It’s no secret that the Swedish pre-selection to the Eurovision Song Contest, Melodifestivalen, has a tremendous following within the Eurovision community.
The show being in Swedish didn’t stop Eurovision fans from tuning in, in large numbers, but this Saturday, for the first time, they’ll be able to follow it with English commentary!

Anette Brattström, Project Leader for Melodifestivalen, is excited and states:

To be able to offer Melodifestivalen to viewers who can’t completely follow it in Swedish, is a dream come true. All the time we are working on making the show accessible for as many as possible in Sweden, amongst other things by implementing sign language and audio description in all shows.

Everyone should feel invited to Hela Sveriges Fest [The Party of all of Sweden] and this is another step towards everyone being able to join in on the show. Thanks to the technical developments of this day and age and the SVTPlay service, it’s possible this year.

The commentators will be:

Bella Qvist, who is Swedish and works for SR (Sveriges Radio) but has lived in the United Kingdom for 10 years, where she has been working as a freelance journalist for the famous British news & media website The Guardian. Next to that, she has also been a regular guest on BBC shows as a Eurovision expert.

Olivia  Le Poidevin, is British and is a journalist and host on BBC Radio. As such, she is also a well-known face within Eurovision circles. Olivia comments that, now that the world needs Eurovision more than ever, it’s fantastic to be able to guide the viewers through a fantastic evening!

And to refresh your memory, here is a playlist of all of Saturday’s finalists, in running order!

While it’s not possible to vote in Melodifestivalen from abroad, you’ll be able to follow the show with English commentary over here on SVT Play!

You can however vote for your favourites in our poll below!