And once again, Sweden has booked a clear top 10 result at the Eurovision Song Contest. Therefore, episode 8 of our lookback at the aftermath of the contest in Kiev we talk about Robin Bengtsson and his fifth placed song ‘I can’t go on’.
Before the contest, Robin Bengtsson was already considered a candidate to finish above top favourite Francesco Gabbani in the end result of the contest in Kiev. By doing so, he was an outsider for victory. And even though Sweden indeed finished above Italy, it was not enough to win the contest.
But beware. Sweden is still hunting the all time victory record from Ireland, but is definitely not disappointed with the result in Kiev.
The Aftermath
“A fifth place! We can not be anything but overjoyed. Robin and the guys did a great job and held the Swedish fan high, and thought we beat Italy’s great favorite, absolutely amazing,” said Mari Ryberger, head of the Swedish delegation after the contest in Ukraine.
The only critism came from Bengtsson himself, talking about the victory speech of winner Salvador Sobral from Portugal. He said that his victory was a win for “real music against fastfood music”. Apparantly, Bengtsson felt offended and defended his style of music. Furthermore, he had nothing but nice words for the whole experience in Kiev.
Perhaps the only man that is really disappointed by the Swedish result in 2017, is Christer Björkman. He will have two remaining attempts to take away the all-time record from Ireland. After the victory of Mans Zelmerlöw in 2015, he already said that we would do Melodifestivalen for another four years, before quiting the job as a producer for the biggest preselection show in Europe.