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FOOTBALL

Who will take Scandinavian bragging rights in the ‘Battle of the Öresund Bridge’?

FC Copenhagen fans have arrived in their hundreds in the Swedish city of Malmö, which is 30 minutes by train from Copenhagen. The two cities go head-to-head tonight in the UEFA Europa League.

Who will take Scandinavian bragging rights in the 'Battle of the Öresund Bridge'?
FC Copenhagen fans in Malmö. Photo: Claus Bech/Ritzau Scanpix

Denmark's league champions FC Copenhagen (FCK in local parlance) are up against Malmö FF in the competition’s group stage, in an unusual meeting between the two geographically-close clubs.

FCK go into the match as arguable favourites, given their position as the richest club in Scandinavia and record as six-time Danish champions within the last ten years.

But the Swedish side will also fancy their chances, having won their own league, the Allsvenskan, five times in the last decade.

Danish midfielder Anders Christiansen, who crossed the Öresund to play for Malmö in 2016, said that his side were in prime position to challenge FCK for the claim of being Scandinavia’s best team.

“There has been a lot of talk about who is the biggest club in Scandinavia. If we say it’s FCK, I’d also say Malmö is right behind. And you also can’t leave out (Norwegian team) Rosenborg,” Christiansen told TV2 Sport.

Although the two cities are only around 45 kilometres apart and a train journey between them takes no more than half an hour, the Malmö-FCK match is a very rare occurrence, since each team competes in its national league.

In general, the chance for a bit of cross-Öresund (or should that be Øresund?) rivalry doesn’t come up particularly often.

In May, Malmö's Turning Torso tower retained its status as the tallest building in the Öresund region, after Copenhagen's city government rejected plans for a 280 metre tower.

That aside, bragging rights are completely up for grabs in the sporting meeting between the cities.

Thursday’s match kicks off at 9pm in the Skåne city, with the return to be played at Copenhagen’s Parken on December 12th.

READ ALSO: Tale of two cities: Copenhagen and Malmö plan international metro

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COPENHAGEN

Are Copenhagen’s LED signs on the way out?

Copenhagen’s bright lights could be a little dimmer in future with the city government set to limit illuminated advertising.

Are Copenhagen’s LED signs on the way out?

Copenhagen Municipality’s city planning department (Teknik- og Miljøudvalget) is working on new rules which will put limits on where in the city large illuminated advertising can be placed.

There are currently 15 locations around the capital where LED and other illuminated advertising is permitted. Some of the most noticeable locations include Rådhuspladsen (City Hall Square), Kongens Nytorv and at the end of Nørrebrogade overlooking the lakes.

The city government wants to cut that number down to five locations, local media TV2 Kosmopol reports.

Under the planned change, it will only be possible to put up new illuminated ads at Rådhuspladsen as well as Nørreport, Vesterport, Hans Knudsens Plads and Kay Fiskers Plads.

The change would only apply to new signs, meaning existing ones in other locations will be allowed to stay in place.

“There has been very marked development of illuminated advertising in recent years with the use of LED lighting, which results in a much higher light intensity than what we had with classic neon tube signs,” the elected head of the city deparment, Line Barfod, told TV2 Kosmopol.

“These new illuminated advertisements are inconvenience city residents so we therefore have to regulate this area more restrictively,” she said, adding “the city is for people, not advertising.”

Restrictions will apply to large signs such as the type fixed to rooftops, the media writes.

The proposal is expected to be adopted because it has unanimous support in the city council (Borgerrepræsentationen).

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