Melodifestivalen 2

**Melodifestivalen 2,** is the 1st edition of the Swedish music competition Melodifestivalen, which selects Sweden's entry for the Europa Song Contest 2. The competition is organised by Sveriges Television (SVT) and takes place over the period May and June 2017.

The format of the competition consisted of six shows: four semi-final rounds, a second chance round and a final. The 20 competing entries were divided into four semi-finals, with seven compositions in each. From each semifinal, the songs that earn first and second place will qualify directly to the final, while the songs that place third and fourth proceed to the Second Chance round. The bottom one song in each semifinal become eliminated from the competition. An additional four entries qualify from the Second Chance round to the final, bringing the total number of competing entries in the final to 12. All six shows are hosted by Pär Lernström, who is joined by Gina Dirawi in the final.

## Format

Melodifestivalen 1, organised by Sveriges Television (SVT), was the first edition of the contest in which the competition took place in different cities across Sweden. The four semi-finals are held at the Fjällräven Center in Örnsköldsvik (TBD), the Scandinavium in Gothenburg (TBD), the Tegera Arena in Leksand (TBD) and the Himmelstalundshallen in Norrköping (TBD). The Second Chance round will take place at the Malmö Arena in Malmö (TBD) while the final will be held at the Friends Arena (TBD) in Stockholm. Twenty entries compete in the semi-finals, with five entries taking part in each show. The top two entries from each semi-final advance directly to the final, while the third and fourth placed entries advance to the Second Chance round. The bottom one entry in each semi-final become eliminated. An additional four entries qualify to the final from the Second Chance round, bringing the total number of competing entries in the final to twelve.

### Presenters

At a press conference in 2016, Pär Lernström was presented as the main host for all six shows of Melodifestivalen 2. In the final, Lernström will be joined by co-host Gina Dirawi.

### Voting

During the six shows, viewers can cast their votes through telephone, SMS and mobile application voting. For telephone and SMS voting, viewers were able to cast their vote through two different voting lines per voting method: a regular line costing 3.60 SEK and a donation line costing 9.90 SEK of which 8.90 SEK was donated to the charity organisation Radiohjälpen. Up to 20 votes can be cast per phone number per voting line, allowing a single phone number to contribute a maximum of 80 votes in each round of voting. With the mobile application, each device can send up to 5 votes for free per entry. The results of the semi-finals and Second Chance round are determined solely by viewer votes, while in the final, the results a redetermined through a 50/50 combination of viewer votes and the votes of eleven international jury groups.

## Semi-finals

As in several previous editions, Melodifestivalen commences with four semi-finals, which determine the eight entries that advance directly to the final and the eight entries that qualify to the Second Chance round. The running order for the semi-finals are announced shortly before the semi-final.

The semi-final results are based solely on viewer votes. Two rounds of voting take place in each semi-final to determine which entries would advance further and which entries would be eliminated. All seven competing entries in each semi-final participate in the first round of voting where the top five advances to the second round, while the bottom two are eliminated. In the second round of voting, the two entries that occupy the first and second places qualify directly to the final, while the third and fourth placed entries proceed to the Second Chance round. The fifth placed entry is eliminated. All votes from the second round of voting are added to the votes that each entry received from the first round of voting in order to determine the final outcome.

### Semi-final 1

The first semi-final took place on the 15th May 2017 at the Malmö Arena in Malmö, hosted by Pär Lernström. "Feed On My Love" by Robin Stjernberg and "Playing with Fire" by Liam Cacatian Thomassen qualified for the final, while "On and On" by Agnes Carloss and "He is" by Ghost qualified to Second Chance.

### Semi-final 2

The second semi-final took place on 16th May 16 at the Fjällräven Center in Örnsköldsvik, hosted by Pär Lernström. "Dansar Bort Med Nagon Annan" by Sanna Nielsen and "A Million Years" by Mariette qualified for the final, while "Allting ordnar sig" by Viktor Frisk and "Young Like Us" by Frans qualified to Second Chance.

### Semi-final 3

The third semi-final took place on 17th May 2017 at the Conventum Arena in Örebro, hosted by Pär Lernström. "I Want You" by Oscar Zia and "I'm in It with You" by Loreen qualified for the final, while "All This Time" by Moment and "We are Your Tomorrow" by David Lindgren qualified to Second Chance.

### Semi-final 4

The fourth semi-final took place on 18th May 2017 at the Gavlerinken Arena in Gävle, hosted by Pär Lernström. "My Heart Wants Me Dead" by Lisa Ajax and "Constellation Prize" by Robin Begtsson qualified for the final, while "Om jag faller" by RMK ft. Toppen and "En värld full av strider" by Jon Henrik Fjällgren ft. Aninia qualified to Second Chance.

## Second Chance round

The second chance round will take place at the Malmö Arena in Malmö.

## Final

The final of Melodifestivalen 2 was held on 24 May 2017 at the Friends Arena in Stockholm, hosted by Pär Lernström and Gina Dirawi. Twelve songs competed — two qualifiers from each of the four preceding semi-finals and four qualifiers from the Second Chance round.