by Ilay Gaist Comment Closed




The Swedish national broadcaster SVT revealed the six cities that will host Melodifestivalen 2026.

The Swedish national broadcaster SVT is already deep in preparations for Melodifestivalen 2026, which will determine Sweden’s representative and song for Eurovision 2026 in Vienna, Austria. The Melodifestivalen has been held annually since 1959 and has brought Sweden seven Eurovision victories. A record number of 3,888 songs were submitted for the competition – but the question remains: where will it take place?




The first heat will be staged in Linköping, in southern Sweden, the capital of the Östergötland County. The second heat will be held in Göteborg, Sweden’s second-largest city, which also hosted the Eurovision Song Contest in 1985. Göteborg is the largest city in western Sweden and the fifth-largest in Scandinavia.

The third heat will be held in Kristianstad, located on the opposite side of the Skåne region, which will be hosting three consecutive shows. The fourth heat will take place in Malmö, Sweden’s third-largest city, well remembered for hosting the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest. Previously, Malmö also hosted Eurovision in 1992 and 2013.

The fifth heat is set for Sundsvall, a coastal city in central Sweden. As tradition dictates, the grand final will once again take place at Friends Arena in Stockholm. The Swedish capital has previously hosted the Eurovision Song Contest in 1975, 2000, and 2016.

The heats will be held across Sweden over six weeks:

  • First heat: Saturday, January 31st, in Linköping.

  • Second heat: Saturday, February 7th, in Göteborg.

  • Third heat: Saturday, February 14th, in Kristianstad.

  • Fourth heat: Saturday, February 21st, in Malmö.

  • Fifth heat and “Second Chance Round”: Saturday, February 28th, in Sundsvall.

  • Grand Final: Saturday, March 7th, at Friends Arena, Stockholm.

Format and Expected Changes for Melodifestivalen 2026

Melodifestivalen 2026 will once again run for six weeks, featuring five heats and one big final. Each heat will be hosted in a different city across the country, while the grand final will, as tradition dictates, take place at Friends Arena in Stockholm. From each heat, the two top-ranked songs will advance to the final, which will feature 12 songs. The winner will be determined by a 50/50 combination of jury votes and public televoting. The Melodifestivalen winner will then represent Sweden at Eurovision 2026 in Vienna, Austria.

SVT confirmed that the format changes introduced two years ago will remain in 2026, following overwhelmingly positive feedback from viewers. These include:

  • A “Second Chance” round: This gives participants who placed third or fourth in the semi-finals another opportunity to reach the final. Introduced in 2024, the system was praised as fair and exciting, giving popular songs another shot at the big stage.

  • Early song releases: Instead of waiting until the end of the semi-finals, all songs in each semi-final will be released on streaming platforms one day in advance. This allows fans to enjoy the music early, form opinions, and engage with the entries ahead of the live shows.




Sweden at Eurovision 2025:

“Bara bada bastu” (in English: “Just take a sauna”) is the title of the song which was performed by band KAJ, who represented Sweden in Eurovision 2025, in Basel, Switzerland – Placing 4th with 321 points. The song was written by the band members – Kevin Holmström, Axel Åhman, and Jakob Norrgård – along with Anderz Wrethov, Kristoffer Strandberg, and Robert Skowronski.

The song led the betting predictions throughout the competition, reaching a peak of 49% winning probability, but ultimately finished in fourth place with 321 points – 126 points from the juries, ranked sixth, and 195 more points from the public, ranked third.

Eurovision 2026: This will be Sweden’s 65th appearance in the competition. Sweden joined Eurovision in 1958 and has won the contest seven times over the years. The country’s most recent victory came in 2023, when Loreen won with the song “Tattoo”.