Swedish national broadcaster SVT announced Oscar Zia and Björn Kjellman as Melodifestivalen 2027 hosts alongside key dates.
Preparations for Eurovision 2027 are shifting into high gear as the Swedish national broadcaster, SVT, officially launched the Melodifestivalen 2027 season – Europe’s most-watched national selection. As part of the announcement, the broadcaster revealed the hosting duo leading the competition and the premiere date.
Familiar Names to Lead the National Selection
Hosting next year’s competition are two familiar names to Melodifestivalen fans: Oscar Zia and Björn Kjellman. Zia (29), a successful singer and presenter, returns to the hosting role after leading the show in 2021 and 2022. Beyond his hosting background, he is also a former participant, having placed second in the Grand Final in 2016 with his hit song “Human“.
“It feels wonderful to be back! I love Melodifestivalen, and it feels fun and safe to have Björn by my side,” the singer stated in an official press release.
Co-hosting alongside him is actor and singer Björn Kjellman (63), a self-proclaimed “schlager nerd” deeply associated with the competition for decades. Kjellman competed in Melodifestivalen in 2006 with the ballad “Älskar du livet” (in English: “Do You Love Life”), which finished ninth in the Grand Final. Alongside his acting career, Kjellman served for many years as the official commentator and expert for Swedish national radio (Sveriges Radio). His radio role ended in 2021 when he began starring in ICA supermarket commercials as the character “Ica-Stig” – a role he stepped down from earlier this year, clearing his path back to the SVT main stage.
“If you have spent an unnatural amount of time on Melodifestivalen and Eurovision like I have, in the nerdiest way possible, this is obviously the most enjoyable assignment you could ever get,” Kjellman shared excitedly.
Project manager at SVT, Anders Wistbacka, commented on the host selection: “We have managed to bring on board two versatile entertainers who have successfully competed in Melodifestivalen themselves. They are the ultimate guides to lead this competition.”
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Selection Dates and Song Submission Deadline
Melodifestivalen 2027 will officially kick off on Saturday, February 6th, 2027, broadcast live on SVT. The host cities for the heats and the Grand Final will be announced at a later date. In previous years, five heats, a semi-final (Finalkval), and a Grand Final were held across five consecutive weeks. Therefore, the Grand Final is expected to take place on March 13th.
Following the submission deadline on September 11th, a professional jury will select the 30 competing songs that will vie to represent Sweden at Eurovision 2027.
Melodifestivalen Traditions and Rules
Melodifestivalen will once again serve as Sweden’s national selection for Eurovision. This marks the 64th year the Swedish entry is selected through this platform, which has chosen all Swedish representatives except for Sweden’s debut in 1958 – when Alice Babs was internally selected – and the years Sweden abstained from the contest (1964, 1970, and 1976).
Key rules continuing this season include SVT’s target of having 30% of the entries performed primarily in Swedish, and requiring at least 50% of selected songs to feature female songwriters (either all-female teams or mixed male-female collaborations). Additionally, the artist performing the winning song at Melodifestivalen is not automatically guaranteed to perform at Eurovision, remaining at SVT’s discretion. Further details regarding the structure of Melodifestivalen 2027 will be disclosed in due course.
Last Year’s Melodifestivalen Format
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Heats (Deltävlingar): The selection consisted of five heats with six songs competing in each. The top two songs receiving the highest public votes advanced directly to the Grand Final.
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Second Chance (Finalkval): Songs placing third in each heat received another opportunity through a quick-vote round immediately following the fifth heat, with Swedish viewers choosing two final entries to complete the Grand Final lineup.
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Grand Final (Final): Twelve songs competed for the ticket to Eurovision. The winner was determined by combining the public vote with scores from international juries, split equally at 50% each.
Sweden at Eurovision 2026
“My System” is the song that was performed by the singer Felicia, which represented Sweden in the Eurovision Grand Final on May 16th, in Vienna, Austria, and came in 20th place. The song was written by Felicia Eriksson herself, together with Audun Agnar, Emily Harbakk, Julie Bergan and Theresa Rex. This is the first Eurovision entry by all songwriters. The song was performed entirely in English.
Eurovision 2026: This was 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”.
