- 5/30/2025
Scandinavia with Simon Reeve episode 3
Category
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TravelTranscript
00:00I'm on the rugged edge of Europe, visiting five Nordic countries.
00:10Incredible, it's incredible.
00:12Travelling through glorious forests and spectacular fjords.
00:16I think Norway has a solid claim to be the most beautiful country in the world.
00:22I mean, look at it.
00:24Wow, the dog's pulling a car.
00:27It's more than half a million square miles of extremes.
00:31This is low, this is low.
00:33This is my life.
00:35Somebody's holding on to it, yeah?
00:41Off we go.
00:43I'm hoping to understand how they've built some of the happiest societies on the planet.
00:47Hey guys. Good morning.
00:49Good morning.
00:51And who's we got here?
00:53Oh, no.
00:55Welcome, welcome.
00:57This is the most traditional Danish lunch I have seen.
01:01Yes.
01:02And why they now feel they're in the firing line.
01:04Santa Park is also a nuclear bunker.
01:07Yes, very much so.
01:09They are preparing to defend Finland.
01:16Bloody hell.
01:18You're wearing these in urban Sweden?
01:21Yes.
01:22There's another side to Scandinavia.
01:25Ready to fire!
01:26On this final leg of my Scandinavian journey, I'm travelling from southern Sweden into Denmark.
01:45Two thirds of Sweden is covered in trees, nearly 90 billion of them, and a population of just over 10 million people.
01:59Swedes love a cabin in the woods.
02:01Not bad, eh?
02:08I think more than anywhere, Sweden really defines Scandinavia.
02:14Tradition, modern design, gender equality, ABBA, and flat pack furniture.
02:20Half of Swedes have access to a holiday home like a simple cabin by a lake or deep in the forest.
02:28Nothing fancy.
02:29Just somewhere wholesome to get away.
02:31Where they can eat their meatballs, light some candles, and get nude in a sauna.
02:36So Swedish.
02:37What do you mean I'm going for cliches?
02:39For a generation, Swedes have done incredibly well.
02:56They've excelled in rankings of the healthiest, wealthiest, happiest people on earth.
03:01In many ways, since the 1960s, Sweden has been the poster child for Scandi's success and those famous Scandinavian liberal values.
03:11But of course, that's not the whole story.
03:13All right, here we are.
03:18Ready to fire!
03:19Fire!
03:24Those lovely liberal Swedes are also one of the world's leading arms exporters.
03:28Let's fire!
03:29Let's fire!
03:30Black blaster, we're clear!
03:34Hit him!
03:35Look, look, look.
03:40Bloody hell.
03:42There are car alarms going off down there.
03:44That is much more than a shock.
03:46It's through your whole body and in the entire area.
03:51It's slightly seismic.
03:55Swedish arms company Bofors has a 40 square mile weapons testing facility.
04:00One of the largest in Europe.
04:05The neutral Swedes avoided, some would say dodged, fighting in both world wars.
04:10But now they make and export more weapons per head of population than any country other than Russia and Israel.
04:16Five.
04:17Four.
04:18Three.
04:19Two.
04:20One.
04:21Fire!
04:23They're conducting hundreds and hundreds of tests here every year now as the Swedish military and Scandinavia enters a new era.
04:31Many Scandinavians used to think they live in a safe neighborhood.
04:37But after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, everything changed.
04:41Many now think it poses a direct threat to Scandinavia as well.
04:46Sweden abandoned neutrality, joined the NATO military alliance and ramped up weapons production even more.
04:52For Colonel Stefan Kroll, business at the Bofors Test Centre is booming.
04:58The defence industry all over Europe goes full speed ahead now.
05:02They're building new factories, building new production lines, going 24-7.
05:07And it's all due to the war in Europe, ongoing.
05:12There's almost been a handbrake turn and funding has increased dramatically.
05:19Yes. In a way it's dramatic and it's a change of mindset.
05:24The threat levels have rise and it's a huge demand of ammunition right now that hasn't been there since the Second World War.
05:35Wartime production mode? Is that what we're seeing?
05:38In some way, yes.
05:40The Swedes were neutral for decades and decades.
05:46And as a result, they didn't feel they could rely on anyone for their defence.
05:50They built up their own defence industry.
05:54There is really no other country of comparable size, of comparable population that can produce its own fighter jets and submarines.
06:03They can do that in Sweden.
06:06Sweden!
06:10The Swedes make some of the most advanced weapon systems in the world.
06:15In one naval exercise, a stealthy Swedish submarine even sank a US aircraft carrier.
06:21This is gorgeous.
06:25There's much about this region we don't always recognise.
06:28As I saw in Finland, there's a steeliness.
06:31They're also practical, competent and innovative.
06:34I headed to Stockholm, the capital, to find out more about what makes them tick.
06:43So, I'm travelling into the centre of Stockholm and I'm getting a lift.
06:48Hello, Maria.
06:51Welcome.
06:52Is it OK to come on?
06:53Yes, of course.
06:55That's not just a handshake.
06:56Yeah.
06:57Oh, perfect.
06:58You're welcome.
07:01This isn't just a fast boat.
07:04It's a boat that flies.
07:10This beauty, the Candela Electric Hydrofoil.
07:14I'm sure you'll see it in a Bond film at some point.
07:16It is so smooth as to be quite unnerving.
07:22You don't really realise the speed that you're doing until you look around.
07:27This battery-powered boat leaves virtually no wake
07:31and uses a fraction of the energy of other speedboats.
07:35They're also hoping to use the technology for local ferries.
