With the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest less than seven weeks away, production in host country Sweden has kicked into high gear. Taking on the role of showrunner, Per Blankens has produced 10 seasons of Idol in Sweden; seasons 13 and 14 of American Idol; and the annual Melodifestivalen in Sweden, the competition the country uses to select its Eurovision entry.
Billboard spoke to Blankens via Zoom to get an early preview of this year’s pan-European song competition.
You grew up in Sweden, a country that has a long-lasting love for Eurovision. What is your earliest memory of the contest?
I was only…