Melodifestivalen (; literally "the Melody Festival") is an annual song competition organised by Swedish public broadcasters
Sveriges Television
Sveriges Television AB ("Sweden's Television Stock Company"), shortened to SVT (), is the Sweden, Swedish national public broadcasting, public television broadcaster, funded by a public service tax on personal income set by the Riksdag (national ...
(SVT) and
Sveriges Radio
Sveriges Radio AB (, "Sweden's Radio") is Sweden's national publicly funded radio broadcaster. Sveriges Radio is a public limited company, owned by an independent foundation, previously funded through a licensing fee, the level of which is d ...
(SR). It determines the country's representative 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 ...
, and has been staged almost every year since 1959. In the early 2000s, the competition was the most popular television program in Sweden;
[Television in Sweden](_blank)
Sweden.se (30 September 2005). Retrieved on 20 October 2006. it is also broadcast on radio and the Internet. In 2012, the heats averaged 3.3 million viewers, and over an estimated four million people in Sweden watched the final, almost half of the Swedish population.
The festival has produced six
Eurovision winners and twenty-four top-five placings for
Sweden at the contest. The winner of Melodifestivalen has been chosen by panels of jurors since its inception. Since 1999, the juries have been joined by a public
telephone vote which has an equal influence over the outcome. The competition makes a considerable impact on the music charts in Sweden.
The introduction of heats in 2002 raised the potential number of contestants from around twelve to thirty-two. A children's version of the competition,
Lilla Melodifestivalen
(known as ''MGP Junior'' in 2002) was a Swedish televised song competition for children aged 8 to 15, organised by (SVT). The competing songs were primarily in Swedish and written by the participants themselves.
History
In 2002 and again from ...
, also began that year. Light orchestrated pop songs, known locally as
schlager music
Schlager music (, " hit(s)") is a style of European popular music that is generally a catchy instrumental accompaniment to vocal pieces of pop music with simple, happy-go-lucky, and often sentimental lyrics.
Typical Schlager tracks are eith ...
, used to be so prevalent that the festival was sometimes referred to as ("the schlager festival") or ("schlager Swedish championship") by the
Swedish media.
["Jag koncentrerar mig på schlagerfestivalen"](_blank)
I am concentrating on schlagerfestivalen" Aftonbladet.se (27 February 2002). Retrieved on 20 October 2006.[Anders Foghagen (13 October 2006]
Agnes diskad från Schlagerfestivalen
Agnes disqualified from schlagerfestivalen" TV4.se. Retrieved on 20 October 2006. However, other styles of music, such as rap,
reggae
Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...
, and
glam rock
Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was performed by musicians who wore outrageous costumes, makeup, and hairstyles, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists drew on diver ...
, have made an appearance since the event's expansion. The introduction of a grand final in Stockholm has attracted substantial tourism to the city.
[The Swedish Research Institute of Tourism (17–18 March 2006)]
Melodifestivalen 2006
. Retrieved on 23 January 2008.
Origins
With seven nations competing, the first
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 ...
took place in
Lugano
Lugano (, , ; lmo, label=Ticinese dialect, Ticinese, Lugan ) is a city and municipality in Switzerland, part of the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino. It is the largest city of both Ticino and the Italian-speaking southern Switzerland. Luga ...
, Switzerland in May 1956. Sweden's first contest was the third, in 1958. Without broadcasting a public selection, Sveriges Radio (SR) chose to send
Alice Babs
Hildur Alice Nilsson (26 January 1924 – 11 February 2014), known by her stage name Alice Babs, was a Swedish singer and actress. She worked in a wide number of genres – Swedish folklore, Elizabethan songs and opera. While she was best known i ...
to the contest in
Hilversum
Hilversum () is a city and municipality in the province of North Holland, Netherlands. Located in the heart of the Gooi, it is the largest urban centre in that area. It is surrounded by heathland, woods, meadows, lakes, and smaller towns. Hilvers ...
, Netherlands. The song selected was "" (The same stars shine for the two of us), later renamed "" (Little star). It finished fourth at Eurovision on 12 March 1958.
The first Melodifestivalen, incorporated into the radio series, took place on 29 January 1959 at
Cirkus
CirKus are a trip hop band formed by Burt Ford (Cameron McVey), Karmil (aka Matt Kent), Lolita Moon and Neneh Cherry.
History
DJ and producer Karmil was recruited by Burt Ford (Neneh's husband Cameron McVey) as an assistant recording engi ...
in Stockholm; eight songs participated. Four "expert" juries 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 ...
,
Gothenburg
Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...
,
Malmö
Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal populat ...
, and
Luleå
Luleå ( , , locally ; smj, Luleju; fi, Luulaja) is a city on the coast of northern Sweden, and the capital of Norrbotten County, the northernmost county in Sweden. Luleå has 48,728 inhabitants in its urban core (2018) and is the seat of Lu ...
decided the winner. The competition was won by
Siw Malmkvist
Siw Gunnel Margareta Malmkvist (born 31 December 1936) is a Swedish schlager singer and actress popular in Scandinavia and West Germany. She had a number one hit in West Germany in 1964 with "''Liebeskummer lohnt sich nicht''" (''"Lovesickness ...
performing "Augustin", but SR decided that the winning song—regardless of its original performer—would be performed by
Brita Borg
Brita Kerstin Gunvor Borg (10 June 1926 – 4 May 2010) was a Swedish singer, actress, and variety show artist. Her variety show career spanned from 1943 into the 1970s, while her singing career trailed away at the end of the 1960s. However, s ...
at Eurovision. This policy, of selecting the artist for Eurovision internally and having other artists perform potential Swedish entries at Melodifestivalen, was stopped in 1961. The competition became a stand-alone television programme in 1960, known as the . In the event's early years, it was broadcast to Norway and Denmark through the
Nordvision
Nordvision is a cooperative venture, established in 1959, between five Nordic public service broadcasters: Denmark's DR, Norway's NRK, Iceland's RÚV
Ríkisútvarpið (RÚV) (pronounced or ) ( en, 'The Icelandic National Broadcasting Servi ...
network. The competition adopted its current name, ''Melodifestivalen'', in 1967.
