Events from the year 2011 in Denmark.

Incumbents

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

Events

January

* 10 January – Denmark and Serbia signs a defense agreement. * 13 January –

Lene Espersen Lene Espersen (born 26 September 1965) is a former Danish politician, a former leader of Conservative People's Party and a former Minister of Justice. She is the current CEO at the Danish Association of Architectural Firms. From 1 July 2016 to ...

, 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. * 14 January –

Lars Barfoed Lars Barfoed (; born 4 July 1957) is a Denmark, Danish politician representing the Conservative People's Party (Denmark), Conservative People's Party and was the party's leader from 2011 to 7 August 2014. He was Justice Minister of Denmark from F ...

is elected as new political leader of the Conservative party. * 19 January – Denmark starts the trial against the Somali man who attacked

Kurt Westergaard Kurt Westergaard (born Kurt Vestergaard; 13 July 1935 – 14 July 2021) was a Danish cartoonist. In 2005 he drew a cartoon of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, wearing a bomb in his turban as a part of the ''Jyllands-Posten'' Muhammad cartoons, whic ...

February

* 24 February – A Danish family is kidnapped from their private yacht off the coast of Somalia by Somali pirates.

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. 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. The first airstrikes from Danish aircraft were carried out on 23 March with four aircraft making twelve sorties as part of

Operation Odyssey Dawn Operation Odyssey Dawn was the U.S. code name for the American role in the international military operation in Libya to enforce United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973 during the initial period of 19–31 March 2011, which continued aft ...

. The Guardian reported in May 2011, that Danish F-16 fighters killed Muammar Gaddafi's son

Saif al-Arab Gaddafi Saif al-Arab Gaddafi ( ar, سيف العرب القذافي, ''lit. Sword of the Arabs; of the Gaddafa''; 1982 – 30 April 2011) was the sixth son of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. From around 2006 to 2010, Saif al-Arab spent much of h ...

April–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. * 26 April –

Bo Lidegaard Bo Lidegaard (born 23 January 1958 in Godthåb) is a Danish historian, dr.phil. public intellectual and former responsible editor-in-chief for ''Politiken''. Bo Lidegaard worked in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1984-2005), was Ministerial Couns ...

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. * 28 May – Olafur Eliasson's artwork

Your Rainbow In Modern English, ''you'' is the second-person pronoun. It is grammatically plural, and was historically used only for the dative case, but in most modern dialects is used for all cases and numbers. History ''You'' comes from the Proto- ...

on the top of the ARoS Museum of Art in

Aarhus Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and approximately northwest ...

is inaugurated. * 31 May – Lors Doukaiev, the would-be bomber from the

Hotel Jørgensen explosion The explosion at Hotel Jørgensen was a minor explosion inside of the discounts and allowances, discount hostel of the same name in central Copenhagen, Denmark. The explosion happened at 1:23 pm on 10 September 2010. No fatalities were recorded. ...

, is sentenced to 12 years imprisonment for last September's failed plan to send a letter bomb to Jyllands-Posten. * 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 Bornholm () is a Danish island in the Baltic Sea, to the east of the rest of Denmark, south of Sweden, northeast of Germany and north of Poland. Strategically located, Bornholm has been fought over for centuries. It has usually been ruled by ...

. * 22 June – Denmark recognises the National Transitional Council as the only legitimate representation of Libya.

July–September

* 2 July – A cloudburst hit parts of Zealand and the Greater Copenhagen area. *15 September – The

2011 Danish parliamentary election General elections were held in Denmark on 15 September 2011 to elect the 179 members of the Folketing. Of those 179, 175 members were elected in Denmark, two in the Faroe Islands and two in Greenland. The incumbent centre-right coalition led by ...

is held and leads to a majority for the opposition parties * 28 September – The 73-year-old listed

K.B. Hallen K.B. Hallen is a multi-purpose arena located at Peter Bangs Vej in the Frederiksberg district of Copenhagen, Denmark. Originally, it was used primarily for badminton, tennis, basketball and volleyball, but also hosted other events, including dan ...

event venue in Copenhagen is devastated by fire.

