Expedition Robinson 1997
Expedition Robinson 1997 was the first version of Expedition Robinson, or Survivor as it is referred to in some countries, to air in the world. This season premiered on 13 September 1997. Martin Melin became the winner on 13 December 1997, with a jury vote of 6–2 over Runner-Up Kent Larsen. Despite being the premiere season, the first season was the lowest rated season of the original seven having only garnered around 1.2 million viewers for most of its regular episodes and 2.3 million viewers for its final episode. A major controversy occurred during this season when the first person voted out, Sinisa Savija, committed suicide a month after returning home from the island. Because of this, the first episode to air covered the events between the time when the contestants first arrived on the island and the second elimination. Following the success of the first season, Åsa Vilbäck, Kent Larsen, and Martin Melin all became well known in Sweden.
Finishing order
| Contestant | Original Tribes | Merged Tribe | Finish |
| Sinisa Savija 34, Norrköping | South Team | ||
| Anna Nordenfeldt 57, Uppsala | North Team | ||
| Peter Just 51, Stockholm | North Team | ||
| Suzanne Lai 39, Helsingborg | North Team | ||
| Zai Gordon-White 27, Södertälje | North Team | ||
| Camilla Lundegård 28, Borlänge | South Team | ||
| Christin Johansson 22, Copenhagen | North Team | Robinson | |
| Johan Reffel 23, Stockholm | South Team | Robinson | |
| Erika Bälldal 37, Oxelösund | South Team | Robinson | |
| Jürgen Weis 26, Gothenburg | North Team | Robinson | |
| Marie-Louise Niklasson 33, Malmö | South Team | Robinson | |
| Markus Fondin 19, Gothenburg | North Team | Robinson | |
| Åsa Vilbäck 23, Linköping | South Team | Robinson | |
| Ola Melén 25, Lund | South Team | Robinson | |
| Kent Larsen 61, Lycksele | South Team | Robinson | |
| Martin Melin 30, Stockholm | North Team | Robinson |
The game
The eighth vote was tied with Erika and Kent each receiving four votes. Following a tied second vote, the two drew lots which led to Erika's eventual elimination.Voting history
Only the vote total, not the actual votes, were revealed for the fourth tribal council. It was revealed that Suzanne received three votes while Martin, Markus and Zai each received one.At the eighth tribal council both Erika and Kent received four votes. Following a re-vote, there was still a tie. Because of this, both were forced to draw lots to determine who would be eliminated.