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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. (AP)
A view of the Stortorget square in Malmo, Sweden, on March 18, 2020. (AP)
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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. (AP)
A view of the Stortorget square in Malmo, Sweden, on March 18, 2020. (AP)

The southern Swedish city of Malmo will host the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest in the same venue that housed the colorful 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 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 kilometers (about 380 miles) south of Stockholm and across from the Danish capital of Copenhagen with which it is linked by a tunnel and bridge.

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Entertainment

'Den of Thieves 2' Opens at No. 1 as 'Better Man' Flops

This image released by Lionsgate shows Gerard Butler, left, and O'Shea Jackson Jr. in a scene from "Den of Thieves 2: Pantera." (Rico Torres/Lionsgate via AP)
This image released by Lionsgate shows Gerard Butler, left, and O'Shea Jackson Jr. in a scene from "Den of Thieves 2: Pantera." (Rico Torres/Lionsgate via AP)
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'Den of Thieves 2' Opens at No. 1 as 'Better Man' Flops

This image released by Lionsgate shows Gerard Butler, left, and O'Shea Jackson Jr. in a scene from "Den of Thieves 2: Pantera." (Rico Torres/Lionsgate via AP)
This image released by Lionsgate shows Gerard Butler, left, and O'Shea Jackson Jr. in a scene from "Den of Thieves 2: Pantera." (Rico Torres/Lionsgate via AP)

On a quiet weekend in movie theaters, while much of Hollywood’s attention was on the wildfires that continue to rage in Los Angeles, Lionsgate’s “Den of Thieves 2: Pantera” debuted atop the box office with $15.5 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.
Mid-January is often a slow moviegoing period, and that was slightly exacerbated by the closures of about 10 theaters in Los Angeles, the country’s top box-office market, The Associated Press reported.
A sequel to the Gerard Butler 2018 heist thriller, “Den of Thieves 2” performed similarly to the original. The first installment, released by STX, opened with $15.2 million seven years ago. O’Shea Jackson Jr. co-stars in the sequel, which debuted in 3,008 North American theaters.
Butler's films are becoming something of a regular feature in January. He also starred in “Plane,” which managed $32.1 million after launching on Jan. 13 in 2023.
“Den of Thieves 2,” made for about $40 million, was a bit more costly to make. Audiences liked it well enough, giving it a “B+” CinemaScore. Reviews (58% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) weren’t particularly good. But it counted as Lionsgate’s first No.1 opening since “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” in November 2023.
Also entering wide release over the weekend was the Robbie Williams movie “Better Man,” one of the more audacious spins on the music biopic in recent years. Rather than going the more tradition routes of Elton John (“Rocketman”) or Elvis Presley (“Elvis”), the British popstar is portrayed by a CGI chimpanzee in Michael Gracey’s film.
The Paramount Pictures release, produced for $110 million and acquired by Paramount for $25 million, didn’t catch on much better than Williams’ previous forays into the United States. It tanked, with $1.1 million in ticket sales from 1,291 locations. Gracey’s previous feature, 2017’s “The Greatest Showman” ($459 million worldwide), fared far better in theaters. Reviews, however, have been very good for “Better Man.”
It was bested by “The Last Showgirl,” the Las Vegas drama starring Pamela Anderson. The Roadside Attractions release expanded to 870 theaters and collected $1.5 million.
Also outdoing “Better Man” was Brady Corbet’s “The Brutalist.” Coming off winning best drama at the Golden Globes, the A24 postwar epic grossed a hefty $1.4 million from just 68 locations. It expands wider in the coming weeks.
The weekend's lion share of business went to holiday holdovers, including “Mufasa: The Lion King,” “Sonic the Hedgehog 3,” “Nosferatu” and “Moana 2.”
In its fourth week of release, Barry Jenkins “Mufasa” continued to do well, adding $13.2 million to bring its total to $539.7 million worldwide. Also on its fourth weekend, “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” padded its $384.8 million global total with $11 million. Robert Eggers’ “Nosferatu,” the surprise hit of the Christmas period, collected $6.8 million in ticket sales, bringing the vampire tale to $81.1 million domestically.
The Walt Disney Co.’s “Moana 2,” in its seventh week of release, added $6.5 million to bring its global tally to $989.8 million. In the coming days, it will become the third Disney film released in 2024 to notch $1 billion, joining “Inside Out 2” and “Deadpool and Wolverine.”