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WHAT CHANGES IN DENMARK

Everything that changes in Denmark in June 2023

It's the month when everything starts to wind down in Denmark, with school out, music festivals and Sankt Hans bonfires. Here's what you need to know about June in Denmark.

Published: 25 May 2023 16:47 CEST
Updated: 3 June 2023 08:56 CEST
The Roskilde Festival
The Roskilde Festival in 2019. photo: Maria Albrechtsen Mortensen/Ritzau Scanpix

Danish PM to meet US President in the White House 

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen will meet US President Joe Biden in the White House on June 5th, in her first one-on-one meeting on US soil since taking power in 2019.

At the meeting, which will take place on Denmark’s Constitution Day, the two will discuss Danish-American cooperation, continued support for Ukraine, expectations for the Nato summit in Vilnius in Lithuania in July, and working together on future threats, the green transition and the climate.

“It is always something special for a prime minister to represent Denmark at the White House. It is for me too, and I look forward to the visit,” Frederiksen said in a statement announcing the visit. “The United States is our most important ally. The transatlantic bond is as strong as it has ever been.”

 
Denmark is part of an international coalition set up recently to provide fighter jets to the Ukrainian army, including US-made F-16 aircraft. 
 

Denmark’s prime minister Mette Frederiksen meeting US President Joe Biden at Nato’s 2022 summit in Madrid. Photo: Bertrand Guay/AFP

You can buy your DSB travel pass from June 1st 

The popular summer ticket scheme from the Danish train company DSB is back for the fourth year in a row. The ticket gives the holder free access to all public transport in Denmark for eight consecutive days between June 24th and August 20th.

This year, though, the ticket cannot be used in the very busiest summer period between July 22nd and July 30th.  

The pass can be used on all DSB trains, as well as on Arriva buses and trains, one the Copenhagen Metro and S-train, on the Letbane in Aarhus and Odense, and on local rail services.

It will cost 399 kroner for adults, meaning one rail journey between Jutland and Copenhagen is likely to see its costs covered (the regular ticket price for a single trip from Aarhus to Copenhagen is around 429 kroner).

Adult travellers can bring two children under 12 with them for free. The pass costs 199 kroner for children aged 12-15 or otherwise not travelling under an adult ticket. 

File photo of rail staff at Copenhagen Central Station. Photo: Martin Sylvest/Ritzau Scanpix

Get ready for Denmark’s music festival season

The NorthSide festival in Aarhus kickstarts Denmark’s summer festival season on June 1st to June 3rd, followed shortly afterwards by the Syd For Solen festival in Frederiksberg, Copenhagen and the Heartland festival at Egeskov on the island of Funen, both from June 8th to June 10th. 

For lovers of hard rock and metal the Copenhell festival from June 14th to June 17th is not to be missed. 

Then, for the weekend of June 22nd-24th, the festivities move back across the Great Belt Bridge for the Tinderbox Festival in Odense on Funen. 

The month of music then culminates with Denmark’s oldest and biggest music festival, Roskilde, between June 24th and July 1st. 

Police walk about among the visitors at the Folkemøde festival in Allinge in June 2022. Photo: Ida Marie Odgaard/Ritzau Scanpix

Politicians to meet on Bornholm for giant political festival 

It’s not just music festivals.

Between June 15th and June 17th, the leaders of twelve Danish political parties will take to the stage at the Folkemøde political festival on the island of Bornholm, which every year draws 50,000 attendees, many of them just ordinary citizens interested in politics. 

The festival is held in the picturesque town of Allinge on the island’s north coast and anyone can attend the events without requiring a ticket. 

The best way to get to Bornholm from Copenhagen is to take the train from Copenhagen to Ystad in Sweden, and then get the Bornholm ferry. 

School’s out for summer 

Denmark’s primary and lower secondary schools break up for the summer on Friday, June 23rd for a full seven weeks. 

Universities tend to break up a week later, with Copenhagen University’s spring semester ending on June 30th, and Aarhus University and the University of Southern Denmark both scheduling their last exams for June 30th. 

One more public holiday – so make the most of it

With the demise of Great Prayer Day (Store Bededag) the early summer isn’t quite the boom season for public holidays in Denmark it once was, although with Ascension Day (Kristi Himmelfartsdag) on May 18th and pinse or Pentecost on May 29th, it’s not bad. 

And there’s still one more to come. On June 5th, Danes get a day off for Constitution Day. 

A Sankt Hans bonfire in Odense

A Sankt Hans bonfire in Odense. File photo: Sophia Juliane Lydolph/Ritzau Scanpix

Get ready for this year’s Sankt Hans aften bonfires

Sankt Hans Aften, when people sing in chorus before lighting a giant bonfire and eating and drinking late into the light summer night, is one of the absolute highlights of the Danish calendar.

The celebration always takes place on the evening of June 23rd, with Sankt Hans day being the following day, June 24th. It is therefore slightly after the actual midsummer, the solstice on June 21st.

You can find our article on the best places to celebrate here, and we’ll update it in the weeks leading up to the big event. 

