Guest editor Dennis Flores of the United States of America had the opportunity to attend Melodifestivalen 2017, the national final to select the Swedish representative for the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 which will be held in Kyiv, Ukraine, this May.
In this last segment, Dennis will reflect on the Melodifestivalen experience in the Swedish capital of Stockholm in comparison to the Eurovision Song Contest experience which Stockholm hosted last May.
Melodifestivalen is one of the most watched shows in Sweden. The Swedes often say that Melodifestivalen is even bigger than the Eurovision Song Contest! Being able to visit Stockholm during both Melodifestivalen 2017 and the Eurovision Song Contest 2016, I was able to witness the differences first-hand.
Walking down the touristy and busy shopping street Drottninggatan (Queen Street), in May 2016, the street was decorated with numerous banners of the Eurovision Song Contest theme art. The excitement of the upcoming contest was literally in the air. Forward to March 2017, the street was barren, a complete opposite of the same street months prior. Not only were there no banners, but I also do not recall seeing one poster advertising Melodifestivalen outside of Friends Arena’s direct vicinity. The closest decoration I encountered was the Coop (a grocery store and sponsor of Melodifestivalen) closest to my hotel strung up pictures of mirror balls. Perhaps, as the entire show is a six week affair, and one of the most watched shows in Sweden, SVT did not feel the need to go aggressive on branding and or advertisements as there will always be an audience. Additionally, just because I could not visually tell that the show was in Stockholm for the week, does not mean I did not hear people talking about it. On the street and on public transportation, I heard people sharing their plans to watch the show, any after-party plans, as well as who they believed who was going to be declared the winner. Speaking with a Norwegian Melfest fan who specifically travelled to Stockholm for the show, he described Melodifestivalen as an important part of the Swedish culture as everyone within the Scandinavian country would be watching it on Saturday night and celebrating the winner afterwards.
A couple of days before the main event on Saturday night, SVT hosted the red carpet ceremony and welcoming party for the finalists and accredited press. For the most part, it was a private and exclusive event. The opening ceremony for the Eurovision Song Contest allowed the artists to interact with members of OGAE, an official fan club of the Eurovision Song Contest. The press was able to interview artists as they walked along the Royal Palace, but fans were able to show their support for their favourite artists. I attended the 2016 Eurovision opening ceremony as a fan, and was able to directly interact with many of last year’s acts. The fact that SVT made Eurovision 2016 a fan-oriented experience, made it a truly memorable experience.
For Eurovision, I lined up 3.5 hours before the Grand Final went live, the reason for this was I wanted to get as close as possible to the front of the stage. I was successful and was at the front and center inside Globen. For Melodifestivalen, given that there was no standing zones, I did not feel any sort of pressure to arrive to the arena early. I decided to travel to Friends Arena via shuttle bus with the Swedish branch of OGAE. I found that traveling to the arena in the suburb of Solna from central Stockholm the night before to watch the Jury Rehearsal was not as direct as it was for me as it was for Eurovision. Getting inside the arena was painless however, I was in my seat, balloon inflated, and safe from the cold Stockholm winter weather in no time. Spectators of all ages donning feather boas and light-up hats soon filled the arena. The pre-show included a DJ playing some classic Melodifestivalen fan favourites as well as a woman running around with a t-shirt bazooka. For Eurovision, the pre-show consisted of a DJ and a performance group to warm up the audience. Additionally, although Henrik von Zweigbergk, was the floor manager for both events, he played a larger role in getting the arena audience excited for Eurovision. At Melodifestivalen, he just went over safety information and some staging cues.
Melodifestivalen and the Eurovision Song Contest are two completely separate events and experiences. To me, Melodifestivalen was calmer and tame while Eurovision was wild and the energy inside the arena is incomparable. The live experience of Melodifestivalen is completely family-oriented. This could clearly be seen in the clearly mixed age groups of the audience; Melodifestivalen is an event for everyone to enjoy whether you are watching on TV or in person. The Eurovision Song Contest, is a big pan-European party. From the past two contests I have attended, I do not recall seeing many children attending the TV show with most of them attending the earlier Family Shows. Eurovision does begin an hour later and lasts longer than Melodifestivalen, so it is prime for a more adult crowd. Inside the arena, the audience was supportive of all of the acts, the night was going to end with cheers no matter. At Eurovision, the element of competition between countries will yield to strongly opinionated fans. It was refreshing to attend a show where I did not have to stress as much and could just enjoy the entire show, but I do not think I am ready to trade in my flags for balloons yet. There is something special and exciting about Eurovision that brings me back every year, and SVT is a very talented broadcaster to be able to produce large-scale shows for varying audiences.
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