Welcome to Malmö, Sweden, for the 123rd edition of the Forum Song Contest, in May 2019!
We are here in Malmö, Sweden after the Swedish victory in FSC 122 by Smith & Thell feat. Swedish Jam Factory performing Forgive Me Friend.
Let us revisit that captivating performance:
Our host city for this FSC- edition is Malmö, a coastal city in the county of Skåne, and Sweden's third largest city .
Malmö was one of the earliest and most industrialized towns of Scandinavia, but it struggled with the adaptation to post-industrialism. Since the construction of the Øresund Bridge, Malmö has undergone a major transformation with architectural developments, and it has attracted new biotech and IT companies, and particularly students through Malmö University, founded in 1998. The city contains many historic buildings and parks, and is also a commercial center for the western part of Skåne.
The earliest written mention of Malmö as a city dates from 1275. It is thought to have been founded shortly before that date, as a fortified quay or ferry berth of the Archbishop of Lund, some 20 kilometres to the north-east. Malmö was for centuries Denmark's second-biggest city. In the 17th century, Malmö and the Scanian region (Skåneland) came under control of Sweden following the Treaty of Roskilde with Denmark, signed in 1658.
Malmö's oldest building is St. Peter's Church (Swedish: Sankt Petri). It was built in the early 14th century in Baltic Brick Gothic probably after St Mary's Church in Lübeck. The church is built with a nave, two aisles, a transept and a tower. Its exterior is characterized above all by the flying buttresses spanning its airy arches over the aisles and ambulatory. The tower, which fell down twice during the 15th century, got its current look in 1890.
The oldest parts of Malmö were built between 1300–1600 during its first major period of expansion. The central city's layout as well as some of its oldest buildings are from this time. Many of the smaller buildings from this time are typical Scanian: two story urban houses that show a strong Danish influence.
Since the late 1990s, Malmö have seen a more cosmopolitan architecture. Västra Hamnen (The Western Harbor), like most of the harbor to the north of the city center, was industrial. In 2001 its reconstruction began as an urban residential neighbourhood, with 500 residential units, most were part of the e
bition Bo01. The ebition had two main objectives: develop self-sufficient housing units in terms of energy and greatly diminish phosphorus emissions. Among the new buildings towers were the Turning Torso, a skyscraper with a twisting design, 190 metres (620 ft) tall, the majority of which is residential. It became Malmö's new landmark.] The most recent addition (2015) is the new development of Malmö Live. This new building features a hotel, a concert hall, congress hall and a sky bar in the center of Malmö. Point Hyllie is a new 110 m commercial tower that is under construction as of 2018.
The beach Ribersborg, by locals usually called Ribban, south-west of the harbor area, is a man-made shallow beach, stretching along Malmö's coastline. Despite Malmö's chilly climate, it is sometimes referred to as the "Copacabana of Malmö". It is the site of Ribersborgs open-air bath, opened in the 1890s.
The long boardwalk at The Western Harbor, Scaniaparken and Daniaparken, has become a favorite summer hang-out for the people of Malmö and is a popular place for bathing. The harbor is particularly popular with Malmö's vibrant student community and has been the scene of several impromptu outdoor parties and gatherings.
In summary, Malmö is a vibrant city, contrasting the old and the oh-so-now: from the gabled Dutch-Renaissance buildings of Gamla Staden (the 'Old Town'), to the unapologetically modern architecture of Västra Hamnen's redeveloped waterfront. It is also known as Sweden's link to the rest of Europe via the Öresund Bridge, a long road and railway bridge–tunnel running to Copenhagen, which is only a 45 min. drive away.
The venue for tonight's proceedings is the Malmö Arena.
Malmö Arena is a multi-use indoor arena in Malmö, Sweden, the home of SHL ice hockey club Malmö Redhawks. It is the largest arena in the SHL, and the second-largest indoor arena in Sweden. Apart from hosting Redhawks hockey matches, the arena is often the venue for team handball, floorball, concerts, and other events.
Malmö Arena has an overall capacity of 13,000 for sporting events; for concerts and other events, the capacity can be as low as 500 or as high as 15,500, depending on where the stage is placed. The lower tier of the northern stand of the arena can be turned into terracing for sports. The arena can also be used for dancing and dining: the capacity is 5,000 for dancing, and between 50 and 2,000 for dining events. The arena has 72 luxury suites, which can be rented for different events. There are also two restaurants and four bars in the arena, with a total capacity of 3,250, 20 kiosks, and fast food locations.
Time now, to entertained and dazzled by our gracious hosts:
Please welcome Swedish singer Veronica Maggio and Henrik Lundqvist, a Swedish Ice hockey player
Veronica Maggio was born on 15 March 1981 in Uppsala, Sweden, to a Swedish mother and an Italian father. She attended Uppsala Musikklasser primary school and went on to study music at Bolandgymnasiet (Boland highschool) in Uppsala and was also the lead singer of the group Solitude. She won the category "Årets nykomling" (Newcomer of the Year) in the Grammisgalan 2007.
In 2011 Maggio won the Rockbjörnen (rock bear) prize for both "Årets kvinnliga liveartist" (Live female artist of the year) and "Årets svenska låt" (Swedish song of the year) which was presented by Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet. At the 2012 Grammisgalan Maggio was named winner in the categories "Årets pop" (Pop of the year), "Årets kompositör" (composer of the year) and "Årets textförfattare" (Lyricist of the year).[12] The latter two were won together with Christian Walz.
French artist Vianney wrote a song about Maggio titled "Veronica".
Henrik Lundqvist (born 2 March 1982) is a Swedish professional ice hockey goaltender for the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Before winning the Vezina Trophy in 2012, he was nominated in each of his first three seasons, and is the only goaltender in NHL history to record 11 30-win seasons in his first 12 seasons. He holds the record for most wins by a European-born goaltender in the NHL. His dominating play during his rookie season resulted in the New York media and Rangers fans giving him the nickname "King Henrik". During the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, he led the Swedish men's team to their second Olympic gold medal.
Before joining the Rangers, Lundqvist played for Frölunda HC in Swedish Elitserien. During his years in Sweden, he developed into the league's finest goaltender, winning the Honken Trophy three consecutive seasons; 2003, 2004, and 2005. In 2005, he also won two of the most prestigious awards in Swedish ice hockey, the Guldpucken (Golden Puck) and the Guldhjälmen (Golden Helmet).
Lundqvist is considered a butterfly style goalie, though unorthodox because of the aggressive way he performs the butterfly. He is best known for his athleticism, strong positional play, concentration on tracking pucks, upright torso stance and quick reflexes.
Before we start with the show tonight, it is time for our opening act, so let's enjoy this lively performance by Luca Hänni, who took time off from his busy schedule of preparations for Eurovision, to perform his hit song 'Set the World on Fire':
And finally, here are the first half of our contestants for this edition. Good luck to all contestants!
We have now heard half of the performances tonight, so let's sit back and relax, while we enjoy our interval acts by two Swedish singers:
First up is iamamiwhoami performing 'Hunting for Pearls':
And our next performer is Lisa Ajax performing 'Give me that':
And so, we have come to the end of tonight's performances. As a final encore, we have one more surprise for everyone. As our closing act, all the way from Australia, we have Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds and Kylie Minogue to perform the hauntingly beautiful ballad 'Where wild roses grow':
Evaluation Period
We will now observe the 7-day evaluation period. If, during this time, you find any entries which you believe are in contravention of FSC-rules, please contact a member of the mod team.
The voting deadline and vote collector will be announced in due time.
Have fun guys!
you know who you are. 
The 7 day evaluation period is now over and you can now submit your votes! 