Melodifestivalen has failed to be staged on three occasions. In 1964, the competition was cancelled due to an artist's strike; Sweden did not send a song to Eurovision that year. Sweden was absent at Eurovision for a second time in 1970 because of a Nordic boycott of the voting system, which had led to a four-way tie for first place at the 1969 contest. After SR staged the 1975 contest in Stockholm, left-wing groups argued that Sweden should not spend money to win and host Eurovision again. This led to mass demonstrations against commercial music and the organisation of an anti-commercial . Therefore, Sweden decided not to send a song to Eurovision 1976 but returned in 1977.
Participation
Hundreds of songs and performers have entered Melodifestivalen since its debut. Although songwriters living outside Sweden were once not allowed to enter Melodifestivalen, the 2012 contest marked the first time foreign songwriters could submit entries, provided that they collaborated with a Swedish songwriter. To be eligible, songwriters and performers must be at least sixteen years of age on the day of the first
Eurovision semi-final.
[Melodifestivalen 2007—Tävlingsregler](_blank)
Melodifestivalen 2007—Competition rules" Sveriges Television AB (May 2006). Retrieved on 21 October 2006.
Until 2001, participation in the festival was limited to a single night. The number of contestants ranged from five to twelve. A two-round system was used intermittently between 1981 and 1998, in which all but five of the contestants were eliminated in the first round of voting. Failure to reach the second round under this system was seen as a major failure for a prominent artist; when
Elisabeth Andreassen
Elisabeth Gunilla Andreassen (; born 28 March 1958), also known as just Bettan, is a Norwegian-Swedish singer who has finished both first and second in the Eurovision Song Contest.
Career
Her talent was discovered in 1979 by Swedish musician and ...
failed to qualify in 1984, it almost ended her music career. The introduction of weekly heats in 2002 increased the number of contestants to thirty-two. At least ten of the contestants must perform 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 ...
.
A CD of each year's competing songs has been released since 2001, and a DVD of the heats and final since 2003. Due to the proliferation of digital download and streaming into the 2010s, DVDs have not been issued for Melodifestivalen in recent years.
Melodifestivalen has been the launch-pad for the success of popular local acts, such as
ABBA
ABBA ( , , formerly named Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid or Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida) are a Swedish supergroup formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The group's ...
,
Tommy Körberg
Bert Gustav Tommy Körberg (; born 4 July 1948) is a Swedish singer, actor, and musician. English-speaking audiences know him best for his role as Anatoly/"The Russian" in the musical ''Chess''. He played the role on the 1984 concept album, and ...
, and
Lisa Nilsson
My Lisa Karolina Nilsson (born 13 August 1970) is a Swedish singer.
She was discovered by the producer William (Billy) Butt and she is perhaps best known in Sweden for her 1992 hit, '' Himlen runt hörnet'', written by Mauro Scocco and Johan ...
. The competition has played host to performers from outside Sweden, including
Baccara
Baccara was a female vocal duo formed in 1977 by Spanish artists Mayte Mateos (born 7 February 1951) and María Mendiola (4 April 1952 – 11 September 2021). The duo rapidly achieved international success with their debut single "Yes Sir, I Ca ...
,
Alannah Myles
Alannah Myles (née Byles; born December 25, 1958) is a Canadian singer-songwriter who has won both a Grammy and a Juno Award for the song " Black Velvet". The song was a top-ten hit in Canada; it was also a number one hit on the US ''Billboar ...
,
Katrina Leskanich
Katrina Elizabeth Leskanich ( ; born April 10, 1960) is an American musician and the former lead singer of the pop rock band Katrina and the Waves. Their song " Walking on Sunshine" was an international hit in 1985. In 1997, the band won the ...
,
Cornelis Vreeswijk
Cornelis Vreeswijk (; ; 8 August 1937 – 12 November 1987) was a Dutch-born Swedish singer-songwriter, poet and actor.
He emigrated to Sweden with his parents in 1949 at the age of twelve. He was educated as a social worker and hoped to become ...
, and
Margaret
Margaret is a female first name, derived via French () and Latin () from grc, μαργαρίτης () meaning "pearl". The Greek is borrowed from Persian.
Margaret has been an English name since the 11th century, and remained popular througho ...
. Melodifestivalen participants have also represented—and unsuccessfully tried to represent—other countries at Eurovision. While local success for Melodifestivalen winners is common, most contestants return to obscurity and few have major international success. The impact that the competition makes on the Swedish charts means an artist need not win the competition to earn significant domestic record sales. For example, the song which finished last at Melodifestivalen 1990, "" by
Loa Falkman
Carl Johan "Loa" Falkman (born 24 July 1947) is a Swedish opera singer, actor and artist. He was appointed hovsångare by H.M. the King of Sweden in 2003.http://www.kungahuset.se/royalcourt Swedish Royal Court official home page
After studying ...
, topped
Sverigetopplistan
Sverigetopplistan (, lit. "the Sweden top list") is the Swedish national record chart, formerly known as Topplistan (1975–1997) and Hitlistan (1998–2007) and known by its current name since October 2007, based on sales data from the Swedish R ...
, the Swedish singles chart. The most recent occurrence was 2016 with
Samir & Viktor
Samir & Viktor or Samir och Viktor was a Swedish music duo that consists of ''Paradise Hotel'' contestant Samir Badran and fashion blogger Viktor Frisk. Samir & Viktor participated in Melodifestivalen 2015 with the song "Groupie", which finished ...
's song "
Bada Nakna". In 2007, twenty-one participants reached the Sverigetopplistan.
[Barry Viniker (16 March 2007]
Melodifestivalen invades charts
. ESCtoday.com. Retrieved on 20 April 2007. The week after the 2008 final, songs from the festival made up the entire top fifteen on the domestic singles chart.
