Malmö Arena has hosted several concerts as well as other music events such as Christmas shows and musicals. Britney Spears performed at the arena on 11 October 2011 during her Femme Fatale Tour.[1] Rihanna was scheduled to bring her Loud Tour to Malmö Arena on 31 October 2011, but the event was cancelled with only a few hours' notice because of health issues - she eventually did perform at the venue in August 2016.[2] Other international artists who have performed at the arena are Bob Dylan,[3] Cliff Richard,[4] Tom Jones,[5] Lady Gaga,[6] and many others. The Lady Gaga show holds the attendance record for concerts at the arena, having drawn a crowd of 11,300; the cancelled Rihanna concert would have set a new record with 11,700 tickets sold.[7] The semi-finals of Melodifestivalen, Sweden's national song contest, were held at the arena in 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012.[8] Malmö Arena also hosted Fotbollsgalan, Sweden's award ceremony for domestic football, in 2009 and 2010.[9]
The arena was selected to host the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place in May that year. Malmö Arena's main contenders for this were the Friends Arena in Stockholm and Scandinavium in Gothenburg. Sveriges Television (SVT) decided on Malmö Arena because of the good transport links around the arena, as well as SVT's previous experiences hosting Melodifestivalen heats at the arena. SVT also expressed the desire to host the contest at a slightly smaller venue than previous years to increase the Eurovision experience.[10]
- ^ "Britney Spears ett spöke av sitt forna jag". svd.se (in Swedish). Svenska Dagbladet. 12 October 2011. Retrieved 12 July 2012.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|trans_title=ignored (|trans-title=suggested) (help) - ^ "Rihannas konsert i Malmö inställd". sydsvenskan.se (in Swedish). Sydsvenskan. 1 November 2011. Retrieved 12 July 2012.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|trans_title=ignored (|trans-title=suggested) (help) - ^ "Kalas, Dylan!". sydsvenskan.se (in Swedish). Sydsvenskan. 24 May 2011. Retrieved 12 July 2012.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|trans_title=ignored (|trans-title=suggested) (help) - ^ "Proffsigt och opretentiöst". sydsvenskan.se (in Swedish). Sydsvenskan. 18 November 2009. Retrieved 12 July 2012.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|trans_title=ignored (|trans-title=suggested) (help) - ^ "Tom Jones fick arenan att gunga". sydsvenskan.se (in Swedish). Sydsvenskan. 30 September 2009. Retrieved 12 July 2012.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|trans_title=ignored (|trans-title=suggested) (help) - ^ "Recension: Lady Gaga i fem akter". sydsvenskan.se (in Swedish). Sydsvenskan. 23 March 2011. Retrieved 12 July 2012.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|trans_title=ignored (|trans-title=suggested) (help) - ^ "Rihanna slår publikrekord". sydsvenskan.se (in Swedish). Sydsvenskan. 31 October 2011. Retrieved 12 July 2012.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|trans_title=ignored (|trans-title=suggested) (help) - ^ "Melodifestivalen till Malmö igen". malmotown.com (in Swedish). Malmö Stad. Retrieved 12 July 2012.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|trans_title=ignored (|trans-title=suggested) (help) - ^ "Fotbollsgalan i Malmö även i år". sydsvenskan.se (in Swedish). Sydsvenskan. 17 May 2010. Retrieved 12 July 2012.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|trans_title=ignored (|trans-title=suggested) (help) - ^ Cite error: The named reference
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