Advertisement

Former US president Obama to visit Danish town next month

Ritzau/The Local
Ritzau/The Local - [email protected]
Former US president Obama to visit Danish town next month
Danish town Skive is set to welcome former US President Barack Obama. Photo: Henning Bagger/Ritzau Scanpix

Former President of the United States Barack Obama will visit the town of Skive in northwest Jutland during a trip to Europe this summer.

Advertisement

Obama will take part in a moderated debate on June 12th at the KulturCenter Skive cultural centre in the Danish town, which has a population of around 20,000.

KulturCenter Skive confirmed the visit of the 44th President of the United States in a press statement.

The event was confirmed on Wednesday evening and preparations will now begin for Obama’s visit, KulturCenter Skive director Knud Bjerre said.

Advertisement

“There’s a huge amount of work in it. We have worked for this for a year and a half and it has naturally taken a little longer because of Covid-19,” he said.

“This is the first time since the pandemic that Barack Obama is coming to Europe to give speeches. So it’s a big deal and is only possible because of good contacts and persistence, persistence, persistence,” he said.

Obama will visit one other European country, Spain, during the trip that will bring him to Skive.

The moderated debate will touch on topics including entrepreneurship, green technology and the challenges of climate change.

Bjerre said the event would be “a hugely exciting conversation with (Obama) about current issues”.

The moderator for the event is yet to be confirmed and must be approved following a security and background check by the Obama Foundation. They will not be a journalist but will be selected for their suitability for the event, Bjerre said.

All costs and arrangements for the event will be covered by KulturCenter Skive, and it will not receive public funding, the director said.

A seven-figure amount (in Danish kroner) was the closest Bjerre could come to revealing the expected cost, due to contractual obligations.

Broadcaster DR reports that tickets for the event will cost upwards of 3,000 kroner.

Obama took part in a comparable event in another Jutland town, Kolding, in 2018. On that occasion, the Kolding Municipality gave a marketing contribution of 750,000 kroner to the organiser. The total cost of the event was not disclosed.

The former president also came to Denmark in September 2019, the same month as the scrapped official state visit of his successor, Donald Trump.

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also