07:39A speedboat like this can be yours for just a few hundred thousand.
07:42Splash down.
07:47We've just landed.
07:49Right in the middle of Stockholm.
07:51This is the way to arrive.
07:54I might insist on this in the future.
07:56All right.
07:57Thank you so much, Maria.
07:59Thank you very much indeed.
08:00What an amazing way to arrive.
08:09Ah!
08:12Central Stockholm.
08:13Thank you, Maria.
08:16Stockholm's often described as the most beautiful city in Scandinavia.
08:20Admittedly mainly by Swedes.
08:22Like much of Scandinavia, it's well-kept, charming,
08:25with functioning public transport.
08:27Bit boring.
08:29Locals certainly seem very content.
08:31Sweden and its neighbours always top the international league tables for happiness.
08:36So how on earth do they do it?
08:38I wanted someone to explain, so I headed to meet a man described as looking like a hipster Jesus.
08:43Hey, Simon, right?
08:45Michael Dahlian is a professor at the renowned Stockholm School of Economics.
08:49So, big question, what is, it's been called the Nordic Model.
08:54Yeah.
08:55The Scandinavian way of running an economy.
08:58How would you explain that?
08:59Well, I think I'd use two words.
09:02Welfare, economy.
09:04We want everybody to have equal opportunity.
09:08We have free healthcare, free education, free virtually everything.
09:14But we also want everybody to contribute.
09:18We're all in it together.
09:19This is key.
09:21You get a lot as a Swede, and welfare benefits are generous.
09:26But people are also expected to play their part.
09:29Please mind the brakes.
09:31Please mind the brakes, okay.
09:33The public are expected to work and pay their taxes, to be productive members of society,
09:37not stay on benefits.
09:39Off we go.
09:41Mike was a professor of economics and wellbeing, welfare and happiness.
09:44He's ranked number two in the world in his field.
09:47And he wanted to show me how Swedes are all in it together.
09:50Tell me about your tattoos, by the way.
09:53You've got some pretty distinctive markings.
09:57Yeah, these are all notes to sell.
09:59If I give 70%, it's not perfect.
10:02It's never the best, but it's good enough.
10:05Do something to 70%.
10:08Yeah, so never give 100%, because then you will burn out.
10:11You'll have performance anxiety that everything needs to be perfect.
10:15What does the eight signify?
10:17So the eight is the number of seconds I need to give myself before I react to something.
10:24I did the math, and eight is enough.
10:26You did the math?
10:27I always do the math. I can't help myself.
10:29You're an economics professor.
10:31Of course you did the math.
10:33Well, the traffic lights have changed.
10:35Ah, wonderful.
10:37There you go.
10:38Michael says give it 70%.
10:39Economics is a hot topic here in Scandinavia.
10:43Partly because tax rates are among the highest in the world.
10:46You're doing beautifully.
10:48Yeah, I've got to put down a lot.
10:50But their disposable income, after they've paid taxes, is actually really high.
10:54Because so much here is free.
10:56Universities, healthcare, some elderly care and especially childcare.
11:00By all accounts, this is a pretty good place to raise a child.
11:03What's going on here?
11:04What's going on here?
11:08I'd say this is a dad's group.
11:11Enjoying their coffee.
11:13Latte papas.
11:15Hey guys.
11:16Good morning.
11:18It's a toddler's group.
11:20And you all look very calm.
11:21How much paternity leave do you get in Sweden?
11:25480 days.
11:27480 days.
11:29Yeah.
11:31And is that total parental leave or that's paternity leave for dads?
11:36Total for both.
11:38And who pays the paternity leave?
11:41Well, the government.
11:43Or taxes.
11:44Or taxes.
11:45Yeah.
11:46We all do that.
11:47I'm coming in if that's okay.
11:49I'll move slowly.
11:52I mean, I feel this is not just accepted, it's enjoyed, it's part of life.
11:59Would you agree?
12:00Do you know this?
12:02I've been home for six months, but I can't see it affect me negatively in any way.
12:08It's natural.
12:09But it's also tactical by society, isn't it?
12:13Because it's ensuring that women not just continue to provide economically for the family, but also for the state as well.
12:22It would be super wasteful to take all the moms that are super smart.
12:28We don't want to put them off the market.
12:30They contribute so much to our economy and welfare.
12:34And of course, this being Sweden, I think women take up a greater percentage of degrees than men as well.
12:40So they're the better educated section of the workforce.
12:43We mean that.
12:44If you do the math, and I love doing the math, for every month that the dad takes paternal leave, the average increase in salary for the mother increases.
12:55So it's, it's pure mathematics and economics. It's good for everyone.
13:01Almost as one, the dads have said, it's nap time. We've got to go. They've got a schedule and they know what it is.
13:15It's easy to start thinking everything's perfect here. Of course it isn't. Sweden has problems familiar in other Western countries. An aging population, faltering economic growth.
13:29And beneath the surface, this country has some more dramatic, troubling fault lines.
13:33I travelled south to the city of Malmo.
13:45Can you just check, is this it?
13:51John?
13:52I suppose it's the babies here?
13:54I'm Simon.
13:56Simon.
13:57I'm nice to see you.
13:58John Wallander runs an elite police unit.
14:09Bloody hell, John.
14:10This is our armed vehicle.
14:13And basically we use it in high risk tasks.
14:19This is the first police edition of this vehicle in the world.
14:24Some military units use it as well.
14:28That is quite the beast.
14:30Absolutely.
14:32The Swedish police are arming up to confront an extraordinary crime wave.
14:39What's been happening here is completely staggering.
