The final qual round of the Swedish Eurovision national selection, “Melodifestivalen 2026”, has concluded. Out of the five songs that placed third in each heat, two have advanced to the grand final, which will take place next Saturday. With this, the complete list of finalists has been determined!
Screenshot: SVT
The largest and most beloved Eurovision national selection in Europe, Melodifestivalen 2026, continued tonight with its fifth heat and the “Second Chance” round. The shows took place in Gärdehov Arena, Sundsvall. In the “Second Chance” round, the five songs that placed third in each of the five heats competed, with two of them advancing to the grand final.
The winner of the final will represent Sweden in the first half of the first semi-final of Eurovision 2026, in Vienna, Austria.
The first act to advance to the final is Meira Omar band, with her song “Dooset Daram“, who qualified by receiving the highest score in the heat in which they competed (227 points). Joining them in advancing to the final is Robin Bengtsson, who performed the song “Honey Honey” and received the highest number of points in the second round (the televote that evening).
Results of the “Second Chance”:
- Meira Omar – “Dooset Daram” (227 points)
- Robin Bengtsson – “Honey Honey” (204+233=437)
- Eva Jumatate – “Selfish” (198+210=408)
- Jacqline – “Woman” (197+188=385)
- AleXa – “Tongue Tied” (174+169=343)
Click on the song names to listen!
Familiar Names From The “Second Chance”:
Jacqline – Participated in Melodifestivalen 2024 and went straight to the final with the song “Effortless”, finishing ninth. The song later gained popularity among Eurovision fans across Europe. She took a break from her career to become a mother.
Robin Bengtsson – 35 years old, who participated in Melodifestivalen four times, winning once in 2017 with the song “I Can’t Go On,” which earned him a respectable fifth place at Eurovision. He also competed in 2016, 2020, and 2022.
Meira Omar – Competed in Melodifestivalen last year with the hit song “Hush Hush,” which advanced to the final via the Second Chance round and finished in tenth place.
AleXa – also known by the stage name Kim Seri, won the 2022 American Song Contest (a local version of Eurovision). She is expected to bring the energetic choreography unique to the successful K-pop genre. According to Swedish media, the move is supported by the management and production team of Swedish artist Cazzi Opeia, who co-wrote AleXa’s winning song “Wonderland” together with Andreas Carlsson and other collaborators.
Melodifestivalen 2026 Finalists:
- Greczula – “Half Of Me”
- A-Teens – “Iconic”
- Felicia – “My System”
- Brandsta City Släckers – “Rakt in i elden”
- Medina – “Viva L’Amor”
- Saga Ludvigsson – “Ain’t Today”
- Smash Into Pieces – “Hollow“
- Cimberly – “Eternity“
- Lilla Al-Fadji – “Delulu“
- Sanna Nielsen – “Waste Your Love“
- Meira Omar – “Dooset Daram“
- Robin Bengtsson – “Honey Honey“
Melodifestivalen 2026 Schedule
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Saturday, January 31st, 2026 – Heat 1 in Saab Arena, Linköping -
Saturday, February 7th, 2026 – Heat 2 in Scandinavium, Göteborg -
Saturday, February 14th, 2026 – Heat 3 in Kristianstad Arena, Kristianstad -
Saturday, February 21st, 2026 – Heat 4 in Malmö Arena, Malmö -
Saturday, February 28th, 2026 – Heat 5 and Final qual in Gärdehov Arena, Sundsvall -
Saturday, March 7th, 2026 – Grand Final in Strawberry (Friends) Arena, Stockholm
Format and 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, as tradition dictates, will 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.
Sweden at Eurovision 2025:
“Bara bada bastu” (in English: “Just take a sauna”) is the title of the song which was performed by the 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”.
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Tal Dahan – Journalist, radio broadcaster, and Eurovision content creator.
Tal Dahan is an Israeli journalist and editor specializing in the Eurovision Song Contest, working with the EuroMix editorial team for four years. Since 2022, she has provided regular on-site coverage of Eurovision from the host city, and from 2023 has also reported directly from the press room—offering the Israeli audience live updates, exclusive interviews, and in-depth commentary.
Tal is a member of the Eurovision tribute and parody band “EuroFalsh,” a radio broadcaster, and a student of political science and communications.
She is considered one of Israel’s leading young Eurovision experts. In addition to covering the main contest, Tal has reported from Eurovision pre-parties and national selection events across Europe (in Thessaloniki, Stockholm, Madrid, and more), been interviewed by major media outlets in Israel and internationally, and presented Eurovision-themed podcasts and radio shows.
