The 68th ESC will happen for the 7th time in Sweden, one of the titans of Eurovision. It is time to meet our hosts for 2024 and learn all about their Eurovision history!
Sweden counts in total 64 participations in the contest, debuting in 1958 with Alice Babs and her song ‘Lilla Stjarna’ which finished 4th. Together with Ireland it has the greatest number of victories, having 7 trophies in their collection. The first victory was in 1974 with a band that went to become an international phenomenon (Guess who?). Since then, they went to win the contest 6 more times, with Herrey’s (1984), Carola (1991), Charlotte Nilsson (1999), Loreen (2012 & 2023) and Mans (2015). Loreen is the most recent Eurovision winner and the reason why we are all going to Malmo this year. In 2023 she wrote history by becoming the first woman to win the contest twice, with her songs ‘Euphoria’ in 2012 and ‘Tattoo’ in 2023.
Sweden is considered a Eurovision titan not only because of the 7 victories, but also by having the most top-5 results in 21st century. They finished in the top-5 13 times in total, and since the introduction of semi-finals in 2004 they only failed to qualify once. The unlucky artist was Anna Bergendahl in 2010.
One of the reasons of their Euro-success is Melodifestivalen. Melodifestivalen is an annual music competition organised by the Swedish broadcaster SVT and SR, which has been used to select the Swedish representative since 1959. Only the debut entry in 1958 was internally selected by SR. It is one of Sweden’s most popular TV shows, with more than 4 million Swedes watching it annually. It is also one of the most popular national selections shows with many Eurofans across the globe watching it every year.
This year’s Melodifestivalen winners were Marcus and Martinus with their song ‘Unforgettable’. They also participated in last year’s Melodifestivalen, finishing after Loreen in the second place with the song ‘Air’. This year they will represent Sweden in Malmo, opening the grand final! Will they manage to be unforgettable and make another record for Sweden? Let us know!