14:41There have been hundreds of shootings.
14:45Hand grenades have been thrown into buildings.
14:48It's been described as low intensity conflict.
14:53The Prime Minister here has said Sweden has never known anything like this.
14:59Roughly ten years ago, violent crime began to rise, dramatically.
15:04Deadly shootings among drug gangs, largely run by people from immigrant backgrounds, have since more than tripled.
15:11The gun murder rate in Stockholm is now roughly 30 times that of London.
15:16Sweden has the highest gun crime death rate in Europe, after Montenegro and Albania.
15:22And it's not just guns.
15:24Here's a bit of a clue to what this squad does.
15:27John is the head of one of Sweden's three bomb squads.
15:32Welcome.
15:34We have gathered a whole lot of things during our missions.
15:38This is what we're dealing with.
15:40We've got grenades here.
15:41The hand grenades are being used in the criminal conflicts.
15:48It's absolutely lethal.
15:49It's an astonishing situation.
15:51Yeah.
15:52And most of the hand grenades being thrown are being thrown by very young boys and girls.
15:59What sort of age is very young?
16:00We're talking high school age, 14, 15 years old.
16:05Seriously?
16:06Yeah.
16:07Being used by the older criminals, given them assignments to, okay, throw this grenade on this site.
16:14That is quite staggering.
16:16Yeah.
16:17It's totally non-acceptable.
16:18Kids throwing hand grenades.
16:21Yeah.
16:22Somewhere around 2018, we experienced a rapidly increasing numbers of homemade bombs, hand grenades and so on.
16:31Mostly homemade bombs, IEDs.
16:35IEDs, improvised explosive devices.
16:38Yeah.
16:39This is a phrase we only normally hear about war zones.
16:44Yeah, I know.
16:45But this is what you're encountering.
16:47Yeah, absolutely.
16:48This is one of the typical thermos bombs.
16:52Thermos bombs.
16:53It's a thermos flask?
16:54Yeah.
16:55Just a common thermos flask.
16:56For hot water?
16:57And the criminals have stuffed them with dynamite.
17:00And then you have a very potent ID.
17:03Gangs are using this in Sweden?
17:06Yeah.
17:07Around a hundred a year in criminal context.
17:10Use it.
17:11A year?
17:12Yeah, a year.
17:13Being used in urban areas where people are living.
17:17Two a week?
17:18Yeah.
17:19That's astonishing.
17:21Gang warfare has exploded here, fueled by the rise in cocaine use in Sweden and across Europe.
17:28Gangs have taken advantage of liberal policies that children shouldn't be arrested and actively recruited them.
17:34Police say there's now around 1,200 child foot soldiers, bombers and even contract killers in their early teens working for the gangs.
17:42So they're giving me a little bit of a sense of what it is to be in the squad.
17:51The situation is out of control.
17:53Bomb units can get four call-outs a day.
17:56Now let's go for the check-in.
18:03Oh, my God.
18:04There's more.
18:05That's the front panel as well?
18:07OK.
18:09Here we go.
18:13A fan has just started up.
18:15Yes.
18:16It has built-in fans.
18:18Built-in fans and cooling system.
18:24Absolutely.
18:25So the hands are clear.
18:26The hands are the most unprotected.
18:29If anything explodes, you'll live, but you might lose your hands.
18:32But you need the feeling in your hands.
18:35That's why we don't use gloves.
18:37Your guys are wearing these into situations in urban Sweden?
18:43Yes.
18:45OK.
18:46We'll walk out.
18:48Overall, many crime rates here are around the European average.
18:55How on earth do you guys do this?
18:58But exploitation of children in crime and gangland bombings are among the worst in the developed world.
19:05Not long after I visited, Sweden recorded 30 bombings in one month.
19:11It feels like a situation Sweden has still not got full control of.
19:16No, I think ten years ago, no one of us could foresee that coming.
19:22But today, it's our reality.
19:26How on earth has Sweden got to this?
19:30The land of ABBA is now top of all Western countries for IED bombings.
19:35The rise in violence follows an increase in immigration.
19:43Most of the perpetrators, as well as the victims, come from immigrant communities.
19:49It's caused many Swedes to question long-cherished liberal ideals.
19:55Back in Stockholm, I arranged to meet someone who's witnessed the violence firsthand.
19:59How she is?
20:02Hi, Faiza!
20:05Do you want to come round?
20:0726-year-old Faiza Idl is a poet who's written about her life growing up in Sweden in a tricky neighbourhood.
20:13Nice to meet you too, Simon Reeve. Hello.
20:16Hello.
20:18So, we're in the centre of Stockholm.
20:20Does this feel like your Stockholm, your city?
20:24No, it doesn't.
20:26It doesn't feel like home.
20:27So, how do you feel when you come here?
20:30As a tourist.
20:31Really?
20:33An outsider?
20:34Yes.
20:36That's not good.
20:37No, it's not.
20:39That's why I write about it in, like, it's two different countries in one country.
20:43Like, it's Sweden and our Sweden.
20:46Faiza was born and raised here.
20:49Her family were refugees from Somalia 31 years ago.
20:52In recent decades, Swedes welcomed refugees from world conflicts, more than 100,000 from the wars in the Balkans, and hundreds of thousands from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan.
21:04Many young men.
21:05Asylum immigration into Sweden has been roughly four times the rate in other Western European countries.
21:12Housing's been provided, but often far from city centres, in estates where up to 90% of residents are now from immigrant backgrounds.
21:21So, this is Rinkeby?
21:22Yes.
