Official name	Hirtshals
Subdivision name1	North Jutland County
Subdivision type2	North Jutland County
Subdivision name2	Hjørring Municipality
Established title	Settled
Established date	1860, when the Lighthouse is build
Established title2	Incorporated (city)
Established date2	1919-1931
Leader title	Mayor of Hjørring Municipality
Leader name	Arne Boelt, Socialdemokratiet
Unit pref	Metric
Area total sq mi	359.0
Area total km2	929.5
Area land sq mi	358.7
Area land km2	929.2
Area water sq mi	1.0
Area water km2	0.1
Elevation m	90
Elevation ft	295.5
Population as of	1 January 2011
Population total	6,194
Population density km2	6.82
Population density sq mi	17.67
Population blank1 title	Demonym
Population blank1	Hirtshalsboer
Timezone	Central European Time
Utc offset	+1
Timezone dst	European Summer Time
Utc offset dst	+2
Postal code type	Danish
Postal code	9850
Coordinates display	displayinline,title
Website	Hjørring Municipality
Blank1 info	}}

Hirtshals is a town in Hjørring municipality in Region Nordjylland on the north coast of the island of Vendsyssel-Thy at the top of the Jutland peninsula in northern Denmark, Europe.

The town of Hirtshals

The town of Hirtshals has a population of 6,194 (1 January 2011). Located on the Skagerrak, it is especially known for its fishing and ferry harbours.

It is the home of one of the largest aquariums in Europe, the Nordsøen Oceanarium. It was built in 1984 as Nordsømuseet, The Norths Sea Museum. It got its present name after it was expanded in 1998 with a fish tank containing 4,5 million liters of water, making it the largest in northern Europe. The Oceanarium has 70 different species in its collection. A fire in December 2003 destroyed the new expansion, but the Nordsøen Oceanarium was rebuilt and reopened on July 22, 2005.

The town's 35 meter high lighthouse, ''Hirtshals fyr'' is a local landmark. Building was begun June 28, 1860, and it was first lit on January 1, 1863. It is constructed of red brick, and covered with Dutch tile.

Fishing plays a big role for the town and its inhabitants, as does tourism and the renting of summer homes.

Hirtshals is the Danish hometown for the Norwegian ferry company, Color Line. Each year thousands of Norwegian, German and Dutch tourists travel back and forth from Hirtshals to the Norwegian cities of Kristiansand and Larvik. Previously, Color Line also offered trips to Bergen, Stavanger and Oslo, but decided to stop operating these routes in early 2008. Another ferry operator, Fjord Line now operates a route that goes to Bergen and Stavanger. It has also been possible since the autumn 2010 to travel to Torshavn on the Faroe Islands and to Seyðisfjörður on Iceland with Smyril Line. The shops in Hirtshals thrive on the excessive number of especially its Norwegian visitors, who shop regularly in the small town all year long.

Hirtshals municipality

Until January 1, 2007, Hirtshals was also a municipality (Danish, ''kommune'') in North Jutland County. The municipality covered an area of , and had a total population of 14,088 (2005). Besides Hirtshals it covered the villages Tornby, Vidstrup, Asdal, Tuen, Bindslev, Tversted, Emmersbæk, Lilleheden and Horne. Its last mayor was Knud Størup (independent).

Hirtshals municipality ceased to exist due to ''Kommunalreformen'' ("The Municipality Reform" of 2007). It was merged with existing Hjørring, Løkken-Vrå, and Sindal municipalities to form an enlarged Hjørring municipality. This created a municipality with an area of and a total population of ca. 67,816.

Local Climate

The Sea Level

The sea level has been as high as 1 meter over the norm. But in days where there is no wind, the waves typically won't be higher than max over normal sea level.

Air Temperature (Celsius)

The air in Hirtshals can be foggy sometimes, because of the seawater, which vaporizes. In the winter, the air temperature can fall as low as 1.6 degrees, but in the summer, it can reach over 25 degrees Celsius.

