SVT confirm dates and venues for Melodifestivalen 2026.
The Swedish broadcaster has confirmed the dates and venues for next years Melodifestivalen, with the contest starting and finishing earlier than usual.
- Heat 1 – Linköping – January 31st
- Heat 2 – Gothenburg – February 7th
- Heat 3 – Kristianstad – February 14th
- Heat 4 – Malmö – February 21st
- Heat 5 – Sundsvall – February 28th
- Final – Stockholm – March 7th
Heat 5 in Sundsvall will mark the first time in 15 years that the city will host Melodifestivalen, with the last time being in 2011, when they hosted Andra Chansen, which saw favourite Loreen and her song “My Heart is Refusing Me” lose out to Sara Varga in the duel. Kristianstad on the other hand will be hosting a Melodifestivalen heat next year for the second time in the contest’s history, with the first time being in 2018.
It is also worth noting that the Melodifestivalen final will once again be hosted in Stockholm, with Melodifestivalen project manager Anders Wistbacka explaining why: “We want the final to be in a grand, powerful arena where as many people as possible can take part in the entertainment on site. We think that the finale in Sweden’s national arena suits the celebration of the whole of Sweden.”
Prior to this announcement, it was revealed that Melodifestivalen 2026 received the highest number of song submissions ever, with 3,688 entries being received by SVT. This is an increase of over 1,000 submissions compared to 2025, when 2,794 entries were received. The previous record for Melodifestivalen submissions was in 2011, when SVT received 3,832 entries.
SVT have confirmed that a jury panel made up of people with a clear musical profile, will be responsible for selecting the 30 entries that will go on to compete in Melodifestivalen 2026. Previously, the jury panel was made up of musical professionals, editorial staff members and music listeners, many of whom had no music connections.
The format of the show is expected to remain the same in 2026 – the top two scoring artists from each of the five heats will automatically advance to the final. The third placed act from each of the five heats will advance to the final qualification round, with the top two scoring artists advancing to the final. In the final, a combination of public vote and international jury vote will determine the winner of Melodifestivalen, and Sweden’s Eurovision representative.
Finnish-Swedish music and comedy group KAJ surprised everyone and beat the odds to come out on top and win Melodifestivalen 2025 with their song “Bara Bada Bastu”. Immediatley asserting themselves as one of the favourites to win Eurovision 2025 in Switzerland, the group eventually finished in 4th place with 321 points.
Are you looking forward to Melodifestivalen 2026? Which Swedish artists would you like to see competing in next years contest? Share your artist wishlist with us in the comments below!
Photo credit: Sarah Louisr Bennett / EBU
