What happened was that when Siw Malmkvist lit the candle and was about to blow out the match, she placed it in front of the candle flame and blew it out so that both went out at the same time. This probably made many viewers wonder if it was a mistake.
But it wasn't, it was just for fun, says the Christmas host.
In just one week, Siw Malmkvist will turn 89 – on New Year's Eve. But she spent Christmas Eve in SVT's studio in front of an audience of millions.
I didn't feel alone, I had a whole team around me and it was just cozy. It was a different Christmas Eve actually.
“Afraid of being nervous”
Before the broadcast, she reveals that she had been a bit worried about how she would be able to keep her nerves in check.
"I was afraid I would be nervous, but I wasn't. I was completely calm. Even when I turned on the light," she says.
Some parts, such as the musical guests and previous Christmas hosts who appeared during the evening, were pre-recorded. But most of it was done live in the studio.
It's hard to get people here on Christmas Eve itself, you can't count on that.
Malmkvist herself is satisfied with her performance.
I might have stumbled over a word here and there, but nothing went completely wrong. It went like clockwork, you could say.
Scanian and Swedish
Born in Landskrona but living in Stockholm since the 1950s, she also switched briskly between Scanian and national Swedish during the evening.
I said it from the beginning, that I will speak both Stockholm and Scanian. Because if I don't speak Scanian, the Scanians will be upset and vice versa.
What are you going to do now?
I'm going home and I'm going to turn on my phone. I've had it off all day but I'm sure I've received a ton of text messages.
