FOR YOUR INFORMATION. On August 26, will the song submition for the Swedish Eurovision selection Melodifestivalen 2020 open for anyone who would like to send in songs. We will now present rules for the show to you!
About Melodifestivalen 2020
It’s the Swedish Television (SVT) who are the broadcasting company that arranges the Swedish Eurovision selection. For the 60th time (or for the 19th time on a tour in Sweden), SVT have decided to use the Melodifestivalen as their selection to find the best act to compete for Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020.
According to the rules, 28 songs will participate, where one half of 14 songs will be chosen by a national jury (who will choose songs from a national song selection), while the other half of 14 songs will be chosen by SVT themselves. One spot in the contest will go to a wild card from the Swedish Radio’s music competition P4 Nästa. The wild card will be selected in a final which will be held in Linköping on August 24, 2019.
If you have any questions about the selection, please send an e-mail to the SVT staff at mello20@svt.se
Where and when can I submit my song/s?
The song submition will open on August 26, 2019 at 09:oo AM (Central European summer time). You will then be able to upload your song/s on the site bidrag.melodifestivalen.se.
The submission period will close on September 15, 2019 at 11:59 PM (Central European summer time).
What will happen after the submition has closed?
When the submission has closed, SVT will go trough all songs and select a collection of them. After that, a national jury will listen to all the selected songs and will choose 14 songs, which they want to see take part in Melodifestivalen 2020. When the jury’s job is finished, SVT the editorial staff at Melodifestivalen will select their half of 14 songs, including to select a song to the invited wild card from the P4 Nästa contest.
SVT will reveal which artists and songs that will take part in the Melodifestivalen 2020 in late 2019. Please note that the date is currently unclear, but it will most likely be in October, November or December 2019. Before this date only speculations will tell us which songs and artists that will take part in the competition…
Rules and regulations (FAQ)
Can anyone send in songs to the selection?
Yes, the Melodifestivalen are open for anyone – including non-Swedish citizen – to take part both as song writers and as artist(s). In the song writing team, at least one (1) of you is needed to be a Swedish citizen. However, this rule does not apply if you want take part as an artist.
NB: If you are an employee at (or a client for) SVT between August 2019 and March 2020, then it’s not possible to take part. This rule applys both for song writers and artists!
Please note that SVT has a policy that at least half of the line-up has to include songs done entirely or partly by female song writers.
The song requirements
Only songs that has never been public to the public* are allowed to take part in the 2020 edition of Melodifestivalen. In the contest, SVT will decide when the 28 competing entries will be released on the public platforms**.
The participating songs must be nor longer than 3 minutes (but not shorter than 2 minutes)***.
Singing is mandatory. However, how much is not said.
* This rule applies both analogue as digital platforms, such as concerts, social media platforms etc.!
** SVT decides itself when the songs may be made public, which usually occurs after the songs have left the competition or after the public has decided the last heat winners.
*** It is allowed to submit songs who brake this rule, but in those case these songs will need to be re-written for Melodifestivalen to fit the time limits.
Are there any language rules?
It’s free to sing in any language you want, and you’re also welcome to send in the same song performed in different language versions. However, if your song(s) will be selected to take part in Melodifestivalen 2020, please remember that SVT will decide in what language you’re artist(s) will sing in!
SVT has a policy that approximately ten of the selected/invited songs (more or less) will be performed in Swedish language.
The artist selection
SVT will chose the artists along with the song writers for each song. Despite this, SVT have the final word in this decision. Demo artists may be selected to compete in the contest, however, they are not self-written for this purpose. This rule also applies to the winning artist in the Final (the artist or group who will represent Sweden in the Eurovision 2020)!
To take part in the Melodifestivalen 2020 as an artist, you have to be at least 16 years old (at the latest in May 2020). There is however no over age limit.
Extra rules (only for Melodifestivalen, not Eurovision)
In 2020, SVT also expanded its rules on stage performance. This means:
– That a maximum of eight (8) people are allowed on stage, which include the artist(s)/group, their eventual back-up live singers, and dancers.
– Pre-recorded choirs are allowed.
– A maximum of one (1) live instrument will be allowed on stage.
However, Since the EBU (who arranges the Eurovision Song Contest) doesn’t allow these extra rules, if the winning entry contain any of these things the song must be re-arranged for Eurovision 2020.
Other terms and conditions
Finally, we recommend everyone who send in songs to Melodifestivalen 2020 to read the complete rules before you send in your songs. Please also take note in the sections regarding Other terms and conditions (the C-selection) which incluedes information about ownership and other requirements.
NB: SVT has every right to at any time disqualify a song, artist or song writer who brake the rules. SVT also own the right to change the rules at any time.
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