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The city of Malmö in Sweden will host next year’s Eurovision after the country’s win at this year’s Song Contest.
On Friday, it was announced that the coastal town in the south of Sweden will follow Liverpool in staging the annual event.
Swedish singer Loreen emerged triumphant at Eurovision for the second time back in May, winning with her song Tattoo – 11 years after she previously won for her country with Euphoria.
The semi finals will take place on 7 and 9 May 2024 at the Malmö Arena, followed by the grand final at the same venue on Saturday 11 May.
It will be the third time Malmö has staged Eurovision, previously welcoming the Song Contest in 1992 and then in 2013, after Loreen last won the competition.
Martin Österdahl, executive supervisor of the Eurovision Song Contest, said the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) said the city “holds a special place in the history of the contest”.
“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,” he said.
The Malmo Arena previously staged Eurovision in 2013Sweden’s win at the 2023 event made history back in May, as Loreen became only the second act ever to win the contest twice.
Her win also meant Sweden now matches Ireland as the country with the most Eurovision wins, with seven each.
Next year’s Eurovision Song Contest will mark 50 years since Sweden’s first win, when ABBA stormed to victory with their hit Waterloo.
Fans of the contest have been speculating about whether the group will be putting in an appearance to mark the occasion.
However, asked by BBC Newsnight whether we could count on ABBA appearing on stage in their home territory next year, musician Benny Andersson said simply in May: “I don’t want to.
“And if I don’t want to, the others won’t. It’s the same for all four of us – [if] someone says, ‘no’, it’s a no.”
Björn Ulvaeus added: “We can celebrate 50 years of Abba without us being on stage.”
