Winter Festivals 2020

Kristoffer Juel

20th annual Winter Jazz Festival brings jazz to all of Denmark

Dating back more than four decades, Copenhagen’s annual Jazz Festival is renowned across Europe and recognised as one of Denmark’s biggest music events. The festival takes place in July every year and includes more than 1,300 concerts. That does, however, not mean that guests and Danes have to wait for the summer to indulge in jazzy tunes. During three weeks in February, the smaller winter version of the festival expands beyond the borders of the capital and takes on the whole country. In 2020, Winter Jazz can celebrate its 20th festival and this one includes around 600 concerts at 150 venues around the country. It is a great opportunity to see young, Danish jazz groups and talents from across the globe.

Winter Jazz takes place 6 – 20 February 2020 throughout Denmark.

More information here.

Kristoffer Juel

10 year anniversary for nationwide restaurant festival

Denmark is renowned for its top-class restaurants so it is hardly a surprise that the restaurants have their own festival. The festival, Dining Week, is the biggest of its kind in North Europe and 2020 marks the 10th annual festival. The concept behind the festival is simple; throughout the festival’s 10 days, more than 200 restaurants across 50 Danish cities and towns offer a three-course menu at a special price of DKK 215 (around £25). The restaurants span from classic Danish, to Japanese, to Italian, so there should be something for every taste.

Dining Week takes place 7 – 16 February 2020 throughout Denmark.

More information here.

Martin Heiberg, Copenhagen Media Centre

Danish Vikings celebrate with winter with a dip in the ocean

January may not sound like the most obvious time for a dip in the Danish waters, but in the town of Skagen at the tip of North Jutland, swimming in the icy waters is actually cause for an annual celebration. The Skagen Winter Swimming Festival first took place in 2012 and is co-arranged by the local winter swimming community who are aptly named “The Ice Breakers”. Together with the swimming trips, the festival program also includes walks in the beautiful nature, a dinner party and live music.

Skagen Winter Swimming festival takes place 23 – 26 January 2020 in Skagen, North Jutland.

More information here.

North Jutland

Mette Johnsen

Colourful festival lights up the darkness in Copenhagen

Copenhagen Light festival is one of the newer Danish festivals with just two seasons under its belt. In those two years, the festival has, however, showed to be a popular addition to the Copenhagen cityscape in the dark winter month of February. With green light beams shooting through the sky, multicoloured projections and iconic buildings enrobed in lights, the festival is an opportunity to gain a new perspective on the city and to defy the winter cold and head on a colourful scavenger through the streets, waters and bridges of Copenhagen.

Copenhagen Light Festival takes place 1 – 23 February 2020 in Copenhagen.

More information here.

Mathias Peter Christian

Kim Matthai Leland

Take-off at new dance festival in Aalborg

The EDM (electronic dance music) festival Aairport Festival in Aalborg is a new addition to the Danish festival scene and it will take place for the first time 17 – 18 January 2020. The festival is something out of the ordinary with a full-on airport theme spanning from the stewards, stewardesses and captains greeting you upon arrival in Aalborg’s concert hall Gigantium, to the tax free merchandise shop and the terminal of food and drink stalls. This line-up consists of artists from the both the Danish and international DJ scene. Together with an extraordinary light show, they will ensure a festive start to the festivals of 2020.