Melodifestivalen 3

Melodifestivalen 3 was the third edition of the Melodifestivalen. The contest took place in Copenhagen, Denmark, after Mattis won the second edition with the song "Can't Get You Out of My Head". It was the first time that Denmark hosted the contest. DR chose B&W Hallerne in Copenhagen as the host venue for the edition while Brigitte Nielsen and Emmelie De Forest were selected as the presnter

The format of the competition consisted of 6 shows: 4 semi-final rounds, a second chance round and a final. The 35 competing countries were divided into four semi-finals, with eight compositions in each. From each semi-final, the songs that earned first and second place qualified directly to the final, while the songs that placed third and fourth proceeded to the Second Chance round. The bottom four songs in each semi-final were eliminated from the competition. An additional four entries qualified from the Second Chance round to the final, bringing the total number of competing entries in the final to 15.

Thirty-five countries participated in the edition including Albania, Bulgaria, Italy, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Malta and North Macedonia that made their debut appearance with Armenia, Israel, Russia, Switzerland and Ukraine returning. Andorra, Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Luxembourg, Moldova and Monaco announced their withdrawal from the third edition.

Sweden was crowned as the winner of the edition with the song "24 Hours" performed by Agnes. The song gathered a total of 207 points, 57 points ahead the runner-up, Italy and Switzerland completed the top 3 of the edition.

Location
For further information see Copenhagen

Copenhagen is the capital and most populous city of Denmark. As of 1 January 2021, the city had a population of 799,033 (638,117 in Copenhagen Municipality, 103,677 in Frederiksberg Municipality, 42,670 in Tårnby Municipality, and 14,569 in Dragør Municipality). It forms the core of the wider urban area of Copenhagen (population 1,336,982) and the Copenhagen metropolitan area (population 2,057,142). Copenhagen is situated on the eastern coast of the island of Zealand; another portion of the city is located on Amager, and it is separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the strait of Øresund. The Øresund Bridge connects the two cities by rail and road.

Since the summer of 2000, Copenhagen and the Swedish city of Malmö have been connected by the Øresund Bridge, which carries rail and road traffic. As a result, Copenhagen has become the centre of a larger metropolitan area spanning both nations. The bridge has brought about considerable changes in the public transport system and has led to the extensive redevelopment of Amager. The city's service and trade sectors have developed while a number of banking and financial institutions have been established. Educational institutions have also gained importance, especially the University of Copenhagen with its 35,000 students. Another important development for the city has been the Copenhagen Metro, the railway system which opened in 2002 with additions until 2007, transporting some 54 million passengers by 2011.

On the cultural front, the Copenhagen Opera House, a gift to the city from the shipping magnate Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller on behalf of the A.P. Møller foundation, was completed in 2004. In December 2009 Copenhagen gained international prominence when it hosted the worldwide climate meeting COP15.

Logo and theme
The official logo of the third edition of the contest. The official logo of the third edition of the contest. The third edition logo of the Melodifestivalen was previously designed by George Rospier the main producer of Melodifestivaeln. The main idea was to create something that Denmark is very well knonw for that and thats of course the Little Mermaid's Statue in Copenhagen. The Danish Hod chose the arena, presenters and of course the first ever slogan for the Melodifestivalen "Dive Into Your Dreams".

Presenters
The contest was hosted by two presenters: actress, model, singer and reality television personality Brigitte Nielsen, and singer Emmelie De Forest.

Semi-final allocation draw
The draw that determined the semi-final allocation was held on 12 August 2021. The thirty-two countries were divided into five pots, based on their geographical place. Each time a country was drawn from the pot, its semi-final was determined.

The five pots were the following:

Participating countries
Thirty-five countries participated in the edition including Albania, Bulgaria, Italy, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Malta and North Macedonia that made their debut appearance with Armenia, Israel, Russia, Switzerland and Ukraine returning. Andorra, Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Luxembourg, Moldova and Monaco announced their withdrawal from the third edition.

Returning artists
RIAN won the Austrian national selection for the second time and he got the opportunity to represent Austria; he previously represented the country in the first edition with the song "Moonlight" and took the 6th place in the semi-final 1 with 54 points. Nico Santos won the German national selection and he represented Germany for the second time; he previously represented the country in the first edition with the song "Play With Fire" and took the 2nd place in the final with 114 points.

Semi-final 1
The first semi-final took place on 8 September 2021. Portugal and Sweden qualified directly to the final, while Austria and Belgium advanced to the Second Chance round.

Semi-final 2
The second semi-final took place on 8 September 2021. France and Italy qualified directly to the final, while Bulgaria and Lithuania advanced to the Second Chance round.

Semi-final 3
The third semi-final took place on 8 September 2021. Germany and Israel qualified directly to the final, while Ireland and Serbia advanced to the Second Chance round.

Semi-final 4
The fourth semi-final took place on 8 September 2021. Greece and Switzerland qualified directly to the final, while Armenia and Latvia advanced to the Second Chance round.

Second Chance
The second chance round took place on 14 September 2021. Armenia, Austria, Bulgaria and Latvia qualified directly to the final.

Final
The final took place on 28 September 2021. Sweden won the contest with an amount of 207 points, 57 points ahead the runner-up Italy, Switzerland completed the top 3 of the edition.

Macedonian entry
MRT announced that the country will be represented by Trinity Strings with the song "Da Ili Ne" but later the hod of North Macedonia announced that Ayana will represent the country with the song "Gjavol".