Swedish public broadcaster SVT has announced that Melodifestivalen will introduce early voting for this year's final on March 7. The new system allows viewers to vote in advance through the Melodifestivalen app using Radiohjälpsröster, even if they cannot watch the live broadcast.
Anders Wistbacka, Melodifestivalen's project leader, stated in a press release: "The purpose is to give more people the opportunity to vote for their favorite, even those who cannot follow the broadcast live. We are testing this this year and will take the viewers' response into account in how we continue to develop the voting."
We are testing this this year and will take the viewers' response into account in how we continue to develop the voting
The early voting initiative represents a significant change to the traditional voting system for Sweden's popular music competition, which serves as the national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest. According to SVT, this year's implementation is a trial, with future developments depending on audience feedback and the success of the pilot program.