ta - DGI-byen

34 cELEBRATING DGI
What on earth
are we doing here!
You & the City called together the four sponsors of DGI-byen for a chat by the
pool about the country bumpkins who came to vesterbro ten years ago to found
a leisure centre, how they coped with the neighbourhood junkies and prostitutes,
its incredible success ever since, and where it will all be ten years hence.
— When you’ve been active in a project for a number of years,
you experience a lot. Some things you tend to be very proud of,
others less so. This here is a cause for celebration.
This was a remark made to You & the City when it met the four
people who have impacted most on DGI-byen’s establishment
and development in the ten years that have elapsed since a
group of Jutland gymnasts determined to invade the capital and
set up shop alongside prostitutes and junkies in vesterbro, in
Copenhagen’s heart — the then chairman of DGI, Mr leif Mikkelsen
(MF), who first came up with the idea of DGI-byen, its director
from the outset, Mr Niels Dalsgaard, Mr Jens Kramer Mikkelsen,
who as Copenhagen’s Chief Mayor in 1997 made possible the
establishment of DGI-byen, and the current Chief Mayor, Ms ritt
Bjerregaard, who will unquestionably influence DGI-byen’s future
development.
That they have been ten exciting and successful years is evident
from the above statement, by Jens Kramer Mikkelsen. Yet an
easy start it was not. vesterbro is, after all, vesterbro, and for
an athletics association with roots in Jutland’s popular sporting
culture to set up shop on Halmtorvet, Copenhagen’s notorious
red light district, was thought by many to be a far from sensible
decision.
‘They warned us that we were building on the wrong side of Central
Station. literally, on the wrong side of the tracks. We couldn’t
possibly expect young people to attend courses here, the more
sedate cautioned. But some of us argued that this is a reality of
city life, and if a popular Danish sporting association, with all the
high-minded values it incorporates, cannot cope with reality, then
who can? But it was a challenge, there’s no denying that,’ says
leif Mikkelsen
‘When I first heard of the idea, I thought, no, farmer gymnasts.
But then we met the people from DGI. Here was a major player,
rooted in the community yet a thoroughly professional organisation,
ready to work in liaison with the City Council, and more than
willing to inject funds into the project, which we could ill afford at
the time,’ says Jens Kramer Mikkelsen.
The present Chief Mayor, Ms ritt Bjerregaard, was also sceptical
about the Jutland link at first. ‘I didn’t pay the idea much attention,
she says, until I began to see how attractive it would be for
vesterbro to have a venue like DGI-byen. The quality of life for
people in the area has improved immensely as a result.’
‘DGI-byen has sanctioned urban renewal in the eyes of many
sceptics. Many vesterbroers have decided to stay put because
DGI-byen and Øksnehallen are located here,’ says Jens Kramer
Mikkelsen.
DEvElOPMENT
Continuous expansion and development have been the key to
DGI-byen’s success since its inauguration in 1997, making it not
alone a state-of-the art sports and leisure centre, but also now a
major business running hotels, youth hostels, restaurants, and
much more besides, in the centre of Copenhagen.
THE FUTUrE
‘DGI-byen will develop as needs dictate’, says ritt Bjerregaard,
‘and I would have no objections to adding a few more floors. It will
be the subject of debate, of course, but I wager that in ten years
time there will be a skyscraper here’.
‘DGI-byen as a wellness centre is a worthwhile idea, too, parallelled
with a food centre to provoke interaction between fitness,
sport, food, well-being, health and so on, all so crucial to Copenhagen’s
development,’ adds Ms Bjerregaard.
The four dignitaries who have brought their influence to bear on
the establishment and development of DGI-byen in vesterbro,
Copenhagen.
DGI-byen’s chairman, Mr Leif Mikkelsen, MF
copenhagen’s former chief Mayor, Mr jens Kramer Mikkelsen
DGI-byen’s Director since 1997, Mr Niels Dalsgaard, and
copenhagen’s current chief Mayor, Ms Ritt Bjerregaard.
On 5th December 2007
DGI-byen celebrates its
10th birthday.
HOUSE OF
København K · Illum 3318 2700 · Magasin 3318 2043 · Købmagergade 3 3391 8900