Sweden has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 63 times since making its debut in 1958, missing only three contests since then (1964, 1970, and 1976). The current Swedish participant broadcaster in the contest is Sveriges Television (SVT), which select its entrant with the national competition Melodifestivalen. Sweden has hosted the contest seven times: three times in Stockholm (1975, 2000, 2016), three times in Malmö (1992, 2013, 2024) and once in Gothenburg (1985). At the 1997 contest, Sweden was one of the first five countries to adopt televoting.

Quick Facts Participating broadcaster, Participation summary ...
Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest
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Participating broadcasterSveriges Television (SVT; 1980–present)
Formerly
Participation summary
Appearances63 (62 finals)
First appearance1958
Highest placement1st: 1974, 1984, 1991, 1999, 2012, 2015, 2023
Host1975, 1985, 1992, 2000, 2013, 2016, 2024
Participation history
Related articles
Melodifestivalen
External links
SVT official homepage
Sweden's page at Eurovision.tv Edit this at Wikidata
For the most recent participation see
Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024
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Sweden, along with Ireland, is the most successful country in the Eurovision Song Contest, with a total of seven victories. Sweden also has the most top five results of the 21st century, with 13; in total, Sweden has achieved 26 top five results in the contest. After finishing second with "Nygammal vals" performed by Lill Lindfors and Svante Thuresson in 1966, Sweden went on to achieve its seven victories with "Waterloo" by ABBA (1974), "Diggi-Loo Diggi-Ley" by Herreys (1984), "Fångad av en stormvind" by Carola (1991), "Take Me to Your Heaven" by Charlotte Nilsson (1999), "Euphoria" by Loreen (2012), "Heroes" by Måns Zelmerlöw (2015), and "Tattoo" by Loreen (2023).

Contest history

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Swedish winners of the Eurovision Song Contest, from left to right: Richard and Per Herrey of Herreys (1984), Carola (1991), Måns Zelmerlöw (2015), Loreen (2012 and 2023) and Björn Ulvaeus of ABBA (1974)

Sveriges Radio (SR) is a full member of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), thus eligible to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest. It participated in the contest representing Sweden since its third edition in 1958. Since 1980, after a restructuring that led to the creation of its television subsidiary Sveriges Television (SVT), it is the latter who participates representing Sweden.

Sweden's first entrant in the contest was "Lilla stjärna" performed by Alice Babs in 1958, who was placed fourth. This remained the country's best result until 1966, when "Nygammal vals" by Lill Lindfors and Svante Thuresson was second.[1]

Sweden's first Eurovision victory was in 1974 with the song "Waterloo", performed by ABBA. Thanks to their victory in Brighton, ABBA went on to gain worldwide success and become one of the best-selling pop groups of all time. In the 1980s, Sweden achieved three successive top three results. After "Främling" by Carola finished third in 1983, "Diggi-Loo Diggi-Ley" by the Herreys gave Sweden its second victory in 1984. "Bra vibrationer" by Kikki Danielsson then finished third in 1985. Carola returned to the contest in 1991, eventually giving Sweden its third win with "Fångad av en stormvind", defeating France in a tie-break. "Take Me to Your Heaven" by Charlotte Nilsson gave the country a second win of the decade in 1999. The 1990s also saw two third-place results, for Jan Johansen in 1995 and One More Time in 1996. In the 2000s, the best Swedish result was fifth place, which it achieved four times, with Friends in 2001, Fame in 2003, Lena Philipsson in 2004 and Carola, who in 2006, became the only Swedish performer to achieve three top five results. Together with Croatia and Malta, Sweden was one of only three countries to have never been relegated under the pre-2004 rules of the contest.

With the exception of 2006, Sweden endured a poor run of results between 2005 and 2009, placing no higher than 18th. The nadir came in 2010, when Anna Bergendahl became the first Swedish entrant to fail to qualify for the final, finishing 11th in the semi-final, only five points from qualification (in 2008, Charlotte Perrelli finished 12th in the semi-final but qualified through the back-up jury selection). Since then, the country has been very successful, finishing in the top ten in all subsequent editions except two (14th place in 2013 and 2021). This includes a fifth victory courtesy of "Euphoria" by Loreen in 2012, a sixth victory courtesy of "Heroes" by Måns Zelmerlöw in 2015, and a seventh victory courtesy of "Tattoo" by Loreen in 2023. With her 2023 win, Loreen also became the second performer as well as the first female artist to win the contest more than once. Additional top-five placements during this period are third places in 2011 and 2014, a fourth place in 2022, and fifth places in 2016, 2017, and 2019.

