(CNN) -- To the rest of the world, Sweden seems to represent all that is enviably European. Scandinavia's largest country has a reputation for being stylish, progressive and glacially cool -- in short, everything the Eurovision Song Contest is not. So it may come as a surprise to some to learn that the Swedes take the annual song competition -- occasionally viewed by some of their neighbors as a bit of a joke -- very seriously indeed. Unlike in many other western European countries, the privilege of representing Sweden at the annual contest is hotly contested, through a grueling series of televised heats which have grown to become more popular than Eurovision itself.
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Sweden has a tradition of Eurovision success, having won the contest four times
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It selects its entry each year through a televised national song contest called "Melodifestivalen"
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The show is the highest rated program in Swedish history, more popular than Eurovision
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Sweden's 2012 entry, "Euphoria" by Loreen, was the bookies' favorite to win
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