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.
Iceland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 with the song "Congratulations" written by Þorvaldur Bjarni Þorvaldsson, Ágústa Eva Erlendsdóttir and Gaukur Úlfarsson. The song was performed by Silvía Night. The Icelandic entry for the 2006 contest in Athens, Greece was selected through the national final Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins 2006, organised by the Icelandic broadcaster Ríkisútvarpið (RÚV). The selection consisted of three semi-finals and a final, held on 21 January, 28 January, 4 February and 18 February 2006, respectively. Eight songs competed in each semi-final with the top four as selected by a public televote alongside two jury wildcards advancing to the final. In the final, "Til hamingju Ísland" performed by Silvía Nótt emerged as the winner exclusively through public televoting. The song was later translated from Icelandic to English for the Eurovision Song Contest and was titled "Congratulations", while her stage name was changed to Silvía Night.
The Netherlands was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 with the song "My Impossible Dream", composed by Robert D. Fisher, with lyrics by Bruce Smith, and performed by Glennis Grace. The Dutch participating broadcaster, Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS), organised the national final Nationaal Songfestival 2005 in order to select the its entry for the contest. 24 entries competed in the national final which consisted of five shows: four semi-finals and a final. Six entries competed in each semi-final with three advancing: two entries selected based on a public vote and one entry selected by a three-member jury panel. Twelve entries qualified from to compete in the final on 13 February 2005 where "My Impossible Dream" performed by Glennis Grace was selected as the winner following the combination of votes from three jury panels and a public vote.
Serbia was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 with the song "Oro", written by Željko Joksimović and Dejan Ivanović, and performed by Jelena Tomašević featuring Bora Dugić. The Serbian participating broadcaster, Radio-televizija Srbije (RTS), organised the national final Beovizija 2008 in order to select its entry for the contest. In addition, RTS was also the host broadcaster and staged the event at the Belgrade Arena in Belgrade, after winning the previous edition with the song "Molitva" performed by Marija Šerifović.
Croatia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 with the song "Romanca" written by Miran Hadži Veljković. The song was performed by the band Kraljevi ulice and 75 Cents. The Croatian broadcaster Croatian Radiotelevision (HRT) organised the national final Dora 2008 to select the Croatian entry for the 2008 contest in Belgrade, Serbia. A total of twenty-four entries competed in the national final which consisted of two shows: a semi-final and a final. In the semi-final on 22 February 2008, six entries qualified to compete in the final on 23 February 2008 alongside ten pre-qualified songs. In the final, "Romanca" performed by Kraljevi ulice and 75 Cents was selected as the winner following the combination of votes from a five-member jury panel and a public televote.
Israel participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 with the song "The Fire in Your Eyes" written by Dana International and Shay Kerem. The song was performed by Boaz Ma'uda, who was internally selected by the Israeli broadcaster Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA) in collaboration with the commercial broadcaster Keshet in November 2007 to compete at the 2008 contest in Belgrade, Serbia, The song Ma'uda would perform at Eurovision was selected through the national final Kdam Eurovision 2008 which took place on 15 March 2010 that featured five songs. "Ke'ilu Kan" emerged as the winning song after achieving the highest score following the combination of votes from two regional juries, two thematical jury groups, a jury panel and a public vote. The song title was later translated from Hebrew to English for the Eurovision Song Contest and was titled "The Fire in Your Eyes".
Norway participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 with the song "Hold On Be Strong" written by Mira Craig. The song was performed by Maria Haukaas Storeng. The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) organised the national final Melodi Grand Prix 2008 in order to select the Norwegian entry for the 2008 contest in Belgrade, Serbia. 18 entries competed in the national final that consisted of three semi-finals, a Last Chance round and a final. Eight entries ultimately qualified to compete in the final on 9 February 2008 where the winner was determined over two rounds of voting. In the first round of voting, a public televote exclusively selected the top four entries to advance to the competition's second round—the Gold Final. In the second round of voting, "Hold On Be Strong" performed by Maria Haukaas Storeng was selected as the winner following the combination of votes from three regional jury groups and a public televote.
Russia participated at the Eurovision Song Contest 2010, held in Oslo, Norway in May 2010, and was represented by broadcaster Rossiya Channel (RTR).
The Netherlands was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2001 with the song "Out on My Own", written by Dirk-Jan Vermeij and André Remkes, and performed by Michelle. The Dutch participating broadcaster, Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS), selected its entry for the contest through Nationaal Songfestival 2001. Six entries competed in the national final on 3 March 2001 where "Out on My Own" performed by Michelle was selected as the winner following the combination of votes from three jury panels and a public vote.
Switzerland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 with the song "Unbreakable" written by Gabriel Broggini and Ivan Broggini. The song was performed by the duo Sinplus. The Swiss entry for the 2012 contest in Baku, Azerbaijan was selected through the national final Die grosse Entscheidungs Show 2012, organised by the Swiss German speaking broadcaster Schweizer Fernsehen (SF) and radio station DRS 3 in collaboration with the other broadcasters part of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation. SF, DRS 3, the Swiss-French broadcaster Radio Télévision Suisse (RTS) and the Swiss-Italian broadcaster Radiotelevisione svizzera (RSI) each conducted varying selections and a total of fourteen entries were selected to advance to the televised national final—six artists and songs from the SF selection, three from the DRS 3 selection, three from the RTS selection and two from the RSI selection. The fourteen finalists performed during the national final on 10 December 2011 where public voting ultimately selected "Unbreakable" performed by Sinplus as the winner.
