Will the long series of successful Eurovision results go on in 2019? For one more year, the Scandinavian country is setting the bar high for their forthcoming performance in Tel Aviv, with the preparations for their annual national selection event in full swing! Which 28 acts have made it to the live shows?

With more than 2,200 candidate songs received by SVT, the shortlisting process seems to have been quite challenging for the broadcaster. However, it has now all ended and we finally know which 28 of them will be competing at the 4 semi-final evenings, which are scheduled to take place from 2 to 23 February.

A few weeks ago saw the announcement of the event’s presenters, who will be travelling around Sweden before Melodifestivalen’s grand final at Stockholm’s Friends Arena on 9 March. Hosting the 6 shows will be Marika Carlsson, Eric Saade, Kodjo Akolor and Sarah Dawn Finer.

The 28 semi-finalists!

After a press conference which was held a little before, we can now reveal the names of the 28 acts that have made it to the live shows. One of them is going to fly to Tel Aviv! Will a 7th Eurovision victory come true for Sweden?

Semi-final 1  (2 February – Scandinavium, Gothenburg)

• Anna Bergendahl – Ashes to Ashes
• Nano – Chasing Rivers
• Mohombi – Hello
• Zeana feat. Anis Don Demina – Mina bränder
• Arja Saijonmaa – Mina fyra årstider
• High15 – No Drama
• Wiktoria – Not With Me

Semi-final 2  (9 February – Malmö Arena, Malmö)

• Andreas Johnson – Army of Us
• Hanna Ferm & LIAMOO – Hold You
  
• Malou Trasthe Prytz – I Do Me
• Oscar Enestad – I Love It
• Jan Malmsjö – Leva Livet
• Vlad Reiser – Nakna i regnet
• Margaret – Tempo

Semi-final 3  (16 February – Tegera Arena, Leksand)

• Dolly Style – Habibi
• Martin Stenmarck – Låt Skiten Brinna
• Jon Henrik Fjällgren – Norrsken
• Omar – Om igen
• The Lovers of Valdaro – Somebody Wants
• Lina Hedlund – Victorious
• Rebecka Karlsson – Who I Am

Semi-final 4  (23 February – Sparbanken Arena, Lidköping)

• Arvingarna – I Do
• Anton Hagman- Känner dig
  
• Ann-Louise Hanson–Kärleken finns kvar
• Bishara – On My Own
• Pagan Fury – Stormbringer
• John Lundvik – Too Late For Love
• Lisa Ajax–Torn
  

Following several weeks of intense speculation on which artists will fight for the Swedish representation, we can finally find some of the highly tipped names among the Melodifestivalen 2019 participants. But let’s see some of them:

The 22-year-old Wiktoria, who has tried her luck in Melodifestivalen again, will be returning for one more year, in the hope of the Swedish representation in Eurovision. Wiktoria can look back at two previous performances, one in 2016 with Save me, as well as in 2017, with As I lay me down, when she came 4th and 6th respectively.

Martin Stenmarck, who represented Sweden in 2005 with the pop entry Las Vegas, is back in the race, fighting for a second Eurovision ticket. However, this will be the fourth time for Martin to compete in the Swedish contest, as he also took part in 2014 and 2016, with When the angels go home and You take me back respectively.

Moreover, here we have the biggest surprise of this year’s competition! A veteran of the competition, the 86-year-old Jan Malmsjö made his mind up for a comeback, 50 years after finishing as runner-up at Melodifestivalen 1969, with the song Hello clown. Should he win the competition, he is expected to be one of the oldest Eurovision entrants of all times.

Sweden at Eurovision 2018

Lisbon’s Eurovision edition saw the Scandinavian country being represented by the young artist Benjamin Ingrosso, right after winning Melodifestivalen 2018 with his pop entry Dance you off, which later managed to hit the charts of many European countries (like France, Spain, Poland and the United Kingdom) and finish in high peak positions.

The song was penned by Benjamin himself, as well as MAG, Louis Schoorl and K Nita. Benjamin flew to Lisbon in May, where he placed 2nd in the second semi-final and finally made it to the Grand Final’s Top 10, coming 7th with a total of 274 points from both the national juries and the public.

Here’s his performance at Lisbon’s Altice Arena:

The 64th Eurovision Song Contest will be taking place on 12, 14 and 18 May at the EXPO Tel Aviv Convention Center in Tel Aviv, Israel. The event will be organized and presented by Israel’s public broadcasting service KAN and the EBU as well.