They say good things come in threes, and this is certainly the case with Edward Af Sillén and Eurovision scripts! The fabulous screenwriter behind both the 2013 and 2016 editions of the song contest is back for 2024, it was announced today.
Edward is responsible for some truly iconic moments of modern Eurovision, including the musical interval act ‘Love Love, Peace Peace‘ in 2016 performed by hosts Petra Mede and Måns Zelmerlöw. He also wrote the ‘Swedish Smörgåsbord‘ sketch by Petra in 2013, a humourous performance embracing Swedish culture.
Also in the 2013 edition of the contest, he also introduced us to the queen of the EBU, Ms Lynda Woodruff. Lynda – a comedic take on a clueless Brit abroad, played by Melfest icon Sarah Dawn Finer – is a legendary character in Eurovision lore. Her character is the ‘Official EBU Spokesperson’, and among many hijinks, like many of us when booking hotels for May 2024, she got Copenhagen confused with Malmö.
Edward has also been in the commentary box for Swedish broadcaster SVT on many occasions. His quips and humour have garnered him several YouTube compilations, for being some of the funniest on the continent.
Full press release below
Press Release – Edward Af Sillén writes Eurovision 2024
In a press release from SVT today, they said:
For the third time in eleven years Sweden is hosting the Eurovision Song Contest. In 2013 the competition was broadcast from Malmö and in 2016 from Stockholm. Both times the telecasts were praised at home and abroad, for the competition part itself and also for the scripts and interludes. Both times Edward af Sillén directed and together with Daniel Réhn he wrote the screenplay. Now it is clear that they will also work with the broadcasts in 2024.
“To have the honor of writing and directing content when Europe’s eyes are once again directed towards us in Eurovision-loving Sweden is of course a dream,” says Edward af Sillén.
Edward af Sillén has become a bit of “Mr Eurovision” for the Swedish television viewers. He has been a commentator for Sweden’s Eurovision broadcasts twelve times since 2009, with a break only the two years that Sweden has broadcast the competitions. On his track record, he has directed and scripted Melodifestivalen and several other television galas. In addition, Edward has translated, directed and written scripts for several feature films, musicals and other stage performances.
We are of course incredibly happy that Edward has boarded the train again. He has a deep knowledge of Eurovision and a great sense of humour. He has shown that it is possible to make fun of the competition in a loving way and has created legendary Eurovision broadcasts. Together with Daniel Réhn and the rest of the team, I am convinced that he will deliver three fantastic shows for television viewers worldwide,” says Ebba Adielsson, Executive Producer of the Eurovision Song Contest 2024.
Edward couldn’t resist the offer to do Eurovision a third time:
“After Eurovision 2013 and 2016, I probably thought it was over – but then our queen Loreen goes and wins again – and how could I refuse such a fun offer when SVT calls?”
An offer too fun to resist.
— Edward af Sillén (@EdwardafSillen) December 7, 2023
I’ll be returning to write and direct hosts/interval acts for the Eurovision Song Contest 2024, together with my friend Daniel Réhn and brilliant producer Per Blankens.
Spring is looking bright. Love Peace #Eurovision24 pic.twitter.com/a1n1y6gcbz
What iconic scenes and sketches will Edward bring to Malmö? Will we see the return of Lynda Woodruff to the Eurovision-verse? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
Grab your towels, lets come together!
I have an extremely unpopular opinion that I never found those jokes of 2016 funny
Hot take: Love Love Peace Peace was AMAZING but it DID copy the tune of Zauvijek Moja’s chorus, Serbia and Montenegro’s song from 2005! At the very least, the composer of that song should have been credited! I only realised this in the last few years that it copied another song’s tune! If they want to do another one, the new song must be created that’s much more original and doesn’t crib another song! Also, if Serbia wins again or Montenegro returns and wins, I THOROUGHLY hope the interval act is No Name bursting Petra Mode and Mans’s bubble, reclaiming… Read more »
IT was suppose to be a interval act not an actual song…omg some people really are stupid on here
Off-topic: Eesti laul songs are floating around. There’s a snippet compilation on YouTube. Daniel Levi might have a nice song. Laura already released her song in full. Pretty sure it’s not gonna be her year to finally reach a Eurovision final.
Here are all Eesti Laul songs: https://r2.err.ee/1609188499/eesti-laul-2024/eda97304fcf43de2e01da44537fba192
Thanks!
The best comedy would be if Israel wins the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 in Sweden (which is known as pro-P4lestine) and Loreen (a pro-P4lestinian moroccan) passes the trophy to the Israeli representative. It would be so iconic. HAHAHA
Considering Israel won’t win in the next 20 years at least, if then, it is highly unlikely scenario. If they stopped Noa Kirel with her open political propaganda lyrics, they will stop any mediocre song Israel is about to send this time.
Do you really think that Israel will send a medicore song? ^_^
Israel is a candidate for winning in all bets and Israel won third place this year, believe me that Israel will invest this year even more than they invested in 2018 and 2023.
