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 ...

originally planned to participate in the

Eurovision Song Contest 2020 The Eurovision Song Contest 2020 was planned to be the 65th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It would have taken place in Rotterdam, Netherlands, following the country's victory at the with the song "Arcade" by Duncan Laurence. The con ...

. The Swedish broadcaster Sveriges Television (SVT) organises the national final

Melodifestivalen 2020 Melodifestivalen 2020 was the 60th edition of the Swedish music competition Melodifestivalen. The competition was organised by Sveriges Television (SVT) and took place over a six-week period between 1 February and 7 March 2020. Retrieved 3 Septem ...

in order to select the Swedish entry for the 2020 contest in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

, the Netherlands. However, the contest 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 ...

Background

Prior to the 2020 contest, Sweden had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest fifty-nine times since its first entry in . Sweden had won the contest on six occasions: in

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 ...

with the song " Waterloo" performed by

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 ...

, in

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

with the song "

Diggi-Loo Diggi-Ley "Diggi-Loo Diggi-Ley" was the winning song in the Eurovision Song Contest 1984 performed in Swedish by the trio of brothers Herrey's, representing . Lyrics were written by Britt Lindeborg, and the tune by Torgny Söderberg. It was produced by ...

" performed by

Herreys Herreys (), sometimes Herrey's or Herrey, is a Swedish pop group, consisting of the three brothers Per Herrey (born 9 August 1958), Richard Herrey (born 19 August 1964), and Louis Herrey (born 3 November 1966). They won the Eurovision Song Con ...

, in

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

with the song "" performed by

Carola Carola is a female given name, the Latinized form of the Germanic given names Caroline or Carol. People named Carola include: Acting * Carola Braunbock (1924–1978), Czech-born East German actress *Carola Höhn (1910–2005), German actres ...

, in

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

with the song "

Take Me to Your Heaven Tusen och en natt is a 1999 album from Swedish dansband Wizex Wizex is a Swedish dansband formed in Osby in 1973. It purchased the rights to the name from a band that started as ''Ulrik Wittmans Kvintett'' in 1957''.'' When Ulrik Wittman left t ...

" performed by

Charlotte Nilsson Anna Jenny Charlotte Perrelli (; ; born 7 October 1974) is a Swedish singer and television host. She was the winner of the 1999 Melodifestivalen and subsequently that year's Eurovision Song Contest with the song " Take Me to Your Heaven". Sinc ...

, in

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

with the song "

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 ...

" performed by

Loreen Loreen may refer to: *Loreen (singer), Swedish singer *Loreen Rice Lucas (1914–2011), a Canadian author * "Loreen" (song), 1986 song by German singer Sandra See also *Loren (disambiguation) *Lorene Lorene is a given name. Notable people with the n ...

, and in

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 ...

with the song "

Heroes Heroes or Héroes may refer to: * Hero, one who displays courage and self-sacrifice for the greater good Film * ''Heroes'' (1977 film), an American drama * ''Heroes'' (2008 film), an Indian Hindi film Gaming * ''Heroes of Might and Magic'' ...

" performed by

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 ...

. Following the introduction of semi-finals for the , Sweden's entries, to this point, have featured in every final except for

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

when the nation failed to qualify. The Swedish national broadcaster,

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), broadcasts the event within Sweden and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. Since 1959, SVT has organised the annual competition in order to select the Swedish entry for the Eurovision Song Contest.

Before Eurovision

''Melodifestivalen 2020''

Four heats, a Second Chance round and a final were held. It was held between 1 February and 7 March 2020. Retrieved 5 February 2020

Heats and Second Chance round

* The first heat took place on 1 February 2020 at the

Saab Arena Saab Arena, formerly named Cloetta Center between 2004–2014, is an arena in Linköping, Sweden. It opened in September 2004 and holds 8,500 people during sport events and 11,500 during concerts. On its opening, it became the new home ice for th ...

Linköping Linköping () is a city in southern Sweden, with around 105,000 inhabitants as of 2021. It is the seat of Linköping Municipality and the capital of Östergötland County. Linköping is also the episcopal see of the Diocese of Linköping (Church ...

. "

Move Move may refer to: People *Daniil Move (born 1985), a Russian auto racing driver Brands and enterprises * Move (company), an online real estate company * Move (electronics store), a defunct Australian electronics retailer * Daihatsu Move Gov ...

