Denmark celebrates a big party on the 4th of July. This year, the US is not invited

The celebration is presented as the largest Fourth of July celebration outside the United States, and attendees, dressed in the American flag, sing American songs, eat hot dogs and, since we are in Denmark after all, drink Danish beer and aquavit.

This year is going to be a little different.

Organizers expect the lowest attendance in their history.

Some local residents say they will not attend.

Furthermore, the US government has been excludedsomething unthinkable until now.

Nixon. Reagan. Walter Cronkite. Walt Disney. Incluso Dionne Warwick.

Some influential personalities have gathered on July 4 in this small town, Rebild, surrounded by purple heather fields and pig farms.

Almost every year, the American ambassador to Denmark makes an appearance.

But this year, the president’s threats Donald Trump to annex GreenlandDanish territory, have soured the atmosphere.

His obsession with Greenland has damaged what was once a very close Danish-American relationship.

Many Danes are now wondering why they should celebrate America’s most patriotic day on Danish soil, and with public funds.

And so, local politicians, no doubt sensing a juicy topic, intervened.

Lasse Olsena municipal councilor who has been demonstrating against the event for years, described Trump as “imperialist madman“.

He claimed that given the way Trump had behaved toward Denmark, the presence of any official from his administration would “disrupt and distort” the festival.

This spring, he led the initiative that gave an ultimatum to the event organizers:

exclude US officials from the program or lose logistical support and public funds (typically about $50,000).

Festival organizers agreed to exclude American officials from the program, stating that embassy officials regretted the decision but accepted it.

They also indicated that all Americans who attended the event this weekend in their personal capacity were welcome.

Organizers plan a gala, a business roundtable and live music all year long, culminating in an outdoor party, usually with celebrity speakers.

But this year, all anyone talks about is Trump.

“It’s embarrassing,” said Bruce Bro, a retired American businessman of Danish descent who is a board member of the Rebild National Park Society, the organization planning the party.

He added that he supported the decision to prevent the participation of US officials.

“We don’t want people throwing a drink at the ambassador,” he said.

The US Embassy in Copenhagen declined to comment.

The annual pilgrimage to Rebild began in 1912. It was the idea of ​​Max Henius, a Danish-American biochemist who helped perfect beer brewing.

He organized the purchase of land in the hills as a place to celebrate ties between Denmark and the United States.

In the early days, Danes who emigrated to the United States (many to the Midwest, where the landscape reminded them of their homeland) returned en masse to Rebild on the Fourth of July to reunite with their families.

After World War II, when the United States was seen as a hero and ties to the country were still strong, Bro said 50,000 people attended.

But those ties have weakened.

And the party in Rebild has suffered a setback.

Attendance in recent times rarely exceeds a thousand attendees.

This year, organizers say they’ll be lucky to get to a thousand.

The program still includes singing the Danish and American anthems, admiring classic American cars, eating hot dogs and open-faced shrimp sandwiches, and seeing people dressed as American historical figures.

Last year, Denmark’s foreign minister was the keynote speaker; This time, another, lesser-known minister is scheduled to attend, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Lasse Frimand Jensen, mayor of Aalborg, one of the municipalities participating in the party, said his city council decided to take a stand against American officials only after consulting with its central government colleagues.

The mayor did not want to reveal his identity, but he has good connections in the same political party as Mette Frederiksenthe prime minister, whose firmness on the Greenland issue has irritated Trump.

She is also originally from this same region of Denmark.

In recent days, the organizers have carried out their pre-party rituals:

smoothing out American state flags to decorate the grounds, setting up tables and chairs, and preparing a fleet of golf carts to transport seniors up the gravel road to the spot in the steep green valley where the festivities are being held.

Organizers say their biggest difficulty is attracting young people.

Bro said he had heard a lot of people, young and old, say they didn’t want to come this year because of tensions in Greenland.

As for his own opinion, he said he was horrified when Trump threatened to take the island from Denmark and that his relatives felt the same.

“It’s very sad,” he said.

“We want to keep this tradition alive. And we blame Trump.”