God morgon! February has begun and this means that Sweden is well and truly ready to host its national selection event, Melodifestivalen! One of the longest-running and most popular shows in Europe begins tonight with its first semi-final.
Fasten your seatbelts!
While Europe and the whole world is still coping with COVID-19, the national finals season is in full swing and promises to give us some moments of joy and optimism. Tonight from Annexet venue in Stockholm, we’ll be attending the first semi-final of Melodifestivalen 2021, which will determine who will fly the Scandinavian country’s flag this May in Rotterdam.
As a consequence of the pandemic, the 6 shows this year will take place without the presence of an audience, while everything will take place in Stockholm, and not in different cities of Sweden as every year. The main presenter of all shows will be the event’s producer Christer Björkman, accompanied tonight by the famous singer Lena Philipsson, who represented the country in 2004, placing 5th.
How to watch
The first semi-final of Melodifesivalen 2021 starts tonight at 20:00 CET and you may follow it on:
- SVT 1
- Live stream through svt.se
About the show
Keeping in with the tradition, a total of seven acts will take the stage, but in the end of the night, only four will proceed with their Eurovision dream. The first two will automatically qualify for the Grand Final on 13 March, while two more will grab a ticket for the Andra Chansen (Second Chance) round on 6 March. Last Thursday, the Swedish broadcaster SVT released short snippets of each competing song, which you may listen to by clicking here.
The participants
We can meet two former Swedish acts among tonight’s competitors. Arvingarna, who took part in Eurovision 1993, as well as Jessica Andersson, who represented Sweden in 2003 as part of the band Fame, are both back in the game.
- Kadiatou – One touch
- Lillasyster – Pretender
- Jessica Andersson – Horizon
- Paul Rey – The missing piece
- Arvingarna – Tänker inte alls gå hem
- Nathalie Brydolf – Fingerprints
- Danny Saucedo – Dandi dansa
Who deserves to triumph and qualify tonight? Share your thoughts!
Melodifestivalen 2021 agenda
- Semi-final 1 – 6 February 2021
- Semi-final 2 – 13 February 2021
- Semi-final 3 – 20 February 2021
- Semi-final 4 – 27 February 2021
- Second Chance round – 6 March 2021
- Grand Final – 13 March 2021
Sweden will be taking place at the first half of the first semi-final on 18 May.
The 65th Eurovision Song Contest will be held on 18, 20 and 22 May 2021 in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the exact scenario under which the 3 shows will be hosted will be announced by mid-February.