Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004
Sweden was represented by Lena Philipsson and the song "It Hurts", which won the song selection Melodifestivalen 2004 under the title "Det gör ont". Before Eurovision. Melodifestivalen 2004. Melodifestivalen 2004 was hosted by Charlotte Perrelli (winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 1999), Ola Lindholm and Peter Settman. 32 songs were divided into 4 heats in order to find 10 finalists for the final. As usual, 2 songs from each heat directly qualified for the final, and all 3rd and 4th places went to the Wildcard round, where 2 more songs would make it  to the final. The winner was chosen by regional juries (50%) and televoting (50%) of which Lena Philipsson was the favourite with both. The song is written and composed by Thomas 'Orup' Eriksson. Final. The final took place on 20 March 2004 at the Globe Arena in Stockholm. At Eurovision. For the Eurovision Song Contest 2004, a semi-final round was introduced in order to accommodate the influx of nations that wanted to compete in the contest. Since Sweden placed 5th in the previous contest year, Sweden automatically qualified to compete in the final along with the Big Four countries  and nine other nations that were also successful in the 2003 Contest. Lena sang "Det gör ont" in its English version, "It Hurts". Lena appeared on stage with her backing singers lined up on the side. She moved on stage by herself very effectively and gave one of the best performances of the night. Lena's performance and attire was very similar to her Melodifestivalen performance. Sweden closed the contest performing last in the 24th spot and eventually making their way up to a joint 5th place with 170 points, receiving 4 sets of 12-points, meaning that Sweden automatically  qualified for the final in the 2005 contest.