disco winner and The Ark's 2007 "retro glam rock" effort. On-stage gimmicks have long been a part of performances at the competition. Lena Philipsson's use of a microphone stand in her performance of "" at the 2004 competition is an example. When Philipsson hosted Melodifestivalen in 2006, four tongue-in-cheek short films were broadcast during the heats to show what had happened to the microphone stand in the years since her win. Pyrotechnics are another common gimmick in Melodifestivalen performances. After the 2007 event, Karolina Lassbo of Dagens Media criticised the festival's musical content and production, arguing that the 1988 competition was "the time when Melodifestivalen was still a schlager competition" and the event had become "a cross between [reality series] Fame Factory and [inter-city game show] Stadskampen". See also Lilla Melodifestivalen List of historic rock festivals Melodi Grand Prix Dansk Melodi Grand Prix Eesti Laul Sanremo Music Festival Golden Stag Turkvision Song Contest Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest Marcel Bezençon Awards – Melodifestivalen Winners section Notes References Bibliography Leif Thorsson. Melodifestivalen genom tiderna (1999, second edition 2006). Stockholm: Premium Publishing AB. . External links SVT official site SVT official site MSN Melodifestivalen News Reports and pics of Melodifestivalen 1959 Swedish television series debuts Eurovision Song Contest selection events Music competitions in Sweden Recurring events established in 1959 Singing competitions Sveriges Television original programming Sveriges Radio programmes Swedish music television series Swedish reality television series February events March events Music festivals established in 1959