Not even an eighteenth place can dampen Eurovision spirits in Sweden, and already Swedish broadcaster SVT has set its deadline for submission of songs to the 2008 edition of Melodifestivalen.

September 25th is the date which should be in songwriters' diaries, as all entries for the 2008 show should be submitted by then. Bad result or not, the entries in Melodifestivalen are sure to receive a huge amount of home coverage, as the programme is consistently one of the most watched in Sweden every year. This year, more than four million viewers tuned in to watch the final, and there is no reason to doubt that next year will be the same.

2008 is also a special year, as itrepresents Sweden's fiftieth with the Eurovision Song Contest. Way back in the contest's first decade, Alice Babs won a fourth place with Lilla stjärna (Little stars) in Hilversum, the Netherlands. With only the occasional blip on the Eurovision radar in recent years, and an otherwise strong record of good positions, SVT will be looking to reclaim its pop crown at next year's show in Belgrade.