Waves periods

Hirtshals Havnekontor (The local Office of the open sea) do have a meter, who measures how many seconds there is between to waves. It has been between 0.5 sec. up to about 9 seconds all year.

Waveheights

The waves can be high in Hirtshals, but the normal wave heights are about 2-2.5 meters, according to the Harbour Office.

Winddirection

The prevailing wind in Hirtshals is to the south or south-west.

Force of the Wind

The force of the wind in Hirtshals varies. During some winter days it could easily top out at 10 m/s, and in the summer it's much more calm, but there can be strong winds.

Links to Hirtshals Weather

Hirtshals Havnekontor Weathermeasurings, updates every minute (Only in metric)

DMI Hirtshals (Only in metric)'

Weather-Forecast.com Hirtshals (Metric & Imperial)

Webcams of Hirtshals Harbour

2 Webcams on Hirtshals Harbour

*The first one on the page is Pier II, and the second is Frontbassin towards northeast.

Local Radio

Skaga FM, formerly known as Radio Hirtshals, is a local radio station that plays domestic and foreign hits from the 80s, 90s and onwards, and reports on current events happening within the municipality of Hjørring. MHz: 105,6 FM.

The Skaga FM official website (Mainly in Danish, but offers German tourist radio during the summer)

Since the early year 2010, local ferry operator Color Line (serves two ferry routes between Hirtshals and Norway) have had their own radio station, Color Radio, that plays popular songs from mostly the 80's and 90's. Also it gives travelers from Hirtshals to Norway informations about the next departure, and when check-in closes. The radio can be listened to all over Hirtshals town, and from the motorway roundabout near Aabyen at the E39. MHz: 95,3 FM.

External links

Hjørring Municipality's official website (Danish only)

North Sea Museum

References

Municipal statistics: NetBorger Kommunefakta, delivered from KMD aka Kommunedata (Municipal Data)

Municipal mergers and neighbors: Eniro new municipalities map

Category:Cities and towns in North Denmark Region Category:Port cities and towns in Denmark Category:Former municipalities of Denmark

da:Hirtshals de:Hirtshals es:Hirtshals fr:Hirtshals is:Hirtshals it:Hirtshals hu:Hirtshals nl:Hirtshals no:Hirtshals pl:Hirtshals pt:Hirtshals ro:Hirtshals fi:Hirtshals sv:Hirtshals zh:希茨海尔斯

name	Mika
background	solo_singer
birth name	Michael Holbrook Penniman, Jr.
alias	Mica Penniman, Mika Penniman
born	August 18, 1983Beirut, Lebanon
origin	London, England, UK
instrument	Vocals, keyboards, Piano
genre	Pop, rock, power pop, pop rock, glam rock
occupation	Musician, singer-songwriter
years active	2006–present
label	Casablanca, Island, Universal Music
website	Mikasounds.com }}

Mika (; born Michael Holbrook Penniman, Jr.; 18 August 1983) is a British singer-songwriter.

After recording his first extended play, ''Dodgy Holiday EP'', Mika released his first full-length studio album, ''Life in Cartoon Motion'', on Island Records in 2007. ''Life in Cartoon Motion'' sold more than 5.6 million copies worldwide and helped Mika win a BRIT Award and receive a Grammy Award nomination. Two years later Mika released his second extended play, ''Songs for Sorrow'', of which limited edition copies are now sold out worldwide. In 2009 Mika released his second studio album, ''The Boy Who Knew Too Much''. Finishing his worldwide tour, Mika started writing and recording material for his third album, ''The Origin of Love'', stating it will be "more simplistic pop, less layered than the last one".

