Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest
Sweden has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 59 times since making its debut in 1958, missing only three contests since then. Since 1959, the Swedish entry has been chosen through an annual televised competition, known since 1967 as Melodifestivalen. At the contest, Sweden was one of the first five countries to adopt televoting. Sweden is the only country to have hosted the event in five different decades, three times in Stockholm, twice in Malmö and once in Gothenburg.
Sweden is one of the most successful competing nations at the Eurovision Song Contest, with a total of six victories, second only to Ireland's seven wins, and has the most top five results of the 21st century, with 11. In total, Sweden has achieved 25 top five results in the contest. After finishing second with Lill Lindfors and Svante Thuresson in, Sweden went on to achieve its six victories with ABBA, Herreys, Carola, Charlotte Nilsson, Loreen and Måns Zelmerlöw.
Contest history
Sweden's first entrant in the contest was Alice Babs in 1958, who was placed fourth. This remained the country's best result until 1966, when Lill Lindfors and Svante Thuresson were second.Sweden's first Eurovision victory was in 1974 with the song "Waterloo", performed by ABBA. Thanks to their victory in Brighton, ABBA went on to gain worldwide success and become one of the best-selling pop groups of all time. In the 1980s, Sweden achieved three successive top three results. After Carola finished third in 1983, the Herreys gave Sweden its second victory in 1984 with "Diggi-Loo Diggi-Ley". Kikki Danielsson then finished third in 1985. Carola returned to the contest in 1991, to give the Swedes their third win with "Fångad av en stormvind", defeating France in a tie-break. Charlotte Nilsson gave the country a second win of the decade in 1999, with "Take Me to Your Heaven". The 1990s also saw two third-place results, for Jan Johansen in 1995 and One More Time in 1996. In the 2000s, the best Swedish result was fifth place, which they achieved four times, with Friends in 2001, Fame in 2003, Lena Philipsson in 2004 and Carola, who in 2006, became the only Swedish performer to achieve three top five results. Together with Croatia and Malta, Sweden was one of only three countries never to have been relegated under the pre 2004 rules of the contest. Sweden was also the first country to win 3 semifinals.
In 2010, Anna Bergendahl became the first Swedish entrant to fail to make it to the final, finishing 11th in the semifinal, only five points from qualification. Since then, the country has been very successful, finishing in the top five in six of the last seven contests, including victories for Loreen, who gave Sweden its fifth victory in 2012 with the song "Euphoria", making Sweden one of only two countries to have Eurovision victories in four different decades, and winning for the sixth time with Måns Zelmerlöw's "Heroes" in. Sweden is one of only two countries - along with Ukraine in and with Ruslana and Jamala respectively - to win twice since the introduction of the semi-finals in 2004, performing the feat in both and with 372 and 365 points respectively, making Sweden additionally the first country to have scored 300 points or more twice. They also finished third in with Eric Saade and "Popular", third in with Sanna Nielsen and "Undo", fifth with Frans and "If I Were Sorry" in, fifth with Robin Bengtsson and "I Can't Go On" in, and fifth with John Lundvik and "Too Late For Love" in.
Melodifestivalen
Melodifestivalen is an annual music competition organised by Swedish public broadcasters Sveriges Television and Sveriges Radio. It has chosen the country's representative for the Eurovision Song Contest since 1959. It is 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 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.
