The Swedish host broadcaster SVT, announced that Malmö will be the host city of the Eurovision Song Contest in 2013.  The decision was taken by SVT after receiving proposals from the cities of Stockholm and Malmö.

The event is planned to take place on 14, 16 and 18 May 2013 in the Malmö Arena which has a capacity of up to 15,500 for concerts.

Martin Österdahl, Executive Producer of the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest explains; "We chose Malmö because there is a good infrastructure in place and we have good experience of holding the Melodifestivalen (the Swedish national selection) and the Eurovision Song Contest there."

Jon Ola Sand, EBU Executive Supervisor comments; "We are very pleased to have a host city already at this stage. It shows the deep commitment SVT and the whole of Sweden have to host a great Eurovision Song Contest in 2013."

SVT is responsible for all aspects related to Contest’s TV shows. The city of Malmö will provide a comprehensive hosting service, logistics and events for the international press, the visiting fans and the participating delegations.

"Now the work starts on one of the biggest music shows in Europe to create an amazing event. We are obviously extremely proud and happy today," says Ilmar Reepalu, Mayor of Malmö.

Malmö is the third largest city in Sweden and one of the largest ones in Scandinavia with a metropolitan population of 664,000 people. It has easy access to Denmark via the Øresund bridge which is the longest combined road and rail bridge in Europe.

Malmö already hosted the Eurovision Song Contest once in 1992 after the Swedish pop-star Carola won in 1991 with Fångad Av En Stormvind.

Malmö Arena

The Malmö Arena is a relatively new arena, inaugurated in 2008. It has a capacity of up to 15,500 for concerts but for the Eurovision Song Contest, the capacity will most likely be lower.

The semi-finals of the Swedish national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest have been held there since 2009. The Malmö Arena is very similar to the Hartwall Arena in Helsinki where the Eurovision Song Contest was held in 2007.

The arena is yet to be formally confirmed by the Reference Group of the Eurovision Song Contest.