Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024
| Eurovision Song Contest 2024 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country |  Sweden | |||
| National selection | ||||
| Selection process | Melodifestivalen 2024 | |||
| Selection date(s) |
| |||
| Selected entrant | Marcus & Martinus | |||
| Selected song | "Unforgettable" | |||
| Selected songwriter(s) |
| |||
| Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest | ||||
| ||||
Sweden will host the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 in Malmö, having won the previous edition with "Tattoo" by Loreen. The Swedish broadcaster Sveriges Television (SVT) organised Melodifestivalen 2024 in order to select its entry for the contest, with "Unforgettable" performed by Marcus & Martinus emerging as the winner.
As the host country, Sweden automatically qualifies to compete in the final of the Eurovision Song Contest.
Background[edit]
Prior to the 2024 contest, Sweden has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest sixty-two times since its first entry in 1958. Sweden has won the contest on seven occasions (tying with Ireland for the most wins): in 1974 with the song "Waterloo" performed by ABBA, in 1984 with the song "Diggi-Loo Diggi-Ley" performed by Herreys, in 1991 with the song "Fångad av en stormvind" performed by Carola, in 1999 with the song "Take Me to Your Heaven" performed by Charlotte Nilsson, in 2012 with the song "Euphoria" performed by Loreen, in 2015 with the song "Heroes" performed by Måns Zelmerlöw, and in 2023 with "Tattoo" again performed by Loreen, who became the second artist (after Ireland's Johnny Logan), as well as the first female artist, to win the contest more than once. Following the introduction of semi-finals for the 2004 contest, Sweden's entries, to this point, have featured in every final, except for 2010.[1]
The Swedish national broadcaster, Sveriges Television (SVT), broadcasts the event within Sweden and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. Since 1959, SVT has organised the annual competition Melodifestivalen in order to select the Swedish entry for the Eurovision Song Contest.
Before Eurovision[edit]
Melodifestivalen 2024[edit]
The 2024 edition of Melodifestivalen took place between 3 February and 9 March 2024 across six Swedish cities.[2][3] It featured five heats (the fifth replacing the previously held semi-final) and a final. A submission period was open between 25 August and 15 September 2023 to select 30 competing entries.[4]
Heats[edit]
- The first heat took place on 3 February 2024 at Malmö Arena in Malmö. "Heroes Are Calling" performed by Smash Into Pieces and "Awful Liar" performed by Lisa Ajax qualified directly to the final, while "Forever Yours" performed by Elisa Lindström and "Supernatural" performed by Adam Woods advanced to the final qualification round. "Hela världen väntar" performed by Samir & Viktor and "Min melodi" performed by Melina Borglowe were eliminated from the contest.
- The second heat took place on 10 February 2024 at Scandinavium in Gothenburg. "Dragon" performed by Liamoo and "When I'm Gone" performed by Maria Sur qualified directly to the final, while "The Silence After You" performed by Dear Sara and "Unga & fria" performed by Fröken Snusk advanced to the final qualification round. "Ahumma" performed by C-Joe and "Norrland" performed by Engmans Kapell were eliminated from the contest.
- The third heat took place on 17 February 2024 at Vida Arena in Växjö. "Effortless" performed by Jacqline and "Give My Heart a Break" performed by Cazzi Opeia qualified directly to the final, while "För dig" performed by Klaudy and "I Won't Shake (La La Gunilla)" performed by Gunilla Persson advanced to the final qualification round. "Aldrig mer" performed by Clara Klingenström and "Take My Breath Away" performed by Kim Cesarion were eliminated from the contest.
- The fourth heat took place on 24 February 2024 at Stiga Sports Arena in Eskilstuna. "Happy That You Found Me" performed by Danny Saucedo and "It's Not Easy to Write a Love Song" performed by Dotter qualified directly to the final, while "Done Getting Over You" performed by Albin Tingwall and "Circus X" performed by Scarlet advanced to the final qualification round. "30 km/h" performed by Lia Larsson and "En sång om sommaren" performed by Lasse Stefanz were eliminated from the contest.
- The fifth heat took place on 2 March 2024 at Löfbergs Arena in Karlstad. "Unforgettable" performed by Marcus & Martinus and "Que Sera" performed by Medina qualified directly to the final, while "Light" performed by Annika Wickihalder and "Back to My Roots" performed by Jay Smith advanced to the final qualification round. "Controlla" performed by Chelsea Muco and "Banne maj" performed by Elecktra were eliminated from the contest.
- Immediately following the fifth heat, a final qualification round took place. All of the songs competed against each other, with each song's votes from their individual heats determining a new set of points, which when combined with a second round of voting held during the final qualification round, determining the top two songs which advanced to the final. "Light" performed by Annika Wickihalder and "Back to My Roots" performed by Jay Smith qualified to the final, while "Forever Yours" performed by Elisa Lindström, "Supernatural" performed by Adam Woods, "The Silence After You" performed by Dear Sara, "Unga & fria" performed by Fröken Snusk, "För dig" performed by Klaudy, "I Won't Shake (La La Gunilla)" performed by Gunilla Persson, "Done Getting Over You" performed by Albin Tingwall, and "Circus X" performed by Scarlet were eliminated from the contest.