Melodifestivalen

To choose its entrant for the Eurovision Song Contest, SR–between 1959 and 1979–and SVT–since 1980–have organised an annual music competition known since 1967 as Melodifestivalen. It is one of Sweden's most popular television shows, and it has been estimated that more than four million Swedes watch the show annually. All of Sweden's entries for Eurovision have been selected through Melodifestivalen, with the exception of its first entry in 1958, which was internally selected by SR.

Participation overview

Table key
1 First place
2 Second place
3 Third place
Last place
X Entry selected but did not compete
Upcoming event
More information Year, Artist ...
Year Artist Song[2] Language Final Points Semi Points
1958 Alice Babs "Lilla stjärna" Swedish 4 10 No semi-finals
1959 Brita Borg "Augustin" Swedish 9 4
1960 Siw Malmkvist "Alla andra får varann" Swedish 10 4
1961 Lill-Babs "April, april" Swedish 14 2
1962 Inger Berggren "Sol och vår" Swedish 7 4
1963 Monica Zetterlund "En gång i Stockholm" Swedish 13 ◁ 0
1965 Ingvar Wixell "Absent Friend" English 10 6
1966 Lill Lindfors and Svante Thuresson "Nygammal vals" Swedish 2 16
1967 Östen Warnerbring "Som en dröm" Swedish 8 7
1968 Claes-Göran Hederström "Det börjar verka kärlek, banne mig" Swedish 5 15
1969 Tommy Körberg "Judy, min vän" Swedish 9 8
1971 Family Four "Vita vidder" Swedish 6 85
1972 Family Four "Härliga sommardag" Swedish 13 75
1973 The Nova "You're Summer" English 5 94
1974 ABBA "Waterloo" English 1 24
1975 Lars Berghagen "Jennie, Jennie" English 8 72
1977 Forbes "Beatles" Swedish 18 ◁ 2
1978 Björn Skifs "Det blir alltid värre framåt natten" Swedish 14 26
1979 Ted Gärdestad "Satellit" Swedish 17 8
1980 Tomas Ledin "Just nu" Swedish 10 47
1981 Björn Skifs "Fångad i en dröm" Swedish 10 50
1982 Chips "Dag efter dag" Swedish 8 67
1983 Carola Häggkvist "Främling" Swedish 3 126
1984 Herreys "Diggi-Loo Diggi-Ley" Swedish 1 145
1985 Kikki Danielsson "Bra vibrationer" Swedish 3 103
1986 Lasse Holm and Monica Törnell "E' de' det här du kallar kärlek" Swedish 5 78
1987 Lotta Engberg "Boogaloo" Swedish 12 50
1988 Tommy Körberg "Stad i ljus" Swedish 12 52
1989 Tommy Nilsson "En dag" Swedish 4 110
1990 Edin-Ådahl "Som en vind" Swedish 16 24
1991 Carola "Fångad av en stormvind" Swedish 1 146
1992 Christer Björkman "I morgon är en annan dag" Swedish 22 9
1993 Arvingarna "Eloise" Swedish 7 89 Kvalifikacija za Millstreet
1994 Marie Bergman and Roger Pontare "Stjärnorna" Swedish 13 48 No semi-finals
1995 Jan Johansen "Se på mej" Swedish 3 100
1996 One More Time "Den vilda" Swedish 3 100 1 227
1997 Blond "Bara hon älskar mig" Swedish 14 36 No semi-finals
1998 Jill Johnson "Kärleken är" Swedish 10 53
1999 Charlotte Nilsson "Take Me to Your Heaven" English 1 163
2000 Roger Pontare "When Spirits Are Calling My Name" English 7 88
2001 Friends "Listen to Your Heartbeat" English 5 100
2002 Afro-dite "Never Let It Go" English 8 72
2003 Fame "Give Me Your Love" English 5 107
2004 Lena Philipsson "It Hurts" English 5 170 Top 11 in 2003 contest[a]
2005 Martin Stenmarck "Las Vegas" English 19 30 Top 12 in 2004 final[a]
2006 Carola "Invincible" English 5 170 4 214
2007 The Ark "The Worrying Kind" English 18 51 Top 10 in 2006 final[a]
2008 Charlotte Perrelli "Hero" English 18 47 12[b] 54
2009 Malena Ernman "La Voix" English, French 21 33 4 105
2010 Anna Bergendahl "This Is My Life" English Failed to qualify 11 62
2011 Eric Saade "Popular" English 3 185 1 155
2012 Loreen "Euphoria" English 1 372 1 181
2013 Robin Stjernberg "You" English 14 62 Host country
2014 Sanna Nielsen "Undo" English 3 218 2 131
2015 Måns Zelmerlöw "Heroes" English 1 365 1 217
2016 Frans "If I Were Sorry" English 5 261 Host country
2017 Robin Bengtsson "I Can't Go On" English 5 344 3 227
2018 Benjamin Ingrosso "Dance You Off" English 7 274 2 254
2019 John Lundvik "Too Late for Love" English 5 334 3 238
2020 The Mamas "Move" English Contest cancelled[c] X
2021 Tusse "Voices" English 14 109 7 142
2022 Cornelia Jakobs "Hold Me Closer" English 4 438 1 396
2023 Loreen "Tattoo" English 1 583 2 135
2024 Marcus & Martinus "Unforgettable" English 9 174 Host country
2025 TBD 8 March 2025 [3][4] Upcoming
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Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest

