Stockholm 2016

Friends Arena and Tele2 Arena pull out of 2016 bid

Two of the most discussed possible venues for the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest have withdrawn their bids, says Dagens Nyheter. Both Friends Arena and Tele2 Arena, both located in Stockholm, cannot meet the requirements of hosting Eurovision 2016.

The main reason given for the withdrawal of the Tele2 Arena, the outright favourite to host 2016, seems to be the period of time in which the arena needs to be booked: four to six weeks seems to be too long for the football stadium. The only reason given for Friends Arena not hosting Eurovision is the fact that they simply do not want it.

That leaves the question where to go now? If you’re hoping for Stockholm, fear not, there still is one bid left from the Swedish capital: Globen. The legendary Melodifestivalen and Eurovision 2000 host venue may still get the gig in 2016. However, there will be some tough competition as also the Scandinavium in Gรถteborg has expressed an interest. The third contender we know of at the moment is the Saab Arena in Linkรถping, a venue which could host up to 11,500 people for concerts.

As was announced a few days after Mรฅns Zelmerlรถw won Eurovision 2015, Malmรถ will not be bidding along to host Eurovision 2016. The 2013 Eurovision host seems to be willing to give other cities a chance. If we follow SVT’s ‘rhythm’ of hosting, the next venue for them would be in Gรถteborg. They seem to alternate between Malmรถ, Stockholm and Gรถteborg. With Malmรถ hosting 1992 and 2013, Stockholm for 1975 and 2000, Gรถteborg is left with just 1985. Could this mean we’re heading for Gรถteborg? Or is SVT going to surprise us and bring us all to… Linkรถping?

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Nick van Lith

I'm one of the founding members of ESCXTRA.com. Eleven years after the start, I'm proud to say that I am now the Editor-in-Chief of this wonderful website. When I'm not doing Eurovision stuff, you should be able to find me teaching German to kids... And cheering on everything and everyone Greek, pretty much. Pame Ellada!

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