Sweden: Melodifestivalen 2017 dates and cities revealed

Six shows, Six Saturdays, Six cities: Gothenburg, Malmö, Växjö, Skellefteå, Linköping and Stockholm. Melodifestivalen 2017 takes place from 4 February to 11 March

Like the previous years, Melodifestivalen 2017 takes place in six different cities around Sweden. The largest entertainment program starts in Gothenburg and ends in Stockholm, the host city of Eurovision Song Contest 2016.

Melodifestivalen 2017

4 February: Melodifestivalen Deltävling 1, Gothenburg (Scandinavium)
11 February: Melodifestivalen Deltävling 2, Malmö (Malmö Arena)
18 February: Melodifestivalen Deltävling 3, Växjö (Vida Arena)
25 February: Melodifestivalen Deltävling 4, Skellefteå (Skellefteå Kraft Arena)
4 March: Melodifestivalen Second chance, Linköping (SAAB Arena)
11 March: Melodifestivalen Final, Stockholm (Friends Arena)

It’s always fun to come back to the cities that choose to be hosts again for the Eurovision Song Contest. They know what it means and are excited to showcase a host based on past experiences so that they can raise the bar yet another notchAnette Helenius, Project Manager of Melodifestivalen

The format for Melodifestivalen 2017 is the same as last year:
Each of the 4 heats qualifies 2 songs directly to the final
Each of the 4 heats qualifies 2 songs to the "second chance"-show
In the "second chance" 4 songs will be selected for the final

28 songs will participate in Melodifestivalen 2017. The 14 songs will be chosen by a panel created by SVT, and the other 14 contestants will be special invited by SVT. In these 14 is included the winner of "Svensktoppen Nästa 2017": Les Gordons.

Sweden in Eurovision Song Contest

Sweden 2015 | Måns Zelmerlöw: "Heroes"

Since 1958 Sweden has participated 56 times in Eurovision Song Contest with great succes. They have won the contest 6 times:

1974: Abba - "Waterloo"
1984: Herreys - "Diggi-loo Diggy-ley"
1991: Carola - "Fångad Av En Stormvind"
1999: Charlotte Nilsson - "Take Me To Your Heaven"
2012: Loreen - "Euphoria"
2015: Måns Zelmerlöw - "Heroes"

They came last two times ( 1963 and 1977), and since the introduction of the Semi-finals in 2004 Sweden managed to qualify for the Grand Final 12 out of 13 times! (only skipped the qualification in 2010).