A Danish tourism agency is on a mission to find a noise that encapsulates all things Copenhagen. After the World Cup in South Africa left no doubt that the ear-blasting drone of vuvuzelas is the sound of Johannesburg, Wonderful Copenhagen is looking for something similar for Denmark’s capital.
The jingle of bicycle bells or the swish of windmills blades have been suggested as possible signature sounds for the city, but a poll of readers by newspaper Berlingske Tidende hopes to pick out a few more. Events and conference director of Wonderful Copenhagen, Martin Bender, called the deafening din of vuvuzelas that penetrated TV speakers throughout the FIFA tournament “marketing genius”, adding that Copenhagen could benefit greatly from acquiring its own designated discord.
As cycling is so popular in the city, Bender suggested that “the Sound of Copenhagen could be a bell, for example. When we hold next year’s world championships in road cycling – one of the world’s biggest sporting events – we could conceivably issue 20,000 bells to spectators.”
“But it has to be a sound that’s unique and original, and something that people can make with simple tools,” he added, in a report by the Copenhagen Post.
Branding expert Martin Lindstrom, however, warned that creating a hallmark hullabaloo is a tricky business, adding that the most important thing will be to introduce the sound during a big international event. “Danes are perceived abroad as being a very happy and positive people, so whatever sound is chosen should be a positive one,” he said.