Selection of contestants
The process of narrowing thousands of potential entries down to twenty-eight lasts over seven months. SVT directly selects fourteen entries from amongst the submissions from the public at large. Thirteen additional entries come from special invitations made by SVT or other entries that SVT has selected from amongst the submissions. Finally, the twenty-eighth entry is selected via the "" competition. At least 10% of the final twenty-eight songs are sung in Swedish. The entire process can begin as early as May of the previous year and is finished by January.
Songs
SVT begins looking for songs nine months before the start of the televised Melodifestivalen (within days of the previous year's Eurovision final).
[Sietse Bakker (26 May 2006)]
SVT announces Melodifestivalen 2007
. ESCtoday.com. Retrieved on 21 October 2006. The deadline for submission is in September and songs can be in any language. In the pre-selection, song length is limited to three minutes and twenty seconds; songs must be shortened to three minutes if they reach the final twenty-eight and qualifying songs may also be remixed.
The submission process is overseen by members of the Swedish Music Publishers Association (SMFF), whose task is to reduce the number of songs, which have numbered over 3,000 a year since 2002, to around 1,200. The 3,440 entries received in the preselection for
Melodifestivalen 2009
Melodifestivalen 2009 was a Sweden, Swedish song contest held between February and March 2009. It was the selection for the 49th song to represent Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest, and was the 48th edition of Melodifestivalen. Five heats were ...
was the most in the competition's history. The average has then lowered to around 2,500 bidding entries every year. The SMFF's choices are then given to a sixteen-person jury of music professionals, SVT staff and other members of the public.
[Melodifestivalen 2006—selection](_blank)
. ESC.info.se. Retrieved on 21 October 2006. The jury ranges from teenagers to people in their fifties.
ESC.info.se. Retrieved on 20 April 2007. The songs that qualify, along with their composers and lyricists, are announced at the end of September. This is often followed by fervent speculation over who will perform the songs. Songwriters that qualify must provide interviews to SVT, attend a press conference before the competition, and remain open to promotional appearances if their song reaches the final.
Artists and wildcards
SVT selects performers for the entries. Artists who perform the demo of a song automatically enter the competition; they must perform their songs if suitable alternate performers cannot be found. The artists' songs risk disqualification if they refuse.
In the past, this rule led to the disqualification of, among others, Carola's "" in 2003 and
Stephen Simmonds's "So Good" in 2006.
[Sietse Bakker (17 December 2002)]
Carola's Autumn Leaf exits
ESCtoday.com. Retrieved on 22 October 2006.[Alexander Borodin (25 November 2005)]
Stephen Simmonds disqualified from Melodifestivalen
. ESCtoday.com. Retrieved on 22 October 2006. SVT may also give songs to other performers without considering the interests of the demo artist. This prevented the
Brandsta City Släckers
Brandsta City Släckers is a Swedish band with some firefighters that became very popular in Sweden.
The band sang " Kom och ta mig" in Melodifestivalen 2002 and they also performed in Melodifestivalen 2003 with "15 minuter".
The groupmembers ...
(in 2004) and
Pernilla Wahlgren
Pernilla Nina Elisabeth Wahlgren (born 24 December 1967) is a Swedish singer and actress. She has sung in Melodifestivalen several times; her 1985 entry titled " Piccadilly Circus" became popular and successful. She has acted in several plays and ...
(in 2005) from performing the songs they had submitted.
[Daniel Ringby (25 October 2003)]
Brandsta City Släckers kicked out from Swedish preselection
. Retrieved on 22 October 2006.[Alexander Borodin (14 January 2005)]
Swedish artists criticise Melodifestivalen official
. Retrieved on 22 October 2006. Replacements for disqualified songs fare unpredictably at the competition. In 2006, "Naughty Boy" by
Hannah Graaf
Hannah Rakel Serafia Graaf Karyd (born ''Graf'' 31 August 1978) is a Swedish glamour model and singer. Graaf along with her model sister, Magdalena, formed a musical duo called The Graaf Sisters.
Early years
Graaf was born in Gothenburg, but ...
(the replacement for Simmonds' song) finished second to last in its heat. In 2002 and 2007, by contrast, the replacements performed by
Jan Johansen and
Måns Zelmerlöw
Måns Petter Albert Sahlén Zelmerlöw (; born 13 June 1986) is a Swedish pop singer, songwriter and television presenter. He took part in '' Idol 2005'', eventually finishing fifth, won the first season of '' Let's Dance,'' and scored a hit w ...
reached the final ten. The contestants that will perform the twenty-eight qualifiers from the preselection are announced in late November. Singer-songwriters are common. As such, artists often confirm that they will participate before the official announcement.
The wildcard (''joker'') system was introduced in 2004 to diversify the music featured.
[Melodifestivalen 2007—FAQ in English](_blank)
. SVT.se. Retrieved on 1 May 2007. Four artists, one in each heat, were invited by SVT to enter a song of their choice into the competition, provided it does not breach the rules. The wildcard songs and artists were announced in January. Since the wildcards' introduction, three have won the competition. The wildcard system was discontinued in 2013.
Hosting
The venues for each year's Melodifestivalen are announced in September of the preceding year. The heats are held in towns and cities throughout Sweden. The 16,300-capacity
Avicii Arena
Avicii Arena, originally known as Stockholm Globe Arena and previously as Ericsson Globe, but commonly referred to in Swedish simply as Globen (; "the Globe"), is an indoor arena located in Stockholm Globe City, Johanneshov district of Stockh ...
in Stockholm has hosted the final since the heats were introduced in 2002, through to 2012. In 2013, the final moved to the newly built
Friends Arena
Nationalarenan, currently known as Friends Arena for sponsorship reasons, is a retractable roof multi-purpose stadium in Stockholm, Sweden. Located next to the lake Råstasjön in Solna, just north of the City Centre, it is the biggest stadium in ...
in
Solna Municipality
Solna Municipality ( sv, Solna kommun or , ) is a municipality in Stockholm County in Sweden, located just north of Stockholm City Centre. Its seat is located in the town of Solna, which is a part of the Stockholm urban area. Solna is one of t ...
