CLAMOUR FOR GLAMOUR? CITY COMPETITION FOR HOSTING THE SWEDISH TRYOUTS TO THE EUROVISION SONG CONTEST

For some time it has been argued that cities all over the world have become more entrepreneurial and increasingly competitive. Most research has focused on spectacular events in well-known metropolises, but far less is known about how smaller cities engage in competitive activities. This paper focuses on how, why and what Swedish cities hope to achieve by engaging themselves in hosting the tryouts to the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC), which provides an opportunity for a critical case study of place marketing and city competition in Sweden. The empirical material is based on interviews with stakeholders in the tryouts. Our findings show that the local authorities do not compete in the same way as suggested by the literature, but instead collaborate to a great deal. While there are various motives behind arranging a tryouts tryout, it is noted that whereas the ESC presents an opportunity for a host city to 'place itself on the map', hosting a tryout is often mainly seen as an opportunity to show the organisers of the event the city's potential for hosting other events in the future. Our findings suggest that the main outcome of hosting a tryout, an outcome that the local authorities seem content with, is having arranged a glamorous party for the local inhabitants. The paper concludes by discussing why competition was found to be less outspoken than the literature suggests.