Melodifestivalen 2006 was the 46th edition of the Swedish music competition Melodifestivalen, which was organised by Sveriges Television (SVT) and took place over a five-week period between 18 February and 18 March 2006. The winner of the competition was Carola with the song "Evighet". She represented in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006, with the English version of the song, "Invincible", where she came fifth with 170 points.

Format

The heats for Melodifestivalen 2006 began on 18 February 2006. Ten songs from these heats qualified for the final on 18 March 2006. This was the fifth year that a heat format had been used for the competition. On 15 August 2005, SVT confirmed that Leksand, Karlstad, Karlskrona and Gothenburg would host the heats of Melodifestivalen 2006, with the final taking place at the Stockholm Globe Arena for the fifth year running (sixth overall). Lena Philipsson was a surprise choice as host, as rumors had been spreading that SVT wanted Helena Paparizou to present the Gothenburg heat or the final. The proposed changes to the voting format (caused by the controversy over Nanne Grönvall's defeat in Melodifestivalen 2005) never materialised.

Wildcards

Unlike past years, where all Melodifestivalen participants were chosen by a selection jury, starting in 2004, four out of the 32 participants were selected directly by the contest's producers, in order to increase musical and artistic breadth. Each artist, called "wildcard", participated in a different heat. BWO were unveiled as the first wildcard in a pre-Christmas special. There was much speculation that Eurovision Song Contest 1999 winner Charlotte Perrelli would be among the others, but ultimately was not included when the final list was revealed in late January 2006. The wildcards in 2006 were the following:

Competing entries

Contest overview

Heat 1

The first heat took place on 18 February 2006 at the Ejendals Arena in Leksand. 3,045,000 viewers watched the heat live. A total of 466,660 votes were cast, with a total of SEK1,181,000 collected for Radiohjälpen.

Heat 2

The second heat took place on 25 February 2006 at the Löfbergs Lila Arena in Karlstad. 2,320,000 viewers watched the heat live. A total of 306,074 votes were cast, with a total of SEK617,542 collected for Radiohjälpen.

Heat 3

The third heat took place on 4 March 2006 at the Arena Rosenholm in Karlskrona. 3,109,000 viewers watched the heat live. A total of 411,478 votes were cast, with a total of SEK810,713 collected for Radiohjälpen.

Heat 4

The fourth heat took place on 11 March 2006 at the Scandinavium in Gothenburg. 3,645,000 viewers watched the heat live. A total of 653,991 votes were cast, with a total of SEK1,475,132 collected for Radiohjälpen.

Second chance

The second chance round took place on 12 March 2006 at the SVT Broadcasting House in Stockholm. 2,140,000 viewers watched the show live. A total of 480,449 votes were cast, with a total of SEK721,990 collected for Radiohjälpen.

Final

The final took place on 18 March 2006 at the Stockholm Globe Arena in Stockholm. 4,242,000 viewers watched the show live. A total of 1,913,152 votes were cast, with a total of SEK3,271,259 collected for Radiohjälpen.

Ratings