October–December

* 3 October – The

Cabinet of Helle Thorning-Schmidt The cabinet of Prime Minister of Denmark, Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt was the Cabinet of Denmark, cabinet government of Denmark from 2011 in Denmark, 3 October 2011 to 3 February 2014. It was a coalition between the Social Democrats (Den ...

is presented at Amalienborg Palace and

Helle Thorning-Schmidt Helle Thorning-Schmidt (; born 14 December 1966) is a Danish retired politician who served as the 26th Prime Minister of Denmark from 2011 to 2015, and Leader of the Social Democrats from 2005 to 2015. She is the first woman to have held each p ...

takes office as the first ever female PM of Denmark.

Culture

Architecture

* 7 March – Henning Larsen Architects' ''The Wave'' in Vejle and

C. F. Møller Architects Arkitektfirmaet C. F. Møller, internationally also known as C. F. Møller Architects, is an architectural firm based in Århus, Denmark. Founded in 1924 by C. F. Møller, it is today the largest architectural firm in Denmark based on number of em ...

' ''Darwin Center phase II'' extension of the Natural History Museum in London are among the winners of 2011

Civic Trust Awards The Civic Trust Awards scheme was established in 1959 to recognise outstanding architecture, planning and design in the built environment. As the longest standing built environment awards scheme in Europe, since 1959, more than 7000 projects have ...

. * 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 Lundgaard & Tranberg Arkitekter is a Danish architectural firm, based in Copenhagen Denmark. It is most noted for the Tietgenkollegiet student housing in Ørestad from 2006 and the Royal Danish Playhouse on the Copenhagen harbourfront from 2008 ...

and one goes to

3XN 3XN is a Danish architectural practice with head office in Copenhagen. History The company was founded in Århus in 1986 as Nielsen, Nielsen & Nielsen (later 3 X Nielsen) by Kim Herforth Nielsen, Lars Frank Nielsen and Hans Peter Svendler Nielsen. ...

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 The 64th Bodil Awards were held on 20 February 2011 at the Bremen Theater in Copenhagen, Denmark, honouring the best national and foreign films of 2010. Ditte Hansen and Louise Mieritz hosted the event. ''Submarino'' had most nominations, with ...

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 The 83rd Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2010 in the United States and took place on February 27, 2011, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beg ...

. * 20 May –

Nicolas Winding Refn Nicolas Winding Refn (; born 29 September 1970), also known as Jang, is a Danish film director, screenwriter, and producer. He is known for his collaborations with Mads Mikkelsen, Tom Hardy and Ryan Gosling. He gained great success early in ...

wins the

Best Director Award Best or The Best may refer to: People * Best (surname), people with the surname Best * Best (footballer, born 1968), retired Portuguese footballer Companies and organizations * Best & Co., an 1879–1971 clothing chain * Best Lock Corporation, ...

at the Cannes Film Festival. * 3 December – At the

24th European Film Awards The 24th European Film Awards were presented on 3 December 2011 in Berlin, Germany. The winners were selected by the over 2,500 members of the European Film Academy. Winners and nominees The nominations for the 24th European Film Awards were an ...

, Denmark tops the list of countries with most nominations with 14 and wins several of the most prestigious awards: ** Best Film: '' Melancholia'' by Lars von Trier ** Best Director: Susanne Bier ('' In a Better World'') ** European Achievement in World Cinema:

Mads Mikkelsen Mads Dittmann Mikkelsen, (; born 22 November 1965) is a Danish actor. Originally a gymnast and dancer, he rose to fame in Denmark as an actor for his roles such as Tonny in the first two films of the ''Pusher'' film trilogy (1996, 2004), Det ...

** Best Cinematographer.

Manuel Alberto Claro Manuel Alberto Claro (born 3 April 1970) is a Chilean-Danish cinematographer, filmmaker, and still photographer. He has won numerous accolades, including two Robert Awards, a Bodil Award, and a European Film Award. Life and career Manuel Alb ...

(''Melancholia'') ** Best Production Designer:

Jette Lehmann Jette (, ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the north-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Ganshoren, Koekelberg, and Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, as well as the Flemi ...

('' 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 ''A Funny Man'' ( da, Dirch) is a 2011 Danish biographical drama film directed by Martin Zandvliet, and starring Nikolaj Lie Kaas, about the Danish actor and comedian Dirch Passer. Cast * Nikolaj Lie Kaas as Dirch Passer * Lars Ranthe as Kjeld ...

'' as the best selling Danish film on the home market with 471,819 admissions.

Gastronomy

* 26 January – Danish chef Rasmus Kofoed wins the Bocuse d'Or competition. * 16 March – René Redzepi's restaurant

Noma Noma, NoMa, or NOMA may refer to: Places * NoMa, the area North of Massachusetts Avenue in Washington, D.C., US ** NoMa–Gallaudet U station, on Washington Metro * Noma, Florida, US * NOMA, Manchester, a redevelopment in England * Noma Distric ...

in Copenhagen's

Christianshavn Christianshavn (literally, "ingChristian's Harbour") is a neighbourhood in Copenhagen, Denmark. Part of the Indre By District, it is located on several artificial islands between the islands of Zealand and Amager and separated from the rest of th ...

neighbourhood is ranked as the best restaurant in the world for the second year in a row on the magazine ''

Restaurant A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...

''s list of the

World's 50 Best Restaurants The World's Best 50 Restaurants is a list produced by UK media company William Reed, which originally appeared in the British magazine ''Restaurant'' in 2002. The list and awards however are no longer directly related to ''Restaurant'' magazine ...

Literature

Music

Television

Sports

Badminton

* 20 February – Denmark wins gold at the

2011 European Mixed Team Badminton Championships The 2011 European Mixed Team Badminton Championships were held at the Sporthallen Zuid in Amsterdam, Netherlands, from February 15–20, and were organised by the Badminton Europe and the Nederlandse Badminton Bond. It was the 21st edition of th ...

by defeating Germany 3–1 in the final. * 8–13 March – Mathias Boe and

Carsten Mogensen Carsten Mogensen (born 24 July 1983) is a former badminton player from Denmark. He was the gold medalist at the 2015 European Games, two time European champions winning in 2012 and 2017, and the silver medalist at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Moge ...

wins gold in Men's Double at the

2011 All England Super Series Premier The 2011 All England Open Badminton Championships was the third super series tournament of the 2011 BWF Super Series. It was the second competition under the new format where a select group of Super Series events were elevated to premier status ...

. * 14 August Peter Gade wins a bronze medal in men's single at the

2011 BWF World Championships The 2011 BWF World Championships was the 19th tournament of the World Badminton Championships, a global tournament in the sport of badminton. It was held at Wembley Arena in London, England, from August 8 to August 14, 2011. China clean swept al ...

Cycling

* 3 June –

Alex Rasmussen Alex Nicki Rasmussen (born 9 June 1984) is a Danish former professional racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2009 and 2016 for the , , , , and teams. Primarily specialising in track cycling, Rasmussen was also proficient in road racin ...

wins the 27th Philadelphia International Championship, the longest and most prestigious single day race in the United States. * 1925 September The

2011 UCI Road World Championships The 2011 UCI Road World Championships took place in Copenhagen, Denmark, over 19–25 September 2011. The event consisted of a cycling road race and a time trial for men, women, men under 23, and for the first time since 2004 the junior men and j ...

are held in Copenhagen.

Football

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

Golf

* 5 February – Thomas Bjørn wins Qatar Masters on the

2011 European Tour The 2011 European Tour was the third edition of the Race to Dubai and the 40th season of golf tournaments since the European Tour officially began in 1972. The season began in December 2010 with the Alfred Dunhill Championship in South Africa, a ...

. * 28 August – Thomas Bjørn wins

Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles The Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles was a European Tour golf tournament which was played at the Gleneagles Hotel in Scotland. The tournament was founded in 1999 as the Scottish PGA Championship, and despite maintaining the same sponsor, ...

and becomes Golfer of the Month in August. * 4 September – Thomas Bjørn wins Omega European Masters on the

2009 European Tour The 2009 European Tour was the 38th series of golf tournaments since the European Tour officially began in 1972. There were major changes for the 2009 season as the tour entered a partnership agreement with Dubai based Leisurecorp. The Order o ...

Handball

* 30 January – Denmark win silver at the

2011 World Men's Handball Championship The 2011 World Men's Handball Championship, the 22nd event hosted by the International Handball Federation, was held in Sweden from 13 to 30 January 2011. All matches were played in Malmö, Lund, Kristianstad, Gothenburg, Skövde, Jönköping, ...

after being defeated 37–35 by France in final.

