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Denmark wants to attract major LGBTI events to Copenhagen

The Local Denmark
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Denmark wants to attract major LGBTI events to Copenhagen
Photo: Thomas Angermann/Flickr

The Danish government has joined the campaign to bring culture festival WorldPride and sporting event EuroGames to Copenhagen.

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In an official statement, the government said it supported moves to host both events in the city in 2021.

More than half a million visitors could come to the Danish capital should it host the two major LGBTIQ events, says Happy Copenhagen, the organisation formed with the mandate of hosting WorldPride and EuroGames under the umbrella name Copenhagen 2021.

Copenhagen 2021 has the potential to be a “historic event that unites sport, culture and the fight for equality in Copenhagen,” wrote the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the statement.

“I am both happy and proud that the government, with the prime minister at the forefront, is supporting the efforts to attract WorldPride and EuroGames to Copenhagen in 2021. It is important that we show that everyone – regardless of gender, sexuality and gender identity – is free to be themselves. Denmark is a world leader in regard to LGBTI rights, and therefore an ideal host,” minister for equality Karen Ellegaard said in the government’s statement.

SEE ALSO: IN PICS: Record crowd shows its Pride in Copenhagen

Lars Christian Østergreen, head secretary with Happy Copenhagen, told news agency Ritzau that government support for the movement to bring the events to Denmark was a significant development.

“It is necessary in relation to the bidding process that we have the support of the government. But it is also important that the government shows it support for the community,” said Østergreen.

“It is also important that there is awareness about the battle we have to fight every day,” he continued.

EuroGames is a European LGBTIQ sports event that was previously held in Copenhagen in 2003 and can also count Berlin, Stockholm and Barcelona amongst its host cities. The European Gay & Lesbian Sport Federation will make the final decision in the 2021 host in March next year.

WorldPride has previously been hosted in Rome, London and Toronto and takes place this year in Madrid. Its 2021 host will be selected at the annual general meeting of InterPride in October.

Copenhagen would be the first city to host both events in the same year.

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