Eurovision winner Måns Zelmerlöw unveiled as next host
Reigning Eurovision champ Måns Zelmerlöw will co-host next year’s contest in Sweden, it has been announced.
The singer took the crown in May with his song Heroes, which won acclaim for its blending of stage performance and animation.
It was confirmed today that Zelmerlöw would make a comeback in 2016, co-hosting the contest alongside Swedish TV host Petra Mede.
Zelmerlöw said: “I’m so incredibly happy to be part of the Eurovison Song Contest once more and to be doing it together with Petra Mede, whom I consider an outstanding host and also one of the most delightful people I know.”
He is the second winner in a row to opt for a turn as host, after 2014 winner Conchita Wurst returned to host the contest earlier this year.
Mr Zelmerlöw was dogged by allegations of homophobia prior to his time in the contest – after claiming that gay sex is unnatural on a celebrity cooking show.
Mr Zelmerlöw had stunned other guests into silence by calling homosexuality abnormal, claiming “it isn’t equally natural for men to want to sleep with one another”.
However, the singer apologised extensively for his comments and regularly works with Swedish LGBT groups.
He thanked fans for forgiving him for his comments after winning the contest, saying: “Given all that’s been the past year… from the second I came down here I felt welcomed.
“This has been such a discussion over the past year, like just after I won [Swedish selection show] Melodifestivalen, but it felt like all of that was gone.
“It felt like people had actually accepted my apologies and believed in what I said, which was great. I thank the gay community.”
Watch a clip of Heroes below:
