The first open dress rehearsal for the final of Melodifestivalen 2016 took place tonight. The online hits and betting odds predict that Frans is going to represent Sweden in Eurovision 2016, and so is our press poll.

After the dress rehearsal, we have been asking a total of twenty journalists, working from the Friends Arena, about their top three of the final, giving five points to the first place, three to the second and one to the third. These are the full results of the poll:

Wiktoria took the second place and Ace Wilder finished third tightly behind. Samir & Viktor who were the running favourites from the beginning of Melodifestivalen 2016 got only three points and the winner of Swedish Idol Lisa Ajax did not get any attention from the press.

“I did not know what’s going to happen so I came with no expectations, but I came with an attitude that if I’ll find a connection with the audience I’ll be happy”, said Frans. “The fact that i’m the favourite does not change anything. If I’ll get the same reaction I got from the audience tonight, eveyrthing will be fine. I’ll be spending the next 24 hours resting and hanging out with my family.”

Oscar Zia has told us about his camera work, that includes no less than 207 shots: “I have only two cameras to focus on, and then the producers are pushing a million buttons to make the camera work, so all I see is a thousand flashing red lights from the cameras going crazy, and all I have to do is to focus on my camera”. Being asked about his plans for the big final day, he answered: “I’m gonna eat, sleep and then I will take a bath and then I will come to the arena!”

The grand final of Melodifestivalen 2016 will take place tomorrow night at the Friends Arena in Stockholm. The winner will go on to represent Sweden on homeground in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016.

Stay tuned for the latest updates from Stockholm regarding Melodifestivalen 2016!