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Sweden has chosen a singer who made homophobic comments to represent their country at Eurovision.
Mans Zelmerlow won national selection process Melodifestivalen in Stockholm last night, after first rising to fame on Swedish Idol in 2005.
He will perform “Heroes” at the annual song contest in May after being voted for by the Swedish audience and 11 international juries.
Zelmerlow’s appearance in the competition will likely raise eyebrows, however, after he was forced to apologise for saying that gay couples should not be parents on a celebrity cookery programme.
The 28-year-old claimed it “isn’t equally natural for men to want to sleep with one another” and branded homosexuality an “avvikelse” (abnormality), according to WiWiBloggs, before quickly adding that “there isn’t anything wrong with it at all”.
Zelmerlow later clarified his remarks in a statement, apologising to “all who take offence”. “I believe and hope that the vast majority know that I respect differences and all forms of love,” he said.
Eurovision 2015Show all 34 Eurovision 2015 Eurovision 2015 Mans Zelmerloew of Sweden performs on stage after winning the Eurovision Song Contest 2015
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Eurovision 2015 Eurovision 2015 Monika Linkytė and Vaidas Baumila perform 'This Time' complete with same-sex kissing at Eurovision
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Eurovision 2015 Eurovision 2015 Nigella Lawson read out the UK’s result during the scoring
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Eurovision 2015 Eurovision 2015 Louis Tomlinson look-a-like Stig Rasta singing for Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest
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Eurovision 2015 Eurovision 2015 Polina Gagarina performing "A Million Voices" for Russia at the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest
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Eurovision 2015 Eurovision 2015 Conchita Wurst performs at Eurovision 2015
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Eurovision 2015 Eurovision 2015 Graham Norton was back in the commentating seat for Eurovision 2015
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Eurovision 2015 Eurovision 2015 Maraaya performing "Here For You" for Slovenia in the Eurovision song contest 2015
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Eurovision 2015 Eurovision 2015 Lisa Angell performing "N'oubliez pas" for France in the Eurovision song contest 2015
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Eurovision 2015 Eurovision 2015 Nadav Guedj performing "Golden Boy" for Israel in the Eurovision song contest 2015
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Eurovision 2015 Eurovision 2015 Elina Born & Stig Rästa performing "Goodbye to Yesterday" at the Eurovision song contest 2015
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Eurovision 2015 Eurovision 2015 Electro Velvet performing "Still In Love With You" for the UK in the Eurovision song contest 2015
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Eurovision 2015 Eurovision 2015 Armenia performing "Genealogy" for Armenia at the Eurovision song contest 2015
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Eurovision 2015 Eurovision 2015 Monika Linkytė and Vaidas Baumila performing "This Time" for Lithuania at the Eurovision song contest 2015
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Eurovision 2015 Eurovision 2015 Bojana Stamenov performing "Beauty Never Lies" for Serbia in the Eurovision song contest 2015
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Eurovision 2015 Eurovision 2015 Mørland & Debrah Scarlett performing "A Monster Like Me" for Norway at the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest
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Eurovision 2015 Eurovision 2015 Måns Zelmerlöw performing "Heroes" for Sweden in the Eurovision song contest 2015
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Eurovision 2015 Eurovision 2015 John Karayiannis performing "One Thing I Should Have Done" for Cyprus at the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest
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Eurovision 2015 Eurovision 2015 Guy Sebastian performing "Tonight Again" for Australia in the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest
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Eurovision 2015 Eurovision 2015 Loïc Nottet performing "Rhythm Inside" for Belgium at the Eurovision song contest 2015
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Eurovision 2015 Eurovision 2015 The Makemakes performing "I'm Yours" for Austria at the Eurovision song contest 2015
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Eurovision 2015 Eurovision 2015 Maria Elena Kyriakou performing "One Last Breath" for Greece at the Eurovision song contest 2015
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Eurovision 2015 Eurovision 2015 Knez performing "Adio" for Montenegro at the Eurovision song contest 2015
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Eurovision 2015 Eurovision 2015 Ann Sophie performing "Black Smoke" for Germany at the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest
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Eurovision 2015 Eurovision 2015 Monika Kuszyńska performing "In The Name Of Love" for Poland at the Eurovision song contest 2015
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Eurovision 2015 Eurovision 2015 Aminata performing "Love Injected" for Latvia at the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest
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Eurovision 2015 Eurovision 2015 Voltaj performing "De La Capat (All Over Again)" for Romania at the Eurovision song contest 2015
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Eurovision 2015 Eurovision 2015 Edurne performing "Amanecer" for Spain at the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest
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Eurovision 2015 Eurovision 2015 Boggie performing "Wars For Nothing" for Hungary at the Eurovision song contest 2015
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Eurovision 2015 Eurovision 2015 Nina Sublatti performing "Warrior" for Georgia at the Eurovision song contest 2015
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Eurovision 2015 Eurovision 2015 Elnur Huseynov performing "Hour of the Wolf" for Azerbaijan at the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest
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Eurovision 2015 Eurovision 2015 Polina Gagarina performing "A Million Voices" for Russia at the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest
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Eurovision 2015 Eurovision 2015 Elhaida Dani performing "I'm Alive" for Albania at the Eurovision song contest 2015
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Eurovision 2015 Eurovision 2015 Il Volo performing "Grande Amore" for Italy at the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest
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Sweden’s last entry was Sanna Nielsen, who placed third in Copenhagen with “Undo” despite losing to Austrian trans singer and LGBT rights activist Conchita Wurst.
Electro Velvet will represent the United Kingdom at Eurovision this year while a punk band with learning disabilities are bidding for glory for Finland.
Our entry received a mixed reaction when announced earlier this month, with our music critic slating song “Still In Love With You” for having “all the charisma of soggy lettuce”.
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