Press Bulletin

Monocle ranks Copenhagen best city for design and quality of life

Style genius, editor in chief and founder of Wallpaper Magazine and the renowned magazine Monocle Tyler Brûlé has given Copenhagen his recognition: In the July/August issue of Monocle, on newsstands from 19 June, Copenhagen is ranked no. 1 among "The World's 25 Top Cities for Quality of life". In addition the magazine proclaims the capital of Denmark as "Best Design City".

Monocle's eagerly awaited annual ranking of the world's best cities is revealed in the magazine's July/August issue, on newsstands from 19 June. Of all the cities in the world, Copenhagen is ranked no. 1 when it comes to offering its residents and visitors the highest quality of life. Monocle was established last year as the arbiter of what's great about a city, and in addition to being the magazine's no. 1 city, the Danish capital also takes a lead world wide as "Design City".

Monocle's delegated writers have inspected many different cities in the world to find the highest quality of city life. Copenhagen leaves all the other cities behind because of its development in architecture, design and gourmet food. Also the city's public transportation, bicycle culture, harbour baths, green public spaces and trendy cafes such as K Bar and Karriere contribute to a high quality of life. Not least Copenhagen manages to integrate design in everyday life to make life easy and friction-free for residents and visitors. The magazine states:

"There are many reasons why Copenhagen trumped the other cities in our quality of life survey. One of them is its undeniably seamless urban planning, paving the way for the mobility, and ultimately, the happiness of its residents. [...] Denmark's capital is, put simply, designed for life."

The City of Copenhagen's Lord Mayor Ritt Bjerregaard is delighted with the acknowledgement:

"Copenhagen is a vision. A vision that Monocle too believes has a global message. We want a city where you can have a global career, but where you also should be able to have your family and children. We want economic growth, but we want it sustainable and clean. We want the thrills and fascination of the big city, but we want safety and security. We want to be together in the millions, but we want to be able to move around easily. Monocle and Mr Brûlé saw this. It makes us believe that our way of live is special, valuable and important."

CEO Lars Bernhard Jørgensen of Wonderful Copenhagen - the official convention and visitor's bureau of the Greater Copenhagen area - says:

"Copenhagen takes great pride in the recognition of one of the world's leading opinion-formers and arbiters of taste. The recognition by Monocle falls very much in line with the self image of the Copenhageners who value their city as an urban habitat designed for good living. The city's famous gastronomy, bicycle culture, design and human scale of the public spaces, the harbour baths, and the diverse free town of Christiania are all examples of the unique quality of life in Copenhagen. We hope of course that Monocle's celebration of Copenhagen will inspire many international visitors to come experience some of that special "Copenhagenism" themselves."

Included in Monocle's top 10 are also the Nordic cities Helsinki (at no. 5) and Stockholm (at no. 7). Munich, which was no. 1 last year, comes in second this year. Paris, which squeezed in at no. 19 last year, is now no. 10 and has been rated as Monocle's Best Global City.

Monocle's "The World's 25 Top Cities for Quality of life":

1. Copenhagen
2. Munich
3. Tokyo
4. Zürich
5. Helsinki
6. Vienna
7. Stockholm
8. Vancouver
9. Melbourne
10. Paris
11. Sydney
12. Honolulu
13. Madrid
14. Berlin
15. Barcelona
16. Montréal
17. Fokuoka
18. Amsterdam
19. Minneapolis
20. Kyoto
21. Hamburg
22. Singapore
23. Geneva
24. Lisbon
25. Portland

This press bulletin was brought to you by Wonderful Copenhagen in association with the City of Copenhagen, VisitDenmark and Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark. For further information, please contact:

Wonderful Copenhagen
Director of Development and Communications Peter Rømer Hansen
Direct tel.: +45 3355 7403
Mobile: +45 6161 3224
Email: prh@woco.dk

Lord Mayor's Office, City of Copenhagen
Press Secretary Kasper Fogh Hansen
Direct tel.: + 45 3366 2203
Mobile: +45 2844 1678
Email: kah@okf.kk.dk

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark
Under-Secretary for Public Diplomacy Klavs A. Holm
Tel.: +45 3392 0240
Mobile +45 2528 3737

VisitDenmark
Press Officer Anne Marie Barsøe
Direct tel.: +44 (0)20 7201 3970
Mobile: +44 (0)7 776 074 000
Email: amb@visitdenmark.com