Melodifestivalen 2025: Changes to Sweden's Eurovision pre-selection announced

SVT did a stellar job of hosting us in May, when the 68th Eurovision Song Contest rolled into Malmö; the third time the Skåne capital has been awarded Host City status.

Now, the Swedish broadcaster is already looking forward to Switzerland 2025, announcing the return of its national final Melodifestivalen. 

The six-week pre-selection will once again be showcasing 30 brand-new compositions to Swedish TV viewers, who will get to decide which 12 songs make the final, and will then vote (along with an international jury) on which performance receives the honour of being Sweden's entry to the 69th Eurovision Song Contest next year.

The competition will consist of 5 semi-finals and a final, and as in previous years, the two highest scoring songs from each semi will qualify directly to the final. 

However, in 2025, the rules surrounding which song gets those two remaining positions in the 12-song final differ slightly.

Whereas in 2024, the 3rd and 4th-placed songs from each semi-final progressed to a second-chance round (the 'finalkvalet', på svenska!), in 2025 only the 3rd-placed entry from each semi will get another shot at making it to the final.

This means that the finalkvalet round will have 5 songs competing, rather than 10. And the voting format for this round has altered too. 

In 2025, the highest scoring 3rd-place song, out of all 5 of the semi-final 3rd-placers, will be given an automatic pass to the final. This will be announced live during the finalkvalet broadcast at the end of the 5th semi-final, when all 5 artists will be present in the arena.

Then, viewers at home will vote on the 4 remaining finalkvalet songs, with the entry receiving the highest number of points obtaining that sought-after 12th ticket to the Melodifestivalen final. 

Another change to Melodifestivalen in 2025 will be when we'll be able to listen to all of the competing entries. 

In previous years, we've not been able to stream the finalists until the last semi-final had taken place. Now, all 6 songs competing in each semi-final will be released the day before their semi, on the Friday. 

So, once viewers fall in love with a song during the Saturday night broadcast, they'll be able to go and listen to it again right away. While other viewers might already have had their fave on repeat for two days.

Composers and artists wishing to submit songs for Melodifestivalen 2025 will be able to do so right here, where the full set of rules will also be published.

The song submission window is open from 23 August to 14 September. 

At the 68th Eurovision Song Contest in May, Sweden was represented by Marcus & Martinus with their song Unforgettable. 

It finished in 9th place in the Grand Final, giving Sweden its 9th Top 10 placing in the past 10 Contests. 

You can listen to all 37 songs of Eurovision 2024 via your favourite streaming service or watch the music videos on our YouTube channel.

Don't forget to download our app (for iOS / Android), sign up to the official Eurovision Song Contest newsletter, and subscribe to the official podcast!