Motorsports

* 29 May –

Nicki Sørensen Nicki Sørensen (born 14 May 1975) is a Danish former professional road bicycle racer, and was directeur sportif of UCI Professional Continental team . He competed in five consecutive editions of the Tour de France from 2001 to 2005. Riding as a ...

finishes 2nd in the

2011 Bayern-Rundfahrt The 2011 Bayern Rundfahrt (2011 Tour of Bavaria) was the 32nd edition of the Bayern Rundfahrt, an annual cycling road race. Departing from Pfarrkirchen on 25 May, it concluded in Moosburg on 29 May. The 798.2 km long stage race was part of th ...

Swimming

* 8 December—11 – With 5 gold medals, 7 silver medals and 2 bronze medals, Denmark finishes as the second best country at the

2011 European Short Course Swimming Championships The 2011 European Short Course Swimming Championships were held in Szczecin, Poland, from December 8 to 11, 2011. The event featured competition in a short course (25m) pool. The event was held over four days with heats, semifinals and a final f ...

Births

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

Deaths

* 1 January -

Flemming Bamse Jørgensen Flemming is a surname and a male given name referring, like the more common '' Fleming'', to an inhabitant (or descendant thereof) of Flanders,

, singer and actor (born 1947) * 23 January –

Poul Volther Poul M. Volther (2 January 1923 – 23 January 2001) was a Danish furniture designer who is remembered above all for his iconic Corona Chair. He succeeded Børge Mogensen as artistic director of FDB Møbler in 1950. Early life First trained ...

, furniture designer (born 1923) * 27 January – Tøger Seidenfaden, journalist, editor-in-chief of Politiken (born 1957) * 2 March –

Erling Kroner Erling Kroner (16 April 1943 – 2 March 2011) was a Danish people, Danish trombonist and bandleader. Kroner was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, but gained music education at Berklee College of Music in Boston during 1969–70 and 1973–74, tho ...

, jazz trombonist, composer and bandleader (born 1943) * 9 March –

Inge Sørensen Inge Sørensen (18 July 1924 – 9 March 2011), later Inge Tabur, sometimes known as "Lille henrivende Inge" ("Little Lovely Inge") was a Danish swimmer, who at age 12 won a bronze medal in 200 meter breaststroke at the 1936 Summer Olympics i ...

, 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 Jesper Klein (13 November 1944 – 22 August 2011) was a Danish actor. He appeared in over 80 films and television shows since 1968. He starred in the 1969 film ''Ballad of Carl-Henning'', which was entered into the 19th Berlin International Fil ...

, actor (born 1944) * 9 September -

Esben Høilund Carlsen Esben is a Norwegian and Danish male given name. Origin and variants It originated as a variant of Asbjørn. A common variant is Espen Notable people Notable people with this name include: * Esben Esther Pirelli Benestad, Norwegian physician and ...

, film producer and director of Norsk Film * 11 September –

Christian Bakkerud Christian Bakkerud (3 November 1984 – 11 September 2011) was a Danish racing driver, who competed in the 2007 and 2008 GP2 Series seasons, albeit hindered by a recurrent back injury. Prior to GP2 he competed in British Formula 3 and Formula B ...

, racing driver (born 1984) * 27 September – Erik Wedersøe, actor (born 1938) * 17 October - Poul Glargaard, actor (born 1942) * 24 October -

Margit Brandt Margit Bjørløw Brandt (27 January 1945 – 24 October 2011) was a Danish fashion designer. Biography Brandt graduated from Margretheskolen (1961–1964), Københavns Tilskærerakademi (1964), and completed an apprenticeship in tailoring. ...

, fashion designer (born 1945) * 2 November - Papa Bue, jazz trombonist and bandleader (born 1930) * 7 November -

Lisbeth Movin Lisbeth Movin (25 August 1917 – 7 November 2011) was a Danish actress of stage and film best known for her role as Anne, the pastor's wife accused of witchcraft in the film ''Day of Wrath'' (1943) directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer. She also ...

, stage and film actress (born 1917) * 19 November - Karl Aage Præst, footballer (born 1922) * 1 December -

Ragnhild Hveger Ragnhild Tove Hveger (later ''Andersen'', 10 December 1920 – 1 December 2011) was a Danish swimmer, who became famous when she won silver medal in the women's 400 m freestyle at the 1936 Summer Olympics. From 1936 to 1943 she set 44 ...

, swimmer (born 1920)