In 1959 it was the journalist and the television profile Bengt Feldreich who became the very first to be commissioned to be Sweden’s Christmas host in SVT. It is also his voice that can still be heard today “Donald Duck and his friends wish you a Merry Christmas”.
Right up until 1965, it was Bengt who offered a magical atmosphere in the TV box on Christmas Eve, after that it was the journalist Arne Weise who debuted as a Christmas host in 1966.
Arne Weise is perhaps the person most associate with the role of Christmas host, which is not so strange because he shouldered the task of Christmas host a total of 24 times. Between the years 1972-1974, 1980-1987 and 1991-2002, it was Arne who lit the candle before Donald Duck.
Arne Weise was SVT’s Christmas host for 30 years. Photo: Henrik Montgomery/TT
After Arne Weise lit his last candle as Christmas host in the TV box, he told that he missed the time as Christmas host.
– It would be fun to come back. But at the same time you shouldn’t teach old dogs to sit, Arne said in an interview in The evening paper 2018, where he also told that he had a tough year because of his health.
In 2019, Arne Weise died, he was 89 years old.
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Other Christmas hosts between 1967 and 1990
In the years between 1967 and 1990 that Arne Weise was not tasked with hosting Christmas in SVT, these profiles assumed the role:
Beppe Wolgers, who is known to many as Pippi Longstocking’s father, hosted Christmas in SVT in 1968. Photo: Kent Östlund/TT
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Christmas hosts after 2002
After 2002, SVT has changed the Christmas host of the year every year. In 2003 it was Lotta Bromé who was commissioned to be this year’s Christmas host, and in 2004 did the interior design profile and presenter Ernst Kirchsteiger debut. After that, we got to see lots of different famous profiles in the TV box on Christmas Eve:
Petra Mede hosted Christmas in SVT in 2013. Photo: Claudio Bresciani/TT
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Harsh criticism of SVT 2017
In 2017, when Lotta Lundgren and Erik Haag debuted as Christmas hosts, was also the first year that the show had been pre-recorded and not broadcast live – leading to many being upset. Several viewers threatened to turn off the TV on Christmas Eve and not watch, afterwards SVT responded to the criticism:
– Erik and Lotta were the most popular TV personalities of the year and I thought: what could go wrong. I called them and talked them into hosting Christmas but they couldn’t run live. I thought uh, it’s more about the experience. But there was an outcry, and it was my fault, it didn’t turn out well, said Eva Beckmanformer program commissioner at SVT, in the journalist Fredrik Ralstrand’s podcast.
In 2018, SVT chose to once again broadcast the program live.
Lotta Lundgren and Erik Haag were SVT’s Christmas hosts in 2017. Photo: Jonas Ekströmer/TT
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Mark Levengood as Christmas host 2024
In 2024, it was the popular television profile Mark Levengood who took on the role of this year’s Christmas host in SVT. During the broadcast, an object forbidden to children was seen under the Christmas tree – something that turned out to be a snuff box.
– I think the cameraman tried to angle so that dose hell wouldn’t be seen, said Mark Levengood in an interview in The Express.
Mark Levengood, who has done many large productions and live broadcasts, has previously said that he was not particularly nervous about the prestigious assignment as SVT’s Christmas host. But once he sat in the armchair in the TV house, the emotions came.
– In the beginning, it was a bit edgy there. Without knowing how much it means with that light. But then I was happy when I managed to light it and was like “yeah”, he told TT.
Mark Levengood debuted as this year’s Christmas host in SVT 2024. Photo: Anders Wiklund/TT
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