SVT, the Swedish national broadcaster, have announced the song submission period for Melodifestivalen 2026 – their national selection for the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest.

SVT have announced that song submissions will commence on Monday 18th August (08:00 BST/09:00 CEST) and will remain open until Friday 12th September (10:59 BST/11:59 CEST). The full set of rules can be found HERE, however a selection are listed below:

• Songs must be between 2 to 3 minutes long.
• Songs must be original and must not have been publicly released, either partially or completely, before the contest.
• Songs must not include any offensive lyrics.
• Songs can be in any language. Any songs not in Swedish or English must be accompanied by a Swedish translation when submitted.
• All Swedish citizens and residents are eligible to compete.
• Non-Swedish citizens and residents are also welcome to participate, as long as at least one Swedish citizen/resident is included in the application as a songwriter, composer or performer.
• Around 30% of the selected songs will be in Swedish.
• At least 50% of the selected songs will have female songwriters and/or composers.
• Up to 8 people can appear on stage during the performance in Melodifestivalen. If the song is chosen for Eurovision, the number of people on stage cannot exceed 6.
• Incomplete submissions will not be accepted.

Previously, the Melodifestivalen selection jury included members of the public with no experience in the music industry, however this will change for 2026 – instead, a professional jury will review all of the submissions and make recommendations to SVT, who will then choose 30 entries to compete in Melodifestivalen 2026. The professional jury will consist of:

• Karin Gunnarsson (contest producer)
• Viktor Berglund (contest producer and head of voting)
• Lotta Furebäck (producer)
• Daniel Edvardsson (producer)

In regards to the selection changes, Anders Wistbacka, project manager for Melodifestivalen, had the following to say:

“We at Melodifestivalen always want to improve. We keep the editorial power that has made Melodifestivalen so strong, but complement with insights into what engages and works in today’s digital music landscape.”

Let us know what you think about Sweden and the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest – either in the comments below or on our FACEBOOK, BLUESKY, TWITTER, YOUTUBE, INSTAGRAM and TIKTOK pages.

The Eurovision Community, which Eurovision Ireland are a part of, celebrates diversity through music. Please keep your comments respectful. We will not tolerate racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, body-shaming or any other derogatory or hostile language.

Author: Richard Taylor

Source: Eurovoix