SVT, the Swedish national broadcaster, has announced that it will launch a Melodifestivalen Hall of Fame this year to celebrate the 60th edition of the contest.
Christer Björkman, Melodifestivalen senior producer, stated that the Hall of Fame is a way of honouring the festival’s history.
“The winners are not always remembered in the festival’s history. There is so much else we want to honour.”
The Melodifestivalen Hall of Fame will be launched during the Andra Chansen round on February 29. During the show, viewers will be introduced to the inaugural 48 inductess. Among the 48 inductess will be the six Swedish Eurovision winners; ABBA, Herreys, Carola, Charlotte Perrelli, Loreen and Måns Zelmerlöw. All inductees will receive a Guldstjärna (Gold Star) trophy.
The 48 inductess were chosen by the Melodifestivalen management team: Christer Björkman, Karin Gunnarsson, Anette Helenius and Christel Tholse Willers. Their choices were guided by a recent audience survey on the official Melodifestivalen app.
In subsequent years, a jury will select 18 nominees to be considered for the Hall each year. Viewers will vote and the top six nominees will be inducted into the Hall of Fame that year.
Any memorable achievement, such as choreography, can be nominated for the Hall of Fame. Nominated moments must have happened at least ten years ago and that have “aroused emotions, been innovative, have originality but above all have a broad and lasting impact.” Exceptions to these rules can be made if an achievement has become unforgettable in another way.
Melodifestivalen 2020 will start in Linköping on February 1, and finish in Stockholm on March 7. The dates are as follows:
- Semi-Final 1 (Linköping) – February 1
- Semi-Final 2 (Gothenburg) – February 8
- Semi-Final 3 (Luleå) – February 15
- Semi-Final 4 (Malmö) – February 22
- Andra Chansen (Eskilstuna) – February 29
- Final (Stockholm) – March 7
Linnea Henriksson, Lina Hedlund and David Sundin will host Melodifestivalen 2020. Linnea is a singer/songwriter who rose to fame in 2010 after placing 4th in Idol. Lina is best known for her multiple appearances participating in Meldodifestivalen, the last time being in 2019 with her song “Victorious”. David is an actor and comedian who has also worked on Melodifestivalen in the past as a screenwriter.
Sweden finished 6th at the Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 in Tel Aviv, Israel. Sweden was represented by John Lundvik with the song “Too Late For Love”, and came second in the jury voting with 241 points, but came 9th in the televote with 93 points.
Source: SVT
