Danny and Swingfly victorious in the premiere of the Swedish selections

Danny and Swingfly celebrated in Luleå Saturday night, when the Swedish national selections Melodifestivalen 2011 kicked off. Out off the two winning acts, the broadcaster SVT also announced that Danny received the most votes of the night.



The winners will participate in the national final on the 12th of March in the Ericsson Globe Arena of Stockholm. From the line-up in Luleå, Jenny Silver and Pernilla Andersson will have a new chance to reach the final in a second round on the 5th of March.

10th anniversary tour

Melodifestivalen contest consists of six shows, broadcast on six consecutive Saturdays on prime-time in Sweden. The contest tours the country, with each show being broadcast from an arena in a new town.



This year sees the 10th anniversary of this concept, which has made Melodifestivalen the most popular TV show in Sweden each year.



"I think that the touring is part of the magic. Norway has done the same for four or five years, and they are also experiencing great success," says Christer Björkman, Swedish Head of Delegation, to Eurovision.tv.

International juries to pick Swedish entry

A new feature of this year's Melodifestivalen is that the final will be decided by 50 percent televoting and 50 percent international juries. Just as in the big Contest, the juries are called in from a range of European countries.



"We have found that the media together with our shows and the radio build an emotion around these songs during the six weeks. When we get to the final, the Swedish public don't remember what they felt when they first heard the song. But when you get to the Eurovision Song Contest, you just have those three minutes. We have to bring back voters with fresh eyes in the final," says Björkman.

Listen to the full Eurovision.tv interview with Christer Björkman: