2011 in Denmark

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Decades:	1990s 2000s 2010s
See also:	Other events of 2011 List of years in Denmark

Events from the year 2011 in Denmark.

Incumbents

• Monarch – Magrethe II
• Prime minister – Lars Løkke Rasmussen (until 3 October), Helle Thorning Schmidt

Events

January

• 10 January – Denmark and Serbia signs a defense agreement.^[1]
• 13 January – Lene Espersen, party leader of the Danish Conservative Party, announces her resignation from the post after a period of intense criticism in the media and from fellow party members.^[2]
• 14 January – Lars Barfoed is elected as new political leader of the Conservative party.^[3]
• 19 January – Denmark starts the trial against the Somali man who attacked Kurt Westergaard.^[4][5]

February

• 24 February – A Danish family is kidnapped from their private yacht off the coast of Somalia by Somali pirates.^[6]

March

• 13 March – By unanimous vote, Denmark's Parliament authorized direct military action by its air force to help enforce UN Security Council Resolution 1973, marking the only time so far in the state's history that military commitment was supported by full parliamentary unity.^[7] The Royal Danish Air Force is participating with six F-16AM fighters, one C-130J-30 Super Hercules military transport plane and the corresponding ground crews. Only four F-16s will be used for offensive operations, while the remaining two will act as reserves.^[8] The first airstrikes from Danish aircraft were carried out on 23 March with four aircraft making twelve sorties as part of Operation Odyssey Dawn.^[9] The Guardian reported in May 2011, that Danish F-16 fighters killed Muammar Gaddafi's son Saif al-Arab Gaddafi.^[10]

April–June

Copenhagen Suborbitals' rocket launch on 3 June

• 14 April – Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary's twins are baptised at a ceremony in the Church of Holmen in Copenhagen and given the names Vincent Frederik Minik Alexander and Josephine Sophia Ivalo Mathilda.^[11]
• 26 April – Bo Lidegaard is appointed as new editor-in-chief of the newspaper Politiken.
• 16 May – Bella Sky Hotel is inaugurated in Ørestad, Copenhagen. With 814 rooms, it becomes the largest hotel in Scandinavia.^[12]
• 28 May – Olafur Eliasson's artwork Your Rainbow on the top of the ARoS Museum of Art in Aarhus is inaugurated.^[13]
• 31 May – Lors Doukaiev, the would-be bomber from the Hotel Jørgensen explosion, is sentenced to 12 years imprisonment for last September's failed plan to send a letter bomb to Jyllands-Posten.^[14]
• 3 June – Copenhagen Suborbitals, a private non-profit rocketgroup, makes their first successful full-scale test-launch of the HEAT 1X rocket from a self-built ramp off the coast of Bornholm.^[15]
• 22 June – Denmark recognises the National Transitional Council as the only legitimate representation of Libya.^[16]

July–September

Presentation of the new government on 3 October

• 15 September – The 2011 Danish parliamentary election is held and leads to a majority for the opposition parties
• 28 September – The 73-year-old listed K.B. Hallen event venue in Copenhagen is devastated by fire.^[17]

October–December

• 3 October – The Cabinet of Helle Thorning-Schmidt is presented at Amalienborg Palace and Helle Thorning-Schmidt takes office as the first ever female PM of Denmark.^[18]

Culture

Architecture

• 7 March – Henning Larsen Architects' The Wave in Vejle and C. F. Møller Architects' Darwin Center phase II extension of the Natural History Museum in London are among the winners of 2011 Civic Trust Awards.^[19]
• 19 May – Danish architecture firms receive three out of eight RIBA European Awards when the Royal Institute of British Architects announces the annual RIBA Award winners. Two of the awards go to Lundgaard & Tranberg and one goes to 3XN.^[20]

Film

• 16 January – Susanne Bier's In a Better World (Hævnen) wins the 2011 Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
• 20 February – The 64th Bodil Awards are held at the Bremen Theatre in Copenhagen. R wins the awards for Best Danish Film.
• 27 February – Susanne Bier's In a Better World also wins an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film at the 83rd Academy Awards.^[21]
• 20 May – Nicolas Winding Refn wins the Best Director Award at the Cannes Film Festival.^[22]
• 3 December – At the 24th European Film Awards, Denmark tops the list of countries with most nominations with 14 and wins several of the most prestigious awards:^[23]
  • Best Film: Melancholia by Lars von Trier
  • Best Director: Susanne Bier (In a Better World)
  • European Achievement in World Cinema: Mads Mikkelsen
  • Best Cinematographer. Manuel Alberto Claro (Melancholia)
  • Best Production Designer: Jette Lehmann ( Melancholia)
• 31 December – Danish films sold 3.4 million tickets at the boxoffice in Denmark in 2011, or 27% of the total ticket sale, with A Funny Man as the best selling Danish film on the home market with 471,819 admissions.^[24]

Gastronomy

• 26 January – Danish chef Rasmus Kofoed wins the Bocuse d'Or competition.^[25]
• 16 March – René Redzepi's restaurant Noma in Copenhagen's Christianshavn neighbourhood is ranked as the best restaurant in the world for the second year in a row on the magazine Restaurants list of the World's 50 Best Restaurants.^[26]

Sports

Football

• 22 May – For the second year in a row, FC Nordsjælland wins the Danish Cup by defeating FC Midtjylland in the final.

