Malmö’s Hosting of Eurovision Song Contest Will Be a Certified Sustainable Event

It's now confirmed that Malmö's host city programme during the Eurovision Song Contest will be certified as a sustainable event - thanks to an ambitious policy with 148 different aspects. With recycled glitter, climate smart food, and fossil free transportation, the city of Malmö is planning a sustainable music festival.

"We are pleased to deliver the news that we meet all the requirements for a certified sustainable event with a significant margin. The city of Malmö already has a sustainable organization at its core, and now we have received a stamp of quality that what we do actually works," says Veronika Hoffmann, sustainability coordinator, City of Malmö.

Efforts are being made on several levels to reduce the event’s climate impact. Among other things, the locations for the open programme in the city have been chosen based on where there is already sustainable infrastructure, creating a great experience for visitors without the need for new construction.

“Malmö was chosen as host city largely because we are strong in the field of sustainability. We are at the forefront when it comes to events, considering all perspectives within the field, and have unique conditions, partly because the city is so compact and there are good conditions for fossil-free transportation," says Karin Karlsson, managing director city host event Eurovision Song Contest 2024.

In the process of meeting all the requirements for a certified sustainable event, Malmö city has had a close collaboration with the company Greentime, specializing in sustainability in the event industry.

"Leading up to this event, Malmö city together with co-organizers has taken a significant step in the right direction. There have been great efforts, ranging from dialogue with partners to procurement of materials, and I hope that visitors will also be able to appreciate this fine work," says Simon Strandvik, CEO of Greentime AB.

The City will be Dressed in Recycled Colours

Those in Malmö during Eurovision week will see how the city center is dressed up for the party. Recycling is a common thread for all decorations. For example, decorations are made from materials that would otherwise have been discarded, such as recycled textiles. Children in Malmö’s preschools and schools are also involved in the creative work of decorating the city in Eurovision colors.

Sustainability in Numbers – Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö

• 70% of the items that are part of the ESC 2024 design shall be borrowed, rented, second hand, sharing services, reused, or similar. (So-called "city dressing" - banners and signs promoting the Eurovision Song Contest - are excluded from this.)
• 90% of all decorations, including all banners and signs, shall be reused or repurposed after the Eurovision Song Contest ends.
• 100% of the meals served by the City of Malmö will be vegetarian with a low ecological footprint.
• 50% of all ingredients purchased by the City of Malmö for meals during the Eurovision Song Contest hosting shall be organically produced.
• 100% of all volunteers, booked artists for the stages, and other staff working with the Eurovision Song Contest shall be offered free fossil-free transportation around Malmö through public transport, local bike rentals, or electric vehicles.
• 20 or more actors within sustainable design, textiles, and fashion will be visible in Malmö's open Eurovision program.

About the Sustainable Event certification

Greentimes' Sustainable Event certification is a third-party certification with independent auditors who review an organizer's work and validate whether the organizer has met a number of requirements.

To be approved as a certified Sustainable Event, Malmö city has presented its work on sustainability ahead of the Eurovision Song Contest based on 148 different aspects within three areas: organizational, social, and ecological sustainability.