Image: Henrik Thorsager Andersen, CEO of Political Festival of Europe

In August in 2022, the Political Festival of Europe will become reality! From the 25^th-28^th of August 2022 the center of the European debate will be the Danish town of Mariager with just 2.500 inhabitants. Citizens, politicians, media and organizations from all over Europe will come together in informal settings for four days with politics, music, food, culture and exiting events. That is the vision of a group of Danes with a wild dream. Amongst them are eight Danish members of The European Parliament.

It might sound as “mission impossible”. However, a group of Danes in the northern part of Denmark has already decided to make “Political Festival of Europe” a yearly event. The goal is to gather thousands of European citizens, members of the European Parliament, other EU-institutions, and journalists. During four days in the end of August 2022, citizens from all over Europe will for the first time take part in the festival. During the festival, you can meet informally and participate in debates, have conversations with top-level politicians and enjoy big concerts in the town of Mariager in the evenings. The inspiration for “Political Festival of Europe” comes from a Nordic tradition of democracy festivals. They are major democratic gatherings for everyone. An example of this is “Folkemødet” on the Danish Island of “Bornholm” and “Almedalen” on the Swedish island of Gotland. These types of political festivals already attract hundreds of thousands of visitors, CEO of Political Festival of Europe Henrik Thorsager Andersen explains.

“These sorts of Nordic political festivals surely give citizens a sense of empowerment and real participation in the political process. Now, we want to copy paste this concept because it just works. In addition, we want to scale it up and make it a European tradition and not just a Nordic tradition. The Political Festival of Europe will soon see the light of day,” Henrik Thorsager Andersen says.

Have a beer with Angela Merkel in a small Nordic town

Mariager is an old medieval town in the northern part of Denmark. Both Danish and European tourists visit the town in the summer to take a walk between old-fashioned colorful idyllic houses and relax near the forest and sea underneath the blue summer sky. Today Mariager is best known for being the ‘City of Roses’ and now, by hosting the Political Festival of Europe, the name “Mariager” will soon become known as the place where European democracy comes to life once a year.

Maybe this setting does not sound as a “logical choice of location” for the usual EU-leaders top summit. However, the idyllic environment of Mariager is exactly the place for an informal conversation about the future of Europe, according to CEO of Political Festival of Europe, Henrik Thorsager Andersen.

“Who wouldn’t like to watch Angela Merkel walking down the central square of Mariager in the sun with a cold beer in her hands and have a chat with her about the European future? Elected representatives listen to us when we speak aloud. It is their job, and we are the ones who elected them. Influence is only a quick conversation away from us. Our goal is to bring people together and create an atmosphere where all boundaries and hierarchy are eliminated. We think that Mariager can offer a beautiful setting for this,” Henrik Thorsager Andersen says.

Strong support from influential actors in Danish politics and civil society

There is great support among Danish members of Parliament. Support comes from:

• Pernille Weiss, Danish member of the EPP-group in The European Parliament
• Marianne Vind, Danish member of the S&D-group in The European Parliament
• Linea Søgaard-Lidell, Danish member of the Renew Europe-group in The European Parliament
• Karen Melchior, Danish member of the Renew Europe-group in The European Parliament
• Margrete Auken, Danish member of the Greens/EFA-group in The European Parliament
• Morten Helveg Petersen, Danish member of the Renew Europe-group in The European Parliament
• Niels Fuglsang, Danish member of the S&D-group in The European Parliament
• Kira Marie Peter-Hansen, Danish member of the Greens/EFA-group in The European Parliament

Moreover, The Municipality of Mariager, The North Denmark Region, and the biggest Danish organization for employers “Dansk Industri” support the political festival. In an office in the town hall of Mariager, several fulltime employees are already working on the project. Now the goal, according to CEO of Political Festival of Europe Henrik Thorsager Andersen, is to get as many European agents on board as possible in order to promote the event in the rest of Europe. If you are interested in “Political Festival of Europe”, you can follow the concept on www.en.festivaloferuope.dk and sign up for the newsletter.