Visit Denmark and The Danish Ministry of Business and Growth are in charge of the Denmark House on Ipanema Beach in Rio – an initiative supported by and developed in cooperation with among others Industry Foundation, Nordea Foundation, Realdania and Grundfos.
The Danish presence on the iconic Ipanema Beach has proved to be a success. Everyday hundreds of people are coming to see the innovative and interactive exhibitions and all exciting activities.
The Heart of Denmark pavilion brings action to the sands of Life Guard Post 10, on Ipanema, this August – and besides the permanent exhibition, concerts, sports games and cultural schedule, two activities will attempt to break world records:
On August 6 and 7, visitors to the pavilion accompanied the construction of the biggest bicycle made of LEGO® pieces during an Olympics Games, built by fans of the brand, known as AFOLS (Adult Fans Of LEGO®), while the general public took part, as pairs, to build miniature versions.
On August 16 and 17, a large heart made of recycled materials is another record that the Danish Hospitality House wants to break during the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
”LEGO has become one of the world’s strongest brands, because they know how to take children’s play seriously and they recognize its significance in child development and learning. The same line of thought is reflected in other parts of Danish society, where play is used as a means to bring people together and to encourage innovation and creativity. We would like to share some of these Danish examples with the Brazilians and the rest of the world, while we are on Ipanema Beach. We hope to see many happy LEGO® fans, of all ages, at the Danish pavilion, having a lot of fun playing and learning,” says Jan Olsen, CEO of VisitDenmark.
In order to show a little more about the values, interesting facts, and wealth of the Danish culture, on August 16 and 17, the objective will be to create the world’s biggest work of art in the shape of a heart, made from recyclable materials. To that end, the task will have the collaboration of a number of students from the NGO and art school, “Spectaculu”, which is coordinated by Eric Fuly, who is responsible for the project.
The Danish heart will be set up in the B2B area of the pavilion and, later, will be exhibited outside, until August 21, as a true symbol of the hospitality and sustainability of the Heart of Denmark house.
The Danish pavilion on Ipanema Beach is an export drive aiming at strengthening international awareness of Denmark and generating interest in key Danish strongholds.
The initiative builds on the successful experience from the Olympic Games in London in 2012, where VisitDenmark managed a similar Danish export drive, with up to 250,000 visitors from around the world. The Danish Pavilion will serve as a showcase for Denmark, Danish companies and Danish products throughout the Olympic Games in Rio and introduce fields of expertise and solutions from Denmark.
The pavilion will also be a focal point for Danish athletes, representatives and spectators. The Olympic Games 2016 in Rio is expected to attract between 500,000 and 1 million affluent international visitors and more than 27,000 journalists.
Denmark on Ipanema Beach, source: Visit Denmark