21:23And Tensta.
21:25Yes.
21:26Two areas of suburban Stockholm.
21:30Locals long complained these estates are cut off, hemmed in by motorways.
21:36They have high unemployment, and they've been engulfed in gang warfare.
21:41Let's go, Simon.
21:43I grew up in this area.
21:44I used to go to a school.
21:46Right.
21:47That's over there.
21:49And especially this place, we always come here to smoke cigarettes.
21:55What would you say are the main problems that your generation faced growing up here?
22:02Poverty.
22:04And our way to becoming a rich person is through crimes.
22:11For us, that way was the only way.
22:14So, I think most of us don't want to do these crimes, but we want to have the money.
22:19Yeah.
22:20Most of them, if you ask them, why are you killing?
22:22They will tell you it's for the money, like, because it's only for the money to...
22:26And when you say killing, you really mean that?
22:29Yeah, I really mean it. It's a part of life.
22:32It's actually a daily routine, like...
22:37I know murderers and I know the victims.
22:43This is the important place.
22:46Yes.
22:50It's like she's been waiting for you.
22:53Faisa took me to meet her friend, Lotta.
22:55Hiya!
22:59I come here and I have a lot of stress.
23:04And Lotta here, she's like a therapist, you know?
23:07So, I speak to her about things and...
23:09So, it's not just a saloon, you know?
23:11No, it's total... You come here and you can release your feelings as well.
23:14Heart of the community.
23:16Yes.
23:17It's difficult to comprehend what's been happening here in Stockholm.
23:23But in Sweden, over the last 10, just under 10 years really, isn't it?
23:29There's been a huge increase in the number of children who have been joining gangs,
23:35who have been sucked into gang life.
23:37Can you give us a sense of what has happened?
23:41When I was 15 years old, I lost my best friend at this gang war that has been happening for 10 years, for decades.
23:49And when Sweden didn't see it as a problem, I see it as a crisis, you know?
23:55I see it as a very big crisis. Like, they were so young, two people died.
24:00That's absolutely a crisis. That's a terrible situation.
24:03But these two people that died, young people that died, was two black people from the suburbs.
24:08So, Sweden as a country didn't recognise there was a crisis?
24:12Maybe it was...
24:14Yeah, but this is not really a Swedish issue.
24:18Right.
24:20So, it will not come to our places.
24:21It's not our home. We're safe.
24:22So, that's why we can wait on it.
24:24And that has been like...
24:27It feels like a betrayal for us, because...
24:29Of course.
24:31We've been living like this for years.
24:32Because you're Sweden.
24:33Yeah. You were born in Sweden, right?
24:34Yes.
24:35I'm born in Sweden.
24:36I lost all my friends. Like, I lost all my neighbours, you know?
24:39But for them, it's like, just the statics of numbers.
24:42It has affected everybody.
24:44Everybody's affected. You know why?
24:46Because it's not a racial thing. It's a human problem.
24:49Mm.
24:50Yeah, but the first...
24:51But the first thing is they need to see us as humans.
24:53Yeah.
24:55Start with that.
24:56Start with that.
24:57Give me a hug.
25:03Yeah, thank you too.
25:04Not everyone who feels excluded or ignored joins a gang.
25:08Most migrants here live blameless lives, contributing to the country that took them in.
25:13There's debate here about why crime has exploded.
25:16But there's no disputing huge numbers of migrant children have been caught up in the drug wars.
25:21Pfizer's lost friends and close family.
25:23Is this an area you would come to when you were younger?
25:27Yes.
25:29But I haven't been here since 2018.
25:35My brother was found dead here.
25:39Do you feel able to tell us what happened?
25:43When I saw him that day laying in some white...
25:48What is it called when you bury you?
25:51When you...
25:53In a body bag?
25:54Yes, in a body bag.
25:56In a body bag.
25:58So, I haven't been here since this.
26:05You haven't been back?
26:06No.
26:07I haven't.
26:09We were so many of us.
26:10Like, I don't understand why he was the one.
26:13You know, he has four kids asking where his dad is.
26:17And they cannot understand how their father and dad is a taxi driver studying to become a doctor.
26:24You know?
26:25Like, I have done some things in my life.
26:27Like, I wish they could take me.
26:29Like, they didn't need to take him.
26:33I'm so sorry, Pfizer.
26:34I'm sorry, Pfizer.
26:38Pfizer's brother was one of many victims of drug violence.
26:42Another of her brothers, a gang leader, is in prison.
26:46Swedish police say there are more than 60,000 active or connected gang members.
26:51Many argue poverty is the main driver of crime in violence hotspots.
26:56And the unemployment rate here for people born abroad is certainly shocking.
27:00Four times higher than for people born in Sweden.
27:02The worst gap in the developed world.
27:06But politicians from the right, and even many liberal Swedes, now place blame for the crime wave squarely on mass immigration from what they've called culturally distant countries.
27:16Faisa wanted me to meet her mother, Nastejo, who was given asylum in Sweden more than 30 years ago.
27:29Thank you so much, Mum.
27:31Can you remember a point, Mum, a time when you realised things were starting to go sour?
27:38So do you remember going to the authorities in some way?
27:51It's so hard being a mom in this environment because you feel so much and it's so draining.
27:55It's a little bit.
27:56I was thinking, I left there at school every day and it's all coming from me to my husband.
27:57It's hard to do with me to come and then it's hard to make my younger people.
27:58But she should have lost their children and faith.
27:59I hadn't thought of it all.
28:00I can say I can't get a word from my mother and I feel like I was already living in the middle of a year,
28:03but I don't know what she was saying in the middle of a year.
