100th anniversary celebration: a national festival at Christiansborg and a gala show on DR TV

Several of the other squares around Christiansborg at Slotsholmen will also be drawn on for the celebration, which will include music, speeches, events, debates, an anniversary buffet and a street party. The arrangement lasts from 12.00-17.00 and is open to everybody.

The Danish Parliament and the Danish Government are collaborating with the Danish Women’s Society on the national celebration. Copenhagen Distortion is responsible for the creative aspect of this major event.

In addition to the national festival at Christiansborg Palace Courtyard, the 5 June will also be marked by an official reception in the Landsting Hall at Christiansborg. A gala show will be broadcast during the evening in collaboration with DR TV.

During the period up to Constitution Day, 100 people will hold 100 ‘Constitution speeches’. The speeches will be held by editors-in-chief, debaters, journalists, musicians, actors, businesspeople and Danish celebrities. They have all agreed to air their views of what equality, democracy and participation mean today. There will be a wide variety of ‘speeches’ in the form of songs, Facebook entries and articles in trade union journals so that the festival message will reach the entire Danish population.

“The Constitutional Act of 1915 is a central event in Danish democracy. It ensured that the majority of the adult population gained their democratic rights. So 5 June is a festival for democracy and our constitutional rights and I am looking forward to celebrating it,” says the Speaker of the Danish Parliament Mogens Lykketoft.

Minister for Social Affairs Manu Sareen is particularly gratified that the celebratory activities will reach all Danes.
“The enfranchisement of women is one of the central events in our history and we must remember to continue to draw attention to equality, democracy and social participation at national level. They are values that we must protect. It is therefore a really positive step on the part of the Government and Parliament to come up with innovative and creative activities to mark this 100th anniversary. During the weeks to come, people will be receiving information from all sides: on their radios, in their trade journals and at their local supermarkets,” says the minister.

Activities arranged by the Government and Parliament in connection with the 100th anniversary
• Arrangements for families with children throughout Denmark in May and June
• Constitutional Copenhagen Distortion at Vesterbro on 4 June
• Official arrangement on the morning of 5 June in the Landsting Hall and national festival at Christiansborg Palace Courtyard. Activities will include music, speeches, events, debates, an anniversary buffet and a street party.
• Gala show on 5 June on DR TV
• 100 people holding 100 ‘constitution speeches’ during the period up to Constitution Day
• Photo exhibition in the Rigsdag Courtyard from 5 June
• Digital ‘festschrift’ presenting a number of artistic perspectives on the 100th anniversary

Plus many, many arrangements throughout Denmark to be announced at 100aaret.dk

Facts about the 1915 constitutional amendment

The new Constitutional Act ensured that Danish democracy was no longer the preserve of the few. From 5 June 1915, women and servants became entitled to vote and stand for Parliament. Before that date, only 18% of the total population possessed these rights, which were reserved for male householders over the age of 30. The 1915 Constitutional Act gave the majority of the Danish population their democratic rights.

Follow events at 100aaret.dk, facebook.com/kaeregrundlov, at #100aaret and #kaeregrundlov.