,
Stockholm County
Stockholm County ( sv, Stockholms län, link=no ) is a county or '' län'' (in Swedish) on the Baltic Sea coast of Sweden. It borders Uppsala County and Södermanland County. It also borders Mälaren and the Baltic Sea. The city of Stockholm ...
. The
Scandinavium
Scandinavium () is an indoor arena located in Gothenburg, Sweden. Construction on Scandinavium began in 1969 after decades of setbacks, and was inaugurated on 18 May 1971.
Scandinavium has been selected as a championship arena at least fifty t ...
in
Gothenburg
Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...
was offered the 2005 final, but turned it down as it clashed with a
Frölunda ice hockey match.
The event spent its early years at one venue:
Cirkus
CirKus are a trip hop band formed by Burt Ford (Cameron McVey), Karmil (aka Matt Kent), Lolita Moon and Neneh Cherry.
History
DJ and producer Karmil was recruited by Burt Ford (Neneh's husband Cameron McVey) as an assistant recording engi ...
in Stockholm, which hosted the first ten competitions. It has hosted the final of Melodifestivalen seventeen times in total. The Stockholm Globe Arena has hosted seven finals, and SVT's headquarters in Stockholm has staged five. The competition first took place outside Stockholm in 1975 as part of a
decentralisation
Decentralization or decentralisation is the process by which the activities of an organization, particularly those regarding planning and decision making, are distributed or delegated away from a central, authoritative location or group.
Conce ...
policy at SR. Stockholm has hosted 37 finals in total, including the first fourteen. Gothenburg has hosted eight, and
Malmö
Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal populat ...
seven. The competition's final has never been held outside these cities. Before the 2002 expansion, the host of the previous year's Melodifestivalen would host the Eurovision Song Contest in the event of a Swedish victory. Hence, the 1985 Eurovision was held in Gothenburg, the 1992 contest in Malmö and the 2000 contest in Stockholm. Since 2002, the only venues that have hosted more than three heats are Gothenburg's Scandinavium, which has hosted one every year since 2003, and Malmö's Malmö Arena. In 2008, was held in
Kiruna
(; se, Giron ; fi, Kiiruna ) is the northernmost Stad (Sweden), city in Sweden, situated in the province of Lapland, Sweden, Lapland. It had 17,002 inhabitants in 2016 and is the seat of Kiruna Municipality (population: 23,167 in 2016) in Norr ...
, north of the
Arctic Circle
The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the most northerly of the five major circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth. Its southern equivalent is the Antarctic Circle.
The Arctic Circle marks the southernmost latitude at w ...
. Since
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...
, the final is held at the
Friends Arena
Nationalarenan, currently known as Friends Arena for sponsorship reasons, is a retractable roof multi-purpose stadium in Stockholm, Sweden. Located next to the lake Råstasjön in Solna, just north of the City Centre, it is the biggest stadium in ...
.
[Här hålls Melodifestivalen 2008](_blank)
. Melodifestivalen 2008 is to be held here" SVT.se (11 September 2007). Retrieved on 11 September 2007. In 2021, all shows of
that year's Melodifestivalen took place in the
Annexet
The Annexet is one of the venues in Stockholm Globe City, located in Stockholm, Sweden. The venue opened in 1989 and has a capacity of 3,950 people.
Events
Annexet is mostly used for concerts and ice hockey matches.
All shows of Melodifestivalen ...
in Stockholm, and without an audience present, due to restrictions related to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. The pandemic continued to affect the organisation of Melodifestivalen in
2022
File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...
, with the first three heats of that year's competition all held at the Avicii Arena, and the remaining shows at the Friends Arena.
Televised rounds
The Melodifestivalen takes place over six Saturdays and consists of six live shows: four heats, in which seven songs compete; a Second Chance () round featuring songs which missed out on direct qualification from the heats; and a grand final. Ten songs comprise the final: two direct qualifiers from each of the heats, and the two best-ranked songs in the Second Chance round. Since 2015, there are seven songs for each heat, and twelve (eight direct qualifiers and four from the Second Chance round) in the final.
Heats and Second Chance
Prior to the introduction of the current format of heats () in 2002, the competition was usually a single live show. Under the current system, four heats are broadcast at 20:00
CET
CET or cet may refer to:
Places
* Cet, Albania
* Cet, standard astronomical abbreviation for the constellation Cetus
* Colchester Town railway station (National Rail code CET), in Colchester, England
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Comcast En ...
on consecutive Saturday nights. The heats begin in early February, and seven songs compete in each show.
Unlike in the final, no juries are used; televoting decides the results. The songs are performed live with telephone lines open for the first round of voting; two songs with the fewest votes do not qualify to the second round. The top five battle for a place in the final and Second Chance round – with the first and second-placed songs directly qualifying for the final (known in Swedish as ), and the third and fourth-placed songs progressing to the Second Chance round.
Both finalists reprise their entries at the end of the broadcast. The organisation of a heat system for Melodifestivalen popularised televised heats at other
Eurovision national selections. A similar system was adopted by the Eurovision Song Contest itself in 2004, which features a semi-final (later expanded to two in 2008) and a final, and remains in place to the present day.
The Second Chance round () is the fifth heat in which the remaining four entries to the final are chosen. The third- and fourth-placed songs from each heat (eight songs in total) compete in the event. The first Second Chance round in 2002 had a panel of former winners decide the two finalists. Between 2003 and 2006, the heat performances were re-broadcast, and a round of voting narrowed the songs to three or four. Another round then determined the two finalists. The programme was broadcast on the Sunday afternoon after the fourth heat. It was held in a smaller venue than those that would have hosted the heats—such as
Berns Salonger in Stockholm, which hosted the Second Chance round in 2005.
In 2007, the Second Chance round became a full heat, taking place in a venue comparable in size to those hosting the others. The expanded Second Chance takes place on a Saturday night, adding an extra week to the event's timetable. The format of voting also changed with the introduction of a knock-out system. The system pairs the eight songs off against each other, then narrows them down to four before pairing them off again. The winners of the two-second round pairings go through to the final. The two finalists do not reprise their songs at the end of the programme.