Financially vulnerable families to get “inflation help” package

The government in February agreed a second 300m kroner package of “inflation help” for vulnerable families, and families eligible for the benefit should get their first payment by the end of June. 

The amount each family receives is determined by the number of children in each family. Families with one children will receive 7,500 kroner, families with two children receive 11,250 kroner, and families with three children will receive 13,500 kroner. A second installment will be paid out by the end of August. .

Copenhagen police to limit cars on busy nightlife streets

Police in Copenhagen will from June 1st take action to limit the number cars on narrow streets in areas thronging with bars and clubs in an attempt to crack down on nighttime public disturbances.

So if you’re planning a cruise, this might not be the best month. 

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WHAT CHANGES IN DENMARK

KEY POINTS: What changes about life in Denmark in April 2024?

Stores face higher charges for Dankort transactions, tax rebates to be paid out, and the release of cows from winter enclosures are among the events and changes coming up in Denmark this April.

Published: 26 March 2024 12:01 CET
Updated: 1 April 2024 09:24 CEST
KEY POINTS: What changes about life in Denmark in April 2024?

New charges for Dankort vendors 

A new charge for using the country’s Dankort card payment system takes effect in stores on April 1st.

Nets, which owns the Dankort network on which most bank payment cards in Denmark operate, is set to introduce an additional 8.9 percent charge for businesses which accept Dankort from the beginning of next month.

Although it’s businesses, not customers, which have to pay the charge, the additional cost is likely to end up with customers anyway, according to an interest organisation for shopkeepers in Denmark.

Nets has said it needs to increase the charge because of the lower number of transactions being made with Dankort, and has called for more banks to make their Dankort cards compatible with Apple Pay and Google Pay to redress this.

READ ALSO: Dankort: What is Denmark’s payment card and how is it different from other card types?

Tax rebates to be paid out

Denmark’s tax authority SKAT opened access to annual tax returns on March 11th.

Annual tax returns (årsopgørelser) in Denmark cover calendar years. They are released in March and finalised in late spring, meaning taxpayers have this period to correct the information on their tax returns from the previous calendar year.

The returns account for income over the preceding tax year as well as deductions and taxes paid.

Normally, around three in four people receive money back from the tax authorities once the return is finalised. The amount paid back varies and depends on individual circumstances.

Rebates from the tax system will be automatically paid back in 2023 from April 15th onwards, so if you have already logged in and completed your annual return (or do it soon) you could receive any money due in April. In some cases, it may take longer for the tax authority to pay out rebates.

READ ALSO:

Change to child support rules for Ukrainians

A change to the special law for Ukrainian refugees, in effect from April 1st, means that a person granted residency in Denmark under the law and who is married and lives with their children but without their partner, because the partner is in Ukraine, can be consider a de facto sole provider and receive child support payments.

This applies if you are married and live alone with your child in Denmark, and your spouse is in Ukraine.

Applying for the benefit before the end of March will ensure you can receive it from April 1st, the date the change takes effect.

Further information and the application portal can be found via residence permit agency SIRI’s website, as well as on the Borger.dk platform.

Easter holidays

The Easter holidays have fallen early this year but just about make it into April.

The school Easter break started on March 25th for most schools (although this can vary locally, depending on when the municipality decides to place the school holiday).

“Easter week” in 2024 is the last week in March, with Palm Sunday, technically a public holiday, falling on Sunday March 24th. The remaining Easter public holidays fall at the end of the week: Maundy Thursday on March 28th, Good Friday on March 29th, Easter Sunday on March 31st and Easter Monday on April 1st.

Some people will have the entire week off to match up with schools, but even those who don’t will enjoy a five-day break from work which just about lasts into April (unless their job requires them to work holidays).

READ ALSO: Everything you need to know about travel to, from and in Denmark this Easter

Switch to summer tyres

Alternating between winter and summer tyres is not a legal requirement in Denmark, but is broadly recommended, including by FDM, the Danish membership organisation for motorists.

Neighbouring Sweden, Norway and Germany – where many Danish residents head on skiing and other holidays during the colder months – all have rules requiring winter tyres and the practice is common in Denmark, not least for those who may need to take their cars over the border.

Most people switch back to summer tyres at Easter, which this year falls on March 31st, with the ‘Easter holidays’ being the week leading up to this (plus Easter Monday April 1st).

The weather in late March has carried plenty of signs spring is on the way, so the Easter weekend could be a good time to switch tyres despite it falling relatively early this year.

More about the practice of using winter and summer tyres in Denmark can be found in this article.

‘Organic Day’ as cows let out of barns

Økodag or “Organic Day”, when organic farms release cows from their winter enclosures, takes place on April 14th. The day features farms opening to the public from 10am and the cows being released at noon.

Farms across Denmark open for the occasion – you can look up a location near you on the Økodag website and book a place (many farms sell out).

The annual event has taken place since 2005, with the public invited to watch as the animals roam enthusiastically onto the spring grass, often appearing to jump with joy.

Tens of thousands of people across the country typically attend the event.

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