Sweden’s famed long-running Eurovision national final ‘Melodifestivalen’ has announced two-time contestant, Oscar Zia, as the host.
It was revealed through the offical Melodifestivalen Instagram in a post captioned "Certified Mello Host". Reminiscent of Drake's cover to his newly released album 'Certified Lover Boy'.
Oscar Zia has a strong connection with next year’s Eurovision host country, coming from Italian heritage.
Although announced as the host, Oscar said that he won’t be doing it alone, explaining:
“It would be absurd if I was completely alone. I will invite friends and people I do not know who I think will do well. But we are very early in the process so I can not say more.”
The dates have also been announced, with the six-city tour expected to return. But SVT will only allow the tour if the pandemic allows it.
Annette Brattström, the project manager of Melodifestivalen, explained:
“The plan right now is that we will take out the party and meet the audience. Our absolute ambition is for the party to go out into the country again.”
The dates and cities are as follows:
Semi-final 1: Malmö – 5 February
Semi-final 2: Göteborg – 12 February
Semi-final 3: Linköping – 19 February
Semi-final 4: Lidköping – 26 February
Andra Chansen: Örnsköldsvik – 5 March
Grand Final: Stockholm – 12 March
Excited for the potential return of the Melodifestivalen tour, Oscar said:
“I look forward to maybe going on tour. Then I look forward to doing different shows. I love Melodifestivalen and long to see the entries.”
And, as always, make sure to follow along to the national final from February next year as we cover all of the shows.