Sweden has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 62 times since making its debut in 1958, missing only three contests since then. Since 1959, the Swedish entry has been chosen through an annual televised competition, known since 1967 as Melodifestivalen. At the 1997 contest, Sweden was one of the first five countries to adopt televoting. Sweden has hosted the contest six times: three times in Stockholm, twice in Malmö and once in Gothenburg (1985); and is set to host for a seventh time in 2024 in Malmö.
Christer Samuel Björkman is a Swedish singer and television producer. He represented Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 1992 with the song "I morgon är en annan dag". From 2002 to 2021, he served as a producer of Melodifestivalen, and has remained an important figure in Melodifestivalen and the Eurovision Song Contest. He stepped down from this position after Melodifestivalen 2021, and is currently working at Voxovation, a Los Angeles-based company that focuses on expanding the Eurovision Song Contest brand into other markets.
Måns Petter Albert Sahlén Zelmerlöw is a Swedish pop singer and television presenter. He took part in Idol 2005, eventually finishing fifth, won the first season of Let's Dance, and scored a hit with his 2007 song "Cara Mia", which was his entry in that year's Melodifestivalen. Zelmerlöw was the host of Allsång på Skansen from 2011 to 2013. He participated in Melodifestivalen in 2007, 2009 and won in 2015. Zelmerlöw represented Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 with the song "Heroes", winning the contest with 365 points. Zelmerlöw and Petra Mede co-hosted the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 held in Stockholm.
Melodifestivalen is an event organised by Swedish public broadcasters Sveriges Television (SVT) and Sveriges Radio (SR) to determine the country's representative at the Eurovision Song Contest. The voting procedures to select the entrant for the annual contest have varied over the years since the country's debut in 1958. The Swedish broadcasters have experimented with techniques including splitting the juries by age, regional voting, and using an "expert" jury. Televoting was controversially first introduced in 1993, as an unannounced experiment. The Swedish telephone network promptly collapsed under the strain of phone calls being made.
Petra Maria Mede is a Swedish comédienne, dancer, actress and television presenter. Mede is known for her several roles in comic shows and as a television presenter, and is best known outside of Sweden for hosting the Eurovision Song Contest in 2013 and 2016, as well as co-hosting Eurovision Song Contest's Greatest Hits in 2015. She is set to host the Eurovision Song Contest for a third time in 2024.
Mariette Hansson, sometimes credited as MaryJet or simply Mariette, is a Swedish singer and songwriter. Hansson participated in Sikta mot stjärnorna in 1999 imitating singer Amanda Marshall. She participated in Idol 2009 which was broadcast on TV4 and finished fourth. A year later, Hansson was announced as "homo of the year" at the QX Gaygala in Stockholm.
Edward af Sillén is a Swedish screenwriter and director for stage, film and TV. He has translated and directed numerous successful theatre shows including Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare, The Drowsy Chaperone, Bull and Cock by Mike Bartlett, Torch Song Trilogy by Harvey Fierstein, Shirley Valentine by Willy Russell, and Art by Yasmina Reza.
Anton Hård af Segerstad is a Swedish songwriter and producer, part of the production team "The Family" with Joy Deb and Linnea Deb.
Melodifestivalen 2015 was the Swedish music competition that selected Sweden's 55th entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2015. Måns Zelmerlöw won with the song "Heroes". The hosts for the show were Sanna Nielsen and comedian Robin Paulsson.
Sweden participated in and won the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 with the song "Heroes" written by Linnea Deb, Joy Deb and Anton Malmberg Hård af Segerstad. The song was performed by Måns Zelmerlöw. The Swedish broadcaster Sveriges Television (SVT) organised the national final Melodifestivalen 2015 in order to select the Swedish entry for the 2015 contest in Vienna, Austria. After a six-week-long competition consisting of four heats, a Second Chance round and a final, "Heroes" performed by Måns Zelmerlöw emerged as the winner after achieving the highest score following the combination of votes from eleven international jury groups and a public vote.