Biography

Mika was born in Beirut, the third of five children born to a Lebanese mother and an American father. When he was a year old his family was forced to leave war-torn Lebanon and moved to Paris. The first piano piece he learned to play was "Les Champs-Élysées", by Joe Dassin. At age seven, he wrote his first song, which he describes as an "awful" piano instrumental called "Angry". The family moved to London when he was nine years old. There, he attended the Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle, where he experienced severe bullying. He also had problems with dyslexia. In response to these experiences Mika was home-schooled by his mother at the age of 12, for six to eight months. He then attended St Philip's School in Kensington, where he was the head of the Schola Cantorum (the St. Philip's Choir). Later he attended Westminster School and the Royal College of Music, which he left to record his first album at Casablanca Records. He has also slightly altered his given name, Mica, changing the "c" to a "k" because he was frustrated by how often people would mispronounce it.

Mika comes from a family of seven (Mika was one of five siblings). He has one younger brother and one younger sister along with two older sisters. His sister Yasmine, who works as an artist under the ''nom de plume'' DaWack, painted the cartoon art for his two albums ''Life in Cartoon Motion'' and ''The Boy Who Knew Too Much'', and she is currently a fashion designer. His sister Paloma was severely injured in October 2010 after falling from a third-storey window and being impaled on railings. Mika speaks French and Spanish fluently; in an interview on 28 September 2009 with The Chris Moyles Show on BBC Radio 1 he commented that he had taken Mandarin Chinese for 9 years but did not speak it very well; he also mentioned that his three sisters did all speak it fluently.

As a child Mika was trained by Alla Ardakov (Ablaberdyeva), a Russian opera professional, and later attended the Royal College of Music in London. His debut radio appearance was on Dermot O'Leary's BBC Radio 2 show in September 2006. He also appeared on ''Later... with Jools Holland'', and on ''The Friday Night Project'' on 19 January 2007. Mika is rumoured to have a vocal range of five octaves, but claims that it is actually closer to three and a half octaves.

Mika denied allegations that he is steering clear of sexual taboos in order to appeal to the US market, pointing to the song "Billy Brown", which is about a married man who has an affair with another man. He is quoted as saying, "If I was worried about sexual taboos I certainly wouldn't have made the record I made. It has nothing to do with that. It has more to do with self-respect." In an interview in the US gay magazine ''Out'' he stated that "there is a way of discussing sexuality without using labels."

In a September 2009 interview in ''Gay & Night'' Mika commented on his sexuality: "I've never ever labelled myself. But having said that; I've never limited my life, I've never limited who I sleep with... Call me whatever you want. Call me bisexual, if you need a term for me..." Later he stated in an interview with This Is London "I consider myself label-less because I could fall in love with anybody - literally - any type, any body. I'm not picky."

In March 2010 Mika was named in France a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters for services to music. He is the youngest person to receive the award.

Musical career

Early career: 2004–2006

Mika's first single was a limited 7"/download release called "Relax, Take It Easy" (2006). It was play listed by BBC Radio 1 in the United Kingdom, and made Record of the Week by DJ Scott Mills. The ''Dodgy Holiday EP'' also became available for download. The song "Billy Brown" was available for free download for a week from the iTunes Store. A studio outtake titled 'Overrated', which was recorded in 2004, was "unofficially" released online.

''Life in Cartoon Motion'': 2006–2008

In January 2007 Mika was on the top of the BBC News website's Sound of 2007 poll. His single "Grace Kelly" was released by Universal Music for digital download on 8 January 2007. It reached number one on the UK Singles Chart on 21 January 2007.

Mika's début album ''Life in Cartoon Motion'' was released on 5 February 2007, and has brought comparison with artists such as Freddie Mercury, Scissor Sisters, Elton John, Prince, Robbie Williams and David Bowie. "Grace Kelly," in fact, references Mercury in the lyrics: "I try to be like Grace Kelly/But all her looks were too sad/So I try a little Freddie/I've gone identity mad."

Mika was the musical act for ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' on 26 March 2007 and 14 February 2008 and for ''Jimmy Kimmel Live'' on 27 March 2007. He also performed live on ''So You Think You Can Dance'' on 26 July 2007.

thumb|upright|left|Mika live in concertMika toured the United States in June 2007, with support from Sara Bareilles and Natalia Lesz.

