A warm welcome goes out to everybody joining us for the 153rd edition of the Forum Song Contest, as we return to Denmark for the first time since FSC #45, which was exactly 9 years ago!
We congratulate Denmark again with the superb victory in the previous edition, which was achieved by the very poplar entry Traitors performed by Saveus:
Our host city for this edition is Odense, Denmark.
Odense is the third largest city in Denmark, and has a population of 180,760. It is the main city on the island of Funen, and by road it is located roughly halfway between Copenhagen and Aarhus. The city is the seat of Odense Municipality, and falls within the Region of Southern Denmark.
The area have been settled by humans for at least 4,000 years, and by 1077, Odense was already a thriving city. Canute IV of Denmark, considered to be the last Viking king, was murdered by unruly peasants in Odense in 1086. Following a royal rivalry, the city was burned in 1249, but quickly recovered, and was a bustling center of commerce throughout the Middle Ages.
In the Middle Ages, a number of churches and monasteries were built in the town. St Canute's Church(Skt. Knuds Kirke) , now the cathedral, dates from the end of the 13th century and was closely connected to the Benedictine Order. The town's other old churches are St Mary's (Vor Frue Kirke) and St John's (Skt. Hans Kirke) with its adjacent monastery. Greyfriars Monastery (Gråbrødre Kloster) was founded by the Franciscans in 1279.
After a period of decline, plans for development were made in the 18th century, leading to the reconstruction of Odense Palace, and the building of a canal to the Port of Odense, which facilitated trade. From the 1840s, the city enjoyed a period of rapid expansion beyond its traditional boundaries, becoming Denmark's second largest city. The city gates were demolished in 1851 and soon afterwards development extended to the area south of the river. Glove production, which had begun in the 18th century, developed into one of the most important industries while the harbour facilities were further expanded.
In 1853 Denmark's first modern water and gas works were opened in Odense. In 1865, one of the largest railway terminals in Denmark was built, further leading to a growth in commerce and population, and by 1900, the city reached 35,000 inhabitants.
From the 1960s Odense increasingly became a cultural hub, with the establishment of a university in 1966 and the launching of trade shows, including the large Odense Congress Centre. In 1988 a major national television network, TV2, was established in Odense. In celebration of the cities' 1,000th anniversary in 1988, a forest, "The Thousand Year Forest", was planted.
In the present day, Odense remains the financial hub of Funen, and has a notable shopping district with a diversity of stores. Several major industries are located in the city, including the Albani Brewery, and GASA, Denmark's major dealer in vegetables, fruits and flowers. The city is home to Odense Palace, the Odense theatre, and Odense Symphony Orchestra.
Odense is a cultural and historical city where you can sense the city's long history clearly. It has a characterful Old Town area, with walking streets ready to be explored by tourists. It has a strong cycling culture, and boasts many interesting museums. However, Odense is also a vibrant and urban city, where you have the opportunity to take part in the good local life, where you can enjoy the cozy atmosphere, taste the vibrant local food scene or go for walks in one of the city's many green oases.
Nonnebakken, one of Denmark's former Viking Ring fortresses, lies on a hill to the south of the river. Also easily reachable from Odense city center, is Egeskov Castle, Europe's best preserved Renaissance water castle.
But perhaps Odense is most famous for being the birthplace of it's most famous child: the famous Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. Although a prolific writer of poems, plays and novels, Hans Christian Andersen is mostly remembered for his fairy tales. Consisting of 156 stories over 9 volumes, Andersen's fairy tales have been translated into 125 languages. While easily accessible to children, the stories also provide lessons of virtue and resilience in the face of adversity. Among his most famous stories are The Little Mermaid, The Emperor's new clothes, Thumbelina, and The Ugly Duckling.
The Hans Christian Andersen Museum is a set of museum buildings dedicated to the author, and include the H.C. Andersen birth house, the H.C. Andersen childhood home, Møntergården (the city museum), and a new installation called House of Fairytales.
It is one of his most famous stories that provide us with the theme for this show, The Ugly Duckling. The tales teaches us to be strong in difficult times, and that with perseverance we will reach our full potential in due time. As a reminder of this, the swan spreading its wings as it takes to flight will feature prominently in the design of the banners. The Mute Swan was also appointed as the National Bird of Denmark in 1994, probably due to the popularity it achieved due to the fairy tale.
