Culture
[edit]
Film and television[edit]
A striking depiction of Malmö (in the 1930s) was made by Bo Widerberg in his debut film Kvarteret Korpen (transl. 'Raven's End') (1963), largely shot in the shabby Korpen working-class district in Malmö. With humour and tenderness, it depicts the tensions between classes and generations. The movie was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1965. In 2017, the film Medan Vi Lever (transl. 'While We Live') was awarded the prize for best film by an African living abroad at the Africa Movie Academy Awards. It was filmed in Malmö and Gambia, and deals with identity, integration and everyday racism.
The cities of Malmö and Copenhagen are, with the Öresund Bridge, the main locations in the television series The Bridge (Bron, Danish: Broen).
Theatre[edit]
In 1944, Malmö Stadsteater (Malmö Municipal Theatre) was established with a repertoire comprising stage theatre, opera, musical, ballet, musical recitals and experimental theatre. In 1993 it was split into three units, Dramatiska Teater (Dramatical Theatre), Malmö Musikteater (Music Theatre) and Skånes Dansteater (Skåne Dance Theatre) and the name was abandoned. The ownership of the last two were transferred to Region Skåne in 2006 Dramatiska Teatern regained its old name. In the 1950s Ingmar Bergman was the Director and Chief Stage Director of Malmö Stadsteater and many of his actors, like Max von Sydow and Ingrid Thulin became known through his films. Later stage directors include Staffan Valdemar Holm and Göran Stangertz. Malmö Musikteater were renamed Malmö Operan and plays operas and musicals, classics as newly composed, on one of Scandinavia's large opera scenes with 1,511 seats. Skånes dansteater is active and plays contemporary dance repertory and present works by Swedish and international choreographers in their house in Malmö harbor.
Since the 1970s the city has also been home to independent theatre groups and show or musical companies. It also hosts a rock–dance–dub culture; in the 1960s The Rolling Stones played the Klubb Bongo, and in recent years stars like Morrissey, Nick Cave, B.B. King and Pat Metheny have made repeated visits.
The Cardigans debuted in Malmö and recorded their albums there. On 7 January 2009 CNN Travel broadcast a segment called "MyCity_MyLife" featuring Nina Persson taking the camera to some of the sites in Malmö that she enjoys.
The Rooseum Centre for Contemporary Art, founded in 1988 by the Swedish art collector and financier Fredrik Roos and housed in a former power station which had been built in 1900, was one of the foremost centres for contemporary art in Europe during the 1980s and 1990s. By 2006, most of the collection had been sold off and the museum was on a time-out; by 2010 Rooseum had been dismantled and a subsidiary of the National Museum of Modern Art inaugurated in its place.
Music[edit]
Malmö Arena during the Eurovision Song Contest 2024
Malmö has hosted the Eurovision Song Contest three times, in 1992, 2013 and 2024. It is the only non-capital city to do so.
Big Slap is a music festival, held annually since 2013 at Pildammsparken. The 2022 edition of Big Slap featured Justin Bieber, the biggest concert in Malmö's history.
Malmö is the home of several bands, including CC & Lee, Fews, LeGrand, Nasty Idols, Royal Republic, Spunsugar and Timeless Miracle.
Museums[edit]
Technology and Maritime Museum
Malmö Art Museum (Malmö Museer) is a municipal and regional museum that primarily consists of the city's art collection. The museum also features exhibitions on natural history. Malmö Museum also has an aquarium. Malmöhus Castle is also operated as a part of the museum.
The Malmo Technology and Maritime Museum (Teknikens och sjöfartens hus) houses various industrial exhibits, as well as aircraft, boats and a submarine. Temporary exhibitions are primarily shown at Slottsholmen and at the Technology and Maritime Museum (Teknikens och sjöfartens hus).
Moderna Museet Malmö was opened in December 2009 in the old Rooseum building. It is a part of the Moderna Museet, with independent exhibitions of modern and contemporary art. The collection of Moderna Museet holds key pieces of, among others, Marcel Duchamp, Louise Bourgeois, Pablo Picasso, Niki de Saint Phalle, Salvador Dalí, Carolee Schneemann, Henri Matisse and Robert Rauschenberg
Malmö Konsthall is one of the largest exhibition halls in Europe for contemporary art, opened in 1975.
Architecture[edit]
St. Peter's Church in Malmö
Art Nouveau Malmö synagogue
Mosque in Malmö
Västra hamnen skyview, Malmö
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. Another major church of significance is the Church of Our Saviour, Malmö, which was founded in 1870.
Another old building is Tunneln, 300 metres (1,000 ft) to the west of Sankt Petri Church, which also dates back to around 1300.
The oldest parts of Malmö were built between 1300 and 1600 during its first major period of expansion.[citation needed] 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.[citation needed]
Recession followed in the ensuing centuries. The next expansion period was in the mid 19th century and led to the modern stone and brick city. This expansion lasted into the 20th century and can be seen by a number of Art Nouveau buildings, among those in the Malmö synagogue. Malmö was relatively late to be influenced by modern ideas of functionalist tenement architecture in the 1930s.
Around 1965, the government initiated the so-called Million Programme, intending to offer affordable apartments in the outskirts of major Swedish cities. But this period also saw the reconstruction (and razing) of much of the historical city centre.
