A Scandinavian summer of love

If music is your food of love, then Copenhagen and Malmo will be serving an absolute feast of cool concerts this summer. The great thing about a holiday for music lovers to Copenhagen in Denmark and Malmo in Sweden – to the Oresund region - is that it is so easy to get from one country to the other.

Fast-speed trains leave both cities every 20 minutes – and in 25 minutes you are in another country, with new people. So turn up the volume for the Oresund region!

Below is a selection of what the region is serving up this summer:

Friday Rock in Tivoli Gardens, all summer (Copenhagen)
For 13 years now, the Friday Rock concerts in Tivoli Gardens right in the heart of Copenhagen have been a popular summer tradition. Concerts with famous international artists and Danish favourites take place every Friday at 22.00hrs on Plaenen, the large open air stage in the centre of Tivoli.

Admission is free once you have paid your entrance to Tivoli, which, depending on your time of entry is around £10. On average 17,000 people turn up every week and the atmosphere is great.

Names this summer include James Morrison, Kaiser Chiefs, Carpark North, N*E*R*D* and L.O.C. and of course big Danish stars like Tina Dico, Internal and Thomas Helmig. Ongoing until 18 September - tivoli.dk

Sommarscen Malmo, 12 June – 13 August (Malmo)
Sommarscen Malmo is a programme of outdoor performing arts and cinema performances taking place in around 40 different locations in Malmo. The main concerts and artist appearances take place on two stages, at Pildammsteatern Theatre and at the Hedmanska Garden. Sommarscen 2009 presents around 200 performances during the height of summer. All performances are free of charge and the programme is updated continually and can be found on: malmo.se

STROM, 10-16 August (Copenhagen)
Strom, taking place for the second year, is a festival for the young creative crowds focusing on electronic music. Not a traditional festival, but rather a selection of the best and strongest purveyors of electronic music on the Copenhagen event scene. It mostly takes place in Enghaveparken, where entrance is free, in the central urban and eclectic neighbourhood of Vesterbro. For full programme and venues: stromcph.dk

Beatday 14 -15 August (Copenhagen)
This mini festival is an annual even that seems to get bigger each year. This year, this urban festival will span over two full days in Valbyparken Park, in the outskirts of Copenhagen, which can hold a tremendous amount of people.

Gates open at 13.00hrs and until midnight everyone can enjoy the different bands playing on two stages. International household names like Arctic Monkeys, Band of Horses and Basement Jazz will be there, as some great Danish groups like Mew and Oh no Ono plus many others - beatday.dk.

The Malmo Festival 14-21 August (Malmo)
This is a Silver Jubilee Year for the Malmo Festival. It is Sweden’s biggest, oldest and most talked about festival for all age groups. In a way it is three festivals in one, covering music, culture and food. Squares and streets in the inner city are transformed into a summer party venue with a multi-facetted programme for every single day. How about a mixture of hand-embroidered sofas, six meter tall sculptures, Bollywood dancing, street basketball, outdoor cinema, hip-hop, a marathon run, international food stalls and at the same time there is a big focus on green and sustainable issues.

Best of all? It’s free! A record of almost 1.5 million visitors came to Malmo last year – why not join the party yourself in 2009? A full programme will be up from 9 June on malmofestivalen.se.

Getting there…

Flights: Flysas.co.uk. Scandinavian Airlines offers direct convenient connections from Aberdeen, Manchester, Birmingham, Heathrow and London City Airports. Check their website for latest best offers.

City details including all summer events can be found at malmo.se/turist/inenglish, visitcopenhagen.com and visitoresund.info.

For all information on travelling to Denmark, log on to Visitdenmark.com/uk.