Copenhagen, Denmark, 2015-10-20 — /Travel PR News/ — Known as the city of smiles, vibrant and forward-thinking Aarhus, Denmark’s second-largest city, is set to be the European Capital of Culture in 2017 with its theme of ‘Let’s Rethink’.
With four major events, 12 ‘full moon’ happenings and more than 300 projects lined up for visitors, Aarhus is gearing up to an extraordinary year of thought-provoking art and culture. A caste of several thousand people, including both Danish and international artists, will be coming together to create unique, magical moments, that will rethink art, food, music and ballet on a grand scale providing even more reasons to visit Aarhus in 2017.
Commenting on events for Aarhus 2017 Managing Director, Rebecca Matthews said “For an entire year, we will create spectacular events, extraordinary experiences and magical moments’’.
Rethinking Architecture
As the centrepiece for the celebrations, the harbour district in Aarhus is currently undergoing a major redevelopment programme to create a new Maritime Urban Area, transforming the former industrial area into a new urban space.
Visitors can take a stroll along the charming revamped canal with sustainable buildings and recreational areas to the city’s most striking new building The Iceberg, a uniquely angular housing development, which has been designed to take in the sea views whilst reflecting the natural beauty of an iceberg, how it breaks up and floats across the sea’s surface, capturing light. Following a walk around the complex, visitors can take a break at Strandbaren – the Beach Bar – a new area with a lively beach vibe where they will be able to lie on the beach, chill out on HAY furniture with a cocktail, go for a sail or join in one of the many group activities such as volleyball, zumba, salsa and yoga. The harbour will also feature a large waterfront space for concerts and events, while the new state-of-the-art media space, DOKK1, houses the main library and civic centre. Meanwhile on the outskirts of the city, Moesgaard Museum re-opened in October 2014 following a major redevelopment, and retells the nation’s story in archaeology and ethnography, houses some of Denmark’s most important artefacts such as beautifully preserved ‘Grauballe Man’.
Rethinking Art & Culture
An eclectic mix of arts projects are being lined up for Aarhus 2017 drawing on the creative input of Scandinavia’s foremost cultural figures. These include the renowned Danish-Icelandic visual artist Olafur Eliasson, whose 150-metre skywalk installation ‘Your rainbow panorama’ dominates the roof of the city’s ARoS art museum.
As part of Aarhus 2017, Eliasson is collaborating with the Manchester International Festival, Park Avenue Armory, Paris Opera Ballet, Sadler’s Wells and FAENA ART and British music producer Jamie XX to create a contemporary ballet that rethinks American writer, Jonathan Safran Foer’s book Tree of Codes. Having débuted at the Manchester international Festival in this year the ballet will visit Aarhus with six performances in the Concert Hall in 2017.
The Danish Oscar award-winning film director Susanne Bier is another big name supporting the city’s celebrations with three of her feature films, Open Hearts, Brothers and After the Wedding all getting the ‘rethink treatment’ and will be performed as a ballet, an opera and a musical-drama respectively.
In partnership with European Capital of Culture Aarhus, ARoS Aarhus Art Museum will be making their own contribution to Aarhus 2017 with an ambitious new international art project called THE GARDEN – End of Times, Beginning of Times. Stretching more than 4km along the Aarhus coastline, the project will comprise three parts: The Past – at ARoS Aarhus Art Museum; The Present – in the city centre of Aarhus; and The Future – along the coast and in the forest south of Aarhus. It will explore the significant shift in the relationship between man and nature over the last 400 years showing how various world views (religious, political, ideological or scientific) have materialised in man-made nature and in art.
Rethinking Food
Gastronomy in Aarhus has seen huge advancements in recent years with many new restaurants, bars and cafés adding to the city’s evolving culinary scene and making Aarhus more vibrant and stylish than ever. The kick-starter for the movement was the annual Aarhus Food Festival which has grown to become the largest in Scandinavia and will celebrate its fifth anniversary in 2016. This lead to three of the city’s restaurant’s being recognised with a coveted Michelin star for the first time in 2015 and building on these initiatives and showing the strengthening cooperation between chefs and food manufacturers the International Institute of Gastronomy, Culture, Arts and Tourism has awarded Aarhus and the surrounding area the title of European Region of Gastronomy for 2017.
Rethinking Where to Stay
In time to welcome extra visitors to the city in 2017, the new ‘Wakeup Hotel’ will be opening offering superb value for money and a level of comfort guests would normally expect from the city’s 3 and 4 star hotels but at hotel prices more in keeping with a 2 star establishment. The Wakeup hotel concept is based on relatively small, yet very well appointed rooms, with furniture from top Danish designers and will offer fabulous views over Aarhus.
For literary lovers further new accommodation will be made available when the city’s main library moves to its new location at Dokk1, by the harbour, making way for the new Library Hostel.
Opening in 2016 in the old library building in Mølleparken, will complement the city’s existing accommodation with 100 rooms plus a café and social meeting space for locals and visitors.
Commenting on the plans, Kristian Würtz, Technology and Environment Councillor said “The Central Library is one of the city’s most distinctive buildings and a landmark of Aarhus. We will retain the main library’s architecture but rethink the content with bedrooms alongside a public café on the ground floor. Its new function of urban life will elegantly match the building’s original function as a popular public meeting place.
Rethinking Getting Around Aarhus
Cycling is the perfect way to get around the city and in readiness 2017 an attractive 450km cycle route will be developed. This new bicycle route will take cyclists to various cultural attractions, beautiful landscapes, nearby villages, lakes and along the coast close to Aarhus. A book of maps, plus digital guides and signs will point the way with specially designed cycle shelters conveniently placed along the way for visitors.
Contact
Anne Marie Barsøe
Anne Marie Barsøe
Int. PR Consultant – Leisure & Business Tourism
E-mail:
amb@visitdenmark.com
SOURCE: VisitDenmark
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Denmark’s city Aarhus set to be the European Capital of Culture in 2017