28:05She is a family member of the situation with a child and she was a one of a two-year-old.
28:11She was a teacher in the middle of a year.
28:13I had beaten her son of a child because of a father was a son.
28:14All the children aren't cruel and she was so tired.
28:17I was a son of a son, she was a familiar with her.
28:18I am born in Sweden. I've never been to Somalia in my life.
28:30I've never been to Somalia in my life.
28:33How?
28:35I can not. No, Mom. I can not say that.
28:47Nothing, Mom.
28:59She's putting the blame on us. Like, you guys should know better, like, that you're not in your own country.
29:05Hundreds of thousands of migrants, asylum seekers and refugees have come to Sweden and to Scandinavia.
29:20And I think there's been something of a sense here and across the region that almost just by being here, people would become Scandinavian and would enjoy the benefits of life as a Scandinavian.
29:35But that is clearly not the case.
29:38Now, we can debate whether there's been a failure to integrate, but there has definitely been a failure of integration.
29:46And the consequences are now being felt.
29:49I left Sweden and headed south across the Baltic Sea.
30:04I'm just coming up to the bridge now, which takes me from Sweden into Denmark, the last country on my journey around Scandinavia.
30:12For full transparency, I should tell you, my wife is half Danish and I've been to Denmark many times to see the family there.
30:22It's a country that I feel I know pretty well and one that I really love.
30:29The Ursen Road and Rail Crossing is something of an engineering marvel.
30:39It's still the longest cable stayed combined road and rail bridge in the world for any bridge spotters watching.
30:46Built on time and to budget.
30:51And it's crucial because it helps link Sweden and the Scandinavian peninsula to Denmark and the rest of Western Europe.
30:59Denmark's the smallest country in Scandinavia, but punches above its weight.
31:07Danish companies control 15% of the world's shipping containers.
31:12They're huge exporters of industrially farmed bacon.
31:15And the Danish firm that makes the weight loss drug a Zempik is now one of the biggest pharmaceutical companies on Earth.
31:22The Danes are a straightforward bunch. Practical, unshockable.
31:26Oh my goodness, look at that.
31:27Pretty raunchy.
31:30That's the thing about the Scandis.
31:32They can have this super neat, perfectly formed little community and a couple copulating in the main square.
31:42They'd be like, stop making a fuss, Simon.
31:46It's just a lovely statue showing the beautiful act of love.
31:50I've reached the west coast of Denmark, next to the sea, and the wind blows strong here.
32:01A lot of wind turbines.
32:04Denmark is a global leader in wind energy.
32:06It generates around 60% of their electricity and they export the technology around the world.
32:13Many of Britain's offshore wind farms are built and operated by Danish companies.
32:18Let's go and take a closer look.
32:19The company that built this huge wind turbine allowed me to go up it while it was stopped for maintenance.
32:26This, at the moment, holds the title for being the most powerful wind turbine in the world.
32:33And that means it's also one of the biggest and tallest.
32:38From the ground to the top tip of a blade, this wind turbine is almost as tall as the Eiffel Tower.
32:44Oh my good lord.
32:46Not ideal for those with vertigo.
32:53Oh my.
32:57Oh my goodness, I really can't.
33:00Oh, I must.
33:02Oh my.
33:05This is utterly epic.
33:14To give you a sense of how big this turbine is, look at these ones over here, these turbines.
33:22They're not baby turbines, those are normal wind turbines and we're looking down on them.
33:27This single wind turbine powers around 20,000 homes.
33:3620,000.
33:37There was, apparently, not a single planning objection from locals to this massive turbine.
33:45Yes.
33:47Of course I'm pleased to be on the ground.
33:50Contrast that with the UK, where we can't erect a shed without complaints escalating to the Supreme Court,
33:56because here locals were involved.
33:58Danes pioneered community groups that own many turbines and wind farms.
34:02Danish universities, governments and firms have worked together to develop wind tech.
34:08People trust scientists and politicians, so there's fewer objections and delays.
34:13All right, we're here.
34:16And right now, the Danes are at the cutting edge, taking wind power up a notch more.
34:21Knock, knock.
34:23I went to see a Danish inventor, one of the original wind turbine designers.
34:27His name's Henrik Stiesdow.
34:29Henrik?
34:30Hi there, yes.
34:31We're meeting you in your secret lab.
34:34Yes.
34:35Secret?
34:36Actually, you need to close your eyes when we speak here.
34:38Oh, do we?
34:39You've got the glasses on.
34:40Yes.
34:41You had your team here.
34:42You need the glasses, yes.
34:43You need glasses as well.
34:44Yes.
34:45OK, I'll get them on.
34:46Yes, yes.
34:47Is that because things go boom here?
34:49That's the price of having fun in the lab.
34:52Yes, yes, yes, yes.
34:53Yes.
34:55And do we need to...
34:57Oh, there's somebody really special here.
35:00Just recently, he jointly won an award that is often described as being the equivalent of a Nobel Prize for engineering.
35:09Let's see.
35:10Henrik is obsessed with clean energy.
35:12In his lab, he's searching for one of the holy grails.
35:16How to use electricity from wind to make hydrogen, a clean fuel with enough oomph to power planes, ships and lorries.
35:24But he's also still inventing wind turbines, new and bigger.
35:30So this is just one section for a mast.
35:35For a small wind turbine.
35:36A small one?
35:37A small one.
35:38Henrik jokes his only real qualification is as a ski instructor.
35:42He didn't finish university.