In 2015, the system was changed again. The eight songs are divided into four duels, with one song from each duel qualifying into the final, bringing the number of finalists to 12.
In 2022, several changes were made to the overall format. The Second Chance round was reformatted into a semi-final (), where the eight songs are placed into two groups, with the top two from each group proceeding to the final. In 2023, the format of the semi-final was changed, with the top four of the eight songs all proceeding to the final, similar to the preceding heats.
Final
The final takes place at 20:00 CET on a Saturday in early or mid-March. Twelve songs (eleven songs in
2009
File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...
, ten songs before
2015
File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...
) participate, two from each heat, four from the Second Chance round, and, only in 2009, the international jury's choice. A running order is decided by the competition's supervisors the week before to ensure that similar songs and artists are kept apart in the final. Dress rehearsals for the final are held on the prior Friday, and tickets sell out almost as quickly as those for the final itself.
[Barry Viniker (17 March 2006)]
Sell-out public dress rehearsal at the Globen
. ESCtoday.com. Retrieved on 28 October 2006. The final attracts substantial tourism to its host city Stockholm; a survey in 2006 showed that 54% of spectators had travelled from outside the city. Of these, 6% had come from outside Sweden.
As in the Eurovision Song Contest (and due to the final usually also being broadcast in other
Nordic countries
The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; literal translation, lit. 'the North') are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe and the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It includes the sovereign states of Denmar ...
via the
Eurovision network
Eurovision is a pan-European television telecommunications network owned and operated by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). It was founded 1954 in Geneva, Switzerland, and its first official transmission took place on 6 June 1954.
Major tel ...
), a broadcast of the
EBU
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU; french: Union européenne de radio-télévision, links=no, UER) is an alliance of public service media organisations whose countries are within the European Broadcasting Area or who are members of the Co ...
logo introduces and closes the television coverage, accompanied by the prelude to
Marc-Antoine Charpentier
Marc-Antoine Charpentier (; 1643 – 24 February 1704) was a French Baroque composer during the reign of Louis XIV. One of his most famous works is the main theme from the prelude of his ''Te Deum'', ''Marche en rondeau''. This theme is still us ...
's setting of "
Te Deum
The "Te Deum" (, ; from its incipit, , ) is a Latin Christian hymn traditionally ascribed to AD 387 authorship, but with antecedents that place it much earlier. It is central to the Ambrosian hymnal, which spread throughout the Latin Chur ...
". Video "postcards" introduce the entries. The final includes interval performances, which are performed while the juries deliberate and before the televote closes. Former Melodifestivalen contestants have performed as interval acts in the past, including Lena Philipsson in 2005 and the multi-artist medley of former entries in 2000.
The winner receives a trophy, ("The Great Songbird"), from the previous year's winner. The trophy, designed by
Ernst Billgren
Ernst Billgren (born 18 November 1957) is a Swedish artist and writer.
Billgren was born in Stockholm and that is where he is currently based. He attended the Valand School of Fine Arts where he graduated in 1987.
His daughter Elsa Billgre ...
, was unveiled in 2005 and awarded to all previous Melodifestivalen winners at the gala in March of that year.
The winner of the competition reprises their song at the end of the event.
Voting
Before the introduction of the current voting system in 1999, a group of regional or age-based juries decided the winner of Melodifestivalen. In 1993, televoting was used experimentally but proved unsuccessful. The Swedish telephone network collapsed due to the number of calls, and claims by the Swedish tabloid press suggested the use of televoting had drastically altered the results. Evening newspapers released what they claimed to be the back-up juries' votes, which showed that the winner,
Arvingarna
Arvingarna is a Swedish dansband formed in Gothenburg in 1989. The group consists of Casper Janebrink (vocals and bass guitar), Lars Larsson (guitars, vocals and keyboards), Kim Carlsson (vocals and guitars) and Tommy Carlsson (drums and vocals). ...
's "
Eloise", would have finished fourth had the juries' votes counted. SVT never confirmed the accuracy of these claims.
The current voting format introduced in 1999 is a
positional voting system
Positional voting is a ranked voting electoral system in which the options or candidates receive points based on their rank position on each ballot and the one with the most points overall wins. The lower-ranked preference in any adjacent pair i ...
, similar to that used at 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 ...
. The voting is made up of two segments, in the first of which juries announce their votes; in the second segment, the televoting result is announced. The total value of votes has usually been 2 x 473 points (2 x 638 since 2018), which means that tele-votes and juries have an equal 50/50 weighing in the final result. The juries, usually 11, have represented either Swedish regions or, since 2010, countries participating in the year's Eurovision Song Contest. Until 2017, each jury awarded 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 points to their top seven songs; however, since 2018, the points have been changed to 1 to 7, 8, 10 and 12 points. After the jury voting, the televoting result is revealed by the hosts in ascending order. Between 1999 and 2010, the televoting points were fixed; the top seven songs would receive 11, 22, 44, 66, 88, 110 and 132 points (12, 24, 48, 72, 96, 120, and 144 points for the 2009 contest). Between 2011 and 2018, televoting points are given to each entry based on its percentage of the total vote. If an entry receives 10% of the televotes it will be equivalent to 10% of 473 points, i.e. 47–48 points (or 638 and 63–64 points respectively in 2018). Starting in 2019, the public votes are separated by age groups, each giving 1 to 7, 8, 10 and 12 points in the final to the songs. The song with the highest number of points at the end of the voting is the winner.
Telephone lines open immediately after the radio preview for the final and do not close until the juries have voted. Two telephone numbers are used for each song, giving voters the option of whether to donate money to SVT's charity appeal or not as they vote. Viewers can also vote by text message, and only residents of Sweden can vote.
The votes of the juries are announced by spokespeople who are not members of the juries. The votes are read in ascending order, beginning with one point and finishing with twelve. When read, they are repeated by the host, for example:
Spokesperson: “” (''One point to song number two.'')