" performed by

the Mamas The Mamas are a Sweden, Swedish-United States, American Soul music, soul and Gospel music, gospel group. They won Melodifestivalen 2020 with their single "Move (The Mamas song), Move", which reached number one in Sweden in March 2020. Career Th ...

and " Take a Chance" performed by

Robin Bengtsson Robin Bengtsson (born 27 April 1990) is a Swedish singer who took part in Swedish Idol 2008. He represented Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 in Kyiv, Ukraine with the song "I Can't Go On" finishing in 5th place. Career Bengtsson was b ...

qualified directly to the final, while "

Ballerina A ballet dancer ( it, ballerina fem.; ''ballerino'' masc.) is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet; however, dancers have a strict hierarchy and strict gender roles. They rely on yea ...

" performed by

Malou Prytz Malou Trasthe Prytz (born 6 March 2003) is a Swedish singer. Prytz competed in Melodifestivalen 2019 with the song " I Do Me" in the second semi-final, qualifying to the final. She resides in Ryd in Småland, Sweden. Discography Extended p ...

and " Boys with Emotions" performed by

Felix Sandman Karl Felix Wilhelm Sandman (born 25 October 1998) is a Swedish singer and actor. He is best known as a member of the boy band FO&O with two studio albums '' Off the Grid'' (2014) and ''FO&O'' (2017). He plays Sebastian Fagerman in the first Swed ...

advanced to the Second Chance round. "Moves" performed by Suzi P, "" performed by OVÖ, and "" performed by

Sonja Aldén Sonja Annika Maria Aldén (born 20 December 1977) is a Swedish singer mostly famous for her 2006, 2007, 2012 and 2020 Melodifestivalen entries, and for working together with Shirley Clamp and Sanna Nielsen, as well as her songwriting for other a ...

were eliminated from the contest. * The second heat took place on 9 February 2020 at 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 ...

arena 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 ...

. " Kingdom Come" performed by

Anna Bergendahl Anna Henrietta Bergendahl (born 11 December 1991) is a Swedish singer and songwriter. She took part in Swedish TV4 music program ''Super Troupers'' in 2004, and in ''Idol 2008'' where she reached the Final 5 before being eliminated. In 2009, Be ...

and "

Bulletproof Bulletproofing is the process of making an object capable of stopping a bullet or similar high velocity projectiles (e.g. shrapnel). The term bullet resistance is often preferred because few, if any, practical materials provide complete protectio ...

" performed by Dotter qualified directly to the final, while "" performed by

Méndez Méndez is a common Spanish surname, originally a patronymic, meaning ''Son of Mendo'', ''Menendo'', or ''Mem''. A longer form sharing the same root is Menéndez, while the Portuguese form is Mendes. Méndez may refer to: General * Ana G. Mén ...

feat.

Alvaro Estrella Álvaro Raúl Estrella Zapata (born 14 August 1980) is a Swedish singer and dancer with Chilean origin who has participated four times in Melodifestivalen (2014, 2020, 2021 and 2022), the selection process for picking the Swedish entry to the Eur ...

and "

Talking in My Sleep "Talking in My Sleep" is a song by Swedish singer Paul Rey. The song was performed for the first time in Melodifestivalen 2020 Melodifestivalen 2020 was the 60th edition of the Swedish music competition Melodifestivalen. The competition was org ...

" performed by

Paul Rey Pauli Jokela better known as Paul Rey (born 23 May 1992, in Lund) is a Swedish singer and songwriter. Formerly known as PJ, Rey started his musical career as a rapper, and made his debut as a pop singer in 2015, releasing his debut extended play, ...

advanced to the Second Chance round. "Nobody" performed by

Klara Hammarström Klara Lovisa Hammarström (born 20 April 2000, in Stockholm) is a Swedish singer and television personality. She has appeared along with her family in the SVT series ''Familjen Hammarström''. She was previously a competitive horse rider. Caree ...

, "" performed by Jan Johansen, and "" performed by

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. ...

were eliminated from the contest. * The third heat took place on 15 February 2020 at the

Coop Norrbotten Arena Coop Norrbotten Arena is an indoor sporting arena located in Luleå, Sweden. The seating capacity of the arena is 6,150, and it is the home arena of the Luleå HF ice hockey team. History It was opened on 13 September 1970, and was called ''Del ...

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 ...

