Sveriges Television has announced this evening that it has reversed its decision to show the ‘Final Qualifier’ on SVT Play alone.
The Swedish public broadcaster has decided to reverse a change to the format of Melodifestivalen 2026. For Heat One, the “Final Qualifier” announcement was moved to SVT Play, instead of as part of the live television broadcast on SVT1, as had taken place in previous years.
Following criticism from viewers, SVT has confirmed that the “Final Qualifier” announcement will return to being part of the live television broadcast. In a statement, Anders Wistbacka said:
“Viewers have experienced the shift from SVT1 to SVT Play negatively and we have taken that feedback into account. Starting with the next round, the entire Melodifestivalen will also be available to watch on SVT1”
Melodifestivalen 2026 is taking place across six cities in Sweden and will be hosted by Gina Dirawi and Hampus Nessvold. The dates, venues and host cities for the next shows are:
Heat 2: February 7 – Scandinavium, Gothenburg
Heat 3: February 14 – Kristianstad Arena, Kristianstad
Heat 4: February 21 – Malmö Arena, Malmö
Heat 5: February 28 – Gärdehov Arena, Sundsvall
Final: March 7 – Strawberry Arena, Stockholm
The winner of Melodifestivalen 2026 will represent Sweden at the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 in Vienna.
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 7 times – tying with Ireland, the most recent being in 2023. ABBA´s win in Brighton in 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.