Sweden Melodifestivalen 2026: Lilla Al-Fadji and Sanna Nielsen to the Final
Tonight the fifth heat of Melodifestivalen 2026 took place in Sundsvall, Sweden. Six acts performed live, and two qualified directly for the Final: Lilla Al-Fadji with "Delulu" and Sanna Nielsen with "Waste Your Love." AleXa progressed to the "Final qual"
The fifth deltävling (heat) of Melodifestivalen 2026 took place tonight. The two winners were Lilla Al-Fadji and Sanna Nielsen, who go straight through to the Final, with AleXa qualifying for the "Final qual" that will be decided shortly.
Tonight's deltävling was held in Gärdehov Arena in Sundsvall. This marks the 4th time that Melodifestivalen has visited Sundsvall.
Right after tonight’s heat, the "Final qual" will select the last two finalists.
Melodifestivalen 2026 – Heat 5
Melodifestivalen 2026
31 January: Heat 1, Linköping- 7
February: Heat 2, Göteborg 14 February: Heat 3, Kristianstad21 February: Heat 4, Malmö- 28 February:
Heat 5+ Final qual, Sundsvall - 7 March: Melodifestivalen Final, Stockholm
All shows will be presented by Gina Dirawi and Hampus Nessvold.
A total of 30 acts competed in five heats. Two entries from each heat went straight to the Final, one remained in the competition (Final qual), and three were eliminated.
Voting system
In all five heats of Melodifestivalen 2026, there were two rounds of voting. Viewers could vote via app and by telephone.
First round of voting:
The artist who received the most votes qualified directly for the Final of Melodifestivalen.
Second round of voting:
Viewers could again vote for the remaining five participants. These votes were added to the first round results. All app votes were divided into seven voting groups based on age, plus an eighth voting group consisting of telephone votes. Each voting group’s results were converted into 38 points (12, 10, 8, 5, 3).
The artist who received the highest total number of points from the eight voting groups qualifies for the Final.
Four artists remained. The one with the highest total number of votes across the entire show qualified for the “Final qual” of Melodifestivalen.
After Heat 5, the five non-qualifying songs that received the highest vote totals in their respective heats compete in the "Final qual" ("Finalkvalet", previously known as "Second Chance"). The song with the highest vote share in its heat qualifies directly for the Final. The public vote then decides the last finalist among the remaining four songs.
Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest
Since 1958, Sweden has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 64 times, and with great success. Together with Ireland, they hold the record of most victories in Eurovision:
- 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
- 2023: Loreen – Tattoo
They came in last two times (1963 and 1977), and since the introduction of the Semi-finals in 2004 Sweden has managed to qualify for the Grand Final 20 out of 21 times (only failing to qualify in 2010)!