Contestants
Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest
Hostings
| Year | Location | Venue | Presenters |
| Stockholm | Stockholm International Fairs | Karin Falck | |
| Gothenburg | Scandinavium | Lill Lindfors | |
| Malmö | Malmö Isstadion | Lydia Cappolicchio and Harald Treutiger | |
| Stockholm | Ericsson Globe | Kattis Ahlström and Anders Lundin | |
| Malmö | Malmö Arena | Petra Mede | |
| Stockholm | Ericsson Globe | Petra Mede and Måns Zelmerlöw |
Awards
Marcel Bezençon Awards
| Year | Category | Performer | Song | Composer lyrics / music | Final result | Points | Host city | |
| Artistic Award | Afro-dite | "Never Let It Go" | Marcos Ubeda | 8 | 72 |  Tallinn | ||
| Artistic Award | Carola | "Invincible" | , Bobby Ljunggren, Henrik Wikström, Carola | 5 | 170 |  Athens | ||
| Artistic Award | Loreen | "Euphoria" | , Peter Boström | 1 | 372 |  Baku | ||
| Composer Award | Loreen | "Euphoria" | , Peter Boström | 1 | 372 | Baku | ||
| Composer Award | Robin Stjernberg | "You" | Robin Stjernberg, Linnea Deb, Joy Deb, Joakim Harestad Haukaas | 14 | 62 |  Malmö | ||
| Artistic Award | Måns Zelmerlöw | "Heroes" | Anton Malmberg Hård af Segerstad, Joy Deb, Linnea Deb | 1 | 365 |  Vienna |
Winners by OGAE members
| Year | Song | Performer | Final result | Points | Host city | |
| "Hero" | Charlotte Perrelli | 18 | 47 |  Belgrade | ||
| "Euphoria" | Loreen | 1 | 372 | Baku | ||
| "Undo" | Sanna Nielsen | 3 | 218 |  Copenhagen |
Related involvement
Heads of delegation
Commentators and spokespersons
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. From to 2018, Edward af Sillén provided the SVT commentary alongside various dual commentators.| Year | Television commentator | Radio commentator | Spokesperson | |
| Nils Linnman | ||||
| Jan Gabrielsson | rowspan="12" | Tage Danielsson | ||
| Jan Gabrielsson | Roland Eiworth | - | ||
| Jan Gabrielsson | Tage Danielsson | - | ||
| Jan Gabrielsson | Roland Eiworth | - | ||
| Jan Gabrielsson | Tage Danielsson | - | ||
| Jörgen Cederberg | Edvard Matz | - | ||
| Sven Lindahl | - | |||
| Berndt Friberg | Edvard Matz | - | ||
| Sven Lindahl | Edvard Matz | - | ||
| Christina Hansegård | Edvard Matz | - | ||
| Christina Hansegård | Edvard Matz | - | ||
| Christina Hansegård | Edvard Matz | - | ||
| Åke Strömmer | Ursula Richter | rowspan="3" | ||
| Bo Billtén | Björn Bjelfvenstam | - | ||
| Alicia Lundberg | Ursula Richter | - | ||
| Johan Sandström | Ursula Richter | Sven Lindahl | ||
| Åke Strömmer | Ursula Richter | Sven Lindahl | ||
| Ursula Richter | ||||
| Ulf Elfving | Åke Strömmer, Ursula Richter | Sven Lindahl | ||
| Ulf Elfving | Kent Finell | Sven Lindahl | ||
| Ulf Elfving | Kent Finell | Sven Lindahl | ||
| Ulf Elfving | Kent Finell | Arne Weise | ||
| Ulf Elfving | Bengteric Nordell | |||
| Ulf Elfving | Kent Finell | Arne Weise | ||
| Ulf Elfving | Kent Finell | Agneta Bolme-Börjefors | ||
| Fredrik Belfrage | Agneta Bolme-Börjefors | |||
| Fredrik Belfrage | Jan Ellerås, Rune Hallberg | Agneta Bolme-Börjefors | ||
| Ulf Elfving | Jacob Dahlin | Agneta Bolme-Börjefors | ||
| Fredrik Belfrage | Jacob Dahlin | Jan Ellerås | ||
| Bengt Grafström | Kalle Oldby | Maud Uppling | ||
| Jacob Dahlin | Kent Finell, Janeric Sundquist | Agneta Bolme-Börjefors | ||
| Jan Jingryd | Kersti Adams-Ray | Jan Ellerås | ||
| Harald Treutiger | Kalle Oldby, Runne Hallberg | Bo Hagström | ||
| Björn Kjellman, Jesper Aspegren | Kalle Oldby, Lotta Engberg | Jan Jingryd | ||
| Jan Jingryd, Kåge Gimtell | Susan Seidemar, Claes-Johan Larsson | Gösta Hanson | ||