On 10 October 2007 Mika began his Dodgy Holiday Tour, playing at venues across Europe. On 17 November 2007 Mika started the UK leg of his tour with support from Palladium. The North American leg of his tour began in January 2008 with support from The Midway State and Creature and continued through February with a stop in Los Angeles for the 50th Grammy Awards.

His debut album ''Life in Cartoon Motion'' has a coming of age theme and deals with his transition from childhood to the present, though he has stated that not all of the songs are autobiographical. His songs often deal with difficult topics. For instance, in "Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)" the theme of larger women suffering from discrimination is explored. Mika has said that the fact that his mother was a big woman, and that he had seen the prejudices against her, helped him to write the song. In another example of dealing with more difficult subject matter, in the song "Billy Brown", Mika writes about a married man who has a homosexual affair.

On 20 February 2008 Mika opened the 2008 BRIT Awards with a live performance of "Love Today," "Grace Kelly," and a duet, "Standing in the Way of Control," with Beth Ditto. He was later awarded the BRIT Award for Best British Breakthrough Artist.

Mika has reportedly written songs for other musicians, saying "I write songs for other people under different names most of the time. I have a little family of three names. One of them has been discovered – it's Alice."

''The Boy Who Knew Too Much'': 2009–2010

Prior to the release of his second studio album, Mika released a limited-edition extended play titled ''Songs for Sorrow'' on 8 June 2009. The EP includes 4 tracks and a 68-page book featuring lyrics and exclusive illustrated interpretations of each song by some of Mika’s favourite artists. The song "Blue Eyes" was used to promote the EP, and was A-listed on the BBC Radio 2 playlist.

Mika's second studio album ''The Boy Who Knew Too Much'' was released on 21 September 2009. Mika recorded the majority of the album in Los Angeles with producer and musician Greg Wells, who also produced his debut album ''Life In Cartoon Motion''. The album has been described as Mika dealing with his adolescent teenage years and "in a sense is kind of part two" of his first album. He got a Bafta in 2006 for best Male Artist Worldwide.

The album was originally titled ''We Are Golden'' after the first single from the album, "We Are Golden". On July 20, 2009 in an on-air interview with DJ Jo Whiley on BBC Radio 1, Mika revealed he was considering renaming the album, because he wanted "something a little more ridiculous." On 6 August 2009 it was confirmed that the album's title would change to ''The Boy Who Knew Too Much''.

The first single from the album, "We Are Golden", made its radio debut in the United Kingdom on 20 July 2009, on BBC Radio 2 and was released for download on 6 September 2009, with the physical release following on 7 September 2009. The single debuted at number 4 on the UK Singles Chart on 13 September 2009. Mika's promotional tour of the single included live performances at the iTunes Festival 2009 at The Roundhouse in Camden, London and on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross in September 2009. It was reported that Mika spent £25,000 on drinks after inviting fans to join him at his local pub via Twitter on 7 September 2009 to celebrate the release of his single.

"Blame It on the Girls" was released as the second single in the United States and Japan. This was alongside "Rain" being the second single in the United Kingdom which was released on November 23. It was confirmed that "Blame It On The Girls" will be the third single in the United Kingdom and will be released 15 February 2010. His American promotional tour consisted of live performances on Good Morning America in New York City on 25 September 2009 and the Late Show with David Letterman on 14 October 2009.

In November 2009 Mika performed 'Rain' and 'We Are Golden' live at the Sydney Opera House for the Australian Idol Grand Final. He also performed on Sunrise on the Seven Network in Australia. On 30 November 2009, Mika performed "Let It Snow" in a duet with Japanese pop star Hikaru Utada. On 21 March 2010 Mika performed "Gave It All Away" with Boyzone on ITV1 for ''Boyzone: A Tribute To Stephen Gately''.

In May 2010 Mika released his new single "Kick Ass", the title track to the 2010 Marvel Comics film "Kick-Ass".

