About us
About us
For more than 30 years the Culture Night Association has once a year created a magical evening where the city opens up after dark and invites the public into a wonderful world of infinite and unique experiences. An evening where the streets reflect light and life and resonate with the sound of happy voices and invite you to explore new areas of the city and discover hidden treasures in the heart of your own neighbourhood. When the dark evenings of autumn lower over Copenhagen, Culture Night opens new perspectives from the top of the city’s towers to underground secret tunnels and excavations. Through play, learning and immersion everyone is invited to dive deep into our joint past, present and future and to experience and celebrate the richness and diversity of culture and the happiness of sharing it with each other.
History and Background
The first Culture Night saw the light of day on 15 October 1993. At that time there were 45 participating locations. Since then, Culture Night has become one of Copenhagen’s most beloved and visited cultural events. The number of visitors has multiplied and around 250 creative organizers are every year ready to create unique experiences for all visitors.
Through all the years, the original idea behind Culture Night has remained intact: Culture Night aims to create Copenhagen’s biggest one-day event, which on the Friday before the start of the children’s Autumn Holidays gives children and adults the opportunity to discover and experience the city through a string of extraordinary cultural events. The only thing the inquisitive need is a Culture Night Pass in which transport is included and which gives free of charge access to a plenitude of experiences reaching from the city centre to Valby, Brønshøj, Husum, Vanløse, Frederiksberg, Østerbro, Vesterbro, Nørrebro, Nordvest, Islands Brygge, Amagerbro and Christianshavn and which can only be experienced this one evening.
Culture Night is a non-commercial celebration of culture. It received no subsidies and stays pricewise at a level where everyone can take part. The Culture Night Association plans and programmes Culture Night while a few events are handled by the participating locations. Every year museums, theatres, libraries, townhalls, churches, ministries, arts halls and educational institutions open their doors to relevant and amazing experiences for everyone, and with 250 organizers all over the city you can be sure to find something new and be gripped by the breadth of what the city and its cultural life embraces.
Family Culture Night
In 2019 Culture Night added a little sister in the form of Family Culture Night. The concept is the same as that of Culture Night: A Culture Night Pass gives free of charge access to a whole lot of fun, exciting and educational events in Copenhagen and Frederiksberg. However, Family Culture Night is solely for children and takes place in a time frame which suits them. Family Culture Night is in March and targets children up to 12 years old with their adults.
On Family Culture Night activities are centred on a child’s world. Here imagination and play are thought into the events held by the city’s participating locations, and the framework is such that all children can take part whether they love speed and excitement, cut and paste, glitter and sparkling jewels, nature’s mysteries, adventures and treasure hunts or simply want to try it all.
Family Culture Night is a product of Culture Night which every year sees a big demand for events suited to children. That fostered the idea to create a Culture Night especially for children where the city opens up on the terms of children when spring is on its way, and everyone needs to get out and feel the light returning. The aim and the dream are that Family Culture Night will become an event just as beloved and traditional in Copenhagen and Frederiksberg as Culture Night is in October and has been for so many years.
