We feel proud to bid all Consulegis members welcome to the spring conference and AGM which will take place on 2 – 5 May in Copenhagen, Denmark.

The Kingdom of Denmark is the homeland of the Vikings and of the world’s oldest monarchy. Our very popular Queen Margrethe II can trace her ancestors back 1,000 years. She also rules over the Faroe Islands and Greenland. The Danish mainland which comprises the peninsula of Jutland, the islands of Funen and Zealand, as well as 404 more islands of all sizes, is of modest size but has an unusually long coastline (7,300 km). In fact, even the Danish Parliament is placed on an isle surrounded by canals on all sides; this is the very heart of Copenhagen where the city was founded 800 years ago. The Danish capital (København in the local vernacular) has for centuries been considered the gateway to Scandinavia and the Nordic Countries, and since the collapse of the Soviet Union it has also become a gateway to the Baltic Sea region. There is a well-developed traffic network, accomplished by ferries and bridges such as the Great Belt Bridge linking Funen and Zealand, and the Oresund Bridge linking Denmark and Sweden.

One of the hotels we have chosen to propose to the delegates, the "Phoenix Copenhagen” is situated close to the royal palace and thereby closest to the offices of Lett & Co. Almost as close although located on the waterfront is the "Copenhagen Strand”. We have been assured that but for the lack of an in-house restaurant this 3-star hotel actually is of 4-star standard. As for the "Phoenix Copen-hagen” this is a regular 4-star hotel located just opposite the venue for our general meeting and the specialist groups in the historical Count Moltke’s Mansion.

There will be two different venues for our Annual General Meeting, the board meeting and the specialist groups respectively. They are all within walking distance of the two hotels which we have chosen.

The programme of the Consulegis Spring 2002 conference will start on the evening of Thursday 2 May with a welcome reception of delegates at the offices of Lett & Co.
On Friday morning the delegates will assemble at Count Moltke’s Mansion for the specialist workshops while their partners will have the opportunity to be part of a social programme whose highlights will be specified in the official programme.
The Consulegis board meeting will be held in the afternoon of the same day at the offices of Lett & Co, thus allowing other delegates and their partners to spend the remainder of the day shopping or taking in the sights of downtown Copenhagen. At night a dinner will be offered at Grøften, a rustic restaurant in the world-famous Tivoli-amusement park founded in 1843.
The Consulegis Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held on Saturday morning, May 3, 2002 in Count Moltke’s Mansion. A detailed programme and agenda will follow. After lunch there will be time for joint sightseeing for all delegates and their partners. Saturday’s event will close with a gala dinner in the splendid setting of Axelborg.
On Sunday before departure there will be the possibility of participating in outings in the vicinity of your hotel or to participate in the "Castle Tour of North Zealand”, a 7-hour tour that includes a visit to Kronborg Slot in Elsinore, the setting for Shakespeare’s Hamlet. For the pleasure of any golfers among you we will also look into the possibility of arranging to go to a golf course north of Copenhagen.

As several other international events (such as the Scandinavian Furniture Fair) take place in Copenhagen in the same period of time, we do urge delegates to book their hotel before 15 February, preferably by 1 February 2002 as there will be few or no vacancies around the end of April, beginning of May.

A final note concerning currency: although hotel prices also are indicated in EUR, Denmark does not participate in the eurozone, so please remember to get Danish kroner (the EUR exchange rate as of 2 January 2002 was 7.43). Alternatively major credit cards are, of course, accepted in all major cities.

We look forward to seeing as many of you as possible. We will soon be forwarding your official AGM programme as well as registration and payment forms for the proposed excursions.

Esben Bigaard
Lett & Co