Denmark: Events

Denmark's main events are the hundred-plus music festivals which run almost non-stop, covering a broad spectrum of music that includes jazz, rock, blues, gospel, Irish, classical, country and Cajun. Flaring up with the Midsummer Eve bonfires in late June, one of the most popular is Roskilde Festival, northern Europe's largest rock music event, usually held in early July. At the same time, there's the Midtfyns Festival in Ringe, which showcases international rock, pop, world, folk and jazz music, and the 10-day Copenhagen Jazz Festival (one of the world's major jazz festivals). At the end of the month, the jazz fest shares the stage with the Copenhagen Summer Festival, which features chamber and classical music concerts during the last week of July and the first two weeks of August. The Tønder Festival, one of northern Europe's largest folk festivals, is held at the end of August.

The nine-day Århus Festival, beginning on the first Saturday in September, turns that city into a stage for nonstop revelry, with music and drama performances of all sorts drawing hundreds of thousands of Danish and international visitors. The program also incorporates a Viking Festival complete with roving jesters, jousting and archery competitions, Viking-style ships, and traditional food, drink and merrymaking.