Sweden: A total of 2747 entries submitted for Melodifestivalen 2021

Sweden: A total of 2747 entries submitted for Melodifestivalen 2021
Thursday, 17 September 2020

  • The Swedish national broadcaster, SVT,  has revealed that a total of 2747 entries have been submitted for the next edition of Melodifestivalen. 

    The submission period for Melodifestivalen has closed and the number of entries sent in for the next edition of what is Sweden Eurovision national selection has exceeded all expectations. A total of 2747 songs were submitted for Melfest 2021 which is the highest number since 2018 and 202 songs more comparing to 2020 submissions. 

    Karin Gunnarsson, competition producer for Melodifestivalen 2021 says: 

    It is incredibly fun to see an increase in submitted entries as it shows a great interest in the competition. As a competition producer, it feels like I've got the world's biggest musical candy bag to dive into, and that's exactly what I'll be doing in the next few days. It will be so exciting to hear how it sounds.

    A total of 28 entries compete in the Melodifestivalen 2021. The selection jury selects 14 songs from the submitted entries, the other 14 entries are selected by SVT during the autumn. Later this autumn, it will be announced which songs and artists will compete in the Melodifestivalen 2021. 

    So far the only act that is confirmed for Melodifestivalen 2021 is the P4  Nästa 2020 finalist, Julia Alfrida, who was  selected by a special jury to participate in the next edition of the competition.

     

    Sweden in Eurovision 

    Sweden has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 58 times since making its debut in 1958, missing only three contests (1964, 1970 and 1976). Since 1959, the Swedish entry has been chosen through the annual televised competition, named since 1967 as Melodifestivalen. At the 1997 contest, Sweden was one of the first five countries to adopt televoting. Sweden is the only country to have hosted the event in five different decades, three times in Stockholm (1975, 2000, 2016), twice in Malmö (1992, 2013) and once in Gothenburg (1985).

    Sweden is one of the most successful competing nations at the Eurovision Song Contest, with a total of six victories, just one win behind Ireland. The country has the most top five results of the 21st century, with thirteen. In total, Sweden has achieved 24 top five results in the contest. After finishing second with Lill Lindfors and Svante Thuresson in 1966, Sweden went on to achieve its six victories with ABBA (1974), Herreys (1984), Carola (1991), Charlotte Nilsson(1999), Loreen (2012) and Måns Zelmerlöw (2015).

    In 2019 John Lundvik represented the country with his song “Too Late For Love”,achieving another top 5 placing for Sweden as he  finished 5th overall with 334 points.

    This year The Mamas won the Melodifestivalen 2020 and earned the right to represent Sweden in Rotterdam with their entry "Move" . Unfortunately for them, the contest was cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak and The Mamas never had the chance to perform in Rotterdam Ahoy.