News | 16 June 2025
IES Kungsbacka Takes Top Prize in IES Eurovision Music Video Contest
It took 36 takes, but IES Kungsbacka's dedication paid off when they won first place in IES Eurovision, which showcases musical and linguistic talent.
From left to right: Oscar Hollbjär (7C), Joakim Jeansson Camphaner (7C), Alicia Nyhrén (6C), Laura Camphaner Gottfridsson (6B), Loke Carlsson (7B), Charlie Ince Danielsson (7B).
IES Kungsbacka hit all the right notes to win this year's IES Eurovision Music Video Contest, which celebrated musical talent and passion for languages among students from eight Internationella Engelska Skolan schools across Sweden.
The annual contest challenges students in years six to nine to perform a song in a language other than English or Swedish. Participating schools submit videos featuring live vocals in languages such as Mandarin, German, French or Spanish. This year, IES Bromma earned a well-deserved second place, with IES Karlstad coming in third.
Singer Laura, from class 6B at IES Kungsbacka, shared her journey to victory: "I've always loved to sing and play music. When I heard of this contest last year, I became curious. This year, I got the opportunity to audition and participate."
The students' commitment to perfection was evident. After five weeks of Monday morning rehearsals, they were ready – ready for more practice – and were filmed by students from the nearby LBS Kreativa Gymnasiet.
Laura said: "The day we filmed it, we actually performed the song – I counted – 36 times. It was challenging, it took a lot of time. But it was worth it. It was a fantastic experience that I would want to take part in again.”
Guitarist Loke from 7B, was pleased to share news of the win with his father, also a musician: "I always liked playing instruments. So when I got the offer to play guitar in this, it sounded fun – especially since I got to do it with friends. I just thought it would be a fun thing, but I'm really glad that we ended up winning. Everyone was very happy. As soon as I could, after school, I told my family and showed my medal to everyone."
The contest strongly reinforces IES's commitment to multilingualism and prepares students for the world. It provides an opportunity for students to develop additional languages, alongside their command of English and Swedish.
Laura, who studies French but sang in Spanish for the contest, emphasized the connection: “Music is very important for language learning. It's a really big part of it. I honestly think my pronunciation got much better. It helped me a lot.".
Charikleia Vasilakou, head of modern foreign languages at IES Kungsbacka, added: “The students worked a lot, they worked at home, then the music teacher Ms Vazquez helped them a lot. She was there guiding them. We believed that we would win – our goal was to win this year so we worked towards it together, and succeeded.”
For the first time, two schools – IES Bromma and IES Uppsala – submitted two different entries each, in two different languages. This year also saw the launch of a brand-new Special Mention Award, which was given to IES Linköping for their two submissions from students in year four.
“As always, these kinds of projects involve time and effort,” said Ana Vallejo Forss, from IES Nacka, who organised the contest. “Thank you to all staff and students who contributed to the entries this year.”
🥇 1st place: IES Kungsbacka (cover image)
🥈 2nd place: IES Bromma
🥉 3rd place: IES Karlstad
Watch the winning music video below.