Sweden: SVT unveils Melodifestivalen 2020 core team

Sweden: SVT unveils Melodifestivalen 2020 core team

Melodifestivalen 2020 preparations are underway. The Swedish national broadcaster, SVT, revealed the team of people that will be responsible for holding the next edition of the Melodifestivalen in 2020. 

The Melodifestivalen 2020 core team

The team consists of  Christer Björkman, Anette Helenius, Christel Tholse Willers and Karin Gunnarsson.

Anette Helenius , the Project Manager of Melfest, outlines the experience each member has and which once added up will be able to bring “magical television moments” in next year’s edition. Specifically Annate stated:

Melodifestivalen and The Eurovision Song Contest are two related productions where old tradition shares and borrows working methods and program ideas from each other. With Executive Producer Christel Tholse Willers, Senior Producer Christer Bjorkman and Competition Producer Karin Gunnarsson, we gather common experiences in a Core Team. It creates a solid foundation for Melodifestivalen to test new ideas and renew the program. We look forward to working on next year’s magical television moments in an entertaining show filled with songs, artists and stories for all tastes.

Christel Tholse Willers ,this year’s Executinve producer,  was the head of Melodifestivalen  in 2015 which crowned  Måns Zelmerlöw the national final winner and brought the  to the country its 6th victory in the contest.  Christel states:

Melodifestivalen is an irresistible assignment and it will be more fun than ever to work with competent and lovely colleagues. In addition, there are creative forces in the form of a team that is passionate about creating entertainment using the power of the music. I see that together we will build a series of programs that offer surprises, excitement and joy. For me, Melodifestivalen is the light in the dark and contributes to the grey time in February and March, feeling a little more colorful.

Karin Gunnarsson is the Competition Producer and too familiar to the Melfest family as has contributed to the show since 2017. Karin comments on her new objectives:

Getting into the job as a competition producer for Melodifestivalen 2020, together with these three qualified colleagues, feels fantastic! Together with the rest of our editorial staff, we will manage and refine the format for Melodifestivalen to continue to touch, maintain and engage the viewers.

Christer Björkman (Senior Producer) a man that certainly doesn’t need any introducing to, being deeply involved in the Melfest. Christer is taking charge of the entire production and speak in the warmest way about the rest of the members:

What a Dream Team! Anette safe at the helm, Christel back with her strong leadership and high creative ambitions and Karin who gets to fully test her wings this year. It feels magical to be part of this passionate quartet.

The Eurovision Story so far

Sweden has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 58 times since making its debut in 1958, missing only three contests since then (1964, 1970 and 1976). Since 1959, the Swedish entry has been chosen through an annual televised competition, known since 1967 as Melodifestivalen. At the 1997 contest, Sweden was one of the first five countries to adopt televoting. Sweden is the only country to have hosted the event in five different decades, three times in Stockholm (1975, 2000, 2016), twice in Malmö (1992, 2013) and once in Gothenburg (1985).

Sweden is one of the most successful competing nations at the Eurovision Song Contest, with a total of six victories, second only to Ireland’s seven wins, and has the most top five results of the 21st century, with thirteen. In total, Sweden has achieved 24 top five results in the contest. After finishing second with Lill Lindfors and Svante Thuresson in 1966, Sweden went on to achieve its six victories with ABBA (1974), Herreys (1984), Carola (1991), Charlotte Nilsson(1999), Loreen (2012) and Måns Zelmerlöw (2015).

Benjamin Ingrosso represented Sweden at 2018 Eurovision Song Contest in Lisbon.. In the Grand Final, he reached the 7th place  with 274 points. Sweden scored its worst result for the last decade in the TV vote, reaching 23rd place and marking only 21 points.

This year John Lundvik represented the country with his song “Too Late For Love”. John  finished in the 5th place on the overall scoreboard with 334 points.

Source: SVT, ESCXTRA

Angelo D.

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