Whitsun weekend festival warms Copenhagen with its Latin beat
During these three days, the city and fills with a myriad of coloursCopenhagen is an environmentally friendly major regional centre of culture, science and art, with a top quality of life and daily flights from Glasgow. Every year for over two decades on a May/June weekend, it is warmed by exotic music, dance and drum beating performances from well over 200,000 onlookers and participants – a part of Copenhagen Carnival, one of Copenhagen’s top cultural events.
Music tents are set up in the green grassy fields in and around Copenhagen, blasting out Latin beats, from Buenos Aires Tango to Caribbean Rumba. Other music tastes are also catered for in the fiesta’s main venue - Fælledparken (a large park in the area of Østerbro). There are eight stages dedicated to mainly world music and electronica, with performances of steel pan, afro, folklore, urban, reggae and dance, featuring international DJs.
The main Copenhagen Carnival Parade takes place on a Saturday, starting out in the city’s public square Kongens Nytorv, through the pedestrian street Strøget and finishing in The City Hall Square. On Sunday night, the whole parade is repeated.
As well as providing a wide range of attractions, from brass bands to capoeira performances, all of them free, it is also child friendly. Children have their own program on the Friday preceding the ‘adult’ celebrations, which includes samba workshops, performances and even a separate parade; alternately, the whole family can relax in a specially designated area.
Although not a major world-famous event, it’s certainly not one to miss when visiting Copenhagen.
