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2 Hans Christian Andersen's Fairy Tales 5/05 3 Copenhagen looks to Outgames in 2009 3/07 4 Faroe Islanders celebrate first year of LGBT protection 8/07 5 Faroe Islands: Pride politician calls for same-sex partnership scheme 8/07 6 Copenhagen Pride funding restored after media campaign 3/08 7 World Outgames Copenhagen 2009 registrations open 4/08 8 Danes protest against gay hate music on Freewebs.com 5/08 March
31, 2004 "I find it hard to believe that God would be harder on homosexuals and lesbians than on other people," he wrote in a magazine column. "[But] politicians should not interfere in the internal life of the church and should leave ritual in the hands of pastors and parish councilors." Denmark's religion minister, Tove Fergo, has previously stated that it is up to the Evangelical-Lutheran state church to petition the government and parliament for legal changes if it in fact wants to alter the legislation surrounding marriage rituals. May/June 2005 2
15 January 2007 3 PinkNews.co.uk writer Copenhagen was chosen to host this cultural event because Denmark is a tolerant society, where there is place and space for people who choose their own lifestyle and identity. From July 25 to August 1, 2009 Copenhagen will stage the competition with over 30 sporting events and participants from at least 100 different countries. Although the event was originated for the gay community, it is by no means exclusive, and people from all communities who support the spirit of the event are encouraged to participate. The aim is that, once it is underway, the event will be perceived as relevant and welcoming for all inhabitants of Copenhagen. "World Outgames 2009 will be a multi-facetted, popular and cultural event. We will focus on creating a good balance between the major elements of the program that take place on the harbour, beach and in Tivoli and Rådhuspladsen (the City Hall Square), and the various smaller events elsewhere in town, on the squares, in the streets and backyards," explained director World Outgames 2009 director Uffe Elbaek. Copenhagen is expected to put US$60 million into the effort to make this Outgames a successful venture for the participants, sponsors and the city itself. Elbæk also expressed his enthusiasm for Copenhagen opening the event "It is one of those kind of international events, which on the strength of the contents of its programme along will challenge Copenhagen's identity and sense of self. It throws the city's tolerance into sharp focus and, in addition, it is a kind of test of strength in terms of any future potential to host major, international sports event, such as the Olympics." Alongside the games there will be a human rights conference with 1,500 delegates expected to attend. For more Information about the event visit: www.copenhagen2009.org
17th August 2007 4 by PinkNews.co.uk writer Today Faroe Pride begins, celebrating that first law recognising LGBT people in the country, promoting diversity and respect for human rights in Faroese society. It is the second Pride festival on the islands and is organised by ANSO, Association of Nordic LGBT Student Organisations, together with Friðarbogin, the Faroese LGBT organisation. Friðarbogin was founded in 2003. One of the aims of the organisation is to raise awareness around LGBT issues and to get proper legal protection for LGBT people in the Faroe Islands. "It is important for us, working for LGBT rights here in the Faroe Islands, to see this great support from our friends in the Nordic region," said Tina Jacobsen, a board member of Friðarbogin. We hope that the presence of politicians from Sweden, Denmark, and Iceland will help our own politicians to see the importance of speaking about human rights," she added. During a weekend of festivities, various panels and movie screenings will take place and one of the panels will focus specially on students in higher education. "In smaller cities like Tórshavn, students in general can be an important force to help fight homophobia, therefore we have invited representatives from student unions in Iceland, Sweden, and Greenland to the festival in order to discuss what they can actually do to be of assistance," explained Ásta Ósk Hlöðversdóttir, president of ANSO. The biggest event of the Pride weekend will be a parade, which will start on Saturday afternoon from the Nordic House. Music and speeches will start in the captial Tórshavn's main square Vaglið, at 15.00.
20th August 2007 5 by PinkNews.co.uk writer It was the second Pride festival on the islands and was organised by ANSO, Association of Nordic LGBT Student Organisations, together with Friðarbogin, the Faroese LGBT organisation. Friðarbogin was founded in 2003. One of the aims of the organisation is to raise awareness around LGBT issues and to get proper legal protection for LGBT people in the Faroe Islands. "We are very happy with the turnout for the parade, keeping in mind that only around 19,000 people live in Tórshavn and 48,000 in the whole Faroe Islands. I hope that next year even more will join us," said Tina Jakobsen, a board member of Friðarbogin. Finnur Helmsdal, parliamentarian in the Faroese Løgting, or parliament, said in his speech that registered partnership should be legalised today in the Faroes. He also thanked ANSO for making the first pride in 2005 possible, since that event started a discussion in Faroese society, which for example led to the addition of sexual orientation into the anti-discrimination paragraph in the penal code last December. "In a small community like this, the LGBT movement needs allies," said Ásta Ósk Hlöðversdóttir, president of ANSO. "I hope that we have been able to show that LGBT issues have to do with all of us. I also hope that by bringing representatives together from various Nordic student organisations, we have created an alliance that hopefully will play an important role when it comes to supporting human rights during upcoming years in the Faroe Islands." The islands, a self-governing province of Denmark, are situated halfway between Iceland and Norway.
17th March 2008 6 by Tony Grew Two gay MPs, Social Democrat Mogens Jensen and the Centre party's Emil Ammitzbøll, have shown their support by joining the board of Pride. That move has "sent a signal to every corner of Denmark, both gay and straight, that Copenhagen Pride is more than party and drags, it's also full of gay-political statements," reports PrideRadio.dk. Copenhagen Pride is a week-long festival attended by tens of thousands of people. Last year it featured an LGBT marketplace, an open air film screening, panel debates and cultural events. The grand finale is a parade through the Copenhagen and a massive concert at the city's main square.