Switzerland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 with the song "Hunter of Stars" written and performed by Sebalter, which is the artistic name of singer Sebastiano Paù-Lessi. The Swiss entry for the 2014 contest in Copenhagen, Denmark was selected through the national final Die grosse Entscheidungs Show 2014, organised by the Swiss German speaking broadcaster Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (SRF) in collaboration with the other broadcasters part of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation. Artists that were interested in entering the Swiss national final had the opportunity to apply to one of three open selections with defined submission periods organised by SRF together with the Swiss-Romansh broadcaster Radiotelevisiun Svizra Rumantscha (RTR), the Swiss-French broadcaster Radio Télévision Suisse (RTS) and/or the Swiss-Italian broadcaster Radiotelevisione svizzera (RSI). A total of 18 entries were selected to advance to an "Expert Check" round; nine entries were selected from the SRF/RTR selection, six entries were selected from the RTS selection and three entries were selected from the RSI selection. The "Expert Check" was held on 30 November 2013 and involved three/four experts evaluating the live performances of the 18 entries and selecting six entries to advance to the televised national final—three artists and songs from the SRF/RTR candidates, two from the RTS candidates and one from the RSI candidates. The six finalists performed during the national final on 1 February 2014 where a combination of jury voting and public voting ultimately selected "Hunter of Stars" performed by Sebalter as the winner.
Romania had originally applied and selected an entry to compete in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 in Stockholm, Sweden, however, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) removed the Romanian national broadcaster Televiziunea Română (TVR) from all EBU member services, including the contest, following repeated non-payment of debts on 22 April 2016. With TVR's inability to broadcast the contest, the Romanian entry became ineligible to compete and was removed from the contest.
France participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 with the song "Requiem" written by Nazim Khaled and Alma. The song was performed by Alma. The French broadcaster France Télévisions in collaboration with the television channel France 2 internally selected the French entry for the 2017 contest in Kyiv, Ukraine. "Requiem" was officially announced by France 2 as the French entry on 9 February 2017 and later the song was presented to the public as the contest entry on 11 March 2017.
France participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 with the song "Roi" written by Bilal Hassani, Madame Monsieur and Medeline. The song was performed by Bilal Hassani. The French broadcaster France Télévisions in collaboration with the television channel France 2 organised the national final Destination Eurovision 2019 in order to select the French entry for the 2019 contest in Tel Aviv, Israel. Eighteen songs competed in the national final which consisted of two semi-finals and a final. Nine entries competed in each semi-final and the top four from each semi-final were selected to advance to the final following the combination of votes from a five-member international jury panel and a public vote. In the final on 26 January 2019, "Roi" performed by Bilal Hassani was selected as the winner following the combination of votes from a ten-member international jury panel and a public vote.
Romania participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 with the song "On a Sunday" written by Ester Alexandra Crețu, Alexandru Șerbu and Ioana Victoria Badea. The song was performed by Ester Peony. The Romanian broadcaster Televiziunea Română (TVR) organised the national final Selecția Națională2019 in order to select the Romanian entry for the 2019 contest in Tel Aviv, Israel. The national final consisted of three shows: two semi-finals on 27 January and 10 February 2019, respectively, and a final on 17 February 2019. A total of twenty-four entries were selected and twelve competed in each semi-final where a five-member jury panel selected five entries to advance to the final, while a public vote selected an additional entry to enter the final. The twelve qualifiers competed in the final where "On a Sunday" performed by Ester Peony was selected as the winner after scoring top marks from a six-member international jury panel and a public televote.
Moldova participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 with the song "Stay" written by Georgios Kalpakidis, Thomas Reil, Jeppe Reil and Maria Broberg. The song was performed by Anna Odobescu. The Moldovan broadcaster TeleRadio-Moldova (TRM) organised the national final O melodie pentru Europa2019 in order to select the Moldovan entry for the 2019 contest in Tel Aviv, Israel. 28 entries competed to represent Moldova in Tel Aviv, with 10 being shortlisted to participate in the televised national final which took place on 2 March 2019 after auditioning in front of a jury panel. "Stay" performed by Anna Odobescu emerged as the winner after gaining the most points following the combination of votes from a jury panel and a public televote.
Lithuania originally planned to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 with the song "On Fire" written by Vaidotas Valiukevičius, Robertas Baranauskas and Mantas Banišauskas. The song was performed by the band The Roop. The Lithuanian broadcaster Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT) organised the national final Pabandom iš naujo! 2020 in order to select the Lithuanian entry for the 2020 contest in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The national final took place over six weeks and involved 36 competing entries. The results of each show were determined by the combination of votes from a jury panel and a public vote. In the final, eight artists and songs remained and "On Fire" performed by the Roop was selected as the winner.
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.
France participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Turin, Italy, with "Fulenn" performed by Alvan and Ahez. The French broadcaster France Télévisions organised the national final Eurovision France, c'est vous qui décidez ! in order to select the French entry for the 2022 contest. Twelve songs competed in the national final on 5 March 2022, where the winner was selected over two rounds of voting.
Ireland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 in Liverpool, United Kingdom, with "We Are One" performed by Wild Youth. The Irish broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) organised the national final Eurosong 2023 in order to select the Irish entry for the 2023 contest. Six songs faced the votes of an international jury, a national jury and a public televote which ultimately resulted in the selection of the Irish Eurovision entry.
