A total of 30 entries will take part in the competition across five heats. Each heat consists of six songs, with the top two songs directly qualifying for the final.[3] In each heat, the first finalist is determined based on the number of public votes received in the first round, while the second round decides the second finalist and the remaining placings through a points-based system of age groups that has been in place since 2019, with a Radiohjälpen voting group replacing the former telephone group as all televoting proceeds would now be donated to the charity; the full breakdown of the results is presented on-screen, as was the case between 2022 and 2024. The remaining artist with the highest total number of votes across both rounds then advances to a final qualification round (rather than the third-placed entry as in the previous edition).[4][5] The top two songs in the final qualification then progress to the final, which will comprise 12 songs. The winner of the final will be determined by a 50/50 combination of votes from the public and an international jury.
A public submission window was open between 18 August and 12 September 2025 to select the 30 competing entries.[7] Upon closing the submission period, SVT announced that 3,888 applications had been received, from which competing entries were then selected by a dedicated board chaired by Melodifestivalen producer and artistic director Karin Gunnarsson, both from the received submissions and by direct invitation of artists.[8][9] The selected entries were announced on 2 December 2025.[10][11]
The first heat took place on 31 January 2026 at the Saab Arena in Linköping. Votes were cast using 553,145 devices, with SEK499,751 collected for Radiohjälpen.[12]
For the first time, only the two finalists were announced live on SVT1, while the artist advancing to the final qualification was revealed in a separate broadcast aired immediately afterwards on SVT Play.[13] This format was originally intended to apply to the first four heats, but was abandoned after the first heat following viewer backlash.[14]
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