''The Origin of Love'': 2011-2012

Mika has begun recording his new album. He has stated in numerous interviews that the new album will be more simplistic and less layered than the previous album. Mika announced the title of the album, The Origin of Love in a french interview on 17 June. Mika has said in numerous interviews that he will include a number of French tracks on the album. He has also said that "(The album is) quite weird. It's a little crazy, it's like a mix of Daft Punk and Fleetwood Mac". He describes the album as less child-like and more serious. The first single released from the album is ''Elle me dit''. It is Mika's first French track. It was released online on 1 July 2011. The album is expected to be released in 2012.

Releases

Discography

;Studio albums

2007: ''Life in Cartoon Motion''

2009: ''The Boy Who Knew Too Much''

2012: ''The Origin Of Love''

;EPs

2006: ''Dodgy Holiday''

2007: ''iTunes Festival: London''

2009: ''Songs for Sorrow''

2009: ''iTunes Live: London Festival '09''

Filmography

2007 ''Live in Cartoon Motion''

2008 ''Live Parc des Princes Paris''

Awards and nominations

style="background:#B0C4DE;"	Year	Organisation	Nominated work	Award	Result
			Sound of 2007
	Best-Selling New Artist
Best-Selling Male Pop/Rock Artist
Best-Selling British Artist
	Best Solo Artist
rowspan="2"	Best Track
	Record of the Year	Third place
	The 50th Grammy Awards	"Love Today"	Best Dance Recording
	Mika	British Male Solo Artist
''Life in Cartoon Motion''	British Album
	British Single
	British Breakthrough Act
2009	MTV Europe Music Awards 2009	Best Male
	2010	2010 BRIT Awards	British Male Solo Artist

Other awards and nominations
Year	Organisation	Nominated work	Award	Result
			Best Breakthrough Artist
Best Hair on an Artist
Vodafone Live Awards	Best Male Artist
UK Festival Award	Best Festival Pop Act
BT Digital Music Awards	Best Pop Act
	Best International Non-Spanish Language Artist
rowspan="2"	Best International Non-Spanish Language Song
	Best Track
	Best British Act
Best Male Artist
		International Revelation of the Year
"Relax, Take It Easy"	International Song of the Year
''Life in Cartoon Motion''	International Album of the Year
"Relax, Take It Easy"	Music Video of the Year
Swiss Music Awards		Best International Newcomer
rowspan="2"	Best International Male Artist
Best International Newcomer
	Best British Male Artist
''Life in Cartoon Motion''	Best British Album
Amadeus Awards (Austrian Music Awards)		Best International Single
MTV Video Music Awards Japan	rowspan="2"	Best New Artist Video
MTV Australia Video Music Awards	Video of the Year
TRL Awards (Italy)	Mika	Man of the Year
		Best Selling British Song
	Songwriter of the Year
Nickelodeon UK Kids' Choice Awards	Best Male Singer
MTV Asia Awards	Favorite Breakthrough Artist
	Best International Pop
Best International Male Artist

Band members

Current members

Cherisse Ofosu Osei - Drums

Jimmy Sims - Bass and Keyboards

David Whitmey - Keyboards

Martin Waugh - Guitars

iMMa - backing vocals

Ida Falk Winland - backing vocals

Ben Epstein - Bass ''(temporary replacement for Jimmy Sims)''

Former members

Luke Juby - Keyboards

Mike Choi - Bass

Saraynade - Backup Vocals

Sam Smith - Backup Vocals

References

External links

Mika's official website

Category:1983 births Category:Living people Category:Alumni of the Royal College of Music Category:Bisexual musicians Category:BRIT Award winners Category:British people of Lebanese descent Category:English male singers Category:English singer-songwriters Category:Lebanese male singers Category:Ivor Novello Award winners Category:LGBT musicians from the United Kingdom Category:Old Westminsters Category:People from London Category:Wonky Pop acts Category:World Music Awards winners Category:Pseudonymous musicians Category:People educated at Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle Category:Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres

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