Copenhagen has lost one of its best-known street voices. Søren Jakobsen, known to everyone as Sanger Søren ("Singer Søren"), has died at the age of 53. The news broke on 16 October 2026 and was confirmed by people from the city's homeless community.
He began running away from his family home in Brønshøj at the age of twelve to sing on Strøget, Copenhagen's main pedestrian street, and he kept singing there for around forty years. His repertoire was the classics: Shu-bi-dua's "Den røde tråd", Rod Stewart's "Sailing" and other songs everyone could sing along to. For long periods he was homeless, and he was part of the community at day centres such as Gang i Gaden on Vesterbro.
To many people he was simply part of the city. Danish media have called him a Copenhagen institution, and there are already calls to name a square on Strøget after him. The cause of death has not been reported.
A note from a newer busker
I didn't know Søren, and I don't remember noticing him in the street. For most of my years with music I worked in the studio, not on the pavement. Around 2002 I bought a bicycle in Hermosa Beach, rode with my guitar up to Santa Monica Beach, and spent a few days busking on Santa Monica Boulevard with a $100 permit. I tried once in Copenhagen the same year too, but my voice was weak and I wasn't ready. I only started for real in April 2026.
So I can't say I knew him. But I know what it takes to stand there day after day, and he did it for a lifetime. I hope to stand in these streets for as many years as he did, and to stay healthy enough to do it.
Rest in peace, Sanger Søren.
Lasse Ehlers
Read more and see photos of him: DR · TV 2 Kosmopol · Mig og KBH
Cover image: AI-generated illustration of Strøget at dusk.