Presenter: “ ong name Ong or ONG may refer to:
Arts and media
* Ong's Hat, a collaborative work of fiction
* “Ong Ong”, a song by Blur from the album The Magic Whip
Places
* Ong, Nebraska, US, city
* Ong's Hat, New Jersey, US, ghost town
* Ong River, Odisha, ...
” (''One point to ong name Ong or ONG may refer to:
Arts and media
* Ong's Hat, a collaborative work of fiction
* “Ong Ong”, a song by Blur from the album The Magic Whip
Places
* Ong, Nebraska, US, city
* Ong's Hat, New Jersey, US, ghost town
* Ong River, Odisha, ...
'')
Since 2010, most spokespeople have announced the points in English, with the hosts repeating them in Swedish.
As the votes are announced, they are collated on a graphic scoreboard. SVT varies the way the jury votes are announced from year to year. For example, the finalists of ''
Expedition: Robinson'' acted as spokespeople in 2004, and in 2006
Fredrik Lindström announced jury tallies using the
dialects
The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of linguistic phenomena:
One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a ...
of each region. The final of Melodifestivalen has broken Nordic voting records on several occasions; in 2007, voting figures exceeded two million for the first time.
[Melodifestivalen engagerar som aldrig förr](_blank)
Melodifestivalen engages like never before" SVT.se (13 March 2007). Retrieved on 4 May 2007.
If there is a tie, the song that has received more votes from the public receives the higher position. There have been two ties for first place in the history of the contest. In 1969,
Tommy Körberg
Bert Gustav Tommy Körberg (; born 4 July 1948) is a Swedish singer, actor, and musician. English-speaking audiences know him best for his role as Anatoly/"The Russian" in the musical ''Chess''. He played the role on the 1984 concept album, and ...
tied for first place with
Jan Malmsjö
Jan Wilhelm Malmsjö (born 29 May 1932) is a Swedish stage and film actor, musical star and singer. He is married to Marie Göranzon and father to Jonas Malmsjö.
Biography
Malmsjö was born in Lund, Sweden. He trained at the prestigious Roy ...
. The juries then voted for their favourite out the two, leading to Tommy Körberg winning. In 1978, Björn Skifs tied for first place with Lasse Holm and Wizex (performing together); a similar tie-break process resulting in Skifs winning.
Winners
Fifty-six of Sweden's fifty-seven Eurovision representatives have come from Melodifestivalen; the 2020 winner was scheduled to participate in Eurovision before the latter was cancelled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. Sweden has won the Eurovision Song Contest six times: in 1974, 1984, 1991, 1999, 2012 and 2015. Sweden has the second highest number of wins for a country at Eurovision; only
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
has won the contest more. The 1974 Eurovision winner, ABBA's "
Waterloo", was voted the most popular Melodifestivalen song of all time at the gala in March 2005.
[Alla tiders Melodifestival](_blank)
. SVT.se (3 March 2005). Retrieved on 24 May 2007. Later that year, it was voted most popular Eurovision song of the contest's first fifty years at
a gala in Copenhagen.
[ABBA win 'Eurovision 50th' vote](_blank)
BBC News (23 October 2005). Retrieved on 25 April 2007. The following table lists those entries which finished fifth or higher at Eurovision:
Rules
Most of Melodifestivalen's rules are dictated by
those of the Eurovision Song Contest. However, regulations have been introduced by the Swedish broadcasters. The competition's official rules are released by SVT early in preparation for each year's Melodifestivalen, to ensure any changes are noted by songwriters and performers.
There was a limit of six people on stage for each performance. This included the Melodifestivalen choir (, literally "the house choir"), a five-person group of flexible backing singers used by most participants. Artists could use some or all of the back-up singers, or use their own group. All vocals had to be completely live; human voices were not allowed on backing tracks.
However, from 2009, the number of performers allowed on stage was eight, and voices were allowed on backing tracks.
[Melodifestivalen förändras](_blank)
Melodifestivalen changes" Sveriges Television. Retrieved on 27 August 2008. A live orchestra was used every year from the event's debut to 2000, except 1985 and 1986. Two orchestras were used between 1960 and 1963, a large orchestra and , a jazz quartet. Since 2001, participants have performed to
backing track
A backing track is an audio recording on audiotape, CD or a digital recording medium or a MIDI recording of synthesized instruments, sometimes of purely rhythmic accompaniment, often of a rhythm section or other accompaniment parts that live music ...
s.
Entries cannot be publicly broadcast until the heats are previewed on radio.
[Hör låtarna först i Sveriges Radio P4](_blank)
Hear the songs first on Sveriges Radio P4" SR.se (30 January 2007). Retrieved on 4 May 2007. Entries eliminated in the heats may be broadcast as soon as the heat has finished. An embargo is placed on songs that qualify for the later rounds until the previews for the Second Chance are broadcast. After this, restrictions on the broadcast of contestant songs are lifted.
Broadcasters sometimes make sweeping changes to winning songs before they go to Eurovision. For example, at Melodifestivalen 1961, Siw Malmkvist won with "April, April". Performing after her victory, she stumbled on the lyrics of the song and laughed out loud. The press criticised this as childish. SR replaced her with
Lill-Babs
Barbro Margareta Svensson (9 March 1938 – 3 April 2018), known by her stage name Lill-Babs, was a Swedish singer, actress and television host. From the early 1950s until her death in 2018, she was one of Sweden's best-known and popular singers. ...
for the Eurovision Song Contest.
[The press literally described it as having "played the monkey"]
Melodifestivalen 1961
. Gylleneskor.se. Retrieved on 11 January 2008. The 1987 winner "
Fyra bugg och en Coca Cola", performed by
Lotta Engberg
Anna Charlotte "Lotta" Engberg (born Pedersen; 5 March 1963) is a Swedish singer.
She represented Sweden in Eurovision Song Contest 1987 with " Boogaloo" after winning Melodifestivalen 1987. She also tried many times in Melodifestivalen in 1984 ...
, is another example; the song's title was changed to "Boogaloo" for Eurovision, as use of a brand name was against the Contest's rules. This name was chosen as Sweden's two previous Eurovision winners had also included the suffix "-loo".
