‘Denmark’s Next Design Classic’ Moves into the Parterre Garden in Tivoli

The winning lamp, along with the other four lamps from the TV show Denmark’s Next Design Classic, will be on display in Tivoli Gardens when the Gardens open their summer season with Easter in Tivoli.

In the latest season of DR1’s design competition Denmark’s Next Design Classic, five designers were challenged to create furniture classics tailored to specific locations in Denmark. In the second-to-last episode, the contestants were tasked with designing an outdoor lamp for Tivoli.

The challenge was to create a timeless outdoor lamp that would not cause glare while also having a playful expression. The lamp needed to serve both as a source of light and ambience.

The show's regular judges were joined by Tivoli’s lighting designer Jesper Garde Kongshaug to select the winning lamp. The winner of the episode was designer Sophus Bang, whose poetic lamp was deemed a perfect fit for Tivoli.

The lamps are displayed in the Parterre Garden and are most beautiful around dusk.

Lighting in Tivoli

Since Tivoli Gardens’ very first season in 1843, lighting has been an attraction in itself. It is important that the lamps create the right ambiance without blinding the guests.

Designer and architect Poul Henningsen’s rotating spiral lamp from 1949, Erik ‘Spjæt’ Christensen’s dancing dragonflies on Tivoli Lake, and the Tivoli Light Domes, which adorns all the light arches along the park’s avenues, have become iconic symbols of Tivoli. In 1941, Poul Henningsen designed a special blackout lamp with a horizontal light that could not be seen from airplanes, allowing Tivoli to remain open despite wartime blackout restrictions.

Alongside Poul Henningsen, renowned designers such as Simon Henningsen, Louis Weisdorf, and artist Olafur Eliasson have also contributed to Tivoli Garden’s unique lighting heritage.