More information Artist, Song ...
Artist Song Language At Congratulations At Eurovision
Final Points Semi Points Year Place Points
ABBA "Waterloo" English 1 329 1 331 1974 1 24
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Hostings

More information Year, Location ...
Year Location Venue Executive producer Director Musical director Presenter(s) Ref.
1975 Stockholm Stockholmsmässan Roland Eiworth [sv] Bo Billtén [sv] Mats Olsson Karin Falck [5]
1985 Gothenburg Scandinavium Steen Priwin [sv] Curt-Eric Holmquist Lill Lindfors [6]
1992 Malmö Malmö Isstadion Ingvar Ernblad [sv] Kåge Gimtell [sv] Anders Berglund Lydia Capolicchio and Harald Treutiger [7]
2000 Stockholm Globe Arena Svante Stockselius Mattias Bratten Kattis Ahlström and Anders Lundin [8]
2013 Malmö Malmö Arena Martin Österdahl Daniel Jelinek [sv], Robin Hofwander and Sven Stojanović Petra Mede [9]
2016 Stockholm Globe Arena Johan Bernhagen and Martin Österdahl Daniel Jelinek and Robin Hofwander Petra Mede and Måns Zelmerlöw [10]
2024 Malmö Malmö Arena Ebba Adielsson and Christel Tholse Willers [sv] Robin Hofwander, Daniel Jelinek and Fredrik Bäcklund Petra Mede and Malin Åkerman [11]
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Awards

Marcel Bezençon Awards

More information Year, Category ...
Year Category Performer Song Composer(s)
lyrics (l) / music (m)
Final
result
Points Host city Ref.
2002 Artistic Award[d] Afro-dite "Never Let It Go" Marcos Ubeda 8 72 Estonia Tallinn
2006 Artistic Award[d] Carola "Invincible" Thomas G:son, Bobby Ljunggren, Henrik Wikström, Carola 5 170 Greece Athens
2012 Artistic Award[e] Loreen "Euphoria" Thomas G:son, Peter Boström 1 372 Azerbaijan Baku
Composer Award
2013 Composer Award Robin Stjernberg "You" Robin Stjernberg, Linnea Deb, Joy Deb, Joakim Harestad Haukaas 14 62 Sweden Malmö
2015 Artistic Award[e] Måns Zelmerlöw "Heroes" Anton Malmberg Hård af Segerstad, Joy Deb, Linnea Deb 1 365 Austria Vienna
2022 Composer Award Cornelia Jakobs "Hold Me Closer" Cornelia Jakobsdotter, Isa Molin, David Zandén 4 438 Italy Turin
2023 Artistic Award[e] Loreen "Tattoo" Jimmy "Joker" Thörnfeldt, Jimmy Jansson, Lorine Talhaoui, Moa Carlebecker, Peter Boström, Thomas G:son 1 583 United Kingdom Liverpool
Press Award
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Winners by OGAE members

More information Year, Song ...
Year Song Performer Final
result
Points Host city Ref.
2008 "Hero" Charlotte Perrelli 18 47 Serbia Belgrade
2012 "Euphoria" Loreen 1 372 Azerbaijan Baku
2014 "Undo" Sanna Nielsen 3 218 Denmark Copenhagen
2022 "Hold Me Closer" Cornelia Jakobs 4 438 Italy Turin
2023 "Tattoo" Loreen 1 583 United Kingdom Liverpool
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Conductors

