City not responsible for Eurovision debt, says mayor

Frank Jensen says Copenhagen’s chequebook is closed for pop extravaganza cost overruns

As the bill for the Eurovision Song Contest staged in Copenhagen last May continue to rise, Frank Jensen, Copenhagen’s mayor, said that the city is not going to foot the bill.

“The city of Copenhagen is not responsible for the deficit,” Jensen wrote in a statement. “It is a matter for Region Hovedstaden – the Capital Region – and Wonderful Copenhagen, which is a private foundation that operates under Region Hovedstaden.”

The city has already shelled out 14.5 million kroner to help hold the music festival, which has now run up bills of 112 million kroner for the staging of two semi-finals and the final, exceeding the budget by over three times.

“There has been no control over the budget,” wrote Jensen. “When Copenhagen supports a project, the budget must be in order.”

Still a hell of a party
Jensen emphasised that the budget issues did not detract from the positive impression that the Eurovision party had on Copenhagen.

Region Hovedstaden head Sophie Hæstorp Andersen said that her group is looking for a way to rescue Wonderful Copenhagen from the deficit disaster. Jensen said that was simply fair play.

 “It makes sense that Region Hovedstaden takes on the task of finding a political solution since Wonderful Copenhagen is a privately funded foundation that is part of Region Hovedstaden.”





  • How internationals can benefit from joining trade unions

    How internationals can benefit from joining trade unions

    Being part of a trade union is a long-established norm for Danes. But many internationals do not join unions – instead enduring workers’ rights violations. Find out how joining a union could benefit you, and how to go about it.

  • Internationals in Denmark rarely join a trade union

    Internationals in Denmark rarely join a trade union

    Internationals are overrepresented in the lowest-paid fields of agriculture, transport, cleaning, hotels and restaurants, and construction – industries that classically lack collective agreements. A new analysis from the Workers’ Union’s Business Council suggests that internationals rarely join trade unions – but if they did, it would generate better industry standards.

  • Novo Nordisk overtakes LEGO as the most desirable future workplace amongst university students

    Novo Nordisk overtakes LEGO as the most desirable future workplace amongst university students

    The numbers are especially striking amongst the 3,477 business and economics students polled, of whom 31 percent elected Novo Nordisk as their favorite, compared with 20 percent last year.