SVT, the Swedish television, has unveiled the number of the songs received for the competition: 2.177, with 1733 songs sent for the ordinary selection and 444 for the public selection.

Christer Björkman, executive producer for the show, has commented on this, being the lowest number of songs received since the competition has turned from a one night final to a six evenings tournée, saying that composers have finally listened to their advice of sending in just their best compositions.

He hopes to find a new and higher level of songs to bring to Europe and definitely hopes to bring back Schlager in a new key. He expects to find more pop songs with a new sound, like Ace Wilder’s “Busy doing nothing” from last year’s competition. In his words, it was completely natural that the song became a huge hit.

Mr Björkman has explained to the Swedish public that Sweden has a genuine interest and belief that they can succeed competing with music, defining Sweden as a “music land”. Other nations, in his words, have not the same luck with composers, he reported to have heard from other countries.

Other news about changes in the format are expected soon, with the number of songs of the contest rumored to be lowered to 28 from 32. The official rules have confirmed, though, that this year will see an increase of female composers, stating that at least 50% of the selected songs will be composed, or co-composed by women.