SVT, the Swedish national broadcaster, has confirmed that Thorsten Flinck has been disqualified from Melodifestivalen 2020.
It was revealed that Thorsten is currently being charged criminally with unlwaful threat and vandalism. As such, SVT took the decision to disqualify him from the contest. While Thorsten is no longer taking part in the contest, his song ”Miraklernas tid” will still be performed in next Saturday’s semi-final in Gothenburg. SVT are currently searching for a replacement singer for the song.
Thorsten Flinck previously took part in Melodifestivalen 2012. He reached the final through the Andra Chansen round and finished eighth overall with “Jag reser mig igen”.
The remaining artists that will take part in semi-final 2 of Melodifestivalen are:
- Klara Hammarström – “Nobody”
- Dotter – “Bulletproof”
- Mendez ft. Alvaro Estrella – “Vamos amigos”
- Linda Bengtzing – “Alla mina sorger”
- Paul Rey – “Talking in my sleep”
- Anna Bergendahl – “Kingdom come”
The remaining Melodifestivalen dates are as follows:
- 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 are the hosts of 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
Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest
Sweden debuted in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1958 and has gone on to be one of the contest’s most successful countries. The country has won the contest six times, the most recent being in 2015. Sweden’s first victory came in 1974 when ABBA won the contest in Brighton with “Waterloo”. Since missing out on the final in 2010, Sweden has gone on to finish 3rd twice and has won the contest twice, only in 2013 did the country place outside of the top 10 in the final.
