Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest
| Sweden | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Member station | Sveriges Radiotjänst (1958) Sveriges Radio (SR) (1959-1979) Sveriges Television (SVT) (1980-) |
| National selection events | Melodifestivalen |
| Appearances | |
| Appearances | 51 |
| First appearance | 1958 |
| Best result | 1st: 1974, 1984, 1991, 1999 |
| Worst result | Last: 1963, 1977 |
| External links | |
| SVT Official Homepage | |
| Sweden's page at Eurovision.tv | |
Sweden has participated at the Eurovision Song Contest 51 times since their debut in 1958. Since 1959, the Swedish representative has been chosen through an annual televised competition, known since 1967 as Melodifestivalen. Three times – 1964, 1970, and 1976 – Sweden didn't participate. Since 1977, Sweden has been participating each year.
Sweden is one of Eurovision's most successful countries, and also where the contest is the most popular, having won the contest four times, as well as having reached the top 5 a total of 20 times. Sweden has made the top 10 a total of 32 times, one of the best records in Eurovision. Sweden's first win was in 1974, when ABBA won with "Waterloo". Three more wins followed, in 1984, 1991 and the latest in 1999. Sweden has also hosted the contest four times, twice in the Swedish capital of Stockholm, as well as once in Gothenburg and Malmö.
From 2005 to 2010, Sweden has scored generally bad results in the contest, didn't came better than 18th place in the finals (however Sweden came in 5th place in 2006). Prior to the 2010 contest it was among the few countries which had not missed a Eurovision final since 1976. However, this record was broken in 2010 when Anna Bergendahl failed to make it to the final in Bærum. Later it was revealed that Bergendahl had placed 11th in the semifinal, only 5 points from qualifying to the final. In 2011 Sweden placed in top 5 for the first time since 2006, when Eric Saade came 3rd with "Popular". This was the best result for Sweden after Charlotte Nilsson's victory in 1999.
Sweden was one of the first five countries to adopt televoting in 1997.
Contents |
[edit] Melodifestivalen
Melodifestivalen is an annual music competition organised by Swedish public broadcasters Sveriges Television (SVT) and Sveriges Radio (SR). It determines the country's representative for the Eurovision Song Contest since 1959. It is one of Sweden's most popular television shows, and it has been estimated that more than 4 million Swedes watch the show annually.
Almost every Swedish entry for Eurovision has been selected through Melodifestivalen. Only one entry, Sweden's first entry in 1958, was not selected through Melodifestivalen, having been selected internally by the Swedish broadcaster at the time, Swedish Radio Service.
[edit] Contestants
* In 2008, Sweden qualified through the back-up jury selection.
[edit] Voting history (1975-2011)
Sweden has given the most points to:
| Rank | Country | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Ireland |
195 |
| 2 |  Norway |
154 |
 Denmark |
154 | |
| 4 |  United Kingdom |
132 |
| 5 |  Germany |
118 |
Sweden has received the most points from:
| Rank | Country | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Norway |
231 |
| 2 | Denmark |
220 |
| 3 | United Kingdom |
146 |
| 4 |  Finland |
143 |
| 5 |  Iceland |
124 |
NOTE: The totals in the above tables include only points awarded in Eurovision finals, and not the semi-finals since 2004.
[edit] Since introducing the semi-finals in 2004
Sweden has given the most points to...
| Rank | Country | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Finland |
66 |
| 2 | Denmark |
65 |
| 3 |  Bosnia and Herzegovina |
59 |
| 4 | Iceland |
48 |
| 5 | Norway |
47 |
| 6 |  Turkey |
35 |
| 7 |  Romania |
28 |
| 8 |  Greece |
27 |
| 9 |  Serbia |
23 |
| 10 |  Estonia |
22 |
Sweden has received the most points from...
| Rank | Country | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Denmark |
83 |
| 2 | Norway |
68 |
| 3 | Finland |
57 |
| 4 | Iceland |
53 |
| 5 |  Malta |
43 |
| 6 | United Kingdom |
40 |
| 7 | Estonia |
37 |
| 8 | Ireland |
33 |
| 9 |  Israel |
31 |
| 10 |  Portugal |
28 |
NOTE: The tables with points from 2004 include points awarded in both finals and semi-finals where the highest point from the final/semi-final is picked.
[edit] Hostings
| Year | Location | Venue | Presenter |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 |  Stockholm |
Stockholm Exhibition & Convention Centre | Karin Falck |
| 1985 | Gothenburg |
Scandinavium | Lill Lindfors |
| 1992 | Malmö |
Malmö Isstadion | Lydia Cappolicchio and Harald Treutiger |
| 2000 | Stockholm |
Globe Arena | Kattis Ahlström and Anders Lundin |
[edit] Commentators
Over the years SVT commentary has been provided by several experienced radio and television presenters, including Jacob Dahlin, Ulf Elfving, Harald Treutiger, Pekka Heino, Kristian Luuk and Fredrik Belfrage. However since the 2009 Contest, Edward af Sillén has provided the SVT commentary alongside Shirley Clamp, Christine Meltzer Lind and Hélène Benno.
| Year(s) | Commentators |
|---|---|
| 1957 | Nils Linnman |
| 1958-1962 | Jan Gabrielsson |
| 1963 | Jörgen Cederberg |
| 1964 | Sven Lindahl |
| 1965 | Berndt Friberg |
| 1966 | Sven Lindahl |
| 1967-1969 | Christina Hansegård |
| 1971 | Åke Strömmer |
| 1972 | Bo Billtén |
| 1973 | Alicia Lundberg |
| 1974 | Johan Sandström |
| 1975 | Åke Strömmer |
| 1977-1983 | Ulf Elfving |
| 1984-1985 | Fredrik Belfrage |
| 1986 | Ulf Elfving |
| 1987 | Fredrik Belfrage |
| 1988 | Bengt Grafström |
| 1989 | Jacob Dahlin |
| 1990 | Jan Jingryd |
| 1991 | Harald Treutiger |
| 1992 | Jesper Aspegren Björn Kjellman |
| 1993 | Jan Jingryd Kåge Gimtell |
| 1994 | Pekka Heino |
| 1995 | Pernilla Månsson Kåge Gimtell |
| 1996 | Björn Kjellman |
| 1997 | Jan Jingryd |
| 1998 | Pernilla Månsson Christer Björkman |
| 1999 | Pekka Heino Anders Berglund |
| 2000 | Pernilla Månsson Colt Christer Lundh |
| 2001 | Henrik Olsson |
| 2002 | Claes Åkesson Christer Björkman |
| 2003-2006 | Pekka Heino |
| 2007-2008 | Kristian Luuk Josef Sterzenbach |
| 2009 | Shirley Clamp Edward af Sillén |
| 2010 | Edward af Sillén Christine Meltzer Lind |
| 2011 | Edward af Sillén Hélène Benno |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- SVT's site for Melodifestivalen
- Swedish Radio's site for Melodifestivalen
- Gylleneskor.se
- ESC Sweden
- OGAE Sweden, the Swedish branch of the ESC fan club
- Schlager Party, a London series of schlager events
- Schlager Radio
- Points to and from Sweden eurovisioncovers.co.uk
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