I haven’t put a lot of thought into my attire. But I immediately begin to do so as I walk the red carpet, through the glass doors and step into another world wearing orthopedic footwear
Here are sparkling stones, long eyelashes and dresses that reach down to the floor.
Otherwise, I should have told myself that, because that is the whole point of an event like this: I am at the Miss Denmark 2026 beauty contest.
I am here to follow finalist Anne-Marie Olsvig Lauritzen, who was born in Nuuk and raised in Ilulissat.
Together with 39 other women, she is competing for a new title and to be able to travel with it to international beauty contests.
Pink dresses on the red carpet
The competition takes place in the Cirkusbygningen in Copenhagen. A round building built in red brick, decorated with a frieze and columns at the entrance. In front of the building lies the red carpet like a tongue, around which we guests have taken our seats. There is an atmosphere of equal parts anticipation and confusion.
The circus building is located between Rådhuspladsen and Tivoli Gardens, and passing tourists stretch their necks. Soon after, they see what we have come for.
Last year’s winner, Josefine Bøttger, and head of the Miss Denmark organization Lisa Lents, come out of the building hand in hand.
Josefine Bøttger wearing a pink beaded dress, crown and sash. Lisa Lents wearing the same color palette and with her arms full of pink roses. A pink dress with sequins and cape in matching slightly sheer fabric.
After them, the participants come forward. They line up in a V formation so that pictures can be taken. One arm rests on the hip. The other down the side. They have tried this before.
Catwalk is harder than you think
When you participate in Miss Denmark, it is not just for the one evening. If you move on from an initial casting, what the organization calls bootcamps awaits. Over four weekends, the finalists in this year’s Miss Denmark competition have, among other things, been trained to stand in front of the camera, use their social media and walk the catwalk.
Especially the last one, Anne-Marie Olsvig Lauritzen told over the phone a few days before the show, she has realized how much work goes into it. Anne-Marie Olsvig Lauritzen is 23 years old, studying to be a midwife at UC Syd and lives in Esbjerg.
She is the mother of twins Theo and Vincent, who were born in April last year. When I ask her about her hopes for the evening, she tells me that there is one prize in particular that she hopes to win: Miss People’s Choice 2026. Later it will turn out that she could have dreamed even bigger.
Cupcakes on the menu
– There’s a break, isn’t there?, I hear a woman ask her friend over the sink, while I myself am sitting in a toilet stall.
– How should I know that?, replies the friend, who is a former Miss Denmark contestant.
– You were actually there last year, is the answer.
– Yes, but I haven’t been to the show, she replies.
We have arrived inside the Circus building, where there is a kind of reception atmosphere before the final show begins. I go to the buffet and taste cupcakes with the finalists’ pictures on them, cupcakes arranged like flower bouquets and mini-sized cupcakes. In an adjacent room, I meet Anne-Marie Olsvig Lauritzen’s mother, Arnanguak Sarina Olsvig. We are talking about her daughter.
– She is so talented, she says.
On today’s occasion, she is wearing a dress sponsored by the same tailor who made her daughter’s dress. She lists her achievements like the proud mother she is. Anne-Marie Olsvig Lauritzen has been a handball goalkeeper and studied sports at GUX Nuuk. She gave the graduation speech for her class. She is a mother of two. And now a finalist for Miss Denmark 2026.
– She just needs to trust herself more, she says, before we move towards the hall where the show itself will take place.
She carries a yellow-green sealskin clutch and paper Greenlandic and Danish flags.
In the middle sits the jury
At 20.00 the show starts. A band sings and plays to a medley of Beatles’ songs before the evening’s emcee Claus Elming steps forward:
– Could we start this show in a better way than with ‘All You Need Is Love’, he asks and encourages us to throw our love at the participants.
This year, the Miss Denmark organization can celebrate its 100th anniversary.
– But is Miss Denmark also relevant today, asks the presenter rhetorically.
It’s no longer just a beauty contest, he says, while I can hear a cocktail being shaken further back in the room. You are also judged on your personality, substance and communication, he says.
Quite how is not obvious to me. This is decided by a jury sitting at the end of a catwalk in the middle of the room. Lisa Lents sits in the middle.
Then the participants come forward in turn. They dance a choreography to Raye’s ‘Where’s My Husband’ in white dresses and beige platform stilettos.
Bottle cooler with Erfalasorput
I have been given a seat at the same table as mother Arnanguak Sarina Olsvig.
We sit close to the catwalk. Here, the finalists go down one by one wearing bikinis.
As a participant in Miss Denmark, Anne-Marie Olsvig Lauritzen has advertised for sponsors via her social media, shared stories from Miss Denmark’s bootcamps and encouraged people to vote for her.
In addition to the main competition, Miss Denmark consists of a number of sub-competitions. There is, among other things, a talent competition, a sports competition and a good friend competition.
And then there is Miss People’s Choice, for which people from outside have been able to vote. On stage stands one of the founders behind the app that has been used to cast votes. He is wearing a gold colored metal tie when he announces the winner: Anne-Marie Olsvig Lauritzen.
– Greenland!, exclaims Arnanguak Sarina Olsvig, who stands up in rapture with a delay of a few seconds.
– I say thank you very much to all those who voted. And especially Greenland. You have cheered me on a lot, and that means a lot to me, says Anne-Marie Olsvig Lauritzen into the microphone.
At our table, a toast is made in white wine. In the bottle cooler is Erfalasorput.
The tension rises
Things are going well for Anne-Marie Olsvig Lauritzen in the competition. She advances from the preliminary round of the competition to the top 15 and then to the top 6. I follow her on stage, try to read her gaze. She smiles for a long time. Receiver thumbs up from mother.
– Now we are nervous, says Arnanguak Sarina Olsvig.
Anne-Marie Olsvig Lauritzen is asked a question by Lisa Lents.
– If you, as Miss Denmark, could change one thing for young women in Denmark today, what would it be and why?
Anne-Marie Olsvig Lauritzen wanted to change the way women and girls see themselves, she says, wearing a light purple strapless evening dress.
– No matter how you look, you are always good enough, she says and thanks for the word.
One last surprise
– Before we choose this year’s Miss Denmark, we have another ambassadorial title that we would like to present, says Claus Elming from the stage and asks Anne-Marie Olsvig Lauritzen to step forward.
– Ladies and gentlemen, meet the new Miss Greenland, he announces.
Anne-Marie Olsvig Lauritzen bends her knees so that she can be wearing a sash and a crown by former Miss Denmark participants.
– You are shaking completely, observes Claus Elming.
The crown on her head glitters. I wonder what it’s made of.
After the winner of Miss Denmark has been chosen, the women enter again in a V-formation. In the middle is Lisa Lents. On either side she has the new Miss Denmark and Miss Greenland.
They smile for the cameras.
