Only two Danish cities submitted their bid books to the Ministry of Culture by the 5 October deadline. In Bulgaria, Burgas and Gabrovo lead the race.

The first phase of Denmark's competition for the title of European Capital of Culture 2032 closed on Monday, 5 October. Two bid books reached the Ministry of Culture in Copenhagen: one from Aalborg and one from Elsinore (Helsingør). Delegations from both cities delivered their applications in person.

This will be Denmark's third European Capital of Culture, after Copenhagen in 1996 and Aarhus in 2017. In 2032 the title will be shared with a city in Bulgaria.

One expected contender is missing. Næstved was long seen as Elsinore's main rival, and Odense had also been considering a bid, but neither submitted an application.

Aalborg: a bid for the whole of North Jutland
Aalborg publicly announced its candidacy in May 2025. From the start it framed the bid as a regional project. The application is led and funded by the City of Aalborg but written together with the other municipalities of North Jutland.

The preparation phase lasted more than 500 days. Since 2025, over 3,000 people from the region have contributed ideas, and the open call for the cultural programme produced 116 concrete project proposals. Those proposals came from individual citizens, artist groups and cultural institutions across the region. A diverse programme panel of 32 people then reviewed and prioritised them.

The bid also has an Arctic dimension. It is backed by Sermersooq in Greenland, the largest municipality in the world by area.

The city council set aside DKK 3 million for the bidding phase. If Aalborg wins, it has earmarked DKK 80 million for the cultural programme, spread at DKK 20 million a year from 2028 to 2031.

Mayor Lasse Frimand-Jensen called the submission an important milestone for Aalborg and for the whole region. Head of culture Morten Koppelhus, who handed in the bid book, described a programme built on North Jutland's sense of community and on culture as a driver of development and international cooperation.

Elsinore: a grassroots candidacy from Hamlet's city
Elsinore's bid grew from the bottom up. In 2021 a group of local citizens founded the association Elsinore 2032 to build support for a candidacy and prepare the ground for it. Over time the association brought in a broad mix of members:

- the city's theatre, port and football club
- local business and retail associations
- the destination agency Wonderful Copenhagen

The association is chaired by Jens Frimann Hansen, director of Helsingør Teater. Its stated aim is for culture to reach residents as much as residents reach culture.

In February 2026 the city council formally backed the bid, by 22 votes out of 25. The council chose an unusual model: the bid was developed in partnership between the municipality and the association, with Elsinore 2032 acting as project lead. The association was responsible for involving citizens, businesses and civil society.

The city's surroundings feature strongly in the bid. Earlier municipal discussions pointed to two lines of work:

Heritage sites across the municipality, such as the former shipyard halls, the ruins of Gurre Castle and the coastal town of Hornbæk.
Water and the sea as a theme connecting sport and culture.
These discussions also proposed a funding model in which most of the budget would come from outside the city. The sources named were the Danish state, the region, other municipalities in Denmark and Sweden, foundations and private business.

The cross-border element is a natural fit for a city that faces Helsingborg across the Øresund. It is also home to Kronborg Castle, the setting of Shakespeare's Hamlet.

In mid-November both cities will present their bid books to an international panel of experts. The panel will then decide which of them are shortlisted for the final selection. The Ministry of Culture will designate Denmark's European Capital of Culture 2032 by the end of 2027, based on the panel's recommendation.

On the Bulgarian side, the most advanced bids are those of Burgas, supported by the Burgas 2032 Foundation and the municipalities of its region, and Gabrovo. In August, Gabrovo signed a strategic partnership agreement with Veliko Tarnovo, which will support its candidacy as a regional partner.