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Denmark’s Stagebox closes down after two years

A Danish music venue that opened less than two years ago has closed down with owners blaming a “contractual conflict” with its landlord.

The 2,500-cap Stagebox launched in Refshaleøen, a former industrial site in the harbour of Copenhagen, in late 2021, but was reported by Kulturmonitor to have run into financial difficulties.

The venue was located at Refshalevej 189 – an old and historical construction hall in the post-industrial shipyard.

However, Celebrity Access reports that Refshaleøen’s owner terminated its lease agreement with Stagebox founder and CEO Stefan Petersen earlier this year following a bankruptcy filing against Petersen’s Panelværkstedet subsidiary.

Stagebox founder and CEO Stefan Petersen denies the venue has gone bankrupt but says that since it now has no leasing contract, it will soon file a self-petition with the Danish Maritime and Commercial Court.

“We were on the right path until this contractual conflict hit us and tied us up for four months in something that has turned into a nightmare”

“We have made many mistakes in the process, and the project has at times grown beyond our capabilities – but we were on the right path until this contractual conflict hit us and tied us up for four months in something that has turned into a nightmare,” he says.

Petersen acknowledges that Stagebox’s “timing was terrible” in opening in the midst of the pandemic, and had to shut down due to a nationwide lockdown three weeks after its launch. A process will now begin to sell off the company’s assets “in order to best serve the creditors”.

“I am incredibly saddened,” he adds. “It was never the intention to end up here, even though I know we embarked on something that no one has ever done before in Copenhagen. I can accept going personally bankrupt – it’s part of the game when you believe so much in a project like we do – and have personally invested to the extent we have. But leaving a trail of relationships and creditors behind without a penny, that’s hard for me to accept – when this could easily have been resolved.”

Some concerts scheduled for Stagebox will be relocated to other venues in the Danish capital, while others will be cancelled.

 


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Copenhagen to gain ‘top-tier’ music venue

The Danish capital is set to gain a new 2,500-capacity music venue this winter.

Stagebox will open this November in Refshaleøen, a former industrial site in the harbour of Copenhagen that has been dubbed a ‘cultural playground’.

The venue, which is being opened by new operator Live Partner Denmark, will be located at Refshalevej 189 – an old and historical construction hall in the post-industrial shipyard.

Stagebox’s CEO Daniel Vangsgaard and head of partnerships Stefan Petersen (previously a booking agent and promoter at All Things Live Denmark) say they have kept the hall’s original features but the sound and lighting have been elevated.

The pair expect approximately 200,000 guests at Stagebox over the course of 2022.

The official opening concert, along with additional concerts and information on partnerships, will be announced later this month.

“I daresay that Copenhagen has long lacked a venue that was built exclusively for events and concerts”

“Speaking for Danish concert organisers, I daresay that Copenhagen has long lacked a venue that was built exclusively for events and concerts, where the sound and surroundings have been prioritised in order to provide the ultimate audience and artist experience,” says Vangsgaard, director and venue manager.

“And we’re incredibly excited to present them with such a space – both Danes and internationals.”

Refshaleøen is also home to major music festivals and events, as well as Michelin-star restaurants, food markets, plant halls, and exhibitions.

In 2017, Beatbox Entertainment (the promoter behind greenfield festivals Tinderbox and NorthSide) launched the brand new Haven festival in the shipyard – selling 20,000 tickets.

More recently, Live Nation Denmark, along with nine of the country’s biggest festivals, held a one-off event at Refshaleøen to mark the reopening of the country.

 


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