Press Information
December 2006

New Hotel - Bella Center Constructs New Landmark in Copenhagen

Two impressive glass towers will reach beautifully for the sky when the long anticipated new hotel at Bella Center Copenhagen is completed. They will become a unique landmark for Copenhagen and the entire district "Ørestad" in addition to being the largest hotel of the Nordic Countries with 800 rooms, wellness centre, restaurant, café and sky bar.

Copenhagen and the entire district "Ørestad" can look forward to quite a unique landmark when Bella Center breaks the first ground for an impressive 4-star hotel complex in the near future. With their angled facades, sloping inclinations and facade finishing, the two towers of 75 metres will appear varied and different according to distance, visual angle, daylight, internal lighting and time of the year.

The largest hotel of the Nordic Countries is to be constructed in two phases and the first phase - one tower of 400 rooms - as early as next summer with expected inauguration in the spring of 2009.

- A hotel is a wish harboured by us for a long time. Now we construct it and therefore reinforce our position as one of Europe's largest and most flexible exhibition and congress centres. A hotel as an integral part of Bella Center will provide us with even stronger opportunities in the competition for large and international congress events. In addition, these towers will be architecture of an international format and undoubtedly a characteristic point of orientation for the entire Orestad, says Arne Bang Mikkelsen, Managing Director of Bella Center.

Bella Center chose 3XNielsen, an architectural company of Danish and international recognition, to be in charge of the assignment. 3XNielsen are the architects behind the Royal Danish Embassy in Berlin (1999), the Muziekgebouw in Amsterdam (2005) and the Museum of Liverpool which is to show the history and culture of the English city from the Beatles over football to emigration to the USA (to be completed in 2008).

Due to their light, industrialised facade panels made in metal and glass, the two hotel towers will appear light, whereas the base is to be made in concrete with glass panels. The furnishing will be kept in Scandinavian design, and on the 23rd floor guests can use the restaurant, café and sky bar while glancing over the cosy towers of Copenhagen and the surrounding green areas. The roof terrace of 2,000 square metres to be established at the 3rd floor level will provide ample opportunity to profit from the sunshine - be it spring, summer or autumn.

Bella Center is in charge of the construction, and operation of the hotel will be in close collaboration with an international hotel chain. There are ongoing negotiations with several parties.

Expansion of the Congress
- The hotel projects provides us with a unique opportunity for a much needed expansion of our congress facilities at the same time, says Arne Bang Mikkelsen.

The plan comprises arrangement of a number of conference rooms and a plenary hall to be integrated Bella Center's present congress facilities.

Copenhagen Dome
The City of Copenhagen and Bella Center still share the intention of establishing the "Copenhagen Dome" as soon as possible. The Copenhagen Dome will have a capacity of 15,000 spectators for all kinds of sports, cultural events etc. within the floor area of 35,000 square metres, and the highest point will be 40 metres. There is an ongoing and very positive dialogue between the City of Copenhagen and interested users. The Sports Confederation of Denmark has expressed that facilities of this magnitude are needed for arranging both European and World Championships within different kinds of sports. The Danish Ice Hockey Union has just placed a bid for the Group A World Champion in ice hockey which also requires an arena of the planned magnitude.

- And behind the scene Denmark works seriously at hosting The Olympic Games of 2024 in Copenhagen. Realisation of the Copenhagen Dome would be the first visible manifestation of the seriousness of the efforts. Arranging so large, international events simply requires facilities of this magnitude, says Bang Mikkelsen.

In addition, Bella Center is in close contact with organisers of major international cultural experiences which cannot be held in Denmark today for space reasons. The Copenhagen Dome would also reinforce Copenhagen's efforts to attract the very large, international congresses requiring very large facilities for opening and closing arrangements.

Supplement to the Local Plan
A local plan for Bella Center with the option of building a hotel and a multi arena already exists. However, the level of construction ambitions has risen since the local plan was approved earlier by the Copenhagen City Council, and therefore Bella Center is applying for a supplement to the local plan. When the members of Copenhagen City Council's Technical and Environmental Committee meet on 13 December, one of the items of the agenda will be: Approval of a supplement to the existing local plan for Bella Center. The supplement is necessary for the hotel to reach the required height of 75 metres. At the same time work is carried out to develop a master plan for the entire area of Bella Center enabling the development of Bella Center in line with the development of Orestad.

Further Information
Arne Bang Mikkelsen, Managing Director, tel. +45 3247 2001 / +45 4038 8811