Country Profile: Denmark

With a population of around 6m, Denmark assumes a natural slot between Germany and Sweden on the European tour route. But when Covid closed the gates, domestic artists rose to fill the gap, and they have stuck around.

Demand for big international shows remains strong, of course, but like many European markets, Denmark has increasingly figured out how to fill its own arenas and stadiums.

This summer saw the domestic phenomenon taken to its extremes at Copenhagen’s Parken Stadium, where Danish- language post-punkers The Minds of 99 played three consecutive nights before more than 150,000 fans – a triple sell-out never previously achieved by even the biggest international acts.

“When we went up with the 2024 shows, we believed we had two shows that likely would sell out, but when all 100,000 tickets were gone in a matter of minutes, we had to do a third show to meet the demand,” Live Nation Denmark’s Ulrik Ørum-Petersen told IQ. “Impressive is an understatement, really.”

“When we went up with the 2024 shows, we believed we had two shows that likely would sell out, but when all 100,000 tickets were gone in a matter of minutes, we had to do a third show to meet the demand,”

Live Nation Denmark, the local market leader, hasn’t reverted to domestic talent wholesale, of course – its year has included Bruce Springsteen, J Balvin, P!nk, Metallica, and Morgan Wallen, albeit with retiring Danish ‘indie stadium’ chaps Mew among those cued up for 2025.

Superstruct-owned DTD Group, previously Down The Drain Group, is the second-biggest concert and festival organiser in Denmark, presiding over some of the nation’s biggest festivals – NorthSide in Aarhus, Tinderbox in Odense, and Fyrfest in Viborg – and promoting more than 100 shows a year.

For DTD, international remains strong – Interpol, Faithless, and Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds are all coming through in the coming months, and the festivals maintain a mix of local and international – but homegrown talent has been a big part of the recipe in 2024.

“It seems that people are really up for local talent these days”

Notable shows include a 47,000-cap Parken Stadium show in August for Danish hip-hop veterans Suspekt, a summer show on Refshaleøen island in Copenhagen harbour for returning hip-hop/R&B duo Ukendt Kunstner, and Royal Arenas in 2025 for rapper Kesi and anthemic folk-pop outfit Jonah Blacksmith.

The reason for the increasing parity in local vs international pulling power in recent years is hard to define. By many interpretations, Covid gave local artists space to develop, while others suggest high international fees and shifts in touring patterns are also playing a role.

“It seems that people are really up for local talent these days,” says DTD Group CEO Brian Nielsen. “Maybe it’s even a result of the decreasing number of international headline acts doing the festival circuit and doing their own arena shows – who knows? We see Danish talent having as big an impact as international headliners at our festivals, and that wasn’t the case a few years back.”

NorthSide put Ukendt Kunstner and singer-songwriter Andreas Odbjerg up amongst Massive Attack, Troye Sivan, The Smile, and others, while Tinderbox had Odbjerg and Jonah Blacksmith alongside Bryan Adams, Camila Cabello, and Lenny Kravitz. Having already gone 100% organic and plant- based in its food options, NorthSide also announced its intention to become climate-neutral.

“We see Danish talent having as big an impact as international headliners at our festivals, and that wasn’t the case a few years back.”

DTD is also behind a new ‘legends’ festival called Forever, which will take place in the historic barracks area in the heart of Viborg in June 2025. Roxette, Kool & the Gang, and the Human League are among the first wave of names. Clearly, when it’s retro legends you’re after, international remains the way to go.

The eight-day, 135,000-strong, non-profit Roskilde, tends to lead with international action – Doja Cat, 21 Savage, Foo Fighters, Skrillex, and SZA were among those heading the lineup this year – though Medina, Tems, Gobs, and ritual collective Heilung were among the Danish or part-Danish acts slightly further down on the bill.

Live Nation Denmark also launched Suset Festival this summer, which took place on the harbourside in the city of Esbjerg under the guidance of festival director Tobias Kippenberger, former frontman of Danish rock band The Floor Is Made Of Lava. The first edition featured a mainly domestic lineup including local hip-hop arena-fillers Nik & Jay, Andreas Odbjerg, and chart siren Medina.

“It has been a very busy year with a lot of great shows”

The Waterland Private Equity-backed, pan-European independent group All Things Live has its roots in Denmark, where ICO Concerts was a founding partner, and like others, All Things Live Denmark has had a strong 2024 to date.

“It has been a very busy year with a lot of great shows,” says the company’s CEO Pernille Møller Pedersen. “The highlight of the year for us was Rammstein at Valbyparken in Copenhagen on 5 July, with 50,000 tickets sold. Rammstein now holds the record for the biggest concert ever at the park.”

The FKP Scorpio-affiliated smash!bang!pow! organises and produces more than 300 concerts annually, from Ed Sheeran’s four shows at Copenhagen’s Øresundsparken next year to local talent club shows, and this year, it saw its second edition of the Syd for Solen festival in Søndermarken.

“The highlight of the year for us was Rammstein at Valbyparken in Copenhagen on 5 July, with 50,000 tickets sold. Rammstein now holds the record for the biggest concert ever at the park.”

Another busy promoter and producer is CSB Island Entertainment, founded in 1994 and 75% owned by DEAG since 2021, with founder and CEO Carsten Svoldgaard and his son Kenneth (COO) remaining at the helm and as shareholders.

Operating from the island of Fanø in the North Sea off Denmark’s southwest coast, CSB holds worldwide rights to productions including The Show – A Tribute to Abba, Queen Machine Symphonic, and Disco Tango Eurovision Show, and supplies international artists and bands to up to 100 festivals and open-airs in Denmark.