The stage of Melodifestivalen 2022, as seen during the first heat at the Avicii Arena.
The event was planned to return to its traditional tour around six cities of the country (namely Malmö, Gothenburg, Linköping, Lidköping, Örnsköldsvik and Stockholm) with venues available for spectators, after the previous edition was entirely held in one place and without an audience due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[1][4][5] However, due to tightening restrictions in light of the spread of the Omicron variant, SVT announced on 14 January 2022 that all shows would instead be held in Stockholm.[6][7] On 4 February, SVT announced that the first three heats would be held in the Avicii Arena, while the remaining one heat, the semi-finals and the final would be held in the Friends Arena.[8][9]
As usual, a total of 28 entries took part in the competition,[1] 12 of which made it to the final.[10] For this edition, the wildcard spot given to one of the artists in the P4 Nästa competition organised by Sveriges Radio P4 was not used.[11]
Proceeds from the voting in the fourth heat, semi-finals and final were donated to aid relief efforts during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[12]
New changes to the format were announced on 26 January 2022.[13]
Heats
Two rounds of voting take place. The song with the most votes in the first round directly qualifies for the final, while in the second round, the remaining six songs are decided on largely as it was prior – the top-placed song qualify for the final, while the songs that placed second and third go to the semi-finals, using a system of age groups that has been in place since 2019. Each age group's vote carries a score of 12, 10, 8, 5, 3 and 1. For the first time, the full breakdown of the results, including points given out by each age group, is shown on screen. In contrast to previous editions, the two finalists do not reprise their songs at the end of the broadcast.
Semi-finals
The semi-finals show was introduced to replace the previously held Second Chance round.[14] In a draw held on 1 March 2022, the third- and fourth-placed songs from each of the previous four heats (eight songs in total) are placed into two semi-finals. No differences are made on whether the entries placed third or fourth in their respective heats. The top two songs from each semi-final proceed to the final, using the age group system. Each age group's vote carries a score of 12, 10, 8, and 5. For the semi-finals, no full results breakdown is shown on screen.
Final
After the international jury groups have cast their votes, all viewers are provided with new votes, in order to continue to influence the results even after the international jury has had its say. The public voting results are determined using the age group system. Each age group's vote carries a score of 12, 10, 8–1.
On 7 September 2021, Oscar Zia was revealed to return as the main presenter for the show in 2022, after hosting the second heat of Melodifestivalen 2021.[3] Radio and television host Farah Abadi served as the artists' interviewer along the course of the competition and co-hosted the final.[15] Guest co-hosts included Eva Rydberg (heat 2)[16] and Johanna Nordström (heat 3). For the final, a commentary in English was provided by Olivia Le Poidevin and Bella Qvist on a separate stream on SVT Play.[17]
Competing entries
On 27 August 2021, SVT opened a public submission window (with the deadline on 17 September 2021) to select one half of the contestants, the other half being made up of artists specially invited by the broadcaster.[18] Upon closing the submission period, SVT announced that over 2,500 applications had been received, to be reviewed by a professional jury chaired by producer Karin Gunnarson.[19]
Isak Gunnarsson, Robin Hanberger Pérez, Noah Deutschmann
Heats
Heat 1
The first heat took place on 5 February 2022 in the Avicii Arena, Stockholm. 3,135,000 viewers watched the heat live.[22] A total of 207,996 votes were cast, using 92,275 devices.[23][24] Due to a technical fault, app voting did not work during this heat and only telephone voting was counted.[25]
The second heat took place on 12 February 2022 in the Avicii Arena, Stockholm. 2,845,000 viewers watched the heat live.[22] A total of 10,514,804 votes were cast (which is a record for a heat), using 541,541 devices.[27][24]
The third heat took place on 19 February 2022 in the Avicii Arena, Stockholm. 2,958,000 viewers watched the heat live.[22] A total of 9,485,644 votes were cast, using 556,791 devices.[29][24]
The fourth heat took place on 26 February 2022 in the Friends Arena, Stockholm. This heat was originally going to take place at Avicii Arena, but had to be moved because the arena was already booked for a concert by singer Tomas Ledin.[30] 2,778,000 viewers watched the heat live.[22] A total of 8,423,843 votes were cast, using 534,683 devices.[31][24]
The semi-finals took place as part of one show on 5 March 2022 in the Friends Arena, Stockholm. 2,540,000 viewers watched the show live.[22] A total of 6,415,609 votes were cast, using 584,876 devices.[32][24]
The final took place on 12 March 2022 in the Friends Arena, Stockholm, where Cornelia Jakobs won with her song "Hold Me Closer".[33] 3,289,000 viewers watched the final live.[22] A record-breaking total of 22,447,671 votes were cast, using 1,088,043 devices.[24]
^Dahlgren, Stina; Torbjörn, Ek; Hansson, Abdreai. "Melodifestivalen 2022 sänds från Stockholm" [Melodifestivalen 2022 will be broadcast from Stockholm]. media.melodifestivalen.se (in Swedish). SVT. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
