Sweden: Which covid-19 measures will be implemenetd for Melodifestivalen 2021

Sweden: Which covid-19 measures will be implemenetd for Melodifestivalen 2021
Wednesday, 27 January 2021

  • The coronavirus measures to be implemented during the upcoming Melodifestivalen 2021 have gone pubic. 

    Melodifestivalen, even without audience, still remains a big scale event which can easily be affected by the ongoing covid-19 pandemic. In order to secure that no negative impact by the pandemic will mess up the Swedish national selection, SVT, will be taking extraordinary measure to ease things and secure safety for all people involved. 

    Melfest's project manager Annette Brattstrom talked to local newpaper Aftonblandet  and revealed which measures will be implemented to guarantee a smooth and safe Melodifesrivalen.

    According to Annette the acts on stage will be reduced from eight the previous editions to six this year. All the acts and the people alongside them in stage will be equipped with beaping alarms which will secure that distancing of 1,5 metes is maitained between all people involved. While no rapdi tests will take place among the competng acts however all of the people are instructed to follow the Swedish goverment's covid-19 guidlines. 

    Further more Karin Gunnarson elaborates on the addtional back up scenarios made for the competing acts in case of a covid-19 case is detected. 

    Spesifically, in case a competing act is found covid-19 positive, but was able to perform the song in the rehearsals previosuly, the reheasral footage will be used in the live show replacing the act's live performance. In the case where an act is found ill before the rehearsal but will be able to perform in the live show, then another act will perform in the rehearsals like in Stand-in rehearsals in Eurovision. 

    In addition, the working team behind the entries will be isolated working things out in a prive bubble in order to prevent continuous contact between the teams that might ease the diaspora of the virus. 

     

    Melodifestivalen 2021

    A total of 28 acts will battle for the trophy over six shows that are set to all take place in Stockholm, marking a break from the Melfest Tour where the six shows took place across the country's cities and towns. This edition will see only one venue, Annexet in Stockholm, the place which hosted the press center during Eurovision 2016. 

    Melodifestivalen live shows will kick of on March 6 while the grand final is set for March 13, 2020. 

    • 06/02/2021- Semifinal 1
    • 13/02/2021- Semifinal 2
    • 20/02/2021- Semifinal 3
    • 27/02/2021- Semifinal 4
    • 06/03/2021-  Second Chance  (Andra Chansen)
    • 13/03/2021-  Grand Final

     

    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.

    Last 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. 

    News Source: Aftonblandet