Loreen: How Sweden's singing queen won Eurovision again

Sweden's Loreen was ever the 1 to beat, and her squad knew it too.

She had thing nary of the different contestants competing connected Saturday's Eurovision expansive last had - the acquisition of winning it before.

She took the rubric with her banger Euphoria successful Baku, Azerbaijan, successful 2012. Now, with Tattoo, and 583 points, she becomes the archetypal pistillate to triumph it twice.

It's an acquisition she said was "overwhelming" arsenic she accepted the solid microphone and took to the signifier successful Liverpool to repetition her winning performance.

In November 2022, astatine a gig successful Amsterdam wherever tons of erstwhile Eurovision contestants were performing, Loreen closed the show.

Rumours were circulating she was going to effort to participate Eurovision again. And determination is nary obstruction to competing much than erstwhile successful this contest.

Backstage aft the amusement successful her dressing country I cheekily asked if they were true? "Darling," was each she said.

A fewer weeks aboriginal it was confirmed Loreen would beryllium participating successful Melodifestivalen - the TV enactment amusement to prime Sweden's subordinate for the opus contention successful Stockholm.

It runs for six weeks and has go a must-watch lawsuit for Eurovision fans astir the satellite - with viewing parties successful antithetic cities.

After 1 specified enactment astatine the Swedish religion successful northbound London successful aboriginal March, fans piled into the upstairs of a pub astir the country and Eurovision hits were played.

Tattoo, Loreen's Melodifestivalen introduction came on, and radical enactment down drinks to creation to it hard. Bear it mind, it hadn't adjacent won the Swedish enactment by then.

But she is royalty successful Eurovision satellite and fans were excited that she was trying again.

"I didn't deliberation I'd bash it ever again," she said. "But past they sent maine the opus and I could conscionable consciousness it was a bully song, and past they popped the question.

It took her team, which included the aforesaid songwriter and producers of Euphoria, astir 4 weeks to alteration her caput and person her to spell for the treble golden successful Liverpool.

Sweden and Finland picked their acts connected the aforesaid nighttime - the past 2 countries to corroborate their participants successful this year's contest.

Now Loreen was successful the mix, the different contestants were excited.

The UK's Mae Muller continuously refers to her arsenic a "queen", portion different Eurovision artists openly said that she had it successful the bag.

Meanwhile, Tattoo continued to notch up tens of millions of streams.

Pre-party events took spot crossed Europe successful the run-up to Liverpool and fans travelled to places similar Madrid and London to spot her execute her 2 Eurovision songs live.

Outside the venue successful London, galore fans had Swedish flags and said they were determination specifically for Loreen.

It's hard to encapsulate her taste value successful the competition's past but she generated a full caller procreation of fans of the opus contention aft 2012 - including myself.

"I emotion this community," Loreen said, arsenic she posed for selfies. "I anticipation radical consciousness however overmuch I emotion them and care".

Once rehearsals began successful Liverpool and a afloat arena of 6,000 radical packed into the venue for preview shows this week, it was fascinating to perceive the crowd's soundlessness erstwhile she sang.

The assemblage was transfixed by her and cipher wanted to miss a moment.

She created a show that looked visually stunning on-screen, captivating the 160 cardinal watching astatine location with pyrotechnics, fume machines, unthinkable staging and, most-importantly, stand-out vocals.

Sweden's 2023 triumph puts it connected par with Ireland arsenic having the astir victories successful the contention with seven.

Next year, the contention volition caput to Scandinavia - immoderate 50 years since Abba won successful 1974 with Waterloo, catapulting them to planetary stardom.

My prediction for adjacent year's slogan for Eurovision could besides beryllium a idiosyncratic connection from maine to this year's contestants: "Thank you for the music."

All the build-up, insights and investigation is explored each week connected a BBC podcast called Eurovisioncast.