Malmo chosen to host 2024 Eurovision

STOCKHOLM

The southern Swedish city of Malmo has been chosen to host the 2024 Eurovision Song contest on May 7-11, Swedish public broadcaster STV has said.

"Malmo is a creative city with a rich cultural life that can provide a music festival for the whole of Europe," said STV director general Hanne Stjarne.

Eurovision has a huge following in Sweden.

Next year, the Nordic nation will be staging it for the seventh time after Swedish singer Loreen won this year's contest, hosted by Britain on behalf of war-torn Ukraine.

The 2024 event coincides with the 50th anniversary of ABBA's Eurovision victory - Sweden's first - with their breakthrough hit "Waterloo".

Malmo, Sweden's third largest city, has hosted Eurovision twice in the past, in 1992 and 2013.

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which runs Eurovision, said it was "thrilled" that Malmo had been selected by the STV and EBU.

"We're excited to be returning to this vibrant and dynamic city, which has demonstrated it has the venues and infrastructure that are perfect for staging the world's largest live music event," Eurovision chief supervisor Martin Osterdahl said.

Swedish singer Loreen, who had already won Eurovision in 2012, became in 2023 the first woman to be win the eccentric, much-loved song competition twice.

She was only the second person to do so, after Johnny Logan for Ireland in the 1980s.

Eurovision was launched in 1956 and has become hugely popular.

This year's contest was watched by 162 million TV viewers, the BBC said.

In Sweden, 2.3 million people watched the final held in Liverpool.