The fourth of five Nordic countries is up next – and it’s this year’s hosts, Sweden. The undoubted superpower of the modern contest, Sweden’s win last year in Liverpool gave them a record-equalling seventh win, tying with Ireland. Loreen became only the second artist to win the contest twice, after Ireland’s Johnny Logan. And all of this means that Sweden get to host the contest in the 50th anniversary year of Abba’s seminal win in 1974 in Brighton with “Waterloo”. Big shoes for the Norwegian identical twins Marcus & Martinus to fill, how will they fare as the host entry?

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The twins may only be 22 years old, but they’re very experienced in the music industry. They won Melodi Grand Prix Junior in 2012 in their native Norway, and then went on to take part in numerous other talent contests, as well as releasing three albums between 2015 and 2017, charting in both Norway and Sweden. They won the Swedish version of the Masked Singer in 2022, which propelled them to compete in Melfest, where they finished as runners up last year, and then a sweeping win this year with “Unforgettable”. They seem very personable guys – funny and warm in all their media and fan interactions – they are good ambassadors for the host nation.

“Unforgettable” is very much in the mould of a successful Melfest song – highly and professionally produced track, extremely slick staging, competent and experienced performers, and has a catchy tune. It’s what the Swedes are well known for, and what they have done so well over the years, with great success. The writing team behind this has a string of past Melfest and Eurovision hits – Joy and Linnea Deb, and Jimmy “Joker” Thörnfeldt (and the twins are also co-writers). All very impressive, but this does, as have some previous Swedish entries, felt rather too manufactured, and offers little in the way of innovation, or indeed genuine or deep emotions and experiences, and I just like my Eurovision entries to have that little bit more about them.

Sweden were drawn to open the grand final (the host country is the only one where the running order is allocated at random, to ensure fairness) and while it might feel a bit odd to have the hosts open, this is actually a pretty good way to start. I think it does mean the chances of an eighth win have gone, although I think the chance was quite slim to begin with. The juries will inevitably shower this with points but televote might be a bit more sparse – maybe not quite the 2018 shocker when Benjamin Ingrosso only got 21 points from the public. In the scoreboard app, they’re hovering just outside the top 10, and in betting odds to win, just about in top 10 at the moment. I think a top 10 result is definitely on the cards again, even if they would finish lower if they were another country I suspect.

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Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest