As the host country, Sweden automatically qualified to compete in the final of the Eurovision Song Contest. Performing in position 1, the country placed ninth out of the 25 performing countries with 174 points.
As part of its duties as participating broadcaster, SVT organises the selection of its entry in the Eurovision Song Contest and broadcasts the event in the country. Since 1959, SR first and SVT later have organised the annual competition Melodifestivalen in order to select their entries for the contest.
The 2024 edition of Melodifestivalen took place between 3 February and 9 March 2024 across six Swedish cities.[2][3] It featured five heats (the fifth replacing the previously held semi-final) and a final. A submission period was open between 25 August and 15 September 2023 to select 30 competing entries.[4]
Heats
The first heat took place on 3 February 2024 at Malmö Arena in Malmö. "Heroes Are Calling" performed by Smash Into Pieces and "Awful Liar" performed by Lisa Ajax qualified directly to the final, while "Forever Yours" performed by Elisa Lindström and "Supernatural" performed by Adam Woods advanced to the final qualification round. "Hela världen väntar" performed by Samir & Viktor and "Min melodi" performed by Melina Borglowe were eliminated from the contest.
The second heat took place on 10 February 2024 at Scandinavium in Gothenburg. "Dragon" performed by Liamoo and "When I'm Gone" performed by Maria Sur qualified directly to the final, while "The Silence After You" performed by Dear Sara and "Unga & fria" performed by Fröken Snusk advanced to the final qualification round. "Ahumma" performed by C-Joe and "Norrland" performed by Engmans Kapell were eliminated from the contest.
Immediately following the fifth heat, a final qualification round took place. All of the songs competed against each other, with each song's votes from their individual heats determining a new set of points, which when combined with a second round of voting held during the final qualification round, determining the top two songs which advanced to the final. "Light" performed by Annika Wickihalder and "Back to My Roots" performed by Jay Smith qualified to the final, while "Forever Yours" performed by Elisa Lindström, "Supernatural" performed by Adam Woods, "The Silence After You" performed by Dear Sara, "Unga & fria" performed by Fröken Snusk, "För dig" performed by Klaudy, "I Won't Shake (La La Gunilla)" performed by Gunilla Persson, "Done Getting Over You" performed by Albin Tingwall, and "Circus X" performed by Scarlet were eliminated from the contest.
As part of the promotion of their participation in the contest, Marcus & Martinus attended the PrePartyES in Madrid on 30 March 2024, the London Eurovision Party on 7 April 2024, the Eurovision in Concert event in Amsterdam on 13 April 2024, the Nordic Eurovision Party in Stockholm on 14 April 2024 and the Nordic Music Celebration's Eurovision Night in Oslo on 20 April 2024.[5][6][7][8]
At Eurovision
Marcus and Martinus performing in the final.
The Eurovision Song Contest 2024 took place at the Malmö Arena in Malmö, Sweden, and consisted of two semi-finals held on the respective dates of 7 and 9 May and the final on 11 May 2024. All nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big Five" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) were required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete in the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progressed to the final. As the host country, Sweden automatically qualified to compete in the final on 11 May 2024, but is also required to broadcast and vote in one of the two semi-finals. This was decided via a draw held during the semi-final allocation draw on 30 January 2024, when it was announced that Sweden would be voting in the first semi-final.[9][10] Despite being an automatic qualifier for the final, the Swedish entry was also performed during the semi-final. On 11 March 2024, during the Heads of Delegation meeting, Sweden was drawn to open the grand final in position 1.[11][12] It will be the first time since 1970 that a host country has opened the final.
Marcus & Martinus took part in technical rehearsals on 2 and 4 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 10 and 11 May.[24] Their performance of "Unforgettable" at the contest had a staging similar to the one at Melodifestivalen, with four supporting dancers joining them on stage;[25] the duo stated that they had been inspired by the style of Super Bowl halftime shows, with 2023 winner Loreen, commenting that the staging was reminiscent of The Matrix.[26]
Final
On 11 March 2024, during the Heads of Delegation meeting, Sweden was drawn to open the grand final in position 1.[12] The country was followed by Ukraine in position 2.[27] Marcus and Martinus took part in dress rehearsals on 10 and 11 May before the final, including the jury final where the professional juries cast their final votes before the live show on 11 May. They performed a repeat of their semi-final performance during the final on 11 May. Sweden placed ninth in the final, scoring 174 points; 49 points from the public televoting and 125 points from the juries.
Below is a breakdown of points awarded to and by Sweden in the first semi-final and in the final. Voting during the three shows involved each country awarding sets of points from 1-8, 10 and 12: one from their professional jury and the other from televoting in the final vote, while the semi-final vote was based entirely on the vote of the public.[28] The Swedish jury consisted of Robin Bengtsson, who represented Sweden in the 2017 contest, Ellen Berg, Henrik Olsson, Boris René, and Elin Trogen.[29] In the final, Sweden placed 9th with 174 points, receiving the maximum twelve points in the jury vote from Germany. Over the course of the contest, Sweden awarded its 12 points to Croatia in the first semi-final, and to Switzerland (jury) and Israel (televote) in the final.[30][31]
Each participating broadcaster assembles a five-member jury panel consisting of music industry professionals who are citizens of the country they represent. Each jury, and individual jury member, is required to meet a strict set of criteria regarding professional background, as well as diversity in gender and age. No member of a national jury was permitted to be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently.[33] The individual rankings of each jury member as well as the nation's televoting results were released shortly after the grand final.
The following members comprised the Swedish jury:[29]
^Hedberg, Sofia (20 September 2023). "Melodifestivalens deltävlingar 2024" [Melodifestivalen's competition rounds in 2024]. SVT Nyheter (in Swedish). SVT. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
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