Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006

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Eurovision Song Contest 2006
Country Sweden
National selection
Selection processMelodifestivalen 2006
Selection date(s)Semi-finals
18 February 2006
25 February 2006
4 March 2006
11 March 2006
Second Chance
12 March 2006
Final
18 March 2006
Selected entrantCarola
Selected song"Invincible"
Finals performance
Semi-final resultQualified (4th, 214 points)
Final result5th, 170 points
Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2005 • 2006 • 2007►

Sweden’s entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 was Carola with the song "Invincible".

Before Eurovision[]

Melodifestivalen 2006[]

For the results of the semi-finals and second-chance round, see Melodifestivalen 2006.

Sweden’s entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 was selected in Melodifestivalen 2006, the Swedish final. It was held at the Globe Arena in Stockholm on 18 March, hosted by Lena Philipsson who represented Sweden in ESC 2004. Before the final there were four semi-finals and a second-chance round. The top two songs in each semi-final qualified for the final, while the 3rd and 4th placed songs went forward to the second-chance round. With the votes from the jury and televote, Carola was chosen to go to Athens for Sweden singing the song "Evighet" (Eternity). The song was written by Thomas G:son and Carola Häggkvist and composed by Thomas G:son, Bobby Ljunggren and Henrik Wikström. She sang "Evighet" in English in Athens, under the name "Invincible", and came fifth in the final, after coming fourth in the semi-final.

Draw Artist Song Votes Place
Jury Public Total
1 Andreas Johnson Sing for Me 112 88 200 3rd
2 Björn Kjellman Älskar du livet 6 0 6 9th
3 Linda Bengtzing Jag ljuger så bra 34 22 56 7th
4 The Poodles Night of Passion 32 66 98 4th
5 Magnus Carlsson Lev livet! 19 0 19 8th
6 Rednex Mama, Take Me Home 17 44 61 6th
7 Carola Evighet 102 132 234 1st
8 Magnus Bäcklund The Name of Love 57 11 68 5th
9 Kikki Danielsson I dag & i morgon 2 0 2 10th
10 BWO Temple of Love 92 110 202 2nd

Controversy[]

Her entry in the contest sparked controversy. From the moment she declared that she would be entering the 2006 contest, there were cries that she had just won the contest out of fear of her already established fanbase voting her to victory no matter what she sang. Carola was also criticized for her prior statements about homosexuality and for her use of "personal assistants" who largely controlled what she said and didn't say when she appeared in public.[citation needed]

The controversy of Carolagate was further inflamed by a series of mysterious events during the semi final from which she qualified (Gothenburg) and during the final in Stockholm itself. Further, during the recap for the voting of the Gothenburg Semi Final, the recap of Carola's performance ran for approximately 30 seconds instead of the traditional 10–12.

During the final, people had major problems televoting for several entrants, the brunt of which were revolved around two entrants: Andreas Johnson and BWO, the two entrants who placed 2nd and 3rd. While there were wide reports of people not being able to vote for these two entrants, nobody complained about complications when voting for Carola. Furthermore, during the recap during for voting, SVT used footage from the Gothenburg Semi Final when showing Carola's entry, which wouldn't have been so suspicious and noticeable had Carola not had a throat infection which resulted in a less stellar performance than in Gothenburg.[citation needed]

Though not part of the controversy, the aforementioned throat infection persisted, which led to Carola being forced to alter (lower) her vocals for the last stanza (the one with the wailing, which wasn't wailing anymore) when performing "Invincible" in Athens.

At Eurovision[]

Because Sweden placed 19th at the 2005 contest, Carola was forced to compete in the Eurovision semi-final she performed 20th, following Portugal and preceding Estonia. Sweden finished in 4th place with 214 points, thus qualifying for the final.[1] At the final, Carola performed in 22nd spot and at the end of voting received 170 points and finished in 5th place.[2] It is notable that this is Carola's third top 5 finish in the Eurovision Song Contest (3rd in 1983, 1st in 1991 and 5th in 2006). Also, Carola achieved her 5th place without receiving any 12 points, unlike most other of the top 10 countries that year. Meaning that Sweden automatically qualified for the final in the 2007 contest.

Voting[]

Points awarded to Sweden[]

Points awarded by Sweden[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Semi-Final of Athens 2006". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 21 April 2021. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  2. ^ "Grand Final of Athens 2006". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 21 April 2021. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b "Results of the Semi-Final of Athens 2006". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 21 April 2021. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b "Results of the Grand Final of Athens 2006". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 21 April 2021. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
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