Copenhagen is busy developing its venues and hotels, as well as aiming to be the first carbon-neutral city in the world. Felicity Cousins reports.
It would be a challenge for any city to successfully host 45,000 people for a high-profile two-week event, but Copenhagen did just this when it hosted the 15th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP15) in December 2009, despite hotels being booked up months in advance.
The city has some impressive green credentials and, by the end of 2009, 53 per cent of its hotels were officially recognised as environmentally friendly, with Green Keys, Nordic Swans and EU Flowers awarded in recognition of water, electricity and chemical savings. When Siemens published its first European Green City Index in 2009, Copenhagen came out on top, beating 29 others, and the Copenhagen Conference Centre (CPH Conference) won the green IMEX Award the same year (the equivalent of an Oscar in the meetings world).
The Danish capital has great ambitions to become the world’s first carbon-neutral city by 2025 – and with all these accolades it seems to be well on its way to achieving this. The city is also focussed on the meetings market and there have been several recent developments, and ones still in progress, to support this drive.
The Bella Centre, where the COP15 summit was held, can host about 20,000 delegates, but as Ulrika Martensson, press officer at Wonderful Copenhagen, says, “Previously, if the Bella Centre was booked and you wanted somewhere for more than 2,000 people, it was impossible”. Fortunately, capacity is on the up. Options now include the Tivoli Congress Centre, which opened at the end of 2010 and can cater for around 4,000, and the CPH Conference, which opened in 2009 and holds about 900 (see page 25).
Jakob Ellermann, general manager of the Tivoli hotel and Congress Centre, says: “There are a lot of venues in Copenhagen but the Tivoli is purpose-built in the city centre. The Bella Centre is a bit like London’s Excel, but we are going after around 2,500 people rather than 10,000. Tivoli is a place to go and look at the lights, have dinner and appreciate the architecture. It’s going to be an entertainment zone and during the evening it will be a good place for business travellers to experience.”
The Greater Copenhagen region offers close to 17,600 hotel rooms and well-known brands such as Hilton, Marriott and Radisson Blu, with some 1,600 rooms added in the past couple of years. In May, the 814-room Bella Sky hotel (part of the Bella Centre) will become the largest hotel in Scandinavia when it opens.
But why choose Copenhagen over anywhere else in Europe? Martensson says: “I think it is more fun here. Danes are generally more easy-going than Swedes, for example, but still hold the same Scandinavian traits of punctuality and professionalism.”
Another reason is accessibility. Four new intercontinental routes were added to the airport’s network last year (Qatar Airways to Doha, Air Canada to Toronto, Egyptair to Cairo and Delta to New York JFK), and SAS boosted frequencies to New York, Chicago, Bangkok and Dubai. From winter 2011, it will start flying to Shanghai.
Martensson says: “It is very easy to get to the city centre from the airport so you can actually put two hours back into any programme [compared with transfer times in other cities]. Its compact nature also makes it a good place to choose – everything is close by and 80 per cent of hotels are within a 20-minute walk of each other, so it’s easy to keep everyone in the same area.”
Copenhagen’s location is also well-placed to reach neighbouring Sweden over the Oresund Bridge, which links the Danish city with Malmo. The two destinations work closely on meetings and events. Martensson says: “We market ourselves as one destination and two countries.
For example, golf around Copenhagen is fantastic and the south of Sweden is really good for golf too. Within 90 minutes [of Copenhagen] you have 90 courses and, with the long days in summer [there is daylight until after 10pm], golf is a big thing.”
For those in search of incentive ideas, Copenhagen has no shortage of options. Not surprising given the city’s green focus, there is a huge emphasis on organic food (see panel, previous page). Martensson says: “It’s a big thing here – it’s what people want and, even at kindergarten, 80 per cent of the food served is organic. There has been a revolution in the range of organic food available here, and we also have 14 Michelin stars [throughout the city].”
Whether you take a boat trip on the canals, ride along part of the 300km of bike routes, swim in the harbour, visit the theatre or opera, or spend the afternoon at the Tivoli gardens or the Rosenborg castle and King’s gardens, there’s plenty to do. Martensson adds: “It’s easy to get out of the city – you can combine one day in and one day out of the centre. The airport is only five minutes from the harbour, so you can sail straight into Copenhagen and dock at one of several hotels. In the next two years, there will be electric-powered boats too.”
There’s a confidence to this city. It’s clean, easy to travel around and the people have embraced a healthier, greener future – all significant pluses for the environmentally conscious events organiser. Martensson concludes: “Copenhagen appeals because it has a fairytale image, but it is also into all the new ideas.” n
See visitcopenhagen.dk, wonderfulcopenhagen.dk
Foodie meetings
Toldboden
This new restaurant in Copenhagen harbour offers event space for up to 600 people. Owner Jesper Julian Moeller – former chef of Kong Hans, one of the city’s 12 Michelin-starred eateries and cuisinier at the National Museum’s Julian – strives to make it environmentally friendly using locally sourced produce. The menu has information on how much CO2 was used to produce each offering, while other green features include the use of reclaimed materials (the bar is constructed from an old warehouse floor) and energy-saving LED lights.
