Copenhagen Formula 1 plan in doubt over municipal financing

Doubt has emerged over the viability of a plan for a Formula 1 Grand Prix to be held in Copenhagen due to apparent disagreements between the city’s municipality and the government over funding.

Published: 15 June 2018 14:25 CEST

Copenhagen Formula 1 plan in doubt over municipal financing

An image from the Bahrain Grand Prix earlier this year. Photo: HOCH ZWEI/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images/Ritzau Scanpix

A statement was made by Finance Minister Kristian Jensen on Thursday following a meeting between Jensen and Copenhagen’s lord mayor Frank Jensen, newspaper Politiken reports.

“The government is prepared to put some money into the hosting of Formula 1 in Denmark. But we don't think it’s reasonable that the city where such a large event is to take place does not also contribute economically,” Kristian Jensen said.

The minister added that other Danish cities, including Odense, Herning and Horsens, have generally made significant financial contributions to their candidacies as hosts for sporting events such as the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France.

“We ask all cities to be a part [of funding] when a major sporting event is in town. So it is also fair for Copenhagen Municipality to do this,” the minister said to Politiken.

The Ministry of Finance is to officially inform the municipality that “if we are to continue on this path, we in the government expect Copenhagen Municipality to be prepared to contribute financially to the hosting of Formula 1 in Denmark,” according to the report.

The lord mayor has a one-vote majority on the city council to continue talks with the government and private investor Lars Seier Christensen and former minister Helge Sander, who are behind the plan to bring a Grand Prix to the Danish capital.

Opposition parties the Red-Green Alliance, Alternative, the Socialist People’s Party and the Social Liberals have all said they are opposed to a Formula 1 event in Copenhagen.

Several Social Democrat councillors have also expressed their scepticism over the plan, which would need municipal approval for the use of the city's roads, Ritzau reports.

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Bonuses on the new “CopenPay” scheme include a kayak or boat tour, a vegetarian meal, a museum ticket, or an e-bicycle ride — free of charge.

Why does the city want to give away these freebies?

“It is a core task for us to make travelling sustainable. And we will only succeed if we bridge the large gap between the visitors’ desire to act sustainably and their actual behaviour”, tourism board CEO Mikkel Aaro-Hansen said.

The public’s reaction has been “overwhelmingly positive”, although some disappointed visitors “would have liked the scheme to be in place during their stay,” Copenhagen tourism office communications director Rikke Holm Petersen told news agency AFP.

Although the tourist board says it wants the scheme to change behaviour to a more eco-friendly approach, it admits the initiative alone cannot dent the environmental impact of tourism.

More than 100,000 passengers flew into Copenhagen in June, resulting in a much higher carbon footprint than bus or train travel, according to airport data.

“The environmental burden of transportation to and from Copenhagen is much more significant than that of local transportation,” said tourism website VisitCopenhagen.

“We have chosen to limit our advertising efforts to Copenhagen Airport, the central station, and within the city itself, rather than conducting marketing campaigns abroad,” Petersen said.

The tourism office will consider extending the scheme beyond the city — perhaps even abroad — if it proves successful.

“We hope to reintroduce CopenPay as a year-round, green payment experience within the economy and broaden the concept to other parts of Denmark and the rest of the world,” according to the VisitCopenhagen site.