Melodifestivalen 2

Melodifestivalen 2, often referred to as Melfest 2, was the second edition of the Melodifestivalen. The contest took place in Lillehammer, Norway, after Ulrikke won the first edition with the song "Falling Apart". It was the second time in a row that Norway hosted the show. NRK chose Håkons Hall in Lillehammer as the host venue for the edition while Ingrid Bolsø Berdal and Kyrre Gørvell-Dahll were selected as the presenters.

The format of the competition consisted of 6 shows: 4 semi-final rounds, a second chance round and a final. The 32 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 12.

Thirty-two countries participated in the edition. Armenia, Iceland, Israel, Russia, Slovakia, Switzerland and Ukraine withdrew from the edition while eleven countries made their debut

Location
For further information see Lillehammer

Lillehammer is a town and municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. As of 2020, the population of the town of Lillehammer was 28,493.

The city centre is a late nineteenth-century concentration of wooden houses, which enjoys a picturesque location overlooking the northern part of lake Mjøsa and the river Lågen, surrounded by mountains. Lillehammer hosted the 1994 Winter Olympics and 2016 Winter Youth Olympics. Before Oslo's withdrawal from consideration, it was included as part of a bid to host events in the 2022 Winter Olympics if Oslo were to win the rights to hold the Games.

Semi-final allocation draw
The draw that determined the semi-final allocation was held on 4th of June 2021 at the Håkons Hall. Each time a country was drawn from the pot, its semi-final was determined.

Participating countries
Thirty-two countries participated in the second edition of the contest. The submissions for the second edition opened on 3 May 2021. Every country should choose their broadcaster for the contest. The contest started in April. As the rules say, if the country will select internally their entry or by a national selection. The Deadline for the entries submission was on 1 June 2021.

Returing artists
Sasha Lopez was internally selected to represent Moldova for the second time alongside with Bruja; he previously represented the country in the first edition with Misha Miller and the song Smoke Me" and finished in the seventh place.

Semi-final 1
The first semi-final took place on 17 June 2021. Norway and Sweden qualified directly to the final, while Austria and Greece advanced to the Second Chance round.

Semi-final 2
The second semi-final took place on 23 June 2021. Belgium and Spain qualified directly to the final, while Finland and Ireland advanced to the Second Chance round.

Semi-final 3
The third semi-final took place on 1 July 2021. Denmark and Serbia qualified directly to the final, while Andorra and Montenegro advanced to the Second Chance round.

Semi-final 4
The fourth semi-final took place on 5 July 2021. France and Netherlands qualified directly to the final, while Estonia and Slovenia advanced to the Second Chance round.

Second Chance
The second chance round took place on 12 July 2021. Austria, Estonia, Ireland and Slovenia qualified to the final.