| Pekka Heino | Claes-Johan Larsson, Lisa Syrén | Marianne Anderberg | ||
| Pernilla Månsson, Kåge Gimtell | Claes-Johan Larsson, Lisa Syrén | Björn Hedman | ||
| Björn Kjellman | Claes-Johan Larsson, Lisa Syrén | Ulla Rundqvist | ||
| Jan Jingryd | Claes-Johan Larsson, Lisa Syrén | Gösta Hanson | ||
| Pernilla Månsson, Christer Björkman | Claes-Johan Larsson, Anna Hötzel | Björn Hedman | ||
| Pekka Heino, Anders Berglund | Carolina Norén | Pontus Gårdinger | ||
| Pernilla Månsson, Christer Lundh | Carolina Norén, Björn Kjellman | Malin Ekander | ||
| Henrik Olsson | Carolina Norén, Björn Kjellman | Josefine Sundström | ||
| Claes Åkesson, Christer Björkman | Carolina Norén, Björn Kjellman | Kristin Kaspersen | ||
| Pekka Heino | Carolina Norén, Björn Kjellman | Kattis Ahlström | ||
| Pekka Heino | Carolina Norén, Björn Kjellman | Jovan Radomir | ||
| Pekka Heino | Carolina Norén, Björn Kjellman | Annika Jankell | ||
| Pekka Heino | Carolina Norén, Björn Kjellman | Jovan Radomir | ||
| Kristian Luuk, Josef Sterzenbach | Carolina Norén, Björn Kjellman | André Pops | ||
| Kristian Luuk, Josef Sterzenbach | Carolina Norén, Björn Kjellman | Björn Gustafsson | ||
| Edward af Sillén, Shirley Clamp | Carolina Norén, Björn Kjellman | Sarah Dawn Finer | ||
| Edward af Sillén, Christine Meltzer | Carolina Norén, Björn Kjellman | Eric Saade | ||
| Edward af Sillén, Hélène Benno | Carolina Norén, Björn Kjellman | Danny Saucedo | ||
| Edward af Sillén, Gina Dirawi | Carolina Norén, Björn Kjellman | Sarah Dawn Finer | ||
| Josefine Sundström | Carolina Norén, Björn Kjellman | Yohio | ||
| Edward af Sillén, Malin Olsson | Carolina Norén, Ronnie Ritterland | Alcazar | ||
| Edward af Sillén, Sanna Nielsen | Carolina Norén, Ronnie Ritterland | Mariette Hansson | ||
| Lotta Bromé | Carolina Norén, Björn Kjellman | Gina Dirawi | ||
| Edward af Sillén, Måns Zelmerlöw | Carolina Norén | Wiktoria | ||
| Edward af Sillén, Sanna Nielsen | rowspan="2" | Felix Sandman | ||
| Edward af Sillén, Charlotte Perrelli | Eric Saade | - |
Costume designers
Photogallery
Songwriting for other countries
No restriction on the nationality of the songwriter and the artist exists in the Eurovision Song Contest rules, which has resulted in countries being represented by songwriters and artist who are not nationals of that country. In recent years Swedish songwriters have been involved in the writing entirely or partly of entries from several countries apart from Sweden.- In, the songs from Belarus, Denmark, Georgia, Norway, Ireland and Azerbaijan were written entirely or partly by Swedes;
- In, the songs from Russia and Azerbaijan;
- In, the songs from Italy, United Kingdom, Ireland, Malta, Greece, Cyprus, Norway, Azerbaijan and Spain;
- In, the songs from Georgia, Finland, Norway, Russia, Netherlands and Azerbaijan.
- In, the songs from Azerbaijan, Ireland, Denmark, Russia, United Kingdom and Ukraine;
- In, the songs from Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, Macedonia, Netherlands, Spain and Russia.
- In, the songs from Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Georgia, Lithuania, Norway, Malta, Moldova and Russia.
- In, the songs from Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Macedonia, Poland, Greece, Ireland, Serbia and Switzerland.
- In, the songs from Austria, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, Malta, and Poland.
- In, the songs from Azerbaijan, Denmark, Malta, Moldova, Cyprus, Switzerland, Norway, the Netherlands, and United Kingdom.
- In, the songs from Denmark, France, Germany and Malta