Bella Center (abbreviated BC) is Scandinavia's second largest exhibition and conference center (after

Messecenter Herning The MCH Messecenter Herning is an exhibition centre and entertainment complex in Herning, Denmark. The complex is the largest fair and exhibition center in Denmark– beating the Bella Center in Copenhagen. Located on , the complex hosts ma ...

), and is located 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 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 ...

. Located in

Ørestad Ørestad () is a developing city area in Copenhagen, Denmark, on the island of Amager. The area was developed using the new town concept, closely linked with the M1 line of the Copenhagen Metro. Economically, income for the plan would be genera ...

between the city centre and

Copenhagen Airport Copenhagen Airport, Kastrup ( da, Københavns Lufthavn, Kastrup, ; ) is an international airport serving Copenhagen, Denmark, Zealand, the Øresund Region, and southern Sweden including Scania. It is the second largest airport in the Nordic coun ...

, 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 Copenhagen Fashion Week is an international fashion event, held twice a year 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 last quart ...

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 Bellahøj is an area situated 5 kilometres to the northwest of central Copenhagen, Denmark. It features the Bellahøj Houses, a functionalist housing project, as well as parkland with an open-air theatre. The 37 metre high hill situated in Bellah� ...

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 The Copenhagen Metro ( da, Københavns Metro, ) is a 24/7 rapid transit system in Copenhagen, Denmark, serving the municipalities of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, and Tårnby. The original system opened in October 2002, serving nine stations on t ...

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 The 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference, commonly known as the Copenhagen Summit, was held at the Bella Center in Copenhagen, Denmark, between 7 and 18 December. The conference included the 15th session of the Conference of the Partie ...

* 2009: 13th Olympic Congress * 2009: 121st International Olympic Committee Session * 2009: 33rd Ordinary

UEFA Congress The UEFA Congress (french: Congrès de l'UEFA, german: UEFA-Kongress) is the supreme controlling organ of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). UEFA is the administrative body for association football and futsal in Europe, and is o ...

* 2006:

MTV Europe Music Awards 2006 The MTV Europe Music Awards 2006 were held in Copenhagen at the Bella Center. The outside stage hosted a concert that featured The Killers, Keane and Snoop Dogg. Presenters included Fat Joe, Timbaland and Moby. Notable events during the ceremony ...

* 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 The AC Hotel Bella Sky Copenhagen, formerly the Bella Sky Comwell Hotel, is a 4-star conference hotel adjacent to the Bella Convention and Congress Center in the Ørestad district of Copenhagen, Denmark. With 814 rooms, it is the largest hotel in ...

at Bella Center is now opened. Designed by Danish 3XN Architects, the hotel consists of two

inclined tower Incline, inclined, inclining, or inclination may refer to: *Grade (slope), the tilt, steepness, or angle from horizontal of a topographic feature (hillside, meadow, etc.) or constructed element (road, railway, field, etc.) *Slope, the tilt, steepn ...

s, 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 fair A trade fair, also known as trade show, trade exhibition, or trade exposition, is an exhibition organized so that companies in a specific industry can showcase and demonstrate their latest products and services, meet with industry partners and c ...

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

is located next to Bella Center. The regional Oresundtrains from Copenhagen and Malmö stop at

Ørestad station Ørestad () is a developing city area in Copenhagen, Denmark, on the island of Amager. The area was developed using the new town concept, closely linked with the M1 (Copenhagen), M1 line of the Copenhagen Metro. Economically, income for the plan w ...

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 The ''Olsen Gang'' ( da, Olsen-banden, no, Olsenbanden, german: Die Olsenbande) is a Danish comedy film series created by Danish director Erik Balling and special effects expert Henning Bahs about the eponymous fictional criminal gang. The gang ...

'' film ''The Olsen Gang Outta Sight''.

References

External links

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