Â鶹´«Ã½

Skip to main content

Sweden's city of Malmo will host the 2024 Eurovision pop music contest

A view of the Stortorget square in Malmo, Sweden, on March 18, 2020. The southern Swedish city of Malmo will host the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest in a venue that earlier has housed the colorful, eclectic music competition, the Swedish organizers said Friday, July 7, 2023. The 68th edition will be held at the Malmo Arena - where the 2012 contest took place — and the live televised final has been set for May 11 while the semi-finals on May 7 and May 9. (Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency via AP, File) A view of the Stortorget square in Malmo, Sweden, on March 18, 2020. The southern Swedish city of Malmo will host the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest in a venue that earlier has housed the colorful, eclectic music competition, the Swedish organizers said Friday, July 7, 2023. The 68th edition will be held at the Malmo Arena - where the 2012 contest took place — and the live televised final has been set for May 11 while the semi-finals on May 7 and May 9. (Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency via AP, File)
Share
STOCKHOLM -

The southern Swedish city of Malmo will host the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest in the same venue that housed the colourful and eclectic music competition in 2012, the Swedish organizers said Friday.

The 68th edition will be held at the Malmo Arena, and the live televised final has been set for May 11, with semi-finals on May 7 and May 9.

Sweden's third largest city -- which also hosted the event in 1992 and 2012 -- was picked in what organizers called called a "strong bid process" examining venues, accommodations for visitors, infrastructure and other factors.

"Malmo was eventually chosen as it met all the criteria," said executive producer Ebba Adielsson at Sweden's public broadcaster SVT.

In May, Sweden won this year's contest in Liverpool, England, with the power ballad "Tattoo" by Swedish singer Loreen, who also won the 2012 Eurovision. The host country usually is the winner of the previous year's event, but 2022 runner-up Britain hosted this year on behalf of the winner, Ukraine.

Loreen was only the second person to take the pop crown twice. Ireland's Johnny Logan was the first double winner, in the 1980s.

Loreen's 2023 win was Sweden's seventh victory, matching Ireland's record. The Scandinavian country has won seven times and has staged the competition three times in Stockholm -- in 1975, 2000 and 2016, twice in Malmo, and once in Goteborg in 1985.

Swedish supergroup ABBA shot to fame by winning the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest with "Waterloo."

Launched in 1956 to foster unity after World War II, Eurovision evolved over the years from a bland ballad-fest to a campy, feelgood extravaganza. It has grown from seven countries to as many as 40, including non-European nations such as Israel and far-away Australia.

Participating countries send acts who are selected through national competitions or by broadcasters. Six countries automatically qualify: last year's winner and the "Big Five" who pay the most to the contest -- France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Britain.

Malmo sits 615 kilometres (about 380 miles) south of Stockholm and across from the Danish capital of Copenhagen with which it is linked by a tunnel and bridge.

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard denies that he raped the woman who is accusing him of sexual assault, or that he touched her sexually in any way without her consent.

Local Spotlight

On Saturday night at her parents’ home in Delaware, Ont. the Olympic bronze medallist in pole vault welcomed everyone who played a role in getting her to the podium in Paris.

A tale about a taxicab hauling gold and sinking through the ice on Larder Lake, Ont., in December 1937 has captivated a man from that town for decades.

When a group of B.C. filmmakers set out on a small fishing boat near Powell River last week, they hoped to capture some video for a documentary on humpback whales. What happened next blew their minds.

A pizza chain in Edmonton claims to have the world's largest deliverable pizza.

Sarah McLachlan is returning to her hometown of Halifax in November.

Wayne MacKay is still playing basketball twice at Mount Allison University at 87 years old.

A man from a small rural Alberta town is making music that makes people laugh.

An Indigenous artist has a buyer-beware warning ahead of Sept. 30, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

Police are looking to the public for help after thieves broke into a Lethbridge ice creamery, stealing from the store.