The
Swedish
national selection for the
Eurovision Song Contest
was Melodifestivalen 1974. It was, by a runaway score, won by the group
ABBA
, comprising
Anni-Frid Lyngstad
,
Agnetha Faltskog
,
Benny Andersson
and
Bjorn Ulvaeus
. Their song, "
Waterloo
", was written by Bjorn and Benny with
Stig Anderson
. It was originally written in
Swedish
, but for the ESC final, it was
translated
into
English
, which
the rules
allowed between the years 1973 and 1976.
ABBA was one of the favourites to win the 1974 contest, held in
Brighton
,
United Kingdom
. They sang in slot No. 8. In the voting, they received high points from the first jury to vote (
Finland
), but it was a close race until the third last jury,
Switzerland
, gave Sweden enough points to secure victory. Sweden received a total of 24 points, compared to runner-up
Italy
's 18.
[1]
This was Sweden's first victory. In 2005, in the 50th anniversary show
Congratulations
, Waterloo was chosen the best Eurovision song ever.
Before Eurovision
[
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]
Melodifestivalen 1974
[
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]
Melodifestivalen
1974
(on-screen title
Melodifestival 1974
) was the selection for the 15th song to represent
Sweden
at the
Eurovision Song Contest
. It was the 14th time that this system of picking a song had been used. Ten songwriters were selected by
SR
for the competition. The final was held in the SVT Studios in
Stockholm
on 9 February 1974, presented by
Johan Sandstrom
and was broadcast on
TV1
but was not broadcast on radio. ABBA went on to win that year's Eurovision Song Contest in
Brighton
, Sweden's first Eurovision victory.
Voting
[
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]
At Eurovision
[
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]
Voting
[
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]
Every country had a jury of ten people. Every jury member could give one point to his or her favourite song.
Points awarded to Sweden
[2]
Score
|
Country
|
5 points
|
|
3 points
|
Netherlands
|
2 points
|
|
1 point
|
|
|
Points awarded by Sweden
[2]
Score
|
Country
|
3 points
|
Netherlands
|
2 points
|
|
1 point
|
|
|
Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest
[
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]
"Waterloo" was one of fourteen Eurovision songs chosen by fans to compete in the
Congratulations
50th anniversary special in 2005. The contest was broadcast on SVT with commentary by
Pekka Heino
. It was the only Swedish entry featured in the show, although several Swedish entrants were featured (including Swedish winners
Carola
and Richard Herrey of
Herreys
). "Waterloo" appeared seventh in the running order, following "
Nel blu dipinto di blu
" by
Domenico Modugno
and preceding "
Fly on the Wings of Love
" by the
Olsen Brothers
. At the end of the first round, it was announced that "Waterloo" had advanced to the second round along with four other songs. It was later revealed that "Waterloo" won the first round with 331 points. This included 18 sets of the maximum twelve points, including from Sweden (who, unlike in usual contests, were allowed to vote for their own entry). Coincidentally, the first proper competing Eurovision song to receive a record 18 top marks was a Swedish entry: "
Euphoria
" by
Loreen
, the winning song of the
2012 contest
.
"Waterloo" went on to win the second round and the anniversary contest as a whole, scoring 329 points.
Voting
[
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]
Points awarded to "Waterloo" (Round 1)
[3]
Score
|
Country
|
12 points
|
|
10 points
|
|
8 points
|
|
7 points
|
Greece
|
6 points
|
|
5 points
|
|
4 points
|
|
3 points
|
|
2 points
|
|
1 points
|
|
|
Points awarded to "Waterloo" (Round 2)
[4]
Score
|
Country
|
12 points
|
|
10 points
|
|
8 points
|
|
7 points
|
|
6 points
|
|
|
References
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External links
[
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]
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Participation
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Artists
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Songs
| |
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- Note: Entries scored out signify where Sweden did not compete
|
|
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Countries
| |
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Artists
| |
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Songs
| Final
|
- "Bye Bye I Love You"
- "
Canta y se feliz
"
- "
Celui qui reste et celui qui s'en va
"
- "Cross Your Heart"
- "
E depois do adeus
"
- "The First Day of Love"
- "
Fleur de liberte
"
- "
I See a Star
"
- "Keep Me Warm"
- "
Krasi, thalassa ke t' agori mou
"
- "
Long Live Love
"
- "
Mein Ruf nach dir
"
- "
Moja generacija
"
- "
Natati La Khayay
"
- "
Si
"
- "
Die Sommermelodie
"
- "
Waterloo
"
|
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Withdrawn
|
- "
La Vie a vingt-cinq ans
"
|
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Represented years
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Represented countries
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Represented entries
| Advanced to the second round
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Eliminated in the first round
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|
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Represented artists
| Advanced to the second round
| |
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Eliminated in the first round
| |
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|
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Represented song
| Advanced to the second round
| |
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Eliminated in the first round
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Studio albums
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Compilation albums
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Live albums
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Box sets
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Concerts and tours
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Films and musicals
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TV specials
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Video games
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Related articles
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Related individuals
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