Did the Eurovision Song Contest in 2024 Affect Reported Crimes in the Hosting City?

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Authors: Niklas Jakobsson, Manne Gerell
Cited by: 1
References: 11

Abstract

We examine whether hosting the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest affected reported crime in Malmö, Sweden. Eurovision generated large visitor inflows and a substantial police reinforcement, creating a unique disruption to the city's routine activities. Using weekly crime data for 2021–2024 and time-series regression models with log-transformed outcomes and weather controls, we find that non-police-initiated crimes declined by 10.2% and property crimes by 8.6% during the contest week, while vandalism increased by 20.6% and police-initiated detections rose by 8.0%. A formal cumulative three-week displacement test shows that the decline in non-police-initiated and property crimes is fully offset by increases in adjacent weeks, consistent with intertemporal displacement rather than a net reduction. In contrast, vandalism shows a significant net increase over the three-week window.

Fields of Study & Subjects

Sports Gender and Society Soviet and Russian History Sport and Mega-Event Impacts

Publication details

Journal / source
Nordic Journal of Criminology
Publisher
Scandinavian University Press
Volume
28
Issue
1
Pages
1–9
Publication date
9 June 2026
Language
EN