

Amager Amager ( or, especially among older speakers, ) in the Øresund is Denmark's most densely populated island, with more than 212,000 inhabitants (January 2021) a small appendage to Zealand. The protected natural area of ''Naturpark Amager'' (includi ...

between the city centre and Copenhagen airport, while the original building was converted into a sports center under the name Grøndals Centret. At this stage, Bella Center's new premises were located in an undeveloped area outside the city on the former

Amager Common Amager Common (Danish: ''Amager Fælled'') is a 223 hectare nature reserve on Amager in Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the ...

s. With the development of Ørestad, as decided in 1992 with construction starting from around the turn of the millennium, Bella Center's surroundings are in the process of changing into a dense urban area. When the M1 line of the Copenhagen Metro opened in 2004, it was with a station named for the Bella Center located next to it.

Major events

* 2009: United Nations Climate Change Conference 2009 * 2009:

13th Olympic Congress The 13th Olympic Congress was held between 3–5 October 2009 in Copenhagen, Denmark, by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). It was held together with the meetings of the Executive Board and the 121st IOC Session. History Convened on the ...

* 2009:

121st International Olympic Committee Session The 121st International Olympic Committee (IOC) Session was held on October 1–9, 2009 in Copenhagen, Denmark, during which Rio de Janeiro was selected as the host city of the 2016 Summer Olympics. The city of Copenhagen was chosen on February ...

* 2009: 33rd Ordinary UEFA Congress * 2006: MTV Europe Music Awards 2006 * 2002:

European Council The European Council (informally EUCO) is a collegiate body that defines the overall political direction and priorities of the European Union. It is composed of the heads of state or government of the EU member states, the President of the E ...

* 1995: The World Summit for Social Development * 1993:

Facilities

Bella Center's facilities include: * Congress Hall that can be divided into three individual sections (up to 4,200 persons) * 4 auditoriums with capacities from 310-930 persons * 63 flexible meeting rooms (from 2-400 persons) * Center Hall for banquets, parties, welcoming area, etc. * Various halls that can be used as congress and exhibition halls * Shopping centre with a grocer's shop and florist

Bella Sky Hotel

The 814-room Bella Sky Hotel at Bella Center is now opened. Designed by Danish 3XN Architects, the hotel consists of two inclined towers, standing 76.5 m tall with an inclination in opposite directions of 15°. The four-star Bella Hotel provides 814 rooms (100 suites), 32 conference rooms, 3 restaurants, a sky bar and a wellness centre. The foundation stone to Bella Hotel was laid 17 September 2008, and the first phase was completed in spring 2011.

Events

Bella Center hosts a large variety of trade fairs,

exhibition An exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within a cultural or educational setting such as a museum, art gallery, park, library, exhibition ...

s, conventions and political summits. Every year, it generally hosts 25-30 large exhibitions as well as around 1,300 meetings of varying sizes.

Transport

Bella Center station on the M1 line of the Copenhagen Metro is located next to Bella Center. The regional Oresundtrains from Copenhagen and Malmö stop at Ørestad station nearby the Bella Center. From here it is possible to change to the Metro M1 line to go one stop to reach the Bella Center metro station. The Oresundtrains also stop at Copenhagen Airport, 5 min. from Ørestad station.

Cultural references

* Bella Center is used as a location at 0:22:17 in the 1977 '' Olsen-banden'' film ''The Olsen Gang Outta Sight''.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Convention centres in Denmark Hotels in Copenhagen Buildings and structures in Copenhagen