Sweden is the latest nation to commence its search for Eurovision 2023 as it opens song submissions for Melodifestivalen.
The submission window for Melodifestivalen 2023 opened today and will close on September 16. Anyone looking to send in an entry must do so during the submission window on the official Meldoifestivalen website. The winning entry will represent Sweden at the Eurovision Song Contest 2023.
Some rules of the selection include:
- Swedish citizens and residents (as of August 26 2022) may take part in the contest as lyricists and/or composers, with the exception of anyone who is an employee or contractor for SVT.
- Non-Swedish citizens/residents may also take part provided that at least one composer/lyricist of the entry is a Swedish citizen/resident.
- Of the 28 selected entries, 10 will be Swedish-language songs. A song can be entered multiple times if it has lyrics in different languages.
- At least 50% of the selected entries will feature women as composers/lyricists.
- Songs must be between 2 and 3 minutes in length and must comply with Eurovision rules.
- The names of the selected entries and composers will be revealed in November-December 2022.
- Up to 8 people can be on stage for a performance. If the song is selected for Eurovision, only 6 people can be on stage.
A full list of rules can be found here (in Swedish).
Cornelia Jakobs represented Sweden at the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Turin, Italy. She placed 4th in the final with “Hold Me Closer”, making it the best result for the nation since they won the competition in 2015.
Image source: EBU / Nathan Reinds | Source: SVT
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.
