Melodifestivalen
It has been staged under various formats almost every year since Sweden first participated in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1958. The first year, no TV or radio broadcasted event was held, but in 1959, the first public competition was held. The competition is the most popular television programme in Sweden, a title it has held since 2000, at times eclipsing even Eurovision itself. In 2007, an estimated four million Swedes—almost 44% of the country's population—watched the final, while the semifinals averaged around 3.1 million viewers.