COPENHAGEN (Reuters) – Denmark will choose its entry for the Eurovision Song Contest without an audience and top division football matches will be played behind closed doors after Danish authorities on Friday urged cancellation of events attended by more than 1,000 people to limit the spread of coronavirus.
Organizers said 10,000 tickets had been sold for the Danish leg of the Eurovision Song Contest due to be held on Saturday at the Royal Arena in Copenhagen.
“Authorities urge organizers to postpone or cancel events with more than 1000 participants,” Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said at a press conference.
Denmark has 21 confirmed cases of people infected with coronavirus. The Nordic country has not had any deaths, and one person had recovered, health authorities said on Friday.
The Danish Football Association said all Superliga games would be played this weekend without spectators while football club FC Copenhagen said it would play its three scheduled home games in March in an empty stadium, including a UEFA Europa League game against Turkish side Istanbul Basaksehir.
Clubs Brondby and Lyngby said on Thursday that players and staff were in isolation after they met and hugged former Denmark international Thomas Kahlenberg, who has since tested positive for coronavirus, at a match last weekend.
(Reporting by Andreas Mortensen and Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen; Editing by Toby Chopra)
