Eurovision 2016 will take place at Stockholm’s Ericsson Globe, SVT confirms. Sixteen years after the Olsen Brothers claimed victory for Denmark at the same venue, the contest returns to Stockholm again. The Ericsson Globe has hosted Melodifestivalen shows on 12 occasions up to 2012, and is likely to have a capacity close to 16,000 for Eurovision, similar to this year’s Wiener Stadthalle.
The host broadcaster’s official announcement stated that:
Stockholm has delivered a thorough offer which guarantees that the event once again is taken to the next level.
Stockholm’s bid successfully fought off competition from 1985 hosts Gothenburg, as well as Linköping, Sandviken and Örnsköldsvik. Five Stockholm venues had at some point been proposed as venues for the contest. The smaller Hovet and Annexet venues ultimately lost out to the Globe Arena, whilst Friends Arena and the initially preferred Tele2 Arena were previously eliminated from the process due to their unavailability next spring.
Globen’s surroundings will also be used. 1500 members of the press will go to Hovet, delegations will be housed at Annex. Martin Österdahl, SVT’s Executive Producer of Eurovision 2016 said:
“The crowning glory is that we can do the Eurovision Song Contest even more powerful during the Grand Final by incorporating the Tele2 Arena in the event.”
How exactly SVT will incorporate the Tele2 Arena is not clear yet, but it may be used for a big public viewing location, where a big screen may give many people the possibility to watch the contest inside the Tele2 Arena.
The three shows of the next contest are slated for 10, 12 and 14 May 2016.