Our host venue for this 153rd edition of FSC is the Odeon Music and Theatre Hall.
The Odeon contains a world-class theatre and music hall and the head offices of important institutions such as the Danish National Academy of Music and the Odense Acting School. The building also contains residential units for young artists and a grocery store. The architects conceived of the Odeon as a cultural center and a place for the promotion of culture with events both large and small. It is an important urban landmark that will be a draw for the local population even when there is no show on. The building symbolises the transformation of the city district where it is located into a new car-free district closely connected with the port, the city center and the railway station.
Completed in 2017, Odeon is one of the largest cultural venues in Denmark, where you can enjoy anything from theatre shows and concerts for children to modern pop-rock performances. The Great Hall boasts 1740 seats, or standing places for up to 3000 people.
Our ever witty and funny hosts for this edition are Kirsten Birgit Schiøtz Kretz Hørsholm, and Rasmus Bruun, who she describes as her unknown sidekick.
Kirsten Birgit Schiøtz Kretz Hørsholm (born 12 February 1952 in Søften ) is a fictional Danish journalist played by the 35 year old satirist, actor and clarinetist Frederik Cilius. She was known from, among other things, as a senior correspondent for Den Korte Radioavis on Radio24syv 2015 - 2019, host of Fuld af Danmark on TV2 and as a writer for, among others, the newspapers Weekendavisen , Politiken and Aarhus Stiftstidende.
Kirsten Birgit was born in Søften, north of Aarhus in 1952, to father, Jens Birgit and mother, Karen Birgit. Her mother died during the birth and Kirsten Birgit therefore grew up with her father, horse dealer Jens Birgit on his farm, called Gården på hillen. Today, the yard has been demolished to make way for a ramp to the E45 motorway. As a young woman, Kirsten Birgit played in the Aarhus girl guard and sang in the Copenhagen boys' choir, despite the fact that she is clearly not a boy herself.
In the 1990s, Kirsten Birgit covered both the civil war in Rwanda and the Chechen War, both with major serious consequences for her private life. The brutality of the events contributed to Kirsten Birgit, according to her own statement, breaking down and therefore having to withdraw from the public. As part of her rehabilitation, Kirsten Birgit attended a masturbation course with the American sexologist Betty Dodson. Therefore, Kirsten Birgit was in New York on September 11, 2001, but slept through the fall of the Twin Towers .
In February 2015, Kirsten Birgit returned to journalistic work when she, together with news editor Rasmus Bruun , hosted the radio program Den Korte Radioavis.
Rasmus Bruun (born 15 January 1983 ) is a Danish journalist, actor and co-radio host on Den Korte Radioavis and Den2Radioavis on Radio24syv and Den2Radio respectively. Rasmus Bruun joined DR's Talent Team in 2005 and in January 2007 hosted the program Boogieradio Afternoon. In 2013, Rasmus Bruun together with Frederik Cilius won the award for "Innovation of the Year" at Prix Radio for the program Damernes Magazine. In the summer of 2014, the two made the program Antidemokratisk Festival and most recently Den Korte Radioavis , where Rasmus Bruun plays the news editor Rasmus Bruun. For Prix Radio 2015, the program won three awards: "Innovation of the Year", "Satire of the Year" and "Radio Program of the Year".
Rasmus Bruun made his TV debut in 2010 with the program Pirat on DR2 , which he co-wrote with Christian Trangbæk. A partnership that continued with the satire program The Bitter End in 2012 on DR2. In 2014, Rasmus Bruun created and played in two seasons of Go 'Lorte Weekend , a sketch show for children broadcast from 2013 on DR Ultra , together with Christian Trangbæk and Frederik Cilius. The three continued the collaboration in the program Skråt op på 3. for DR Ultra in 2015. In addition to the children's programs, Rasmus Bruun has starred in programs for adults: the satire series Partiets Mand (2014) broadcast on DR2 and Sjit Happens on TV2 Zulu.
The fierce hosts! 
The multi-talented Norwegian singer-songwriter Ina Wroldsen returns to the FSC for Norway after a long absence. This beautiful song, called “More”, is one of the new songs on her 2021 EP-release. For more information and promotion of the entry (including lyrics in English) please check out the FSC Norway-thread and/or the FSC Promotions-thread! Hope you’ll enjoy it! 
