Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004


Sweden was represented by Lena Philipsson and the song "It Hurts", which won the song selection Melodifestivalen 2004 under the title "Det gör ont".

Before Eurovision

Melodifestivalen 2004

Melodifestivalen 2004 was held at the Globe Arena in Stockholm on 20 March 2004, hosted by Charlotte Perrelli, Ola Lindholm and Peter Settman. 32 songs were divided into 4 semi-finals in order to find 10 finalist for the final. As usual, 2 songs from each semi-final qualified and all 3rd and 4th places went to the Wildcard round, where 2 more songs would make it to the final. The winner was chosen by regional juries and televoting of which Lena Philipsson was the favourite with both. The song is written and composed by Thomas 'Orup' Eriksson.

At Eurovision

For the Eurovision Song Contest 2004, a semi-final round was introduced in order to accommodate the influx of nations that wanted to compete in the contest. Since Sweden placed 5th in the previous contest year, Sweden automatically qualified to compete in the final along with the Big Four countries and nine other nations that were also successful in the 2003 Contest.
Lena sang "Det gör ont" in its English version, "It Hurts". Lena appeared on stage with her backing singers lined up on the side. She moved on stage by herself very effectively and gave one of the best performances of the night. Lena's performance and attire was very similar to her Melodifestivalen performance. Sweden closed the contest performing last in the 24th spot and eventually making their way up to a joint 5th place with 170 points, receiving 4 sets of 12-points, meaning that Sweden automatically qualified for the final in the 2005 contest.

Points awarded by Sweden

Semi final

Final

12 points10 points8 points7 points6 points

  • 5 points4 points3 points2 points1 point