Until 1999, competing songs were only permitted in Swedish, apart from 1965, 1973, 1974, 1975. This did not stop most winning entries recording English (and other-language) versions of their songs. Since the abolition of Eurovision's language restrictions in 1999, regardless of the performance language at Melodifestivalen, every Swedish entry has been in English. Spanish, French,
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
, Italian,
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
,
Bosnian and
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
are among the other languages to have featured.
Cameron Cartio
Kamran Sabahi ( fa, کامران صباحی; born 9 April 1978), known professionally as Cameron Cartio, is an Iranian-born Swedish pop singer.
Being signed to Sony Music, he released his debut album ''Borderless'' in 2005. Cameron having been ...
's entry in Melodifestivalen 2005 was performed in a
constructed language
A constructed language (sometimes called a conlang) is a language whose phonology, grammar, and vocabulary, instead of having developed naturally, are consciously devised for some purpose, which may include being devised for a work of fiction. ...
.
Media coverage
Melodifestivalen is broadcast on television, radio and the Internet. It is broadcast on
SVT1
SVT1 (SVT Ett; commonly referred to as Ettan) is the primary television station of the Swedish public service broadcaster Sveriges Television in Sweden.
History
Television in Sweden officially launched on 4 September 1956 with the launch of '' ...
with international coverage on
SVT World
SVT World was an international television channel from the Swedish broadcaster Sveriges Television. The channel was available on satellite in Europe and much of Africa, Australia and Asia, terrestrially in parts of Finland and worldwide via IPTV. ...
and later
SVT Play
SVT Play is the brand used for the video on demand service offered by Sveriges Television, more specifically to the streaming services offered on the SVT website, svt.se, and its counterpart for mobile phones. The brand was introduced in Decembe ...
. Until 1987, the competition was broadcast on Sveriges Radio TV, later known as TV1. Between 1988 and 2000, the event was broadcast on different channels depending on where it was held. Finals in Stockholm were broadcast on Kanal 1 (formerly TV1) while finals in Gothenburg or Malmö were broadcast on
TV2. Sveriges Radio has broadcast the event on
P1,
P3 and
P4, where is currently broadcast.
Although the final is traditionally held on a Saturday, in 1990 it was held on a Friday. TV2 suggested this would attract more viewers. In 1991, it was held on Easter Sunday for the same reason. The 2002 final was delayed by a week for coverage of the
2002 Winter Olympics
The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 ( arp, Niico'ooowu' 2002; Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; nv, Sooléí 2002; Shoshoni: ''Soónkahni 2002''), was an internation ...
.
The competition has had an official website since 1999.
Webcast
A webcast is a media presentation distributed over the Internet using streaming media technology to distribute a single content source to many simultaneous listeners/viewers. A webcast may either be distributed live or on demand. Essentially, web ...
s have been provided since 2005. Since 2006, between February and the Eurovision final in May, SR has webcast a radio station dedicated to the competition called ''P4 Melodifest''. On P4, the public previews the heats participants every Friday.
Broadcast the night after the final, a ("the day after") television programme acts as an
epilogue
An epilogue or epilog (from Greek ἐπίλογος ''epílogos'', "conclusion" from ἐπί ''epi'', "in addition" and λόγος ''logos'', "word") is a piece of writing at the end of a work of literature, usually used to bring closure to the w ...
to the event. It gauges the reactions of the finalists after the competition's climax. No commentary is given for the event on television.
Carolina Norén
Krång Anna Carolina Norén (born 29 January 1965) is a Swedish radio presenter for Sveriges Radio and television presenter. She has been the host of the music chart show Svensktoppen since 2007 and also commentates on Sveriges Radio's broadcast ...
is commentator on the event for
Sveriges Radio
Sveriges Radio AB (, "Sweden's Radio") is Sweden's national publicly funded radio broadcaster. Sveriges Radio is a public limited company, owned by an independent foundation, previously funded through a licensing fee, the level of which is d ...
.
The festival has been broadcast in widescreen since 2002 and
Dolby Digital
Dolby Digital, originally synonymous with Dolby AC-3, is the name for what has now become a family of audio compression technologies developed by Dolby Laboratories. Formerly named Dolby Stereo Digital until 1995, the audio compression is lossy ...
since 2004.
The competition's viewing figures have been rising since 2002. In 2007, approximately 4.1 million Swedes—almost 44% of the country's population—watched the final, and between 2.9 million and 3.2 million viewers watched each of the heats. The viewing figures for the 2007 festival are nearly two million short of the highest recorded viewing figures from 1990.
[Melodifestivalen—Viewing figures](_blank)
ESC.info.se. Retrieved on 21 October 2006. Melodifestivalen is given heavy coverage in the Swedish press. A study by the Economic Science and Communication Department at
Karlstad University
Karlstad University (Swedish ''Karlstads universitet'') is a state university in Karlstad, Sweden. It was originally established as the Karlstad campus of the University of Gothenburg in 1967, and this campus became an independent university col ...
concluded that coverage from the press may have influenced the results of the 2007 festival.
Musical styles and presentation
Melodifestivalen's image has evolved throughout its existence, but one word has defined the competition's music: ''
schlager''. In Sweden, ''schlager'' (a German word literally meaning a "hit") represents any song associated with the competition, from the jazz music featured heavily in the 1960s to entries such as
Linda Bengtzing
Linda Birgitta Bengtzing (born 13 March 1974) is a Swedish pop singer famous for her participation in the fourth season of ''Fame Factory'' in Sweden and for her entries at Melodifestivalen 2005, 2006, 2008, 2011, 2014, 2016, 2020 and 2022.
...
's in 2006. Christine Demsteader of ''
The Local'' described Swedish schlager as "typically characterized by an annoyingly repetitive melody and trivial lyrics of little or no meaning".
