Telenor Copenhagen Marathon launches the capital onto the world stage

The 2017 Telenor Copenhagen Marathon was a huge festival throughout the streets of Copenhagen and Frederiksberg – an event that contributes to promoting the Danish capital abroad.

Over 10,000 runners and 100,000 spectators turned out to support the Telenor Copenhagen Marathon on Sunday the 21st of May. The race was truly a spectacle to behold as everywhere along the course spectators gathered to cheer on and support the runners, turning the Telenor Copenhagen Marathon into a joyous event in the Danish capital city.

"There is no doubt that an event like the Telenor Copenhagen Marathon is of great importance to the city. It creates a terrific atmosphere for the city before, during, and after the race. Also, many international participants come to the city, giving them a chance to experience our beautiful Capital," says mayor of Copenhagen, Frank Jensen (S).

For the first time in several years, the course traversed through the City of Frederiksberg. The famous boulevard of Frederiksberg Alléwas draped in Dannebrog, the Danish flag, for runners and spectators to revelin. Mayor of Frederiksberg, Jørgen Glenthøj (C), was also excited to have the runners in Frederiksberg again.

"It really was a pleasure to be part of this year'smarathon and I would like to thank all the runners and spectators for at remendously festive day. Frederiksberg Allé has a long history with major sporting events, such as the PostNord Denmark cycling race. We were pleased to offer also the marathon runners the chance to experience the thrill of running through the flagged avenue," says Jørgen Glenthøj.

A race with international appeal

This year there was a record number of international runners participating in the Telenor Copenhagen Marathon. With 3680 international runners from 89 different nations, 36.2% of the field travelled for the competition.

"With more than 36% of participants being international, the Copenhagen Marathon has reached a new milestone.  Our goal has been to create a unique running atmosphere and foster an experience with international appeal to match Copenhagen. In addition to the direct-derived turnover in hotels and restaurants, we expect the runners and their families to take the opportunity to experience some of the many attractions and activities Copenhagen also has to offer. The large number of international runners also reaches social media, so chances are we could reach 50% within a few years," says Lars Vallentin, Head of Sport Events at Wonderful Copenhagen.

New date for Telenor Copenhagen Marathon

Next year, both international and Danish runners who wish to participate in the Telenor Copenhagen Marathon will cross the calendar date a week earlier, as the 39th Telenor Copenhagen Marathon will be run on May 13, 2018.

The Telenor Copenhagen Marathon has set a goal of becoming the world's best digital marathon experience, with the 2017 edition posing high levels of digital traffic, there was a strong indication that that goal can be reached.

During the festivities over 60,000 photos were taken and shown over 2 million times; there were 38,000 active app users and an overwhelming interest in uploading images and videos to social media.

These are some of the digital numbers from last Sunday Telenor Copenhagen Marathon, which has a clear ambition to be the world's best digital experience for marathon events.

The race offered a vast number of digital options for the benefit of both spectators and who were eager to take advantage of them. One of the new digital initiatives was the ability to watch live photos and live videos of runners from four live zones on the course, which was a very popular feature. 

"Our digital features have been very popular, and so we will continue forward. This year, more than 60,000 photos were taken during the marathon, and we can see that there was also fierce activity on our website, app, and interactive course map, with 215,000 users active during the race, of which 170,000 were watching the live stream," said Dorte Vibjerg, Director of Sparta.

Important to document the victory on SoMe

The massive user influx created extra demands on the network. Foreseeing the heavy traffic, Telenor set up a 22-meter-high mobile mast to service all spectators and runners. In the start and finish area, everyone could easily enjoy the new features provided by the marathon app, such as live streaming from the course while the race unfolded through the city, and video diplomas for the runners. All this indicates that the marathon has great potential for more digital exploration.

Data traffic through out Telenor's network rose just before the start of the race, at 9.30, indicating runners were uploading one last time before the race. A similar trend repeated itself between 12 – 15, when network traffic reports showed that the runners and spectators were back in the finish area, sharing their accomplishments through pictures, videos on social media.

"We can clearly confirm the trend that runners and spectators want to document their marathon experience through Facebook or Instagram posts. Usually downloads such as streaming video are much more in our network, but Sunday's marathon was a classic example of Danes diligently adding content to their digital channels, "says Peter Nødbak, Network Director at Telenor Denmark.

Statistics: Providing insight into the digital traffic on May 21st

11,500,000 requests for results

38,000 active app users who have used the Telenor CPH Marathon app for 28 minutes

95,000 online users at copenhagenmarathon.com

71,000 online users at map.copenhagenmarathon.dk

60,000 live images, which are shown 2,000,000 times

170,000 activations of live streaming

40,000 activations of live video from the four live zones

Watch a video of the digital marathon here.

Partners and sponsors at Telenor Copenhagen Marathon

Main sponsor: Telenor

Sponsors: BMW, Nike, Erdinger Alkoholfrei, Marathon Sport, Gardena and High5 Partners: Wonderful Copenhagen, Frederiksberg Municipality and Copenhagen Municipality

Media partner: Politiken

Martin van Dijk