The Swedish national selection for the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...

was called Melodifestivalen 1974. It was, by far, won by the group ABBA, consisting of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Agnetha Fältskog, Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus. Their song was called "

Waterloo Waterloo most commonly refers to: * Battle of Waterloo, a battle on 18 June 1815 in which Napoleon met his final defeat * Waterloo, Belgium, where the battle took place. Waterloo may also refer to: Other places Antarctica *King George Island (S ...

", which was written by Björn and Benny. It was originally written in

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

, but for the ESC final, it was translated into English, which the rules allowed the years 1973-1976. ABBA was one of the favorites to win ESC, held in

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

, United Kingdom. They sang as #08. In the voting, they received high points from the first jury to vote ( Finland), but it was a close race until the second last jury,

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, which gave Sweden enough points to practically secure victory. Sweden got a total of 24 points, compared to runner-up Italy's 18. This was Sweden's first victory. In 2005, in the 50th anniversary show '' Congratulations'', Waterloo was chosen the best Eurovision song ever.

Before Eurovision

Melodifestivalen 1974

Melodifestivalen Melodifestivalen (; literally "the Melody Festival") is an annual song competition organised by Swedish public broadcasters Sveriges Television (SVT) and Sveriges Radio (SR). It determines the country's representative for the Eurovision Song ...

1974 (on-screen title Melodifestival 1974) was the selection for the 15th song to represent

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

at the

. It was the 14th time that this system of picking a song had been used. 10 songwriters were selected by SR for the competition. The final was held in the SVT Studios in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

on 9 February 1974, presented by Johan Sandström and was broadcast on TV1 but was not broadcast on radio. ABBA went on to win that year's Eurovision Song Contest in

, Sweden's first Eurovision win.

Voting

At Eurovision

Voting

Every country had a jury of ten people. Every jury member could give one point to his or her favourite song.

''Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest''

"Waterloo" was one of fourteen Eurovision songs chosen by fans to compete in the ''Congratulations'' 50th anniversary special in 2005. The contest was broadcast on SVT with commentary by Pekka Heino. It was the only Swedish entry featured in the show, although several Swedish entrants were featured (including Swedish winners Carola and Richard Herrey of Herreys). "Waterloo" appeared seventh in the running order, following " Nel blu dipinto di blu" by

Domenico Modugno Domenico Modugno (; 9 January 1928 – 6 August 1994) was an Italian singer, actor and, later in life, a member of the Italian Parliament. He is known for his 1958 international hit song "Nel blu, dipinto di blu (song), Nel blu dipinto di blu", ...

and preceding " Fly on the Wings of Love" by the Olsen Brothers. At the end of the first round, it was announced that "Waterloo" had advanced to the second round along with four other songs. It was later revealed that "Waterloo" won the first round with 331 points. This included 18 sets of the maximum twelve points, including from Sweden (who, unlike in usual contests, were allowed to vote for their own entry). Coincidentally, the first proper competing Eurovision song to receive a record 18 top marks was a Swedish entry: "

Euphoria Euphoria ( ) is the experience (or affect) of pleasure or excitement and intense feelings of well-being and happiness. Certain natural rewards and social activities, such as aerobic exercise, laughter, listening to or making music and da ...

" by Loreen, the winning song of the 2012 contest. "Waterloo" went on to win the second round and the anniversary contest as a whole, scoring 329 points.

Voting

References

External links

TV broadcastings at SVT's open archive
{{ABBA

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

Countries in the Eurovision Song Contest 1974

Eurovision The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...