Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026
| Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eurovision Song Contest 2026 | ||||
| Participating broadcaster | Sveriges Television (SVT) | |||
| Country |  Sweden | |||
| Selection process | Melodifestivalen 2026 | |||
| Selection date | 7 March 2026 | |||
| Participation chronology | ||||
| ||||
Sweden will be represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2026, which will be held in Vienna, Austria. The Swedish participating broadcaster, Sveriges Television (SVT), is organising Melodifestivalen 2026 in order to select its entry for the contest.
Background
Prior to the 2026 contest, Sveriges Radio (SR) until 1979, and Sveriges Television (SVT) since 1980, had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest representing Sweden sixty-three times since SR's first entry in 1958. They have won the contest on seven occasions (tying with Ireland for the most wins): in 1974 with the song "Waterloo" performed by ABBA, in 1984 with the song "Diggi-Loo Diggi-Ley" performed by Herreys, in 1991 with the song "Fångad av en stormvind" performed by Carola, in 1999 with the song "Take Me to Your Heaven" performed by Charlotte Nilsson, in 2012 with the song "Euphoria" performed by Loreen, in 2015 with the song "Heroes" performed by Måns Zelmerlöw, and in 2023 with "Tattoo" again performed by Loreen, who became the second artist (after Ireland's Johnny Logan), as well as the first female artist, to win the contest more than once. Following the introduction of semi-finals for the 2004 contest, the Swedish entries, to this point, have featured in every final, except for 2010.[1] In 2025, "Bara bada bastu" performed by KAJ finished fourth with 321 points.
As part of its duties as participating broadcaster, SVT organises the selection of its entry in the Eurovision Song Contest and broadcasts the event in the country. Since 1959, SR first and SVT later have organised the annual competition Melodifestivalen in order to select their entries for the contest.
Before Eurovision
Melodifestivalen 2026
The 2026 edition of Melodifestivalen is taking place between 31 January and 7 March 2026 across six Swedish cities, and consists of five heats and a final.[2] A submission period was open between 18 August and 12 September 2025 to select the 30 competing entries.[3]
Heats
- The first heat took place on 31 January 2026 at Saab Arena in Linköping. "Half of Me" performed by Greczula and "Iconic" performed by A-Teens qualified directly to the final, while "Woman" performed by Jacqline advanced to the final qualification round. "Beautiful Lie" performed by Indra, "Berusade ord" performed by Noll2, and "Copacabana Boy" performed by Junior Lerin were eliminated from the contest.
- The second heat took place on 7 February 2026 at Scandinavium in Gothenburg. "My System" performed by Felicia and "Rakt in i elden" performed by Brandsta City Släckers qualified directly to the final, while "Honey Honey" performed by Robin Bengtsson advanced to the final qualification round. "Oxygen" performed by Laila Adèle, "Där hela världen väntar" performed by Klara Almström, and "Glitter" performed by Arwin were eliminated from the contest.
- The third heat took place on 14 February 2026 at Kristianstad Arena in Kristianstad. "Viva L'Amor" performed by Medina and "Ain't Today" performed by Saga Ludvigsson qualified directly to the final, while "Selfish" performed by Eva Jumatate advanced to the final qualification round. "King of Rock 'n' Roll" performed by Korslagda, "Dusk Till Dawn" performed by Patrik Jean, and "Ingenting" performed by Emilia Pantić were eliminated from the contest.
At Eurovision
Sweden is set to perform in the first half of the first semi final on 12 May 2026.[4]
References
- ^ "Sweden". Eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Retrieved 19 March 2023.
- ^ "Hit åker Melodifestivalen 2026 – hela listan". SVT Nyheter (in Swedish). 2025-09-17. Retrieved 2025-09-21.
- ^ Farren, Neil (2025-08-15). "🇸🇪 Sweden: Melodifestivalen 2026 Submission Window Opens August 18". Eurovoix. Retrieved 2025-12-03.
- ^ "Eurovision 2026: Who's in which Semi-final?". Eurovisionworld. 2026-01-12. Retrieved 2026-01-17.