SVT, the Swedish national broadcaster who will also be hosting the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest have released the rules for next year’s Melodifestivalen.
A minimum of 32 songs will take part again this year in the 4 heats and the second chance contest leading to the Grand Swedish Final. The way these will be selected among the thousands of songs traditionally submitted to SVT each year has seen some changes for 2013. The Swedes are well known for cultivating and promoting the country’s local music industry and this year as well they provide a way for new talent to shine through the introduction of the Public Contest.
Composers/Songwriters from all over the world (provided they are Swedish or collaborating with Swedish composers/songwriters) will be submitting their songs online from 3 to 17 September on two separate websites. One for newcomers called the Public Contest where none of the composers/songwriters has had any work published and one for established artists where at least one of the composers/songwriters have at least one song published, the Regular Contest.
A preliminary jury will select a maximum of 15 songs from the Regular Contest pool and at least one from the Public Contest. One place in the semis will be given to the winner of the “Svensktoppen nästa 2012” radio program, although with a different song.
The remaining 16 entrants will be selected directly by the organisers either by invitation or from the pool of songs submitted.
The rules in English can be found here.