Jazz artists such as
Monica Zetterlund
Monica Zetterlund (born Eva Monica Nilsson; 20 September 1937 – 12 May 2005) was a Sweden, Swedish jazz Singing, singer and Actor, actress. Through her lifetime, she starred in over 10 Swedish film productions and recorded over 20 studio ...
and
Östen Warnerbring
Östen Warnerbring (22 November 1934 – 18 January 2006), also known as Östen med Rösten (lit. "Östen with the Voice"), was a Sweden, Swedish singer, musician, composer and lyrics writer who mastered several musical genres. He started out as a ...
won the event in the 1960s.
ABBA
ABBA ( , , formerly named Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid or Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida) are a Swedish supergroup formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The group's ...
, who won Eurovision in 1974, went on to be Sweden's most successful music export. The group influenced not only Melodifestivalen, but the entire Swedish mainstream music scene. In the 1980s,
Bert Karlsson
Bert Willis Karlsson (born 21 June 1945) is a Swedish record company manager, entrepreneur, and former politician (Member of Parliament 1991-1994) and front figure of the New Democracy (''Ny Demokrati'') party.
As the owner and manager of the rec ...
's
Mariann Grammofon
Mariann Grammofon or Mariann Records, formed in 1972 was a record company run by Bert Karlsson in Skara, Sweden. Since May 2006 the label is owned by Warner Music Group which still, as of 2016, releases music using the label.
The label was sold f ...
record label was responsible for the prevalence of "easy, memorable tunes". The early twenty-first century has seen more variety in the competition, such as
Afro-dite's 2002 disco winner and The Ark's 2007 "retro glam rock" effort.
On-stage
gimmick
A gimmick is a novel device or idea designed primarily to attract attention or increase appeal, often with little intrinsic value. When applied to retail marketing, it is a unique or quirky feature designed to make a product or service "stand ou ...
s have long been a part of performances at the competition.
Lena Philipsson
Maria Magdalena Philipsson (born 19 January 1966), known by her stage name Lena Philipsson, is a Swedish singer, songwriter and media personality. She represented Sweden in the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest, finishing fifth.
Career
Philipsson ...
's use of a microphone stand in her performance of "" at the 2004 competition is an example. When Philipsson hosted Melodifestivalen in 2006, four tongue-in-cheek short films were broadcast during the heats to show what had happened to the microphone stand in the years since her win.
Pyrotechnics
Pyrotechnics is the science and craft of creating such things as fireworks, safety matches, oxygen candles, explosive bolts and other fasteners, parts of automotive airbags, as well as gas-pressure blasting in mining, quarrying, and demolition. ...
are another common gimmick in Melodifestivalen performances. After the 2007 event, Karolina Lassbo of ''Dagens Media'' criticised the festival's musical content and production, arguing that the 1988 competition was "the time when Melodifestivalen was still a schlager competition" and the event had become "a cross between
eality series''Fame Factory'' and
nter-city game show''Stadskampen''".
[Karolina Lassbo (16 March 2007)]
Melodifestivalen tappade fattningen
Melodifestivalen has dropped its composure" ''Dagens Media''. Retrieved on 15 September 2007.
See also
*
Lilla Melodifestivalen
(known as ''MGP Junior'' in 2002) was a Swedish televised song competition for children aged 8 to 15, organised by (SVT). The competing songs were primarily in Swedish and written by the participants themselves.
History
In 2002 and again from ...
*
List of historic rock festivals
A rock festival is an open-air rock concert featuring many different performers, typically spread over two or three days and having a campsite and other amenities and forms of entertainment provided at the venue. Some festivals are singular even ...
*
Melodi Grand Prix
Melodi Grand Prix (), commonly known as Grand Prix and MGP, sometimes as Norwegian Melodi Grand Prix ( no, Norsk Melodi Grand Prix), is an annual music competition organised by Norwegian public broadcaster Norsk Rikskringkasting (NRK). It dete ...
*
Dansk Melodi Grand Prix
Dansk Melodi Grand Prix (), also known as Melodi Grand Prix or simply DMGP, is an annual music competition organised by the Danish public broadcaster Danmarks Radio (DR) since 1957, which determines the for the Eurovision Song Contest. The fe ...
*
Eesti Laul
Eesti Laul (English: 'Estonian Song' or 'The Song of Estonia') is an annual music competition organised by Estonian public broadcaster Eesti Rahvusringhääling (ERR). It determines the country's representative for the Eurovision Song Contest, ...
*
Sanremo Music Festival
The Sanremo Music Festival, officially the Italian Song Festival () and commonly known as just (), is the most popular Italian song contest and awards ceremony, held annually in the city of Sanremo, Liguria. It is the longest-running annual ...
*
Golden Stag
The Golden Stag Festival ( ro, Cerbul de Aur) is the most popular Romanian song contest and awards, held annually in the town of Braşov, Romania.
History
The Golden Stag was first held in 1968, but after 1971 it was banned by the Communist l ...
*
Turkvision Song Contest
The Turkvision Song Contest (TSC, tr, Türkvizyon Şarkı Yarışması), also known as the Türkvizyon Song Contest, is a recurring song contest created by Turkish music channel TMB TV, inspired by the format of the Eurovision Song Contest. T ...
*
Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest
Sweden has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 61 times since making its debut in Eurovision Song Contest 1958, 1958, missing only three contests since then (Eurovision Song Contest 1964, 1964, Eurovision Song Contest 1970, 1970 and Euro ...
*
Marcel Bezençon Awards
The Marcel Bezençon Awards were first handed out during the Eurovision Song Contest 2002 in Tallinn, Estonia honouring
the best competing songs in the final. Founded by Christer Björkman ( Sweden's representative in the Eurovision Song Contes ...
– Melodifestivalen Winners section
Notes
References
Bibliography
* Leif Thorsson. ''Melodifestivalen genom tiderna'' (1999, second edition 2006). Stockholm: Premium Publishing AB. .
External links
SVT official site
SVT official site
MSN Melodifestivalen News
Reports and pics of Melodifestivalen
{{authority control
1959 Swedish television series debuts
Eurovision Song Contest selection events
Music competitions in Sweden
Recurring events established in 1959
Singing competitions
Sveriges Television original programming
Sveriges Radio programmes
Swedish music television series
Swedish reality television series
February events
March events
Music festivals established in 1959