And by the way “The Next Star” are responsible for choosing the singer + song for 2024. They are the ones who brought victory to Israel in 2018 with Netta and they are hungry for another victory (regardless of the war), they know very well that the Israeli public will not settle for anything less than third place in 2024.
5th in the televote and an unbelievable 2nd in the jury, only behind the entry everyone knew was gonna win the jury vote, is not exactly what I would call “stopped”. That garbage song did shockingly well. It was 3rd after then 2 only real contenders of 2023. A distant 3rd, but still.
Get a life…
I believe Sweden supports the “two-state solution” not the “only Palestine” one.
Honestly yes! I expect something just as great or even greater than Love,Love..
Edward is standout But what makes it work is that he has great hosts that can make the script work. Without the comedic timing it would just come off as weird
I prefer things more spontaneous and less scripted personally. If you have professional hosts who know very well their job no need to script everything they have to say.
I would add the moment of the basic questions asked to the artists in the green room whose answers are anything but spontaneous since repeated and maybe even scripted itself, it seems cringe to me every time, it’s a thing they should change or make evolve a bit imo.
They are swedes, they hate and don’t know how to improvise.
about the green room, having scripted questions perhaps helps those who are not fluent in English, so they can get prepared before being interviewed and don’t feel embarrassed in front of the cameras
So it’s pretty much going to be more of the same? I guess when most of their songs sound the same, we shouldn’t expect much different when it comes to their hosting of the contest either.
Are you serious? If someone is a great screenwriter with a passionate love for Eurovision and has done two contests that fans love, why shouldnt they return? You should probably start watching cricket or something and give that community grief instead. ?
Are we going to get another banger in 2024?
Oh no! We are gonna have anoter swedishvision full of cheesiness stuff, old-fashioned jokes, robotic structures and so forth.
I have never enjoyed when Sweden has hosted Eurovision, they pretend to being Mellodifestivalen to it.
I’m expecting a lot of cringy gay jokes.
I Guess He Did Give Us The Best Eurovision Of All Time, But I Fear He Is Too Old To Write Now
He can always hire you to dictate. It’ll be a fun challenge for you to attempt correct spelling. 🙂
I like him, but I don’t always like his humour. The gay jokes need to stop, they were never funny. They only make 13 year old boys at home squirm in front of their parents. There is a lot of gay men in the audience, ha ha, we get it… but so what? The “closet” is a thing of the past, or at least it should be. Petra pretending to not know is just… ick.
Also those silly blooper videos he tweets every day? Enough already. I had to unfollow him. Though I have abandoned X now, maybe he has joined me.
Why Are You Always So Negative Get A Life
Well, I kinda liked Petra poking fun at the entitled ogae crowd. I saw it more aimed at the ogae audience sector specifically. But that was 2013, I agree that this is over and done now. It was new then because no host ever addressed that. But once is enough, nobody needs a repeat of that.
We already had a repeat, first in Vienna, then Stockholm. The same joke both times, about how no men were trying to hit on our lovely hostess. Also the whole “straight jacket” thing when Petra was selling the DVDs in 2016. The 60th anniversary show had some too. Enough.
Vienna was a real low. None of those woman had any sense of humor. Let alone gravitas. Don’t even remember the straight jacket thing. 2016 was love love peace peace which I loved. I didn’t bother with the anniversary show.
Don’t think we’re getting ‘those’ jokes ever again. Writing has changed. Didn’t notice it really much to begin with.
I guess someone new might have broken the good-friend-circle, the host will be someone who is related to some SVT boss probably.
Nepotism, SVT enables it every time.
2013 and 2016 genuinely had good writing and are one of few editions where the hosts were actually funny. There’s a ton of hosts who constantly tried being funny (like the 2017, 2019 and 2022 hosts)
I hope to see Petra again too. She nailed it on her own in 2013 and she was great alongside Mans in 2016
Absolutely need to bring back this Lynda thing, please. Dressing up like Linda Tripp and speaking in a British accent, pretending to be unable to pronounce the word Azerbaijan… how lame.
i meant absolutely NO need, of course. NO need.
I’m usually against monopolies but in this case I’d say it’s a good choice since this guy was like the only one who ever brought humor to a Eurovision script ever since I started watching. Such a pity Finland didn’t get its deserved shot because I’m sure they would have graced the contest with a very special and humorous edition but unfortunately, here we are, enjoying what’s left of this contest.
The best choice for me is a host who doesn’t even attempt to be funny. Those who do rarely succeed, like you say. “Funny” only became the expected norm in the 2000s, before that is was sincere gravitas. If we can’t have the orchestra, can we at least bring back that 20th century tradition?
sincere gravitas would be much more preferable than cringey. The number of cringey hosts since the rhyming Danish couple in 2001 has indeed been insanely high. I think that’s why dear Eddy’s scripts have been so memorable. When you have no competition, it’s easy to stand out. Although I think Petra was a natural at it, she had real talent. Måns on the other hand should be very thankful to Edward for giving him at least a little bit of personality.
“I can finally eat carbs again!” woulda been funny except for the fact that it was true.