The popular comedian and screen writer of the Eurovision related movie Livet är en schlager (Life is a Schlager), Jonas Gardell, will host the Swedish national final, to take place in Stockholm on 15 March, together with his partner, Mark Levengood, who has experience with hosting big events.
Jonas Gardell is one of the most popular Swedish stand up comedians. He has been involved in Eurovision related matters a couple of times before. During the four preselections last year, he was running what was known as Schlagerskolan (The Schlager School), where his aim was to pass on to the televiewers important knowledge on the very nature of schlagers and how to perform them. He drew a lot of attention by joking about Carola Häggkvist, which is well known for her statements about gays being cured through prayers.
What makes Jonas Gardell unique in the eyes of many Eurovision fans is his fomer work as screenwriter for one of the very few movies existing in the world where the Eurovision Song Contest is the centre of attention; the film Livet är en schlager, or also known in English as Once in a Lifetime. The movie follows the life of a Eurovision obsessed 30 year old woman, who has named all her four children after famous participants in the history of the Swedish national final Melodifestivalen. One day she steals a tape produced by a retarded friend of her, and submits it to the national selection commitee. Some weeks later, she receives a call from the broadcaster SVT, telling her that she will be one of the participants in the Swedish national final.
Jonas Gardell's boyfriend, Mark Levengood, will join Jonas at the stage in Globen. He is a well known face to Swedish televiewers as he has hosted several similar events in the past. Together they recently became the proud parents of a boy called Amos.