35:44But in the 1970s, Henrik designed one of the first modern wind turbines.
35:48His inventions have since led to about a thousand patents.
35:53He was in charge of setting up the world's very first offshore wind farm.
35:57These are for offshore turbines and they are much bigger than onshore turbines.
36:03These are some of the largest sections that are built here.
36:07Out at sea, the wind blows stronger and more consistently.
36:12With current technology, offshore wind farms need to be in shallow water.
36:15That limits where we can put them and how much power we can generate.
36:19It's a problem Henrik is trying to solve.
36:24In the very large parts of the world, you can't do offshore wind because the water gets to be too deep.
36:30Too deep means more than 60 metres.
36:32We want to become really global.
36:34We need to have structures that can float so that you can go to much deeper waters.
36:40And that's what we are working on here in this company.
36:42Floating wind turbines.
36:45Yes. We can produce ten times the power needs of the world with floating offshore wind.
36:50Even if we have no solar, no land-based wind, no nuclear, no nothing.
36:55The resource is just huge.
36:57Henrik, ten times. Ten times.
37:01Yes.
37:03So these are parts that make up a floating offshore wind tower foundation.
37:07What we have here is a centre column.
37:11This is the floating structure on which a wind turbine would sit.
37:16Yes. I don't think we'll put them all on, but here goes one for instance that will fit there.
37:22So this you've just swiftly created using your Lego, as it were, appropriately.
37:29Appropriately. So what of that is this?
37:34So the upper part here, from that little line there, the Lego brick is this one here.
37:44But look at the size of this.
37:47This piece here, in this structure, is just this.
37:51Yes.
37:52Yes.
37:53Henrik, you think big.
37:54But our problem is big.
37:56It needs scale.
37:59How confident are you this will work?
38:02Oh, we are very confident.
38:03It would be the biggest factory-made pieces of equipment in the world, I think.
38:08There must be lots of competition to create this.
38:10Yeah.
38:11But in actual fact, the goal of our company is not money-making.
38:18The goal of our company is impact on the fight against climate change.
38:22We hope that can be an inspiration for the world, so to speak.
38:27Wing power has limitations and critics.
38:30But around the world, it's already revolutionized the way we generate electricity.
38:34The Danes have profited by innovating and working together.
38:39They're leading the way.
38:43I need to get a ferry.
38:45I'm heading towards the end of my journey through Scandinavia.
38:49And I'm struck by the feeling more than ever how much of our news, our media, and our culture focuses in the UK on what's going on in the United States.
39:05We have much more in common in so many ways with this part of the world than the USA.
39:12I don't think we know enough about the Scandys and Scandinavia.
39:20But things are going on here that really matter.
39:35My last stop was the Danish capital, Copenhagen.
39:38Even by the standards of Scandinavia, Denmark stands out.
39:43Danes top global surveys of happiness and life satisfaction.
39:48They pay high taxes, but get generous welfare, free healthcare, subsidized childcare, free education, including free university.
39:56They're wealthy, one of the most equal societies on earth.
40:00What's the secret?
40:01As I walked the pleasant streets of Copenhagen, I came across a clue.
40:06Shhh, come on.
40:08So look, that is a little toddler having a sleep outside in a pram, in an area, public area, with lots of flats around.
40:17Hiya.
40:19Have you just left your child out to have a little nap?
40:21Yeah.
40:22It's a bit unusual, what you've just done.
40:24Not here.
40:25From our perspective.
40:26Yeah.
40:27Well, I live right in there.
40:28So I leave her there to sleep, and then I can hear her.
40:30We have a little monitor.
40:31So when she wakes up, I just go out.
40:33I think a Danish mother in New York was leaving her child outside.
40:38She was arrested, wasn't she?
40:39She was arrested.
40:40That suggests only do that in Denmark.
40:42Probably a good idea, yeah.
40:43You're a more trusting people, aren't you?
40:46I think if you give people trust, they will also show you that they're worthy of trust, right?
40:51In a way.
40:52Have a good day.
40:53Alright, thank you.
40:54No worries.
40:55Public trust is still so high here, a toddler can be left napping in fresh air.
41:01Nearly 90% of Danes have a high level of trust in others.
41:06Trust isn't just nice, it's critical.
41:08Trust equals less corruption and crime, more investment, collaboration, productivity.
41:15Academics have put a value on trust.
41:17Some think trust accounts for 25% of Danish wealth.
41:22I do think trust is the secret sauce, the glue that helps to hold Scandinavia and Scandinavians together
41:31and makes this one of the most successful parts of the planet ever.
41:35So how do you build trust?
41:40Well in Denmark, one way is through joining a club.
41:43For football, volunteering, activism, art, anything.
41:46Many are helped and subsidised by the government.
41:4990% of Danes are members of clubs.
41:52On average, they join nearly three each.
41:59Choirs are hugely popular.
42:01Fiambo helped found this one.
42:02So you're not a church choir?
42:04We're not at all a church choir.
42:06We are actually a choir that works against the fossil fuel industry.
42:11Through song?
42:12Through song.
42:13Through your voices?
42:14Yeah, through our voices.
42:15And through gathering together?
42:16Yeah, yeah.
42:17Danes are brilliant at joining and starting clubs and associations.
42:23That's why it's so important to gather and make communities that can work together.
42:32This is key.
42:33Danes belong to more groups, clubs and unions than any other nationality.
42:38That helps build trust, happiness and social cohesion.
42:41It's all my life.
42:42It's all my life.
42:44It's all my life.
42:45Thanks.
42:46Ein, two, three, four.