More information Year, Eurovision conductor ...
Year Eurovision conductor[f] Melodifestivalen conductor Notes Ref.
1958 Netherlands Dolf van der Linden No national final held Host conductor [20]
1959 France Franck Pourcel Thore Ehrling Host conductor
1960 Thore Ehrling
1961 William Lind [sv]
1962 Egon Kjerrman
1963 William Lind
1965
1966 Gert-Ove Andersson
1967 Mats Olsson
1968
1969 Lars Samuelson
1971 Claes Rosendahl [21]
1972 Mats Olsson
1973 Monica Dominique
1974 Sven-Olof Walldoff
1975 Lars Samuelson
1977 Anders Berglund
1978 Bengt Palmers
1979 Lars Samuelson
1980 Anders Berglund [22]
1981
1982
1983 Anders Ekdahl
1984 Curt-Eric Holmquist
1985 Curt-Eric Holmquist [g] [h]
1986 Anders Berglund N/A[i]
1987 Curt-Eric Holmquist
1988 Anders Berglund
1989
1990 Curt-Eric Holmquist
1991 Anders Berglund
1992 Anders Berglund [j]
1993 Curt-Eric Holmquist
1994 Anders Berglund
1995
1996
1997 Curt-Eric Holmquist
1998 Anders Berglund
1999 No orchestra Anders Berglund
2000 Curt-Eric Holmquist
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Heads of delegation

Each participating broadcaster in the Eurovision Song Contest assigns a head of delegation as the EBU's contact person and the leader of their delegation at the event. The delegation, whose size can greatly vary, includes a head of press, the performers, songwriters, composers, and backing vocalists, among others.[23]

More information Year, Head of delegation ...
Year Head of delegation Ref.
2013 Rennie Mirro
2015 Christer Björkman
2016 Mari Ryberger
2018 Christer Björkman
2021 Lotta Furebäck
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Commentators and spokespersons

Over the years Swedish commentary has been provided by several experienced radio and television presenters, including Jacob Dahlin, Ulf Elfving, Harald Treutiger, Pekka Heino, Kristian Luuk, and Fredrik Belfrage. Since 2009 (with the exceptions of 2013 and 2016), Edward af Sillén provided the SVT commentary alongside various dual commentators.

