Melodifestivalen (direct translation: The Melody Festival) is an annual music competition organised by Swedish public broadcaster Sveriges Television (SVT). The competition is a six part tour (5 heats + the final) with stops in cities across Sweden to determine the country's representative for the Eurovision Song Contest.
Melodifestivalen is also known informally as "Mello", or internationally as "Melfest".
Melodifestivalen 2026 is the 66ᵗʰ edition of the competition and is hosted by seasoned presenter Gina Dirawi alongside first-time host Hampus Nessvold.
The tour starts in Linköping and continutes with stops in Gothenburg, Kristianstad, Malmö and Sundsvall, with the final stop in Stockholm at the national arena "Strawberry Arena" on March 7.