"Heroes" is a song by Swedish singer Måns Zelmerlöw. It was released on 28 February 2015 as a digital download in Sweden. The song was written and composed by Anton Malmberg Hård af Segerstad, Joy Deb and Linnea Deb. On 14 March, the song won Melodifestivalen 2015 and represented Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 in Vienna, Austria, which it won. It is the lead single for Zelmerlöw's sixth studio album Perfectly Damaged.
"Jag är fri" is a joik song performed by Jon Henrik Fjällgren appearing on his album Goeksegh - Jag är fri. The song was co-written by Jon Henrik Fjällgren, Erik Holmberg, Tony Malm and Josef Melin. The 2015 album Goeksegh - Jag är fri was a rerelease of Fjällgren's album Goeksegh on occasion of him taking part in Melodifestivalen 2015 in a bid to represent Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 in Vienna, Austria. Goeksegh - Jag är fri is a 12-track album opening with "Jag är fri", with the remaining 11 tracks being taken from the Goeksegh in the same sequence.
Melodifestivalen 2016 was the 56th edition of the Swedish music competition Melodifestivalen, which selected Sweden's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2016. The competition was organised by Sveriges Television (SVT) and took place over the six-week period between 6 February and 12 March 2016.
Sweden participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with the song "If I Were Sorry" written by Oscar Fogelström, Michael Saxell, Fredrik Andersson and Frans Jeppsson Wall. The song was performed by Frans. In addition to participating in the contest, the Swedish broadcaster Sveriges Television (SVT) also hosted the Eurovision Song Contest after winning the competition in 2015 with the song "Heroes" performed by Måns Zelmerlöw. SVT organised the national final Melodifestivalen 2016 in order to select the Swedish entry for the 2016 contest in Stockholm. After a six-week-long competition consisting of four heats, a Second Chance round and a final, "If I Were Sorry" performed by Frans emerged as the winner after achieving the highest score following the combination of votes from eleven international jury groups and a public vote.
The following is a list of notable events and releases of the year 2015 in Swedish music.
The Family is a Swedish songwriting and music production team consisting of the married couple Joy & Linnéa Deb and Anton Hård Af Segerstad. They have worked with artists such as Fifth Harmony, JoJo, and Måns Zelmerlöw. Together they wrote and composed the Eurovision Song Contest winning song "Heroes" performed by Måns Zelmerlöw in 2015. The song has had huge success and is the third-highest-scoring song in the history of the ESC. "Heroes" also peaked at #1 in 22 countries and was certified 5× Platinum in Sweden.
Sweden participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 with the song "I Can't Go On" written by David Kreuger, Hamed "K-One" Pirouzpanah and Robin Stjernberg. The song was performed by Robin Bengtsson. The Swedish broadcaster Sveriges Television (SVT) organised the national final Melodifestivalen 2017 in order to select the Swedish entry for the 2017 contest in Kyiv, Ukraine. After a six-week-long competition consisting of four heats, a Second Chance round and a final, "I Can't Go On" performed by Robin Bengtsson emerged as the winner after achieving the highest score following the combination of votes from eleven international jury groups and a public vote.
Johanna Maria Jansson, better known by her stage name Dotter, is a Swedish singer and songwriter. She is best known for her participations in Melodifestivalen: placing second with "Bulletproof" at Melodifestivalen 2020, fourth with "Little Tot" at Melodifestivalen 2021, and twelfth with "It's Not Easy to Write a Love Song" at Melodifestivalen 2024.
Sweden originally planned to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020. The Swedish broadcaster Sveriges Television (SVT) organises the national final Melodifestivalen 2020 in order to select the Swedish entry for the 2020 contest in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. However, the contest was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Melodifestivalen 2021 was the 61st edition of the Swedish music competition Melodifestivalen. The competition was organised by Sveriges Television (SVT) and took place over a six-week period between 6 February and 13 March 2021. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all shows of this edition took place in the Annexet in Stockholm, and without an audience. The winner of the competition was Tusse with the song "Voices", who represented Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 in Rotterdam, Netherlands, where he came fourteenth with 109 points.
