Sveriges Television has announced that it will open voting for the final of Melodifestivalen 2026 ahead of the live show on March 7.
The Swedish public broadcaster is set to open voting for the final of Melodifestivalen 2026, days ahead of the final taking place. The public will be able to vote through the Melodifestivalen app, between March 2 and 09:00 CET and March 7 at 19:00 CET.
Anders Wistbacka, Melodifestivalen’s project manager, explained:
“The aim is to give more people the opportunity to vote for their favorite, even those who cannot follow the broadcast live. We are testing this this year and will take the viewers’ feedback into account in how we will continue to develop the voting”
Melodifestivalen 2026
Melodifestivalen 2026 is taking place across six cities in Sweden and will be hosted by Gina Dirawi and Hampus Nessvold. The dates, places and host cities for the remaining shows are:
- Heat 5: February 28 – Gärdehov Arena, Sundsvall
- Final: March 7 – Strawberry Arena, Stockholm
Several favourites from recent previous years are included in the lineup, including Medina and Smash into Pieces, who both reached top 3 twice each between 2022 and 2024.
Melodifestivalen has been held annually since 1959, except for 1964 and 1976, when Sweden did not compete in Eurovision. The winner of Melodifestivalen 2026 will represent the country in Vienna.
KAJ represented Sweden at the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 with “Bara Bada Bastu”. They finished 4th in the final with 321 points.
Source: SVT / Aftonbladet
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 7 times, tying with Ireland, the most recent being in 2023. Abba´s win in Brighton 1974 with the song “Waterloo” marked Sweden’s first victory. Since missing out on the final in 2010, the country has gone on to finish 3rd twice and has won the contest three times. Only in 2013 and 2021 did the country place outside of the top 10 in the final.
