I love Gothenburg

10 reasons Göteborg should host Eurovision

So you may have read our article by Lilian Brunell on “Why Stockholm should host Eurovision 2016” – well we had to be impartial and also our friend Ludvig Alfredsson who runs the #ScanTastic Swedish Eurovision website Pop Light – Click HERE

Ludvig is a proud resident of Sweden’s Second City Göteborg, so we asked him to give us 10 reasons why his beloved city should host Eurovision 2016. He will not thank us for telling you this but Ludvig – or Luddy as we call him – was in tears when Sweden won Eurovision this year. Ah he is a #Legend!
The race is getting tight concerning hosting next years Eurovision Song Contest and one of the top contenders for hosting is Göteborg. So why should the city host Eurovision 2016?

 
1, Let’s just face it – Göteborg IS the perfect city!

Starting off with the most obvious thing of them all – Göteborg would be, by all means, the perfect city to host Eurovision. The entire city would breathe nothing but Eurovision and you would experience it like in no other city. With such a compact size – the identity of the contest will stay strong throughout Göteborg.

 
2. Yes – we have a completely capable arena for hosting the contest
”But you don’t have an arena that’s capable of hosting Eurovision!” say some people. ”Yes, we do”, I say. Scandinavium hosted the contest in 1985 and we have hosted Melodifestivalen for many many years. The capacity is only a little less than Malmö, but the floor is larger than Malmö.

“Old and rusty?” Nah, maybe a bit, but those are mostly myths made up by politicians who wants it torn down in order to build a new arena just to show off during the elections what they’ve done during their terms.
Scandinavium actually fulfilled all the requirements for hosting the contest back in 2013, but the arena had to pull out because of scheduling problems. This time – the arena is all set and up for grabs!

 
3. … and yes, we do have a press center
Someone has said “we won’t have a good enough press center” – LIE! Right next door to Scandinavium we have Sweden’s largest convention center, Svenska Mässan, who would be more than happy to accommodate 1800 journalists. So there!

 
4. Göteborg has THE experience!
One of the main competitors is Stockholm with it’s Tele2 Arena. Hosting the contest there would be a gamble, as that arena has never had any experience with any televised events (with exemption of sporting events) and suddenly putting the contest there would be a very bad move. On the other hand, not only has Göteborg hosted the contest back in 1985 and many heats of Melodifestivalen, the city has also hosted a huge number of large-scale events, concerts and festivals, making the city known as the ”event city of Scandinavia”.
https://youtu.be/i9ydW-7zYhc

5. Great connections to Europe

With a newly renovated airport – Landvetter is an airport that connects Göteborg to the entire European continent. Anyone can get here without having to switch flights within the nordic countries! So we are your one stop Eurovision Stop!
6. You wouldn’t need a ”Eurovision Village”
Every host-city needs a Eurovision Village… but would Göteborg actually need that? With such a compact city core and a passion like no other, the entire city of Göteborg would be transformed to one big Eurovision Village!

7. We have nothing to hide!
Stockholm has underground trains to get around in the city. Göteborg doesn’t… because we have nothing to hide!

8. There’s a McDonalds in the arena
Hungry? Don’t bother going to fancy restaurants? Don’t have enough money to spend in the catering at the press center? No worries – we have a McDonalds slap centre in the arena! Eurovision 2016 Göteborg – need I say more? ‘I’m Lovin’ It’
9. Göteborg has a priceless sense of Humour
Where would we be without laughter these days? Well, certainly not Göteborg! Göteborg has the greatest sense of humour which is classed in a league of it’s own… and don’t worry, we won’t be turning the contest to a big joke.
https://youtu.be/4kiYrw0Y_d4
10. It’s our turn.
Stockholm 1975, Göteborg 1985, Malmö 1992, Stockholm 2000, Malmö 2013… we have waited over 30 years for this to happen.

Now Ludvig makes a strong case for Göteborg to host Eurovision 2016 but he left out the MAIN reason why the city should host the contest – He would cry me a river AGAIN if Göteborg isn’t selected. Really there would be a tissue shortage in Sweden if that happens again and we can’t have that!

So are you in agreement with Ludvig? Is it time for Göteborg to host Eurovision again? Is McDonalds the reason that will swing it for Göteborg?

Guest Author : Ludvig Alfredsson