Related: The Little Mermaid Comes to Tivoli Gardens amusement park this spring / Tivoli Gardens’ new Klump Island, designed by Jumana Brodersen
When Tivoli in Copenhagen, Denmark, opens its gates for Christmas in Tivoli, the Gardens introduce a new winter theme where guests can play on the 45 metre long toboggan run, see an ice sculptor carve ice sculptures and many other things. It will also be the première of new winter illuminations, ice crystals and glistening snow on the pine trees. A new square offering delicacies will be opened, the pixies have moved into Pixie Ville, children will be received by Santa Claus, and the season will be concluded with a film music Fireworks Festival. This all takes place in Tivoli in Copenhagen from 12 November to 30 December 2010, with the exception of 24 and 25 December.
Since 1994, when Tivoli welcomed guests to Christmas in Tivoli for the first time, every year has offered new surprises. This year’s new attraction is a winter theme, including a 45 metre toboggan run, an ice sculptor at work and lights and decorations bringing out the beauty of winter, for example with illuminated snow-covered pine trees.
The toboggan run will be three metres wide with a gradient of 20 degrees, so that children will feel the wind in their hair when they scorch down the run in the cool new ring toboggans. The trip has a total drop of approximately three metres. The last few metres of the run are covered with a material to slow you down so you do not end up in the Tivoli Lake.
Throughout the Christmas season, an ice sculptor will create sculptures inspired by the Christmas and winter themes. Guests can observe the sculptor’s work closely and see how the ice blocks are slowly transformed into swans, pixies, Lucia Brides, reindeer etc.
New Delicacy Square
Many Danes have made taking a trip to Tivoli at Christmas into a tradition, whether it is for the annual company Christmas party or to go on the rides. Over 70 decorated stalls along the paths in Tivoli are bursting with everything from hand-blown glass balls, caramelised apples to steaming mulled wine and Danish doughnuts (æbleskiver). Among the many stalls, guests will, this year, find the new Delicacy Square by the Tivoli Concert Hall where guests are tempted by Læsø salt, gourmet hotdogs, Christmas cakes, pick & mix chocolates and sweets as well as French and Italian delicacies. You can also see how chocolate marshmallows are made in the little new chocolate marshmallow factory.
Pixie Ville and the Christmas Market
The pixies’ market town, Pixie Ville, with the country’s largest collection of mechanical pixies is an attraction in itself, where children and adults alike can immerse themselves in the skating pixies and igloos in the display. The train trip on the Christmas Express takes passengers through snow-covered landscapes where they can see the pixies, Santa Clauses and their wives getting ready for Christmas at close quarters.
Lots of entertainment
During Christmas in Tivoli, children and adults can meet the new Tivoli character Rasmus Klump on weekends between 11.00 and 14.30. Until 23 December, children can also visit Santa’s sleigh where they can leave their old dummies and give them up for good.
The Tivoli Boys Guard and the Tivoli Pixie Band will be playing Christmas songs and parading. In the Tivoli Concert Hall, the ABBA musical Mamma Mia! attracts a huge audience and is performed in Danish for the first time.
Nimb and Christmas
Almost all Danish restaurants are closed over Christmas, and certainly on Christmas Eve, as it has been a Danish tradition to celebrate Christmas Eve at home. However, this is changing. Last year, Nimb launched a Christmas Eve event which was sold out and even had people signed up on a waiting list. This year, the gourmet restaurant therefore repeats the success for those who want a "Christmassy Christmas" but do not want to go to all the trouble themselves. If you can not wait until 24 December, the Christmas celebrations already start at Nimb from 28 November – and there is every opportunity of getting in the Christmas spirit: elegant design with special Christmas decorations, lit fire place, top class food, home-made mulled wine and a Christmassy Tivoli in the back garden.
Fireworks Festival dedicated to composers
There will be magic in the air when the sky explodes with a wealth of indescribable colours. That will happen when Tivoli counts down to the new year with a Fireworks Festival, which will start on Boxing Day. This year’s theme is composers of film music, including i.a. Hans Zimmer, famous for composing the music for the epic Gladiator, and, undoubtedly, the music from the film Schindler’s List by John Williams will create a beautiful ambiance on the pitch-black night sky.
Tivoli’s pyrotechnician, Gunnar B. Knudsen, has this year entered fireworks competitions in i.a. Belgium and France and was awarded a bronze and a gold medal.
The Fireworks Festival takes place from 26 December to 30 December 2010 at 18.00, with the exception of 29 December.
Lighting used for Christmas in Tivoli:
A total of 1, 800 fairy lights with 120 lights each are used to decorate the willow trees around the Tivoli Lake, the Christmas tree by the great fountain and to create the illusion of luminous snow in various places, alone.
5, 000 metres of fairy lights are used for the 400 illuminated trees.
It takes two people three weeks to decorate the great Christmas tree. All branches and shoots are covered with fairy lights. There are a total of 200 fairy lights with 120 lights each = 24, 000 lights on this tree.
A total of 1, 000 metres of fairy lights are used for the illumination of various buildings.
About Tivoli
Since George Carstensen opened the gates of Tivoli in Copenhagen to visitors in 1843, the Gardens have become a five-star amusement park with 26 rides, activities, booths, restaurants and events, shows and concerts of the highest level. Tivoli is one of the world’s oldest amusement parks and with its traditions and constant renewal is a strong attraction for all generations. The Gardens are visited by about 4 million visitors every year. 2010 saw the opening of the World of Rasmus Klump with 40 activities and, in July, the opening of the Tivoli Hotel, the first theme hotel in Copenhagen.
