We will reopen Europe’s gateway to Scandinavia
The port city of Helsingør, located at the tip of Zealand between Denmark and Sweden, has always been a hub and a melting pot for people and travelers, for cultures and nations—a meeting place where goods, news, money, and ideas have been exchanged.
That is why Elsinore is a natural choice as the European Capital of Culture in 2032, as it can reopen Europe’s gateway to the rest of Scandinavia.
Helsingør – or Elsinore – 2032 was launched as a grassroots initiative designed to help inform and strengthen the decision for Helsingør to apply to host the European Capital of Culture. The initiative was launched because, as part of the local community, we want to set the agenda and direction, thereby securing broad support for the project before politicians, government officials, and foundations hopefully join the effort.
The title of European Capital of Culture should serve as an incentive for an entire city and region to come together to explore and drive the necessary process forward.
Throughout history, Elsinore has been able to reinvent itself and its identity time and again. Herring, the Sound toll, and ships each represent a different era. Looking ahead to 2032 and beyond, culture will define Elsinore’s identity. Culture will become a focal point capable of fostering a sense of community across all sectors.
When a small town like Helsingør hopes to earn a title as prestigious as European Capital of Culture, that dream is rooted in the town’s strong historical self-awareness and the local community’s ability, over the centuries, to reconcile its inherent contradictions: aristocracy and working class. Market town and suburb. Local and international. Danish and multiethnic. Provincial and cosmopolitan. Elitist and populist.
Living amid this demographic diversity has historically been a fundamental aspect of city life. Elsinore has always been familiar with concepts such as inclusion and diversity, which are currently setting the agenda for the younger generation—the project’s primary target audience in ten years’ time.
Our ambitions as European Capital of Culture are lofty and far-reaching. But that doesn’t mean the project is narrow in scope. On the contrary, we want to be known for our broad reach. Not only geographically—the project’s activities span all of North Zealand and northwestern Skåne. Demographically, too, the project cuts across age, gender, ethnicity, faith, income, education, and lifestyle.
The Capital of Culture must connect and build bridges between groups and social segments that live in close proximity but remain strangers to one another. Today’s greatest divisions in Elsinore are socioeconomic. On Strandvejen in Elsinore, some of the country’s most expensive real estate transactions take place among affluent buyers, while residents of public housing just a few kilometers away have had to fight to shed the authorities’ “ghetto” classification.
“Elsinore 2032 will bring together cultures, people, and cities into a single whole”
The tension between the residential neighborhoods and Vapnagaard is at the heart of the project, which aims to help Helsingør forge a new identity and usher the city into its next significant era. The ambition to foster a sense of community across the municipality will unlock its potential as a cultural capital for the entire region and the rest of Europe.
The increased attention that comes with this brings with it a responsibility. Elsinore 2032 will bring together cultures, people, and cities into a single whole. Or, as we put it in English: Connecting Cultures, Cities, and Crowds. For we want to be a beacon for an increasingly divided Europe.
Internally, the project must:
- Setting new standards for civic engagement by increasing the public’s involvement in community and cultural life—whether as volunteers, participants, or spectators
- Create more and more diverse, sustainable local cultural offerings
- Strengthen and expand cooperation between the business community, the cultural sector, civic organizations, and the municipality
- Develop cultural infrastructure through both physical facilities and organizational capacity
- Testing new democratic microstructures to inform how we make local policy decisions in the future
- Foster growth in the experience economy and related industries, including boosting sales in brick-and-mortar stores
- Support talent development in the fields of music, visual arts, performing arts, and art-tech
Externally, the project must:
- Put Helsingør on the map of Denmark and Europe as the coolest choice among all tourist, conference, and residential destinations
- Attract national and international cultural organizations and conferences
- Show the rest of Europe how a city can use cultural innovation to transform itself out of the social turmoil and decline found in industrial ghost towns
- Fostering the ability of future Capitals of Culture to drive social mobility and transformation
- Initiate research and innovation in the cultural sector
We plan to establish partnerships with neighboring municipalities: Helsingborg, Hillerød, Fredensborg, Gribskov, Halsnæs, Frederikssund, and Allerød. The goal is to bring people together through cultural experiences created by local communities that meet international standards.
The goal of this intensive exchange between the municipalities is to create a non-bureaucratic cultural region for the future, so that North Zealand becomes known as a cultural Silicon Valley. The many visiting artists and cultural actors should leave a lasting impact and be inspired to return, so that the educational and creative environment also receives a boost after 2032. In North Zealand, culture should be something we export at least as much as we import.
The project is organized through interest groups and neighborhood councils run by volunteers from community organizations and sponsored by local businesses. The municipality will use these experiences to create cross-party networking groups and involve citizen groups in the development and adoption of policies.
The association helps build community groups, interest groups, and networks that can engage with and inspire initiatives involving, for example, architectural firms, museums, associations, and government agencies. The goal is to identify components of the Capital of Culture in which the municipality invests, with an eye toward securing national funding.