Melodifestivalen is an annual song competition organised by Swedish public broadcasters Sveriges Television (SVT) and Sveriges Radio (SR). It determines the country's representative for the Eurovision Song Contest, and has been staged almost every year since 1959. In the early 2000s, the competition was the most popular television program in Sweden; 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.
Melodifestivalen 2005 was the 45th edition of the Swedish music competition Melodifestivalen, which was organised by Sveriges Television (SVT) and took place over a five-week period between 12 February and 6 March 2005. The winner of the competition was Martin Stenmarck with the song "Las Vegas", who represented Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005, where he came nineteenth with 30 points.
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.
Melodifestivalen 2006 was the 46th edition of the Swedish music competition Melodifestivalen, which was organised by Sveriges Television (SVT) and took place over a five-week period between 18 February and 18 March 2006. The winner of the competition was Carola with the song "Evighet". She represented Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006, with the English version of the song, "Invincible", where she came fifth with 170 points.
Melodifestivalen 2002 was the 42nd edition of the Swedish music competition Melodifestivalen, which was organised by Sveriges Television (SVT) and took place over a seven-week period between 19 January and 1 March 2002. The winner of the competition was Afro-dite with the song "Never Let It Go", who represented Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 2002, where she came eight with 72 points. All shows were hosted by Kristin Kaspersen and Claes Åkesson.
Melodifestivalen 2003 was the 43rd edition of the Swedish music competition Melodifestivalen, which was organised by Sveriges Television (SVT) and took place over a five-week period between 15 February and 15 March 2003. The winner of the competition was Fame with the song "Give Me Your Love", who represented Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003, where they came fifth with 107 points.
Melodifestivalen 2004 was the 44th edition of the Swedish music competition Melodifestivalen, which was organised by Sveriges Television (SVT) and took place over a five-week period between 21 February and 20 March 2004. The winner of the competition was Lena Philipsson with the song "Det gör ont". She represented Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004 with the English version of the song, "It hurts", where she came fifth with 170 points.
Melodifestivalen 2007 was the 47th edition of the Swedish music competition Melodifestivalen, which was organised by Sveriges Television (SVT) and took place over a six-week period between 3 February and 10 March 2007. The winner of the competition was the band The Ark with the song "The Worrying Kind", who represented Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007, where they came eighteenth with 51 points.
Melodifestivalen 2008 was the 48th edition of the Swedish music competition Melodifestivalen, which was organised by Sveriges Television (SVT) and took place over a six-week period between 9 February and 15 March 2008. The winner of the competition was Charlotte Perrelli with the song "Hero", who represented Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008, where she came eighteenth with 47 points.
Melodifestivalen 2009 was the 49th edition of the Swedish music competition Melodifestivalen, which was organised by Sveriges Television (SVT) and took place over a six-week period between 7 February and 14 March 2009. The winner of the competition was Malena Ernman with the song "La Voix", who represented Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009, where she came twenty-first with 33 points.
Melodifestivalen 2010 was a Swedish song contest held between February and March 2010. It was the selection for the 50th song to represent Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest, and was the 49th edition of Melodifestivalen. Five heats were held in the Swedish cities of Örnsköldsvik, Sandviken, Gothenburg and Malmö, with Örebro hosting the final Andra Chansen round.
Melodifestivalen 2011 was a Swedish song contest held between February and March 2011. It selected Sweden's 51st song to represent Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest, and was the 50th edition of Melodifestivalen. Eric Saade, with the song "Popular", won the contest and thus was selected to represent Sweden in the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest.
Melodifestivalen 2012 is a Swedish song contest that was held between 4 February and 10 March 2012. It selected the fifty-second Swedish entry to be internationally represented in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012.
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.
Melodifestivalen 2018 was the 58th edition of the Swedish music competition Melodifestivalen, which selected Sweden's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2018. The competition was organised by Sveriges Television (SVT) and took place over a six-week period between 3 February and 10 March 2018.
Melodifestivalen 2019 was the 59th edition of the Swedish music competition Melodifestivalen and was held between 2 February 2019 and 9 March 2019. Presenters were Sarah Dawn Finer, Kodjo Akolor, Marika Carlsson and Eric Saade. Edward af Sillén returned as a consultant and adviser, producing various interval acts for the hosts. The winner of the contest is John Lundvik with the song "Too Late for Love". He represented Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 in Tel Aviv, Israel, finishing in 5th place.
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. The winner of the competition was The Mamas with the song "Move", who would have represented Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The Mamas were the first band to win since 2007 and the first female act to win since 2014; this is the fourth time in the history of Melodifestivalen that Sweden was unable to send a song to the Eurovision Song Contest, as the contest itself was cancelled on 18 March 2020 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.
Melodifestivalen 2022 was the 62nd edition of the Swedish music competition Melodifestivalen, which was organised by Sveriges Television (SVT) and took place over a six-week period between 5 February and 12 March 2022. The winner of the competition was Cornelia Jakobs with the song "Hold Me Closer", who represented Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022, where she came fourth with 438 points. All shows were hosted by Oscar Zia.
Melodifestivalen 2023 was the 63rd edition of the Swedish music competition Melodifestivalen, which was organised by Sveriges Television (SVT) and took place over a six-week period between 4 February and 11 March 2023. The winner of the competition was Loreen with the song "Tattoo", who went on to win the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 for Sweden. All shows were hosted by Farah Abadi and Jesper Rönndahl.