Since the late 1990s, Malmö has seen a more cosmopolitan architecture. Västra hamnen (the Western Harbor), like most of the harbors to the north of the city centre, was industrial. In 2001 its reconstruction began as an urban residential neighbourhood, with 500 residential units, most were part of the exhibition Bo01. The exhibition had two main objectives: develop self-sufficient housing units in terms of energy and greatly diminish phosphorus emissions. Among the new building's 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 centre of Malmö. Point Hyllie is a new 110 m (360 ft) commercial tower that began construction in 2018.
The Turning Torso in winter skylight, January 2024
Other sights[edit]
Stortorget, a large plaza in the centre of Malmö
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.
Annual events[edit]
Stortorget during Malmöfestivalen 2018
In the third week of August each year a festival, Malmöfestivalen, fills the streets of Malmö with different kinds of cuisines and events.
BUFF International Film Festival, an international children and young people's film festival, is held in Malmö every March.
Nordisk Panorama Film Festival, a film festival for short and documentary films by filmmakers from the Nordic countries, is held every September.
Malmö Arab Film Festival (MAFF), the largest Arabic film festival in Europe, is held in Malmö.
The Conference is an international two-day gathering in Malmö with 1000 participants. Speakers from all over the world, representing a wide range of disciplines are invited. The first edition of The Conference was in 2011 and before that it was called Moving Images (started 2005).
The Nordic Game conference takes place in Malmö every April/May. The event consists of conference itself, recruitment expo and game expo and attracts hundreds of "gamedev" (game development) professionals every year.
Malmö also hosts other 3rd party events that cater to all communities that reside in Malmö, including religious and political celebrations.
Media[edit]
Sydsvenskan, founded in 1870, is Malmö's largest daily newspaper. It has an average circulation of 130,000. Its main competitor is the regional daily Skånska Dagbladet, which has a circulation of 34,000. The tabloid Kvällsposten still has a minimal editorial staff but is today just a version of a Stockholm tabloid. The Social Democratic Arbetet was edited and printed at Malmö between 1887 and 2000.
In addition to these, a number of free-of-charge papers, generally dealing with entertainment, music and fashion have local editions (for instance City, Rodeo, Metro and Nöjesguiden). Malmö is also home to the Egmont Group's Swedish magazine operations. A number of local and regional radio and TV broadcasters are based in the Greater Malmö area.
Sports[edit]
Football[edit]
Malmö Stadion and Eleda Stadion (background), the homes of Malmö FF
Malmö Arena, the home of Malmö Redhawks
Malmö is home to several football teams. Malmö FF, who play in the top-level Allsvenskan league, had their most successful periods in the 1970s and 1980s, when they won the league several times. In 1979, they advanced to the final of the European Cup, defeating AS Monaco, Dynamo Kiev, Wisła Kraków and Austria Wien. In the final, played at the Munich Olympic Stadium against Nottingham Forest, they lost by a single goal scored by Trevor Francis just before half time. To date,[when?] they are the only Swedish football club to have reached the final of the competition. Bosse Larsson and Zlatan Ibrahimović began their football careers at Malmö FF. A second football team, IFK Malmö, played in Sweden's top flight for about 20 years. The club's greatest achievement was reaching the quarterfinal in the European Cup. In the 2023 Regular Season, IFK Malmö ranked last in the Södra Götaland section of the fourth tier of the Swedish football league system, Division 2.
FC Rosengård (former LdB Malmö) and Malmö FF (women) are playing in the top level in Damallsvenskan, women's football league. FC Rosengård girls have won the league 10 times and the national cup title 5 times. In 2014, they reached the semi-final in Champions League, which they ultimately went on to lose to the German side 1. FFC Frankfurt. Brazilian football player Marta, widely regarded the best female football player of all time, played in FC Rosengård between 2014 and 2017.
Malmö Stadion was inaugurated for the opening match of the 1958 FIFA World Cup. The then world champions, West Germany, defeated Argentina 3–1 in front of a crowd of 31,156. A further two games in the cup were decided at the stadium.
Other sports[edit]
Malmö has athletes competing in a variety of sport.
Ice hockey[edit]
The most notable other sports team is the ice hockey team Malmö Redhawks. They were the creation of millionaire Percy Nilsson and quickly rose to the highest rank in the early to mid-1990s and won two Swedish championships, but for a number of years found themselves residing outside of the top flight. As of the 2015/2016 season they are once again competing in the top flight SHL league.
Handball[edit]
A first division handball team, HK Malmö, attracts a fair amount of attendance.
Rugby[edit]
Rugby union team, Malmö RC, founded in 1954, have won 6 national championships. The club has teams for men, women and juniors.
Gaelic football[edit]
Gaelic football has also been introduced to Malmö. The men of Malmö G.A.A. have won the Scandinavian Championships twice and the women once.
Other team and individual sports[edit]
Other notable team sports are baseball, American football and Australian football. Among non-team sports, badminton and athletics are the most popular, together with East Asian martial arts and boxing. Basketball is also fairly a big sport in the city, including the clubs Malbas and SF Srbija among others.
Women are permitted by the city council to swim topless in public swimming pools. Everyone must wear bathing attire, but covering of the breasts is not mandatory.
Further information on the stand-alone floorball league: M-ligan
