Inside this week | We’re laid-back in Vesterbro

There aren’t many places in the world where the new residents of a former slum are so accepting of the old. But in Vesterbro this explains how the innercity area has held onto its charm during a gentrification process that kicked off in the mid-1990s. 

The affluent young families wheel their prams around the drug addicts, smile politely at the prostitutes, and don’t complain about the window displays of the gay sex shop next to their child’s nursery (Viktoriagade, that’s a plug, but there’s no need to reciprocate), although you’d suspect they wouldn’t want the other parents seeing them leave the premises in question.  

This laid-back approach is prevalent and key to understanding the success of the Vesterbro Festival, which was first held in 2003. But now this approach is under attack from several fronts. 

Firstly there’s the competition from two rival festivals taking place this weekend: Øresundsfestival and the Friday Rock Festival at Tivoli. The latter, taking place within a kilometre of Vesterbro’s and only in its second year, provides up-and-coming bands the chance to showcase their talents. The concept is exactly the same as Vesterbro’s, only the scope is Scandinavian not Danish, so why on earth are two such similar festivals taking place on the same night?

And secondly, a member of the City Council’s music committee has told Politiken that City Hall has serious doubts regarding the transparency of the organisers’ accounts (presumably poor accountancy as they’re only charging 50kr a night − Tivoli’s is almost six times this!) and other matters, offering very little elaboration. There was something about the mistreatment of the young musicians … ah diddums, did somebody give them an introduction to the real world. 

Released in the build-up to the festival, the critique feels well timed to say the least.  

Elsewhere, we’ve got some treats for fans of food not normally associated with Denmark, but fast becoming popular. For some reason this country’s started going crazy for cupcakes and Fish ‘n’ chips. Ten years ago you’d struggle to find either. 

Music festivals showcasing young talent, on the other hand, are ten-a-penny. 

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