Norde Toldbod 24; tel +45 3393 0760; toldboden.com
Geranium2
This Michelin-starred restaurant, previously known as Geranium, reopened last year as Geranium Two after a change in investors. The Danish cuisine on offer is organic, and chef Rasmus Kofoed won gold in the 2010 Bocuse D’Or Europe. Kofoed is one of Denmark’s top chefs, so a great incentive idea would be to treat a group to a private dinner here. There’s space for 100 people for private dining and a choice of four- or five-course biodynamic menus, featuring organic ingredients that are grown and harvested in a sustainable way, and in accordance with lunar cycles.
Per Henrik Lings Alle 4; tel +45 6996 0020; geranium2.dk
Radisson Blu ‘Brain food’
The “brain food” scheme for meetings and events was launched by Radisson Blu hotels in Copenhagen in September last year. The menus designed for lunches, evening events and snacks during meetings help delegates to stay focused. Fish, wholegrains, fruit and vegetables are used, with a focus on local, fresh and pure ingredients with minimal artificial processing. The scheme will also be rolled out to selected Radisson Blu hotels in Norway and Sweden.
Visit radissonblu.dk/konference
Venues
Tivoli Hotel and Congress Centre
Part of the Arp-Hansen Hotel Group, Tivoli opened in July last year. The 402-room property is part of a complex that includes the new Tivoli Congress Centre, which opened in October.
The Congress Centre was designed by architect Kim Utzon and has a main hall that can cater for 2,500 people, two auditoria for 200 and 400 seated, and 20 other rooms for up to 180 delegates in total. All guests have free entry to theTivoli gardens located 1km away, as well as complimentary wifi access, and use of the on-site restaurant, bar and pool.
Also in the complex is another Arp-Hansen hotel, the Wakeup Copenhagen. This two-star property has 510 en suite rooms, free wifi access and a business centre. Snacks and drinks are available in
the lobby.
Tivoli hotel, Arni Magnussons Gade; tel +45 4487 0000; tivolihotel.com
Wakeup Copenhagen, 11 Carsten Niebuhrs Gade; tel +45 4480 0000; wakeupcopenhagen.com
Bella Centre and Bella Sky Hotel
Located close to the airport, the Bella Centre welcomed 1.2 million visitors in 2009 and hosted the COP15 climate conference. It has a capacity of 20,000 people, with one room alone holding up to 12,000. There are 63 meeting rooms and an auditorium for 930 people, as well as eight restaurants and 15 break-out areas.
Next to the Bella Centre, the four-star Bella Sky hotel is due to open in May. This stunning new-build comprises two towers inclining away from each other at about 15-degrees angles. It will be the largest hotel in Scandinavia with 814 guestrooms and 32 meeting spaces, including a large ballroom, and two executive conference venues located on the 23rd floor together with the Sky bar.
Bella Centre, 5 Centre Boulevard; tel +45 3252 8811; bellacentre.dk
DGI-byen CPH conference
The DGI-byen is located behind Copenhagen’s central station and is a popular venue for cultural, corporate and sporting events. The complex offers 22,000 sqm of function space and a range of conference facilities.
A recent addition to the complex is the CPH Conference Centre, which opened in July 2009. The modern, flexible venue occupies five floors and is designed to encourage creativity. Each level reflects a different district of Copenhagen, so you are always aware of being in the city while attending a meeting, and the rooftop terrace offers spectacular views.
There are 14 meeting rooms with a maximum capacity of 450 in the largest, along with 14 break-out rooms. Delegates can use Nintendo Wii consoles or play table football during breaks, and there is also a 16-lane bowling alley, café, restaurant, swimming pool, spa and three hotels.
DGI-byen CPH Conference, 65 Tietgensgade; tel +45 3329 8000; dgi-byen.com
Mogens Dahl KoncertSal
The first privately-run concert hall for classical music and conferences in Denmark, Mogens Dahl is housed in what was a stable 100 years ago. In 2004, Danish conductor Mogens Dahl bought it and turned it into an intimate concert hall and conference venue. For events there’s the Main hall (seating 250 theatre-style or 150 for dinner), the Small hall (100 theatre-style or 150 people standing) and the Large hall (300 standing, 220 theatre-style or 200 for dinner).
The venue is also part of the Klima+ (“Climate+”) network of companies working to reduce energy consumption. It offers eco-friendly menus featuring the cuisine of Jesper Julian, of the National Museum and the new Toldboden. (See panel page 23.)
Snorresgade 22; tel +45 7023 0082; mogendahl.dk
Crowne Plaza Copenhagen Towers
The Crowne Plaza opened in November 2009, in time for the COP15 summit. It is a carbon-neutral building and incorporates Denmark’s largest solar panel park, with 2,500 sqm of them producing enough energy to match that consumed by 55 Danish families in a year.
The 366-room hotel meets the EU’s standards for green buildings and is “Green Key” certified. It also houses the country’s first groundwater-based cooling and heating system, which reduces the amount of energy required to control the temperature of the hotel by up to 90 per cent.
There is 3,500 sqm of event space, including two meeting rooms, a ballroom with a capacity of 800 people theatre-style, and a terrace for 200 guests. It is ideally located for the metro, the airport and the Bella Centre. Visit businesstraveller.com/tried-and-tested for a full review.
Oerestads Boulevard; tel +45 8877 6655; ichotelsgroup.com
