Copenhagen Carnival is an annual

carnival Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival typi ...

event taking place in

Fælledparken The park Fælledparken in Copenhagen, Denmark, was created 1906–1914 by landscape architect Edvard Glæsel in cooperation with the Copenhagen Municipality on the commons (Danish: ''fælled'') previously named ''Nørrefælled'' and ''Østerfæl ...

and on the streets of

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

for three days (Friday-Sunday) during the Whitsun Holiday. Over the years it has developed into the largest Danish festival for World music with 120 bands, 2000 dancers and more than 100,000 spectators participating.

History

The first carnival in Copenhagen was arranged in 1982 by the "Carnival in May" association and attracted 500 dancers and 60,000 spectators.

Events

The main venue of the carnival is Fælledparken with eight stages dedicated to various music genre. Apart from traditional

samba Samba (), also known as samba urbano carioca (''urban Carioca samba'') or simply samba carioca (''Carioca samba''), is a Brazilian music genre that originated in the Afro-Brazilian communities of Rio de Janeiro in the early 20th century. Havin ...

and

steelpan The steelpan (also known as a pan, steel drum, and sometimes, collectively with other musicians, as a steelband or steel orchestra) is a musical instrument originating in Trinidad and Tobago. Steelpan musicians are called pannists. Descriptio ...

music, a number of other music styles are represented. The festival's main focus is world music but it also features an "electronic carnival" programme at the

electronics The field of electronics is a branch of physics and electrical engineering that deals with the emission, behaviour and effects of electrons using electronic devices. Electronics uses active devices to control electron flow by amplification ...

stage. The main Copenhagen Carnival Parade takes place on Saturday, moving from

Kongens Nytorv Kongens Nytorv ( lit. "The King's New Square") is a public square in Copenhagen, Denmark, centrally located at the end of the pedestrian street Strøget. The largest square of the city, it was laid out by Christian V in 1670 in connection with ...

to The City Hall Square along the pedestrian street

Strøget Strøget () is a pedestrian, car free shopping area in Copenhagen, Denmark. This popular tourist attraction in the centre of town is one of the longest pedestrian shopping streets in Europe at 1.1 km. Located at the centre of the old city o ...

. The day after, the parade is repeated in Fælledparken, leading up to the final evening of celebrations. There is a special programme for children and young people with various workshops, performances and a separate parade. It originally took place in

Rosenborg Castle Garden Rosenborg Castle Gardens (Danish: Kongens Have literally The King's Garden) is the oldest and most visited park in central Copenhagen, Denmark. Established in the early 17th century as the private gardens of King Christian IV's Rosenborg Castle, th ...

but has been moved to Fælledparken.

References

External links

Copenhagen Carnivals official web site
{{FestivalsDenmark Parades in Europe World music festivals Carnivals in Denmark Annual events in Copenhagen Festivals in Copenhagen Spring (season) events in Denmark