Sweden Melodifestivalen 2026: Meira Omar and Robin Bengtsson are the last finalists
Tonight the last heat of Melodifestivalen 2026 took place in Sweden. Right after, the "Final qual" selected the last two artists for next Saturday's Final: Meira Omar and Robin Bengtsson
This year's Melodifestivalen continued tonight with the fifth show broadcast live from Gärdehov Arena in Sundsvall. After the fifth heat, it was time to select another two finalists among the third-place finishers from all the heats.
After Lilla Al-Fadji and Sanna Nielsen were selected for the Final, it was time to select another two finalists among the third-place finishers from the heats.
The "Final qual" (previously known as "Second Chance") had five contestants competing for the last two spots in the Final. The five contestants finished in third place in their heats.
Finalist #1: Meira Omar
The best act of the third-place finishers was the one that proportionally received the most points in the heats. It was Meira Omar with "Dooset Daram" who proceeded to next Saturday's Final.
And then, there were four...
Finalist #2: Robin Bengtsson
A recap of the remaining four's performances from the heats was shown, and now it was time to vote again. The votes from the heats (proportionally) were added, and in the end Robin Bengtsson with "Honey Honey" was the one with most points and therefore the last finalist.
Melodifestivalen 2026 – Final qual
POINTS FROM FINAL QUAL: 800 points were distributed to the remaining 4 songs, based on the number of votes each song received in the final qual round.
The lineup for next Saturday's Melodifestivalen 2026 Final is now complete:
Melodifestivalen 2026 – Final
Lineup
Melodifestivalen 2026
31 January: Heat 1, Linköping- 7
February: Heat 2, Göteborg 14 February: Heat 3, Kristianstad21 February: Heat 4, Malmö28 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 competed in the "Final qual" ("Finalkvalet", previously known as "Second Chance"). The song with the highest vote share in its heat (Meira Omar) qualified directly for the Final. The public vote then decided the last finalist (Robin Bengtsson) 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)!
