Culture

Literature

Hans Christian Andersen is known beyond Denmark for his moralistic fairy tales, such as "The Emperor's New Clothes", "The Little Mermaid", and "The Ugly Duckling". Karen Blixen (pen name: Isak Dinesen), Nobel laureate author Henrik Pontoppidan, and the Philosopher Søren Kierkegaard have also made a name for themselves outside Denmark.

Music

Denmark has also been noticed internationally on the music scene, with acts such as Aqua, Whigfield, D-A-D, and Toy-Box in the 90's, as well as acts like Junior Senior, Safri Duo, Mew, Infernal, The Raveonettes and Tina Dickow in the millennium. However the country also has a huge national music scene, and in 2001, Copenhagen hosted the Eurovision Song Contest, and again in 2006, it hosted the MTV European Music Awards.

Sport

Sports are popular in Denmark, and its citizens participate in and watch a wide variety. The most popular sport is football (soccer), and the national team has qualified for the UEFA European Championships six times in a row (1984-), and winning the Championship in 1992. They reached the quarterfinals of the World Cup in 1998, and won the Confederations Cup in 1995.

The lengthy coastline also provides good opportunity for sailing and other water sports. The "Around Zealand Regatta" is a yacht race that begins in Helsingør and continues for 2-3 days.

Because of the level terrain, another common sport is cycling, and of late Copenhagen has been nicknamed the "City of Cyclists" for the frequent use of bicycles for transportation and the designated roadtracks for cyclists.

Indoor sports such as badminton, handball and various forms of gymnastics are also popular because of the lengthy winters.