42:48Du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du
43:18We sing for the rise of the people
43:21And the rose of the heart
43:25We sing for the warm air
43:43But it would be wrong to think there are no problems in Denmark.
43:47All this social cohesion means outsiders can sometimes feel unwelcome.
43:52If you don't conform here, it can feel uncomfortable.
44:03Just like in Sweden, here in Denmark there have been issues, I think it's fair to say,
44:08and controversy surrounding migration and immigration.
44:11But the government here has been tackling it very differently.
44:14I met up with Mohamed Aslan, cab driver and campaner.
44:20Mohamed. Hello. I'm Simon.
44:23Hello, Simon. Very nice to see you.
44:25Mohamed speaks English but prefers Danish.
44:44He is a jurist.
44:46And number two, he is a speeding driver.
44:49And number three in the gymnasium is a psychologist.
44:54And the fourth is a social cohesion.
44:57He is going to take his master and others.
45:00You must be a very proud father.
45:01I am.
45:03I am.
45:04But still, we are not accepted as an equal in the country.
45:12Partly in response to the crime wave in Sweden and terrorism here,
45:16Denmark's taken a really tough line on integration.
45:19Not just encouraging it, but pushing it.
45:21Islamic full-face coverings are banned.
45:25The government even introduced what was called a ghetto law,
45:28aimed at preventing neighbourhoods being dominated by so-called non-Western immigrants,
45:33along with high crime and unemployment.
45:35Let's get out, please, and have a look.
45:37One designated ghetto was the multicultural neighbourhood Mjolnaparkin,
45:42where Mohamed raised his family.
45:44What's particularly extraordinary, unusual, extreme, perhaps, about this law
45:51is the identification of non-Western.
45:55It's basically saying that if you're not from Western Europe
45:59or some of the English-speaking countries, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, etc.,
46:03then you can be classed as non-Western.
46:06And the state, as a result, treats you differently.
46:09This was classed as a ghetto because more than 50% of people
46:14came from non-Western backgrounds.
46:17To reduce that number, some families were actually forced to relocate.
46:21Mohamed's was one of them.
46:22There was a place where there was a place.
46:28It was our home.
46:32It was here.
46:38Yeah.
46:39You'd rather not look at it.
46:46Yeah.
46:48Når man ser på det, hver gang man kommer forbi,
46:51så bliver man jo påvirket.
46:55At man er blevet smidt ud af ens hjælp.
46:57I starten, at vi havde svært ved at tro på, at det virkelig kunne lade sig gøre.
47:12I vores samfund, retssamfund og demokrati, at man kunne smide folk ud af deres hjem.
47:17What reasons did they give you for the evictions?
47:22Fordi at der var nogen, der var arbejdsløse.
47:24Eller fordi de ikke havde den rigtige hudfarve.
47:29Eller fordi de er født i, som man kalder det, ikke-vestlige lande.
47:34And in many ways, non-western means brown or black.
47:40Brown, black or Muslim.
47:43Mm.
47:44That's my reading and interpretation of the law.
47:48Is that yours?
47:49It's exactly the same.
48:00The people were forced out of their homes.
48:04The apartments, houses, homes they lived in were sold off.
48:08Many were refurbished.
48:11New families have moved in.
48:13It's been described as the social experiment of the century.
48:17It's also being described as social policy with a bulldozer.
48:24No-one's ended up homeless, but Mohammed's family and thousands more from other ghetto areas
48:29have been or will be rehoused in predominantly white areas.
48:33With the stated aim, they'll become more integrated into Danish society,
48:37with access to better jobs and education.
48:40And people, including those from very different cultures,
48:44will absorb Danish liberal values.
48:47Reports identified early language skills as key to integration.
48:52So non-western parents in ghetto areas are now required to send their one-year-olds to preschools
48:58to ensure they learn Danish and traditions and values,
49:02or they lose government welfare benefits.
49:05Ghettos have since been renamed parallel societies.
49:08The Danish government, of course, will say that they were worried.
49:25They are worried about integration.
49:27They now talk about parallel societies, don't they?
49:30Do you see that concern, that issue?
49:35No, I don't understand.
49:37I don't understand.
49:37What is the more you need to integrate?
49:39What is it that we have done wrong since we have been cut out of our homes
49:45and tell our beliefs?
49:50Some say these policies are racist.
49:53Mohammed is part of a group mounting a legal challenge.
49:57Others say that they're an attempt to eradicate pockets of deprivation,
50:00integrate newcomers into super successful Denmark
50:03and prevent the kind of violence happening in Sweden.
50:07The laws have support across much of the political spectrum here.
50:13I really want to understand what's happening here.
50:16I'm being allowed into the Danish parliament.
50:21MP and housing spokesman Thomas Monberg is part of the governing coalition
50:25led by his Social Democratic Party
50:27and including parties called the Liberals and the Moderates.
50:30We've got football tops here.
50:33Yeah, it's football over there.
50:35Is this your... this is your party?
50:37Yes, it is.
50:38Look at this, this is very nuclear family,
50:41very traditional old poster here.
50:42Yes, it is.
50:43Family values.
50:44Family values, but the children has to be safe and nicely home from school.
50:50It's interesting you have this in your office
50:52because your party is unusual from our perspective.
50:55You're quite left-wing economically and on many issues.
51:00It's workers' rights, etc.
51:01Yes.
51:02But traditional cultural values, family values as well.
51:06Yeah.
51:09So, Thomas, can you explain this ghetto law to me?
51:14We started to see some areas where there were a lot of foreign people living
51:20and the state of education was lower and more and more children didn't go to school
51:26and that was something we had to do something about.