23 April 2008 by Justin Ellis The human rights conference at the games is being held in conjunction with Amnesty International Denmark. It will provide a forum for discussion about the gains the global gay rights movement has made over the last four decades and an opportunity to discuss where it’s going into the millennium. Sports in the 38 disciplines scheduled at the games range from the popular – volleyball, badminton, bowling, and taekwondo, to the exotic – petanque, line dancing, kayak polo and floor ball. The Outgames 2009 will mark the first time that a winter sports tournament has been held in Denmark, says Tommy Kristoffersen, sports director for the games. “Interest for these events (curling, ice hockey and figure skating), especially from North America, was so strong that we felt it important to include these disciplines, even though the facilities are not normally in use.” The Outgames culture program includes a tango festival and a leather festival. And for those who prefer a more cultured take on sport there is a queer underground festival that includes the Queenie Games, says Marc Northern, Outgames Director for Communications and Media. “So it’ll be the 110 meter hurdles in drag, but they’ve assured me they’ll have ambulances standing by just in case.” And if you can’t squeeze into those old platforms there’s the handbag throwing event. The Lord Mayor of Copenhagen, Ritt Bjerregaard has invited the mayors of global cities to join their local LGBT community in bringing their queer arts and culture to the OutCities world festival week from Jul 26 to Aug 1. Rio de Janeiro, Tel Aviv, Amsterdam, Mexico City, Melbourne, and Denmark’s second city Aarhus will fill the squares and streets of Copenhagen with installations, events, and performances on the themes of gender, identity and diversity. The historical gay Copenhagen tour, which takes in cruising areas from the last couple of centuries will be of particular interest to LGBT visitors. The Outgames also provide an opportunity to showcase aspects of Danish culture which are often subsumed in a broader Scandanavian image overseas, says Northern. “For example Danish cooking is not known around the world, but we will have Danish cooking classes and tasting days of Danish food. And as expected there will be traditional sightseeing activities like castle viewing.” Registrations for the games opened online on Apr 22 and close at the end of May 2009. Registration before the end of September 2008 affords an earlybird discount of 25%. Registrations for a sport or cultural package before the end of September 2008 are US$255, and US$340 for the conference. Numbers aren’t expected to top the 12,500 participants that made it to the 1st World Outgames in Montreal in 2006 but participation will be strong nonetheless, says Northern. “We’re expecting 8,000 people in total, including 6,500 sports participants, 1,000 delegates at the human rights conference, and 500 people for the cultural program.” Northern is certain visitors to Denmark will be impressed. “Check out our website www.copenhagen2009.org and think about coming to Copenhagen in 2009. The reception will be warm and friendly and a very different experience to what people are used to when they travel to places like the US or other countries in Europe.” While there are no visa waivers for the games the Danish Foreign Ministry is actively supporting the event and have set up an expedited procedure for Outgames participants. For information about visas visit The Danish Ministry of Refugee, Immigration and Integration Affairs website at http://www.nyidanmark.dk/en-us.
May 21, 2008 8 by Staff Writer, PinkNews.co.uk "It's insane that online music stores and free internet hosting services wont block users whose sole purpose, with their musical career, is spreading hatred though music," Mr Adelskov told PinkNews.co.uk. I immediately emailed the support on Indietitan.com, and several hours later, I received an email letting me know they would start an investigation at the very same moment." Mr. Adelskov also reported the artist's website hosting service Freewebs.com. "Freewebs.com actually has an abuse-policy, and 'spreading hatred' is on that list, so I thought they would be easy to dance with. But Freewebs.com are either full of it or they simply just don't get it, because the site is still there. It really scares me that internet companies like Freewebs.com and Indietitan.com are making sure that the ugly face of hatred has a platform from where they can speak." The Stop Murder Music campaign, headed by legendary activist Peter Tatchell, has added Jomo Minott to its list of hate artists. In July 2007 artists Beenie Man, Sizzla and Capleton, who had previously released anti-gay hate songs, including incitements to murder lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, signed up to the Reggae Compassion Act, in a deal brokered with top reggae promoters and Stop Murder Music activists. The Act reads: "We do not encourage nor minister to HATE but rather uphold a philosophy of LOVE, RESPECT and UNDERSTANDING towards all human beings as the cornerstone of reggae. "We agree to not make statements or perform songs that incite hatred or violence against anyone from any community." The fight against other homophobic performers continues. "The other four murder music artists - Elephant Man, TOK, Bounty Killa and Vybz Kartel - have not signed the Reggae Compassion Act," said Mr Tatchell. "These singers have incited the murder of lesbians and gays. They should not be rewarded with concerts or sponsorship deals. "The Stop Murder Music campaign urges organisations worldwide to intensify the campaign to cancel these singers' concerts and their record, sponsorship and advertising deals."A new offence of incitement to hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation received Parliamentary approval last week. Stonewall, the gay equality organisation, gave evidence to MPs about the sort of incitement to homophobic murder and hatred that goes unchallenged. Chief executive Ben Summerskill quoted extensively from the homophobic lyrics of dancehall star Beenie Man and others to demonstrate the nature of their comments about gay men and lesbians. MPs were confronted with the words "motherfucker," "pussy-sucker" and "batty-fucker" during his testimony. Mr Summerskill rejected concerns that a law banning incitement to religious hatred would be used to silence the voices of religious people who regard homosexuality as a sin. "We are crystal clear that people are perfectly entitled to express their religious views. We are also crystal clear that the temperate expression of religious views should not be covered by the legislation. One might also want to look at the context in which any expression is made that people should be killed or put to death because they are homosexual."
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