Criticism of Melodifestivalen's concept Finalkvalet, which was new for the 2024 competition, did not wait. Now SVT is changing the layout for what is usually called "Melodifestivalen's problem child" once again.
It didn't work out last time, obviously. It turned out as everyone thought, that the two artists who had performed earlier in the evening went on. For that aspect, it's good that they've changed, says Matilda Källén, cultural journalist at DN.
But instead of making these small changes every year, which has almost become a bit comical, one should make a bigger overhaul and review the qualifying rounds and the program as a whole.
The fact that the number of entries competing in Finalkvalet is now being reduced from ten to five, while the entry with the most votes from its qualifying round goes directly to the final, she still sees as positive.
I think it will remove some of the criticism, but I think it should still be scrapped in that form and instead look at how to do something completely different, she says and continues:
Maybe you should have fewer qualifying rounds that you put more effort into, and connected to that, think about how to bring in a moment where some artists get a second chance. There's something nice and exciting about that, but you have to do it in a more audience-friendly way.
