SVT, the Swedish national broadcaster, have announced the opening acts for heat three of Melodifestivalen 2025 – their national selection for the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest, in Basel.

Pandora and Eva Rydberg have been announced as the opening acts for heat three of Melodifestivalen 2025. Annelie “Pandora” Magnusson made a big splash during the heyday of Eurodance in the 90s and is a pioneer in the genre. It was with her debut single “Trust Me” that Pandora became an international superstar. In 2003, she participated in Melodifestivalen for the first time, then with the song “You” and in the following year, she was back in the competition and performed the song “Runaway”. Both times, she swore never to participate again, but despite that, she made a comeback in Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu, Finland’s equivalent of Melodifestivalen, in 2021. Over twenty years after her debut in Melodifestivalen, she is now back on the Melodifestivalen stage to perform her big hit “Trust Me” – but this time in a contemporary version. She is to be joined on stage by rapper Mario Perez Amigo.

Pandora will be joined in the opening act by revue icon Eva Rydberg, who is also making a Melodifestivalen comeback and will perform Loreen’s “Tattoo” and “Euphoria”. Eva herself has participated in Melodifestivalen on three occasions. The first time was in 1977 with the entry “Charlie Chaplin”. It took until the 2020s before Eva made a comeback, then together with Ewa Roos. In 2021 with the song “Rena rama ding dong” (which you can watch below) and in 2023 with “Länge leve livet”. She has also had time to be a sidekick to presenter Oscar Zia during Melodifestivalen 2022.

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Author: Richard Taylor

Source: SVT & YouTube/Melodifestivalen