People dancing on buses is not something you see every day in Denmark. Rule-abiding Danes tend to keep their celebrations low-key – but not this summer.
Football fans brought traffic to a standstill in Aarhus after Denmark beat the Czech Republic in the Euro 2020 quarter-finals and even scaled public transport to broadcast their euphoria and belt out another round of Re-sepp-ten – first a hit for Denmark’s national team at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. The anthem’s crowd-sourced lyrics are laden with Hans Christian Andersen imagery and feel particularly apt this year.
“It’s been such an emotional time for everyone, but especially for Danish football,” says Karina Hansford, 45, referring to the collapse of the midfielder Christian Eriksen after a cardiac arrest during Denmark’s game against Finland on 12 June. “We have all experienced losses over the pandemic, so what happened with Eriksen brought up a lot of strong feelings,” says Morten Pelch, 40, adding: “In that moment, the whole of Denmark was holding their breath.”
“It was a reminder that life can be…
