Nordisk Film has reversed plans to demolish the iconic Palads cinema in Copenhagen and replace it with a multiplex in a proposed 18-storey building located at nearby Vesterport Station, reports Berlingske.
An upgrade instead
Instead it will modernise the cinema, which is famous for a pastel-coloured facade visible from many parts of the city centre.
The modernisation might require a few of the walls, which Poul Gernes painted in 1989, to be demolished, but not all of them as was outlined in plans drawn up by the Bjarke Ingels Group, which had the backing of City Hall’s Technical and Environmental Committee.
Widespread criticism
“We have listened to the criticism and closed the BIG project,” confirmed Nordisk Film Biografer chief executive Asger Flygare Bech-Thomsen to the newspaper.
“We want to build world-class cinemas, and we will not be doing it on the cheap.”
In total, Palads has 17 screens.
Tivoli unveils plans for three more Michelin-starred pop-ups
Following the success of its pop-up restaurants in Det Japanske Tårn last summer, Tivoli has confirmed that no less than three Michelin-starred eateries will be making appearances in 2022, serving up cuisine from Spain, Iceland and Denmark. Noor from Cordoba (two stars; July 2-28), Dill in Reykjavik (one star; Aug 1-Sep 11) and home-based Studio (one stars; April 21-June 25) will continue a tradition started last year by Copenhagen AOC and Faroese KOKS. Designed by architect Knud Arne Hansen, Det Japanske Tårn was built in 1900. However, between 1901 and 2009 it was known as The Chinese Tower to suit the restaurant it housed. Noor head chef Paco Morales previously worked for elBulli, a former World’s Best Restaurant.
Denmark takes another gold in an international cooking contest
Denmark last week won the gold medal in the Bocuse d’Or Europe, the biennial European championships for chefs. It is not an untypical performance by Danish standards. It took silver in the last Euros, while in the biennial world version, Denmark took silver in 2021 and gold in 2019, along with a silver in 2013 and gold in 2011. In fact, a Scandinavian has stood on the podium in every contest going back to 1991. Bocuse d’Or Europe is one of the qualifiers for the global 24-team final, which will take place in Lyon next year. Already the smart money is on Danish chef Brian Mark Hansen and his team from Søllerød Kro, who emerged triumphant from a field of 17 teams, of which the top ten will appear in Lyon. Each team was challenged to present a three-course menu based on potatoes in five hours. Hansen’s menu was particularly acclaimed for its winning sources.
Golden Days festival changes its name
The annual Golden Days festival, which has been delighting fans of history, culture and worldly knowledge since 1994, is changing its name ahead of its 2022 edition. It will be by then known as ADBC. Not only does it reflect its love of history and ease at reflecting on eras before and after Christ, but it also touches on its love of letters, be it Alfa, Delta, Beta, Chi and fondness for the cities that have helped to shape the world: Athens, Damaskus, Beijing and, dare they say it, Copenhagen. This autumn’s ADBC festival, scheduled to take place from September 2-18, is entitled ‘Queens’. “We offer DJs, drinks and special guests,” it promises. So, make that an Aperol Spritz, Dark ‘N’ Stormy, Black Velvet and Cosmopolitan.
Female musicians not taken seriously – survey
Earlier this month, a report compiled by DR and Bandakademiet revealed that only 10 percent of the royalties overseen by Koda in 2021 went to female musicians. Now, a new survey of around 1,500 people by Kvinfo reveals a skewed gender balance in the music industry in which women face significantly more barriers than men. Women are far more likely to experience missing out on work because of their gender: 18 vs 4 percent. Furthermore, 35 percent (4 for men) contend gender plays an important part in an assessment of their ability, and 27 percent (1) have experienced not being taken seriously because of their gender. However, both genders report inappropriate behaviour: degrading comments (26 vs 8), everyday sexism (56 vs 22) and cross-border behavior/sexual harassment (64 vs 44).
World’s biggest electronic star coming to Amager in August
Tiësto, who many consider to be the world’s leading DJ, has confirmed he will be appearing at the AiaSound festival in Amager, Copenhagen from August 11-13. The Dutchman will be heading to Tiøren, a park off Amager Strandvej, where 30,000 festival guests will be in attendance. Tiësto last visited Denmark back in 2018. Other names already confirmed for AiaSound include TYGA, Steve Aoki, Becky Hill, Tobias Rahim, Ericka Jane, ArtigeArdit, CHEFF RECORDS, Branco, Clara, Faustix, Pauline, Donkey Sound and Hans Philip.
Line-up confirmed for eclectic festival in Aarhus
The SPOR festival, one of northern Europe’s leading eclectic music gatherings, has confirmed a diverse line-up for its 2022 edition, which will take place in Aarhus from April 27 to May 1. The artists include James Black, Kim Mejdahl, Jeppe Just Christensen, Quatour Diotima, Shiva Feshareki, Raquel Castro and Claudia Molitor. Among the venues are ARoS art gallery, the Dokk1 library, Sankt Lukas Church and the Godsbanen film and arts centre.
No Oscars for Denmark, but plenty to reflect on
Denmark failed to win any Oscars, with ‘Flugt’ the biggest loser on the night, as it was up for three awards: Best International Film, Best Animated Film and Best International Film. But at least its disappointed director didn’t hit anyone on stage. Chris Rock has only ever appeared in Denmark once – at Royal Arena in 2017 – but we don’t think he was struck on that occasion. Will Smith, meanwhile, visited Denmark with his whole family in 2004.
Flawless fours: what have they got against the Irish?
It’s well documented that Ekstra Bladet critic Thomas Treo is not a big fan of U2’s 21st century output and tends to stick the knife in every time they come to Denmark, but concerns are growing that all Danish reviewers share an aversion to Irish cultural output. In the space of a week, Irish productions received glowing reviews from the media, but were only given four stars out of six. First off, DR praised Oscar nominee Belfast time and time again, with not a single piece of criticism, to a point that the applause began to feel repetitive, but still only gave it a flawless four out of six. And then CPH Culture did the same in its review of That Theatre Company production ‘Rub-A-Dub-Dub’, a new play by Irishman Fergal O’Byrne. Everything was faultless, it seemed … but somewhere the play hit an invisible fence and lost two stars. The CPH POST review, in contrast, did not hold back in its criticism: that is after all why the play lost a star in the final reckoning.
