Golden Days' festival 2012: The 1950's

Major 1950's cultural festivalEach year, Golden Days stages a cultural festival in the Greater Copenhagen area with exhibitions, concerts, debate forums, theatre performances and other events, all showcasing a particular historical period. This year, the theme of the festival is the 1950s – a period which today is experiencing a significant revival in films and design, and not least in the area of social debate. 

What were the 1950s like?Like much of the rest of the world in the 1950s, Denmark was still suffering the aftereffects of World War II. Not only was there a drive to make economical savings in the kitchen, but society and people’s belief in the future had to be rebuilt from scratch. For a long time, the period was overshadowed by the war years, but eventually a new reality began to dawn with suburban living, television, colourful advertising, supermarkets, women going to work, new American fashions, and a completely new teenage culture.

From cultural struggle to suburban blissThis year’s festival showcases five thought-provoking themes that were key in shaping the 1950s: The Cold war, Suburbia and family life, The cultural struggle, and Living changes. By means of these five themes, festival visitors will be transported right round 1950s Denmark and have the chance to experience everything from design exhibitions and Cold-War bunkers to contemporary pop stars interpreting classic 1950s hits.

Programme highlightsFittingly, the festival will open in a setting of original 1950s architecture – Copenhagen’s Vega music venue – which, with its teak panelling and cool atmosphere, is the perfect location for the party. Here, pop-crooners, big bands, rockabillies, retro-stylists, bartenders and jazz poets will party with guests, just like in those seminal days of freedom and liberation back in the 1950s. Before the party, Enghave Parken (the park adjacent to Vega) will stage a modern ‘Tarmac-ball’ for all the family, featuring jitterbug and jive dancing, a roller derby, a retro market, and a street kitchen decked out with colourful long tables.  

The festival will take place in Copenhagen and at selected venues in the Greater Copenhagen area from 7 – 23 September 2012.

For further information, please contact:Golden Days, Nørregade6, DK-1165, Copenhagen K/ tel.: +45 35 42 14 32 /Email: info@goldendays.dkInformation for the press: Boline Skovly: boline@goldendays.dk

About Golden Days
History in a contemporary perspectiveEach year, Golden Days presents a festival in Copenhagen and the Greater Copenhagen area highlighting the important role played by culture through time and putting it into a contemporary perspective. The vision of the festival is to bring history to life by immersing festival visitors in experiences from the past which are relevant to the issues they face in their lives today. 

The Copenhageners’ cultural festivalThe festival is among the most popular cultural events in Copenhagen and in 2010 was visited by more than 1700,000 people. During each festival, Golden Days works in collaboration with a number of major cultural institutions, media corporations and educational institutions to communicate a specific theme or showcase a particular historical period. The results of the collaboration are, among other things, a joint festival programme and a strong and visible profile throughout the city, on line, and in the media.