It’s official: host city applications for next year’s Contest are now closed. At 23:59 last night, 12th of June 2023, Swedish broadcaster SVT stopped accepting bids, reigniting speculation amongst fans about where they may be travelling to in May. While many cities are reported to have expressed an interest in hosting, it seems most logistically possible that we’ll be heading to either Malmö, Stockholm or Gothenburg in 2024.

Stockholm

Home to several large arena venues, (with a capacity of 50,000, the Friends Arena is the biggest stadium in Scandinavia), the Swedish capital is the ideal choice for many. It is also the favourite of 2012 and 2023 winner Loreen, who upon her win with “Tattoo” expressed her desire for Stockholm to host again. For Swedish football teams however, some concerning scheduling conflicts arise; their hometown venues are booked out for games throughout May. Nonetheless, the city council maintains that these issues can be resolved, and has confidently announced their intention to host.

Malmö

Although Malmö’s bid has yet to be officially confirmed, many believe that the 2013 host city would not miss out on the opportunity to re-establish itself on the European stage. With a capacity of 15,000, the Malmö Arena produced an impressive visual spectacle in 2013 – whether or not they aim to do so again 10 years later, we will soon find out.

Gothenburg

As the least recent host city of the three, Gothenburg is the underdog. Hosting the contest in 1985, Sweden’s second largest city is keen to host again, intending to rework and rebuild the same arena for 2024. The Scandinavium – the smallest proposed venue with a capacity of around 12,000 – will require a good amount of renovation to be fit for use, particularly considering that the city’s bids in 2013 and 2016 were rejected on account of its accessibility issues. Yet if there is one thing we have learnt from Baku’s purpose-built arena in 2012, it’s that nothing is impossible!

Who do you want to see host in 2024? Are you happy with the three top picks or would you have liked to have seen Eurovision elsewhere in Sweden? Let us know below!