51:29But why focus on this phrase non-Western?
51:34Why that?
51:35Because it sounds like it's targeted at...
51:38It sounds like it's targeted mainly at Muslims.
51:41Yes, but true.
51:42But it's not.
51:43That's because of the culture we have in Denmark.
51:45And that's about equality of gender, that's equality of education, welfare and all that.
51:54Are you saying that non-Western people, people outside that definition,
52:00have less awareness or understanding of those core values?
52:05We can't accept that a girl growing up in a society in Denmark
52:10doesn't have the same rights as every other girl.
52:14So, you're saying this is an attempt to enforce and impose fundamental Danish values?
52:22Yes, because we want everybody that lives here to have a good life.
52:26But what you're talking about is painful for some people.
52:32You are literally requiring people to move out of their homes.
52:37You are creating a lot of trauma for some people.
52:40I don't think you always can say trauma because not many are getting evicted.
52:48I've met somebody who's crying at you because of what's happened.
52:52Yes, I know, I know.
52:53If you have to have a society as ours, you have to be aware of what's keep us together
53:03than what's taking us apart.
53:07And the thing that could take us apart is if people were living parallel to each other
53:14in restricted areas where there only were people of non-Western,
53:19you couldn't get any integration because who should integrate those people in the Danish society?
53:26You have to have Danes to integrate these people into a society
53:31to give them our values and the feelings of our values
53:34because they're universal for us, these values.
53:40This is the most traditional Danish lunch I have seen.
53:46Yes, it is.
53:47My wife is half Danish.
53:49Oh, yeah?
53:49So, yeah, the open sandwich is number one.
53:55I know from personal experience, Danes can be brutally honest.
53:59They don't shy from tough conversations or facts.
54:02Oh, my goodness.
54:03Yes.
54:03Unlike other European states, the government here publishes controversial and worrying crime statistics.
54:09They revealed men from some non-Western backgrounds are as much as six times more likely to commit violent crime than white Danes.
54:18The facts horrified voters.
54:20You release crime statistics showing the nation of origin of people convicted of violent offences.
54:30Why have you been doing that?
54:32That's because a lot of people were feeling this.
54:37And if we want to solve ordinary people's problems, then we have to know which problems there are in society.
54:46And there were a problem in society.
54:49And these high amounts of crime rates reduces the trust or breaks the trust between people living in our country.
55:00And that's very, very important for us.
55:02The coalition here says by listening to the concerns of all voters on immigration, they maintain trust.
55:09Immigration has been reduced.
55:10Integration is required.
55:13Asylum is now seen as temporary rather than a route to permanent settlement.
55:17I think sometimes in the UK there's been this feeling that people want something difficult.
55:24They want less immigration into the country, for example.
55:28And a lot of our politicians haven't really liked that view.
55:33And often they've kind of ignored what people want.
55:37We've tended to believe as a country more in multiculturalism.
55:42I sense in Denmark you don't really follow that path.
55:45You believe more in a Danish way, in Danish values, in monoculturalism almost.
55:52It depends on how you look at it.
55:54Because if you look on it in a culture where you can practice your own beliefs, that's allowed in Denmark.
56:04But you have to agree it's in here that the laws in Denmark are made.
56:12And it's the democracy that stands over everything else.
56:17In Denmark and Sweden, attitudes to immigration have shifted fundamentally.
56:23Leaders here now talk about the financial and social costs.
56:27Sweden's reduced overall net immigration to zero.
56:30Denmark has the same target.
56:32Fewer people are being granted asylum.
56:35In fact, they'll offer up to £26,000 for immigrants to return home.
56:39For liberal Scandis, it's a paradigm shift.
56:48I'd reach the end of my journey.
56:51Clear that for most people, the Scandi countries provide a magnificent standard of living.
56:57To be born Norwegian, that's winning a lottery really, isn't it?
57:02It feels like.
57:03But remember, in Norway, wealth is largely built on the fossil fuels that threaten to permanently damage our climate.
57:11And even in liberal Sweden, I met indigenous people who feel forgotten and excluded.
57:16It's like a lifestyle that's slowly fading away.
57:19Scandinavia has enjoyed decades of peace.
57:23But across the region, there's a genuine fear war may be around the corner.
57:29But despite threats and problems, Scandinavian society still seem to work better than anywhere else I've been.
57:35You love it, don't you? I can tell.
57:37At the root of it all, people kept talking to me about trust.
57:43People trust their neighbours, the state, teachers.
57:47They even seem to trust politicians to take sensible decisions.
57:50Look at this.
57:53I saw shops left open where people are trusted to pay for what they take away.
57:57This, for me, I think, is something that is central to the success of modern Scandinavia, and that is trust.
58:07This journey has opened my eyes to a part of the world we often overlook.
58:11Perhaps the most successful human societies that have ever existed.
58:18Definitely worth knowing a bit more about.
58:20I've loved every second.
58:27I've loved every second.
58:57I've loved every second.
59:02They've ever beenайте'!
59:02I haven't even enjoyed yet.
59:05I have a vast majority of people.
59:06There is someone in their triangle of恥.
59:10There is one perspective in your life.
59:11I don't know.
59:12I'm a vast majority of people have lived in their own life, I guess.
59:17And if you...
59:19There is one angle of a clear lift in your life,
59:20you don't be overwhelmed with the fire.
59:22It's all the most likely to them.
59:24I think that like this is a good thing,
59:25I lost your sight.
59:26I know that the Pike我 and Hua,
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