Final[edit]
The final took place on 9 March 2024 at the Friends Arena in Stockholm.
| Draw | Artist | Song | Juries | Televote | Total | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maria Sur | "When I'm Gone" | 37 | 35 | 72 | 7 |
| 2 | Jay Smith | "Back to My Roots" | 20 | 26 | 46 | 10 |
| 3 | Lisa Ajax | "Awful Liar" | 26 | 11 | 37 | 11 |
| 4 | Smash Into Pieces | "Heroes Are Calling" | 31 | 59 | 90 | 3 |
| 5 | Cazzi Opeia | "Give My Heart a Break" | 46 | 41 | 87 | 4 |
| 6 | Annika Wickihalder | "Light" | 38 | 25 | 63 | 8 |
| 7 | Marcus & Martinus | "Unforgettable" | 85 | 92 | 177 | 1 |
| 8 | Dotter | "It's Not Easy to Write a Love Song" | 26 | 8 | 34 | 12 |
| 9 | Medina | "Que Sera" | 43 | 61 | 104 | 2 |
| 10 | Liamoo | "Dragon" | 38 | 45 | 83 | 5 |
| 11 | Jacqline | "Effortless" | 40 | 21 | 61 | 9 |
| 12 | Danny Saucedo | "Happy That You Found Me" | 34 | 40 | 74 | 6 |
Promotion[edit]
As part of the promotion of their participation in the contest, Marcus & Martinus confirmed their presence at the PrePartyES in Madrid on 30 March 2024, the London Eurovision Party on 7 April 2024, the Eurovision in Concert event in Amsterdam on 13 April 2024, the Nordic Eurovision Party in Stockholm on 14 April 2024 and the Nordic Music Celebration's Eurovision Night in Oslo on 20 April 2024.[5][6][7][8]
At Eurovision[edit]
The Eurovision Song Contest 2024 will take place at the Malmö Arena in Malmö, Sweden, and consist of two semi-finals held on the respective dates of 7 and 9 May and the final on 11 May 2024. All nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big Five" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete in the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. As the host country, Sweden automatically qualifies to compete in the final on 11 May 2024. In addition to its participation in the final, Sweden is also required to broadcast and vote in one of the two semi-finals. This was decided via a draw held during the semi-final allocation draw on 30 January 2024, when it was announced that Sweden would be voting in the first semi-final.[9][10] Despite being an automatic qualifier for the final, which it has been drawn to open, the Swedish entry will also be performed during the semi-final.[11][12]
In Sweden, all shows will be broadcast on SVT1 as well as online via SVT Play, with commentary provided by Tina Mehrafzoon and Edward af Sillén.[13][14][15][16] In addition, as part of the Eurovision programming, SVT and DR cooperated with other EBU member broadcasters – namely ARD/WDR, the BBC, ČT, ERR, France Télévisions, NRK, NTR, RÚV, VRT and Yle – to produce and air a documentary titled ABBA – Against the Odds, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Sweden's first victory at the contest with "Waterloo" by ABBA.[17][18]
Final[edit]
Marcus & Martinus will take part in technical rehearsals on 2 and 4 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 10 and 11 May.[19]
References[edit]
- ^ "Sweden". Eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Retrieved 19 March 2023.
- ^ Hedberg, Sofia (20 September 2023). "Melodifestivalens deltävlingar 2024" [Melodifestivalen's competition rounds in 2024]. SVT Nyheter (in Swedish). SVT. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
- ^ Conte, Davide (20 September 2023). "Sweden: Melodifestivalen 2024 Dates and Host Cities Announced". Eurovoix. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
- ^ Ryan, Tom (29 June 2023). "SVT announce changes to Melodifestivalen format for 2024". ESCXTRA. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
- ^ Grace, Emily (18 March 2024). "Sweden: Marcus & Martinus To Perform At Eurovision In Concert and PrePartyES". Eurovoix. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
- ^ Falk, Simon (19 March 2024). "Sweden's Marcus & Martinus take their twin power to London Eurovision Party". Eurovoix. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
- ^ @nordicmusiccelebration (18 March 2024). "Exciting news: Marcus & Martinus, the Norwegian duo who won Melodifestivalen 2024, are bringing their electrifying performance of «Unforgettable» and «Air» to Oslo on April 20th". Retrieved 23 March 2024 – via Instagram.
- ^ @nordiceurovision (19 March 2024). "It will be Unforgettable! Marcus & Martinus join the Nordic Eurovision Party on 14 April in Stockholm together with other representatives of Eurovision 2024". Retrieved 23 March 2024 – via Instagram.
- ^ Van Dijk, Sem Anne (13 December 2023). "Eurovision 2024: Semi-Final Allocation Draw on January 30". Eurovoix. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
- ^ "Eurovision 2024: Semi-Final Draw results". Eurovision.tv. EBU. 30 January 2024. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
- ^ "Major changes for Malmö: Big Five & Sweden perform LIVE in Semi-Finals and you can vote for longer". Eurovision.tv. EBU. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
- ^ "Sweden have been drawn to open the Grand Final in Malmö". Eurovision.tv. EBU. 11 March 2024. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
- ^ Jiandani, Sergio (19 April 2024). "Sweden: Tina Mehrafzoon & Edward af Sillén confirmed as ESC 2024 commentators". ESCToday. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
- ^ "SVT 1". SVT Play (in Swedish). SVT. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
- ^ "SVT 1". SVT Play (in Swedish). SVT. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
- ^ "SVT 1". SVT Play (in Swedish). SVT. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
- ^ "BBC One and iPlayer commission feature documentary ABBA: Against The Odds to celebrate 50 years since ABBA's Eurovision win". BBC Media Centre. BBC. 14 February 2024. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
- ^ "Record number of EBU Members unite for new ABBA documentary". ebu.ch. EBU. 15 March 2024. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
- ^ "Eurovision 2024: Rehearsal Schedule". Eurovisionworld. 25 April 2024. Retrieved 25 April 2024.