Next may, the 68th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest will take place in Malmö. ESCplus is ready to keep all our readers informed, both on the website and social networks. In the meantime, you can download our exclusive handbook for this year’s edition to find out everything you need to know about all 37 competing entries.
This year’s contest
The Eurovision Song Contest reaches its 68th edition and returns to Sweden after Loreen’s triumph with ‘Tattoo’ in Liverpool 2023. On the eve of its 70th anniversary, the Eurovision Song Contest is once again on track to fill every corner of the world with music, diversity and inclusion.
With its seventh Eurovision Song Contest win, Swedish broadcaster SVT once again takes over the organisation of the world’s biggest international music event. Sweden has hosted the competition seven times, coinciding with its victories in the contest. Stockholm in 1975, 2000 and 2016, Gothenburg in 1985 and Malmö in 1992, 2013 and 2024 are the three Swedish cities that have had the honour of hosting the festival.
Broadcaster SVT set 12 June 2023 as the deadline for interested cities to formalise their projects. There were a total of eight proposals, including several cities that had already hosted the contest in the past. Stockholm submitted its bid on 7 June, with the Friends Arena and Tele2 Arena as possible venues. Gothenburg with its Scandinavium announced its bid on 10 June. Malmö, with its Malmö Arena, was close to the deadline set by Swedish television. Other cities such as Jönköping (Husqvarna Garden), Sandviken (Goransson Arena), Örnsköldsvik (Hägglunds Arena), Partille (Partille Arena) and Eskilstuna (Stiga Sports Arena) also applied.
However, following a review of the venues and the organisational capacity of each venue, in the first phase, Jönköping, Sandviken, Partille and Eskilstuna were eliminated or withdrew their bids. Later, the bids from Gothenburg and Örnsköldsvik were rejected, reducing the field to Malmö and Stockholm.
Finally, on Friday 7 July, it became official that Malmö would host its third Eurovision Song Contest, after hosting in 1992 and 2013. In the end, its ability to organise the event at a relatively low cost was the determining factor in the choice.
As reported in the press, Stockholm was SVT’s first choice. However, the teams playing at the Tele2 Arena and the Friends Arena refused to leave their stadiums for the eight weeks necessary for the preparations and hosting of Eurovision 2024, which prevented the Swedish capital from hosting the contest. Thus, the Malmö Arena will be the venue to host the stage of the European contest. The extraordinary technical characteristics in sound and lighting have been the elements that have been taken into account to choose this venue again. In addition, Malmö is one of the main centres of tourism in Sweden, due to its strategic location just a few minutes from Copenhagen (Denmark) over the Øresund Bridge. The city has a proven ability to organise international events.