Sweden Melodifestivalen 2024: Wickihalder and Jay Smith are the last finalists

This year's Melodifestivalen continued tonight with the fifth show broadcast live from Löfbergs Arena in Karlstad. After Marcus & Martinus and Medina were selected for the Final, it was time to select another two finalists among all of the 3rd and 4th places from the heats.

The "Final qual" (previously known as "Second Chance") had 10 contestants competing for the last two spots in the Final. The 10 contestants finished in 3rd or 4th place in their heats.

Each song received an initial amount of points, based on how many votes they received in their heat out of the total number of voters in the heat. A total of 1,000 points were distributed to the songs and were revealed before the public could again vote for their favorite songs.

Once the voting was closed, an additional 1,000 points were awarded to the songs, and in the end Annika Wickihalder and Jay Smith were the ones with most points and qualified for next Saturday's Melodifestivalen 2024 Final.

The lineup for next Saturday's Melodifestivalen 2024 Final is now complete:

Melodifestivalen 2024

• 3 February: Heat 1, Malmö
• 10 February: Heat 2, Göteborg
• 17 February: Heat 3, Växjö
• 24 February: Heat 4, Eskilstuna
• 2 March: Heat 5 + Final qual, Karlstad
• 9 March: Melodifestivalen Final, Stockholm

All shows are presented by Carina Berg.

The format for Melodifestivalen 2024 is modified a bit compared to previous years:

There were five heats with six entries in each. Two entries from each heat went straight to the Final, two remained in the competition, and two were eliminated.

Right after Heat 5, all the third and fourth place finishers from the five heats competed in a "Final qual" round.

The heats and "Final qual" were 100% public vote, while next Saturday's Final will be decided by 50% public vote and 50% jury vote.

Sweden in Eurovision

Since 1958, Sweden has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 62 times, and with great success. Together with Ireland, they hold the record of most victories in Eurovision:

• 1974: ABBA – Waterloo
• 1984: Herreys – Diggi-loo Diggy-ley
• 1991: Carola – Fångad Av En Stormvind
• 1999: Charlotte Nilsson – Take Me To Your Heaven
• 2012: Loreen – Euphoria
• 2015: Måns Zelmerlöw – Heroes
• 2023: Loreen – Tattoo

They came in last two times (1963 and 1977), and since the introduction of the Semi-finals in 2004 Sweden has managed to qualify for the Grand Final 18 out of 19 times (only failing to qualify in 2010)!