Skip to main content

SVT to "unleash the full potential" in Malmö

17 October 2012 at 11:00 CEST

SVT are preparing a series of spectacular programming for when the competition takes place in Malmö on the 14th, 16th and 18th of May next year.

Plans are now starting to emerge about how Malmö 2013 will look and we will investigate this through a series of articles aimed at bringing you closer to the planning and to give you some insight into what is going on behind the scenes leading up to the contest.

Tradition of revival

SVT believe that in the past when Sweden has hosted the competition that it has undergone a so-called renewal, marking a new era for the contest and setting a new tone. 2013 hopes to be no exception and the organisers have an ambition entitled "unleash the full potential", which will underpin the entire planning process of the show.

The Executive Producer of the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest, Martin Österdahl, spoke about the last time Sweden hosted the competition in Stockholm's Globe Arena in May 2000:

"There is a tradition of SVT and Sweden moving the goal posts for the show productionwise, techically, contentwise and programwise".

"The show from Globen became a benchmark for the modern Eurovision. For the first time a large, modern arena and new movable LED technology were used. The program hit a new tone".

"Unleash the full potential"

Now SVT want to redevelop the Eurovision Song Contest. As a beacon for these plans, the organisational group has set an ambition to "unleash the full potential".

As mentioned above, this ambition will be the cornerstone of the planning for next year's Eurovision Song Contest and Martin Österdahl explained the idea behind this:

"There is a big and important messsage behind Eurovision just as there is an olympic message behind the Olympic Games. However, in the case of Eurovision, it's maybe not quite known and has not really been explained yet"

Now SVT are working hard to make this idea a reality.

"It's about embracing the unique wealth of the people, culture, music and festivity that exist in Europe. Learning about other cultures and building bridges in Europe is very important. It was important in the 50's after two world wars had brought the continent to its knees, and it is also important today".


Martin Österdahl, the Executive Producer of the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest. Photo: Carl-Johan Söder (SVT).

Giving the competition a lift

The organising committee want to exploit the opportunity of organising the Eurovision Song Contest to spark interest in other cultures and styles, and to encourage a genuine curiosity for other countries. This is already expressed in one of the first internal planning documents at SVT: "For us this is the perfect platform to reach out with the message that all people are equal".

Martin Österdahl believes that this fundamental idea will lift the competition in Malmö:

"It's a dream to work with for a TV producer. We are really going to take care of it and unleash the full potential of this program".

Four core values

With the ambition to "unleash the full potential" the organisational team has come up with four core values that represent what SVT want to achieve with the Eurovision Song Contest in 2013:

- To create a genuine curiosity.
- To create "wow" moments.
- To create real relations.
- To create a lasting passion.

The journey continues

SVT and Sweden have so far only taken the first steps in the work to release the full potential of the Eurovision Song Contest. However, as you can see, the foundation stones have been laid with the development of an ambition for the competition and the four core values.

You can make a difference

The organisers are very keen to bring the viewing public right to the centre of the planning process for the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest and as such this is the opportunity for you to relay your ideas and wishes for the three shows next year right to the production team.

If you have any thoughts, then send an email to [email protected]!

In our next article, we will look at how Sweden wants to focus on the artists and participating countries.

Special thanks to Gustav Dahlander at SVT for providing the above information.