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Hello Heritage: Danish culture for newcomers

A new Copenhagen festival hopes to teach expats, foreign students and visitors about Danish humour, music, food, pornography and more with three days of events exclusively in English.

Published: 16 September 2015 07:49 CEST
Hello Heritage: Danish culture for newcomers
The new mini-festival is aimed at English speaking audience. Photo: Hello Heritage.
The annual Golden Days Festival is billing itself this year as the 'Festival of Important Shit' but its not just the catchphrase that is in English. As a subcomponent, the three-day Hello Heritage mini-festival will put on a series of events in English directly targetting expats, international students and tourists. 
 
Organizers hope that the inaugural edition of Helle Heritage will reach all newcomers to Copenhagen, especially those wanting to get a deeper understanding of Danish culture.
 
“Hello Heritage is tailor-made for tourists or people who are not Danish speakers, so it is like a 'best of' of Danish culture,” festival manager Josefine Albris told The Local. 
 
Hello Heritage will offer various activities meant to introduce key elements of Danish culture. Those interested in cooking traditions can try their hand at making traditional smørrebrød while learning about the history of the iconic open-faced sandwiches. There will also be a guided tour of Carlsberg for a history lesson on another mainstay on Danish tables. 
 
If that sounds too tame, you could opt for a look back at the sexual revolution in Denmark, which became the first country in the world to lift a ban on pornography. The theatre Husets Biograf and the sex toy shop Lust will team up for an erotic trip down memory lane to the early days of Copenhagen's sex industry, complete with rare footage of early pornography. 
 
Danish humour, not exactly the easiest thing for a newcomer to grasp, will also be explored through a look at the 160-year history of the Danish comedy staple ‘the Revy’, or variety show. There will also be an introduction to the life and work of humorist and artist Storm P. 
 
In total, there are more than 30 talks, concerts, workshops and other events that organizers hope will give non-natives a chance to dive into Denmark's cultural heritage and legacy. 
 
Albris said she hopes expats and foreign students will embrace the new concept. 
 
“Now that you are here, why not dig deeply into the culture that surrounds you? Taking part in the local culture is such an important part of being in a new place,” she said. 
 
The Hello Heritage mini-festival will take place in Copenhagen from September 18th to 20th. Some of the events are free while others require an entrance fee. 

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EXPAT

Living in Spain: Why Valencia is officially the best city in the world for foreign residents

Anyone who lives there probably already knows it to be true. But now the secret is out: Valencia has officially been declared the most desirable city to live abroad as a foreign citizen.

Published: 26 November 2020 10:17 CET
Updated: 16 December 2020 14:58 CET
Living in Spain: Why Valencia is officially the best city in the world for foreign residents
Valencia tops a ranking of 66 cities in the world for expats. Photo by Giuseppe Buccola on Unsplash

The Mediterranean city in the east of Spain ranks top in the annual Expat Insider Survey published by InterNations.

More than 15,000 expats participated in the survey which analysed 66 cities around the globe during March 2020 in pre-Covid times and before the global pandemic sparked lockdowns.

The survey placed four Spanish cities in the top ten worldwide; Valencia in first place, followed by Alicante (2nd), Málaga (6th), Madrid (9th). 

Spanish cities overwhelmingly score high for the ease of settling in and quality of life indices but score less well when it comes to urban work life, because Spain can’t compete on the work opportunities front.

The city of Barcelona lags far behind in 25 place since expat life seems to be most expensive there: it ranks far behind the other Spanish cities in both the Finance & Housing and the Local Cost of Living Indices.   

So what’s so great about Valencia?


Photo by travelnow.or.crylater on Unsplash

 

Well, according to the survey which asked more than 15,000 expatriates representing 173 nationalities and living in 181 countries, the Spanish city scored the best in all five indices but one.

It ranked first worldwide in both the Quality of Urban Living and the Local Cost of Living Indices.

In fact, 94 percent of expats rate the local cost of living positively (compared to 46 percent globally), and 91 percent consider healthcare easily available (vs. 74 percent globally) which places the city first in the Health & Environment subcategory.

The climate is also a big draw with Valencia ranking second in that category thanks to conditions that are not too hot or too dry but with plenty of sunshine and a sea breeze that means summer temperatures usually max out at between 32-35C, far more hospitable than the over 40C found in parts of Andalucia and inland Spain.

Valencia also ranked well for its leisure options (4 in the survey) with vast stretches of beach within the city, the warm Mediterranean to enjoy swimming, watersports and sailing as well lots of parks and bikes routes and hills to explore inland.


Photo by Paul Povoroznuk on Unsplash

It’s also easy to get settled in Valencia. More than four in five expats (84 percent) find it easy to get used to the local culture (vs. 61 percent globally), and 91 percent say that the local residents are generally friendly (vs. 68 percent globally).

And more than four out of five expats in Valencia (82 percent) find that housing is affordable in the city, compared to 41 percent globally.

“The quality of life and the cost of living” are what makes Valencia great, according to one American expat who responded to the survey.

Where Valencia, and indeed all Spanish destinations, score badly is in the Job and Career categories.

Valencia ranks 62 out of 66 in this section with 46 percent of expats living in Valencia admitting that they are unhappy with their local career opportunities.

“Finding employment has always been difficult,” responded a French expat living in Valencia.

But all the reasons that make Valencia a favourite among expats are also found just down the coast in the region’s second city Alicante, which ranks a close number 2 on the list beating Lisbon, Panama City and Singapore.

Malaga appears at number 6 on the global list and Madrid at number 9, although Spain’s capital scores the most points globally for “leisure options”.

Barcelona however doesn’t make it into the top ten or even top 20. In fact it ranks 25th out of 66 cities in the world. Only 53 percent of expats are satisfied with the state of the local economy (vs. 63 percent globally). According to the survey 28 percent of expats in the city are dissatisfied with their financial situation (vs. 21 percent globally), and 67 percent find local housing unaffordable (vs. 41 percent globally).

“I do not like the working conditions, the pay is too low, and the rents are high,” remarked one German expat.

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