#2: Corona infections up, the economy, John & Yoko tape, English events
And: Copenhagen has only five statues of women.
Hey there,
it’s that time of the year when the sky “comes down and parks itself on the ground” as Copenhagen-born artist Mika Utzon Popov once put it. The sky turning from light grey to dark grey doesn’t necessarily depress me, but it is bringing back memories of those wintery pandemic months of 2020 and 2021 - and triggering the repressed thought that maybe this corona thing isn’t really over yet. In Denmark, it’s been easy for most to go through their day as if the virus was long gone. But rising incidence rates (the number of new corona infections per 100,000 in the past seven days) paint a different picture. That number now stands at around 76 nationwide - but 357 in the Copenhagen municipality - and is rising in nearly every part of the country, according to Statens Serum Insitut. Infections and hospitalisations are at a higher rate than they were this time last year.
Health minister Magnus Heunicke said he doesn’t rule out new shutdowns. About 75% of Denmark’s population has been vaccinated, but that’s not enough, he says - more must be done to win over the laggards. He’s also vowed to ramp up national testing capacity from 100,000 per day to 150,000. The developments have the event sector worried, with reports of company Christmas parties already being cancelled. We might be in for a another long winter.
More news and things to do below,
Maurice
Copenhagen economy takes a hit
Thanks to corona, the capital’s GDP fell by 4.4% last year - the worst ever drop since 1993, when the city began recording the stat. Copenhagen was hit worse than Denmark as a whole, which saw a decline of 2.1%. The Covid slump was far worse than the drop of -2.2% that we saw 2009 - in the wake of the global financial crisis.
Only five statues of women?
A new debate on gender representation in public spaces is underway in Copenhagen. DR radio show Kulturen counted a 101 statues in the city. Seventy feature men, 26 animals. Just five public statues are of women. “Five times as many statues of animals than women,” went the headline.
Historian Gry Jexen chimed in: “For many hundreds of years it has been the case that wherever men turned, they have seen themselves represented in historical perspective. Much happens unconsciously, but statues and street names constantly tell men that they are represented and worthy of a place in our collective history.”
She’s opposed to removing or destroying existing statues, though: “We just have to do better in the future. From now on, we must insist on nuances and representation in our historical representations in the public space.”
John and Yoko tape sold for €50,000
A previously unheard 1970 cassette recording of John Lennon and Yoko Ono has been sold for €50,000 to an anonymous bidder by the Bruun Rasmussen auction house. The 33-minute recording has been untouched for over 50 years and features a performance of a never-released song and an interview conducted by four Danish schoolboys - who are now in their seventies. Weird, right? Read the whole story.
Coming up….
Performance: Homemade Climate Conference - October 26, 27, 29, 30
An international group known as GASTUBE, “creates a performative forum” to “make the climate crisis tangible”. How do we create a sense of urgency for the real change required to tackle global heating? How can we continue to enjoy our lives amidst the crisis? Sounds a lot like the stuff I’d see in Berlin when I lived there - a little earnest but at the same time raising awareness on an issue of existential importance. The info.
Comedy: An American, an Irishman and a Romanian walk into a bar, November 6
For something a little less heavy, check out some English-language stand-up by “3 comedians who are unapologetically honest, woke and hilarious!” Hmm. Why not get a chuckle in before than shut everything down again? The info.
Film Festival: CPH PIX, November 10-14
This year’s five-day CPH Pix indie fest has two themes. Movies in the Human Touch section address relationships and human emotions. The Wild Side selection corrals filmmakers pushing the poetic boundaries of cinema. Loads of Scandi and international flicks, virtually all with English subtitles. The info.
That’s it for now!
See you next week.
PS: Don’t forget to sign up for this English-language event explaining the upcoming municipal and regional elections on November 2!