Melodifestivalen 2021

Melodifestivalen 2021 was the 61st edition of the Swedish music competition Melodifestivalen.^[1] The competition was organised by Sveriges Television (SVT) and took place over a six-week period between 6 February and 13 March 2021. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all shows of this edition took place in the Annexet in Stockholm, and without an audience.^[2][3] The winner of the competition was Tusse with the song "Voices", who represented Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 in Rotterdam, Netherlands, where he came fourteenth with 109 points.^[4]

The format of the competition consisted of 6 shows: 4 heat rounds, a second chance round and a final. An initial 28 entries were selected for the competition through three methods: an open call for song submissions, direct invitations to specific artists and songwriters, and a wildcard given to one of the artists that participated in the P4 Nästa competition organised by Sveriges Radio P4. The 28 competing entries were divided into four heats, with seven compositions in each. From each heat, the songs that earned first and second place qualified directly to the final, while the songs that placed third and fourth proceeded to the Second Chance round. The bottom three songs in each heat were eliminated from the competition. An additional four entries qualified from the Second Chance round to the final, bringing the total number of competing entries in the final to 12.

All six shows were hosted by Christer Björkman, who was joined by guest co-hosts during each show: Lena Philipsson (heat 1), Oscar Zia and Anis Don Demina (heat 2), Jason Diakité (heat 3), Per Andersson and Pernilla Wahlgren (heat 4), Shirley Clamp (Second Chance round), and Shima Niavarani and Måns Zelmerlöw (final).