More information Year, Television commentator ...
Year Television commentator Radio commentator Spokesperson Ref.
1957 Nils LinnmanNo radio broadcastDid not participate
1958 Jan GabrielssonSame as television broadcastTage Danielsson
1959 Roland Eiworth
1960 Tage Danielsson
1961 Roland Eiworth
1962 Tage Danielsson
1963 Jörgen CederbergEdvard Matz
1964 Sven LindahlDid not participate
1965 Berndt FribergEdvard Matz
1966 Sven Lindahl
1967 Christina Hansegård
1968
1969
1970 No television broadcastNo radio broadcastDid not participate
1971 Åke StrömmerUrsula RichterNo spokesperson
1972 Bo BillténBjörn Bjelfvenstam
1973 Alicia LundbergUrsula Richter
1974 Johan SandströmSven Lindahl
1975 Åke Strömmer
1976 No television broadcastDid not participate
1977 Ulf ElfvingÅke Strömmer, Ursula RichterSven Lindahl
1978 Kent Finell
1979
1980 Arne Weise
1981 No radio broadcastBengteric Nordell
1982 Kent FinellArne Weise
1983 Agneta Bolme-Börjefors
1984 Fredrik BelfrageNo radio broadcast
1985 Jan Ellerås, Rune Hallberg
1986 Ulf ElfvingJacob Dahlin
1987 Fredrik BelfrageJan Ellerås
1988 Bengt GrafströmKalle OldbyMaud Uppling
1989 Jacob DahlinKent Finell, Janeric SundquistAgneta Bolme-Börjefors
1990 Jan JingrydKersti Adams-RayJan Ellerås
1991 Harald TreutigerKalle Oldby, Runne HallbergBo Hagström
1992 Björn Kjellman, Jesper AspegrenKalle Oldby, Lotta EngbergJan Jingryd
1993 Jan Jingryd, Kåge GimtellSusan Seidemar, Claes-Johan LarssonGösta Hanson
1994 Pekka HeinoClaes-Johan Larsson, Lisa SyrénMarianne Anderberg
1995 Pernilla Månsson, Kåge GimtellBjörn Hedman
1996 Björn KjellmanUlla Rundqvist
1997 Jan JingrydGösta Hanson
1998 Pernilla Månsson, Christer BjörkmanClaes-Johan Larsson, Anna HötzelBjörn Hedman
1999 Pekka Heino, Anders BerglundCarolina NorénPontus Gårdinger
2000 Pernilla Månsson, Christer LundhCarolina Norén, Björn KjellmanMalin Ekander
2001 Henrik OlssonJosefine Sundström
2002 Claes Åkesson, Christer BjörkmanKristin Kaspersen
2003 Pekka HeinoKattis Ahlström
2004 Jovan Radomir
2005 Annika Jankell
2006 Jovan Radomir
2007 Kristian Luuk, Josef SterzenbachAndré Pops
2008 Björn Gustafsson
2009 Edward af Sillén, Shirley ClampSarah Dawn Finer
2010 Edward af Sillén, Christine MeltzerEric Saade
2011 Edward af Sillén, Hélène BennoDanny Saucedo
2012 Edward af Sillén, Gina DirawiSarah Dawn Finer (as Lynda Woodruff)
2013 Josefine Sundström Carolina Norén (all shows), Ronnie Ritterland (semifinals), Björn Kjellman (final)Yohio
2014 Edward af Sillén, Malin OlssonCarolina Norén, Ronnie RitterlandAlcazar
2015 Edward af Sillén, Sanna NielsenMariette Hansson
2016 Lotta BroméCarolina Norén, Björn KjellmanGina Dirawi
2017 Edward af Sillén, Måns ZelmerlöwCarolina Norén, Björn Kjellman, Ola GäverthWiktoria
2018 Edward af Sillén, Sanna NielsenCarolina Norén, Björn KjellmanFelix Sandman
2019 Edward af Sillén, Charlotte PerrelliEric Saade
2021 Edward af Sillén, Christer BjörkmanCarolina NorénCarola
2022 Edward af Sillén (all shows), Linnea Henriksson (final)Dotter
2023 Edward af Sillén (all shows), Måns Zelmerlöw (final)Farah Abadi
2024 Edward af Sillén, Tina MehrafzoonFrans Jeppsson Wall
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Other shows

More information Show, Commentator ...
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Stage directors

More information Year, Stage director ...
Year Stage director Ref.
2011 Fredrik "Benke" Rydman
2012 Ambra Succi
2013
2014 Lotta Furebäck and Mari Ryberger
2015 Fredrik "Benke" Rydman
2016 Lotta Furebäck and Mari Ryberger
2017 Zain Odelstål, Lotta Furebäck and Mari Ryberger
2018 Dennis Brøchner and Zain Odelstål
2019 Dennis Brøchner, Zain Odelstål, Lotta Furebäck and Sacha Jean-Baptiste
2020 Zain Odelstål, Dennis Brøchner, Sacha Jean-Baptiste and Lotta Furebäck
2021 Lotta Furebäck, Sacha Jean-Baptiste and Jennie Widegren
2022 Sacha Jean-Baptiste, Lotta Furebäck, Jennie Widegren and Keisha von Arnold
2023 Keisha von Arnold, Lotta Furebäck, Sacha Jean-Baptiste and Jennie Widegren
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Costume designers

More information Year, Costume designers ...
Year Costume designers Ref.
2006 Lars Wallin
2009 Camilla Thulin
2023 Fadi El Khoury
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See also

Notes

  1. According to the then-Eurovision rules, the top ten non-Big Four countries from the previous year along with the Big Four automatically qualified for the Grand Final without having to compete in semi-finals. For example, if Germany and France placed inside the top ten, the 11th and 12th spots were advanced to next year's Grand Final along with all countries ranked in the top ten.
  2. Qualified through the back-up jury selection
  3. The 2020 contest was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  4. Voted by commentators.
  5. All conductors are of Swedish nationality unless otherwise noted.
  6. That year's Swedish national final was presented without an orchestra to save money for the international contest.
  7. Also conducted the Belgian entry
  8. That year's Swedish national final had the entries presented as music videos, so there was no orchestra present.
  9. Berglund also conducted and played accordion for the Yugoslav entry; he re-arranged the French entry as well when the submitted sheet music was deemed too difficult to follow.

References

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