Handball

• 30 January – Denmark win silver at the 2011 World Men's Handball Championship after being defeated by France in final.

Other

• 5 February – Thomas Bjørn wins Qatar Masters on the 2011 European Tour.
• 29 May – Nicki Sørensen finishes 2nd in the 2011 Bayern-Rundfahrt.
• 3 June – Alex Rasmussen wins the 27th Philadelphia International Championship, the longest and most prestigious single day race in the United States.^[27]
• 28 August – Thomas Bjørn wins Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles^[28] and becomes Golfer of the Month in August.
• 4 September – Thomas Bjørn wins Omega European Masters on the 2009 European Tour.
• 8 December—11 – With 5 gold medals, 7 silver medals and 2 bronze medals, Denmark is the second best country at the 2011 European Short Course Swimming Championships.

Births

• 8 January
  • Prince Vincent, prince of Denmark
  • Princess Josephine, princess of Denmark

Deaths

• 1 January - Flemming Bamse Jørgensen, singer and actor (born 1947)
• 23 January – Poul Volther, furniture designer (born 1923)
• 27 January – Tøger Seidenfaden, journalist, editor-in-chief of Politiken (born 1957)
• 2 March – Erling Kroner, jazz trombonist, composer and bandleader (born 1943)
• 9 March – Inge Sørensen, swimmer (born 1924)
• 6 April – Thøger Birkeland, author (born 1922)
• 11 June - Kurt Nielsen, tennis player (born 1930)
• 27 June - Erling Olsen, politician (born 1927)
• 13 August - Ellen Winther, opera singer and actress (born 1933)
• 22 August – Jesper Klein, actor (born 1944)
• 11 September – Christian Bakkerud, racing driver (born 1984)
• 27 September – Erik Wedersøe, actor (born 1938)
• 17 October - Poul Glargaard, actor (born 1942)
• 24 October - Margit Brandt, fashion designer (born 1945)
• 2 November - Papa Bue, jazz trombonist and bandleader (born 1930)
• 7 November - Lisbeth Movin, stage and film actress (born 1917)
• 19 November - Karl Aage Præst, footballer (born 1922)
• 1 December - Ragnhild Hveger, swimmer (born 1920)

References

1. "Serbia-Denmark military cooperation plan". B 92. 10 January 2011. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
2. "Lene Espersen: Jeg træder tilbage" (in Danish). Politiken. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
3. "Lars Barfoed enstemmigt valgt til ny konservativ leder" (in Danish). Politiken. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
4. Al Jazeera (19 January 2011). "Denmark starts cartoon attack trial". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
5. "Denmark tries Somali accused of cartoonist attack". Reuters. 19 January 2011. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
6. "Danish family's yacht hijacked off Somali coast". London: The Telegraph. 28 February 2011. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
7. Staff writer (19 March 2011). "Enigt Folketing stemmer for krig i Libyen" (in Danish). Dagbladet Børsen. Retrieved 30 March 2011.
8. "Denmark to send squadron on Libya op" (in Danish). Politiken.dk. 18 March 2011. Retrieved 19 March 2011.
9. "Danish F-16s drop their first bombs on Libya". Flightglobal.com. 23 March 2011. Archived from the original on 23 March 2011. Retrieved 24 March 2011.
10. "Danish jets kill Gaddafi's son: report". Copenhagen Post. 2 May 2011. Archived from the original on 29 July 2011. Retrieved 9 August 2011.
11. "Royal twin baptism in Denmark". Visit Denmark. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
12. "3XN's Bella Sky Hotel Opens Today as the New Nordic Home". Bustler. Retrieved 6 June 2011.
13. "Inauguration of Your Rainbow Panorama on top of ARoS". Visit Denmark. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
14. "12 years to Doukaev for terrorism attempt". Jyllands-Posten. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
15. "Raketbyggere jubler over succes" (in Danish). Berlingske. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
16. "Denmark recognises rebel Libyan government". Copenhagen Post. 22 January 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
17. "Fire at KB-Hallen". Politiken. Retrieved 20 April 2011.
18. "Denmark's first woman PM appointed". Politiken. Retrieved 4 October 2011.
19. "2011 Award Winners Announced". Civic Trust Awards. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
20. "EU winners 2011". Royal Institute of British Architects. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
21. "Bier wins Oscar for Hævnen". Politiken. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
22. "'Tree of Life' takes top honour at Cannes film festival". yahoo.news. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
23. "The 24th European Film Awards: Winners". European Film Academy. Retrieved 4 January 2010.
24. "Danskerne vil rigtig gerne se danske film". Politiken. Retrieved 8 March 2012.
25. Vines, Richard (26 January 2011). "Danish Chef Rasmus Wins Bocuse D'or Food Contest". Bloomberg. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
26. Sedghi, Ami (19 April 2011). "World's top 50 best restaurants: see the full list". London: The Guardian. Archived from the original on 28 April 2011. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
27. "Alex Rasmussen Wins 27th Philadelphia International Cycling Championship". OpenCalais. Retrieved 23 February 2012.
28. "Thomas Bjorn wins Johnnie Walker event as Mark Foster slips up". London: The Guardian. 28 August 2011. Retrieved 20 February 2012.

See also