Welcome to Lysningen

A new climate stage created by Bogforum and Andel

In 2026, Bogforum launches a new climate stage in collaboration with Andel. Lysningen will become a hub for conversations about climate, nature, and the green transition, with literature as the gateway to some of the most pressing questions of our time.

The climate crisis has not gone away. It remains real and present in the form of extreme weather events, floods, wildfires, and rising CO₂ levels. Yet it now occupies less space in the public conversation than it once did. At a time marked by war, economic uncertainty, and constant news flows, climate is competing with many other agendas for our attention.

That is why Bogforum is launching Lysningen this year – a new climate stage created as part of a three-year partnership with Andel. It introduces a new meeting place for climate, nature, literature, and sustainability at this year’s festival, taking place from 30 October to 1 November at Bella Center Copenhagen.

For Bogforum’s Festival Director, Andreas Nordkild Poulsen, the initiative is a natural extension of the festival’s ambition:

“Bogforum is a place where people gather around what deserves attention. The climate crisis is not just a headline, but a story we are still trying to understand. With Lysningen, we are creating a space where audiences can step into conversations that offer insight, reflection, and a sense of agency.”

Voices shaping the conversation

At Lysningen, audiences can experience voices from literature, culture, research, and nature, including author and public commentator Emma Holten, author Josefine Klougart, journalist and Zetland co-founder Lea Korsgaard, physician and professor Bente Klarlund, and author Theis Ørntoft.

The programme also features authors including Malte Tellerup, Emmy Laura Pérez Fjalland, Andrea Hejlskov, Silja E. K. Henderson and Rasmus Theisen, as well as nature communicators Oskar Dahlin and Morten D.D. Hansen.

When climate, literature and conversation meet

The new stage, Lysningen, brings together stage programme, lounge space and communication in one area, inviting audiences to immerse themselves in climate issues at the heart of the festival.

The name points to a place where something opens up. A place to pause, gain perspective and find direction in a complex time. Here, there is room for reflection and for exploring climate through literature, conversation and new perspectives.

The ambition of Lysningen is to create a space where audiences do more than listen – they stay, reflect and engage in dialogue. The programme will span a wide range of topics, from climate science and energy policy to ways of understanding nature, ways of living, hope, and the relationship between humans and the natural world. Conversations will also touch on everyday life: food, choices, community and the longing for connection in a time shaped by speed and distance.

Journalist and climate activist Iben Maria Zeuthen will serve as the stage’s resident host, tying the programme together.

For Andel, Lysningen is a space where the climate conversation can receive the attention and proximity it deserves:

“When everything is competing for our attention, something inevitably gets lost. Right now, that is the climate. And what we do not read and talk about, we slowly stop acting on. That is why there is more need than ever for conversation, presence and community,” says Rikke Trikker, Senior Vice President and Head of HR and Communications at Andel, adding:

“We need spaces where we can understand the major transformations we are in the midst of. Here, literature has a unique role to play, as it makes complex issues human and relatable,” says Rikke Trikker.

The partnership between Bogforum and Andel runs over three years and will continue to evolve with new formats and themes. At the same time, the initiative builds on Bogforum’s ongoing efforts to strengthen sustainability within the festival itself. In 2025, Bella Center Copenhagen became B Corp certified as one of the world’s first major congress and event centres, a certification awarded to companies that meet high standards of social and environmental performance.