. " Shout It Out" performed by

Mariette Mariette may signify: ;Family name: * Auguste Mariette (1821–1881), pioneering Egyptologist. *Pierre-Jean Mariette (1694–1774), connoisseur and chronicler of artistic life in Paris ;Given name: *Mariette Bosch (died 2001), South African murder ...

and "

Winners Winners Merchants International L.P is a chain of off-price Canada, Canadian department stores owned by TJX Companies. It offers brand name clothing, footwear, bedding, furniture, fine jewelry, beauty products, and housewares. Products are at a ...

" performed by

Mohombi Mohombi Nzasi Moupondo (born 17 October 1986) is a Congolese-Swedish musician, singer, composer and dancer. He grew up in Norsborg and Kista near Stockholm. Mohombi was RedOne's first signing to 2101 Records in joint venture with Universal Mu ...

qualified directly to the final, while "" performed by

Anis don Demina Anis Don Demina (; born Anis Dhahir 25 April 1993) is a Swedish singer, songwriter, musician and DJ. Early life His Kurdish father, an auto mechanic, fled from the Gulf War to Russia where he met Anis's Belarusian mother, a pianist and musi ...

and "" performed by Drängarna advanced to the Second Chance round. "" performed by

Albin Johnsén Albin Johnsén better known by the mononym Albin (born 22 July 1989, in Boo, Stockholm county) is a Swedish artist, rapper and songwriter. He gained fame with his 2014 song "Din soldat" that also featured vocals from Kristin Amparo and was co-w ...

, "Late" performed by Amanda Aasa, and "Crying Rivers" performed by

Faith Kakembo Elna Faith Kakembo (born 16 April 1985) is a Sweden, Swedish-Ugandan singer and nurse anesthetist. Career Kakembo started her musical career in a church choir when she was a teenager. She studied music at a folk high school for a year. In 2019, ...

were eliminated from the contest. * The fourth heat took place on 22 February 2020 at the

Malmö Arena Malmö Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Malmö, Sweden, and the venue for home games of SHL ice hockey club Malmö Redhawks. It is the largest arena in the SHL, and the second-largest indoor arena in Sweden. Apart from hosting Redh ...

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 ...

. " Brave" performed by

Hanna Ferm Hanna Alma Beata Ferm (born 23 October 2000) is a Swedish singer. She competed in '' Idol 2017'', where she placed second. Career Ferm participated in the TV4 talent show ''Talang Sverige 2014'', which was broadcast on TV3. She made it to th ...

and " Troubled Waters" performed by

Victor Crone Victor Fritz-Crone (born 31 January 1992), also known as Victor Crone, is a Swedish singer, guitarist and songwriter. He represented Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 in Tel Aviv with the song "Storm". Biography Victor Crone was born ...

qualified directly to the final, while "We Are One" performed by Frida Öhrn and "Surface" performed by

Ellen Benediktson Ellen Benediktson (born 25 April 1995 in Limhamn) is a Swedish singer and songwriter best known for taking part in Melodifestivalen 2014, 2015 and 2020. Life and career In 2013, Benediktson first garnered attention when she was the stand-in si ...

and Simon Peyron advanced to the Second Chance round. "" performed by William Stridh, "Carpool Karaoke" performed by

Nanne Grönvall Marianne Elisabeth Grönwall (, née ''Nordqvist''; born 18 May 1962), known by her stage name Nanne (), is a Swedish singer-songwriter. Biography Grönvall's musical career started in the 1980s group Sound of Music. The trio participated twice ...

, and "" performed by Jakob Karlberg were eliminated from the contest. * The Second Chance round () took place on 29 February 2020 at the

Stiga Sports Arena Stiga Sports Arena Eskilstuna, or simply Stiga Sports Arena, is an indoor venue and sports arena in the Munktellstaden district in central Eskilstuna, Sweden, which is commonly used to host sporting events, such as handball, floorball, and futsa ...

Eskilstuna Eskilstuna () is a city and the seat of Eskilstuna Municipality, Södermanland County, Sweden. The city of Eskilstuna had 67,359 inhabitants in 2015, with a total population of 100,092 inhabitants in Eskilstuna municipality (2014). Eskilstuna has ...

. "" performed by

, "

" performed by

, " Boys with Emotions" performed by

, and "" performed by

feat.

qualified to the final.

Final

The final took place on 7 March 2020 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 ...

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 ...

References

External links

Official SVT Eurovision website
{{Eurovision Song Contest 2020

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

Countries in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020

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 ...