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.