Culture

Manners and conventions

At a personal and even business level the Danes have an informal approach to life, although conventions do exist. Appointments are easily made with considerable flexibility and little formality, and this extends to the public sector and administration as well. Once an appointment has been settled, however, it is expected to be held in time. In the event of unexpected developments, which are likely to cause a delay of more than 10-15 minutes, a visitor should call to inform of the delay and possibly set a new time.

This punctuality also applies to dinner invitations, although guests tend to show up slightly after the stated time. A small gift for the hostess (usually flowers) is appreciated. Several toasts and small speeches of thanks may happen during the meal: raise your glass, make eye contact with those around the table, and repeat the word “skål” (cheers). Dress codes are often casual, but a suit is not out of place at a private dinner party and is customary at business meetings.

Biking culture

In Copenhagen there are more bikes than inhabitants and almost 400 kilometres of biking lanes among which you find the worlds busiest biking lane with up to 40.000 cyclist passing daily. In Copenhagen 50% of all citizens commute by bike every day so it is no wonder Copenhagen was elected Bike City as the first city ever.

Energy strategy

Denmark has launched an energy strategy that makes it the first country in the world to commit to an overall reduction in energy consumption. Security of energy supply and reduction of CO2 emissions are priorities on political agendas worldwide. Effective solutions require innovative energy policies that make maximum use of renewable resources.

Being a highly developed industrialised country in a temperate climate provides the incentive for Denmark to find ways to extract the maximum benefits from energy efficiency and renewable energy.

Sports

The Danes like sports – as participants, spectators and in front of the television. Almost two million actively participate in sports as members of an association. Almost two thirds of all children and young people are engaged in organised sports in their leisure time.

It is an official political objective that Danish sports should be for everyone, and sports activities are characterised by a parallel effort for the elite and the masses.