Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest - 2000

The Swedish Final, Melodifestivalen 2000, was held on March 10th at the Operahouse in Gothenburg. There were 10 hosts - Björn Skifs, Arja Saijonmaa, Elisabeth Andreassen, Lasse Holm, Lena Philipsson, Loa Falkman, Lasse Berghagen, Lotta Engberg, Tommy Körberg & Carola. The winning song was chosen by a mixture of regional juries and televoting - Roger Pontare was the favourite with both.

1394 songs were submitted and 10 progressed to the final, which was one of the most seen TV shows ever in Sweden with 4 175 000 viewers. Just like last year, 11 juries combined with televotes selected the winner, which surprisingly was folk-inspired rock song När vindarna viskar mitt namn. It was sung by Roger Pontare, who had also represented Sweden at the 1994 contest. The song was written and composed by Thomas Holmstrand, Linda Jansson and Peter Dahl.

Results:

01. När vindarna viskar mitt namn - Roger Pontare, 227 points
02. Se Mig - Barbados, 146 points
02. När jag tänker på imorgon - Friends, 146 points
04. Varje timma, var minut" - Javiera Muñoz, 139 points
05. Vi lever här, vi lever nu - Guide, 97 points
06. Tillsammans - Misnight Band, 58 points
07. Bara du och jag - Balsam Boys, 54 points
08. Anropar försvunnen - Hanna Hedlund, 47 points
09. Alla änglar sjunger - Tom Nordahl, 32 points
10. När filmen är slut - Avengers, 0 points

The song När vindarna viskar mitt namn extols the traditions of indigenous peoples and their efforts to protect their territories and cultures. For his solo appearance in 2000, Pontare wore a Sami costume associated with the indigenous population of Lapland in northern Sweden (and also the northern regions of Norway, Finland, and Russia). On his performance at the Eurovision Song Contest, Pontare was accompanied by an Indian dancer, a Thule Eskimo and a Norwegian Sami.

Roger performed his song in the 18th spot, and received much cheers from the home public. The song had been translated into English and was now called When Spirits Are Calling My Name, and the stage show was quite spectacular with Native American and Sami themes. Sweden finished 7th with 88 points.

***

Fred Roger Pontare (born as Fred Roger Johansson on 17 October 1951 in Slagnäs, Arjeplog Municipality, Sweden) is a Swedish musician. He currently lives in Vingåker, Södermanland County.

He represented Sweden twice in the Eurovision Song Contest, in 1994 (duet with Marie Bergman) with Stjärnorna and in 2000 with When Spirits Are Calling My Name, placing 13th and 7th, respectively. Roger released 5 quite successful labums.

Roger participated 4 times at Melodifestivalen:

1994: Stjärnorna (with Marie Bergman), 1st
1999: Som av is, 5th
2000: När vindarna viskar mitt namn, 1st
2006: Silverland, 4th in semi-final 4