Melodifestivalen 2009
Date City Venue Heat
7 February Gothenburg Scandinavium Semi-final 1
14 February Skellefteå Kraft Arena Semi-final 2
21 February Leksand Ejendals Arena Semi-final 3
28 February Malmö Malmö Arena Semi-final 4
7 March Norrköping Himmelstalundshallen Second Chance
14 March Stockholm Globen Final
Details -- Schedule
Melodifestivalen 2009 was a Swedish song contest held between February and March 2009. It was the selection for the 49th song to represent Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest, and was the 48th edition of Melodifestivalen. Five semi-finals were held in the Swedish cities of Gothenburg, Skellefteå, Leksand and Malmö, with Norrköping hosting the final Andra Chansen (Second Chance) round. After the five semi-finals 11 songs had qualified to the final of the contest, contested in the Swedish capital of Stockholm, at the Globe Arena. After the voting of 12 juries and a public televote had been revealed, the final winner was opera singer Malena Ernman with pop/opera song La voix, which received top marks from the public televote, despite only placing eighth after the votes of the 12 juries. The 2009 edition of Melodifestivalen implemented a number of new rules which changed the dynamics of the contest, including an increase in the number of people allowed on stage, the allowance of pre-recorded backing vocals, and a new international jury who selected an eleventh finalist, and voted in the final.