Musikhjälpen (Swedish: [mɵˈsîːkˌjɛlːpɛn]; lit. 'The Music Aid') is a Swedish televised benefit performance radio show marathon. The annually recurring show is a charity fundraiser for a chosen cause, the cause is changed each year. Three radio hosts or television personalities are locked inside a glass building (called glasburen, lit. 'the glass cage') for 144 hours (6 days, 24 hours per day). Each presenter acts as a host for eight hours respectively, totaling three shifts per day. It is broadcast in December, during one week, with dates varying each year. The show is broadcast live on the public service radio network Sveriges Radio and on television through SVT. Viewers can make song requests by donating money either by using a standalone app or the Swish service. Viewers can also choose to start their own fundraiser on behalf of themselves or anything in general, with the money raised being pooled into the main fundraiser. Similarly, the audience can create and place bids on charity auctions connected to the main event. Historically, listeners paid and sent a text message with a song request. The 2023 edition collected 59.5 million kronor (equivalent to $5.9 million in 2023). Despite a global recession, said amount is the second largest in the history of the show. The proceeds of the fundraiser are managed by the Radiohjälpen foundation, which is in turned partnered with other charity organizations. Roughly 20 cameras are used in the production, with footage interspersed in a multi-cam format. It is based on the Dutch Serious Request radio and television campaign.
Annual editions
Musikhjälpen 2008
Theme – "67 miljoner flyktingar behöver din hjälp" ("67 million refugees need your help") The event was held for the first time in 2008, organized by Sveriges Television, Sveriges Radio and Radiohjälpen. The 2008 glass house stood at Gustaf Adolfs torg in Malmö from 13 to 19 December. The show was broadcast around the clock at Sveriges Radio P3 and Din gata 100,6, and also on SVT2 at certain times of day. It was hosted by the radio presenters Kitty Jutbring, Henrik Torehammar and Ehsan Noroozi. A daily half-hour highlights show Musikhjälpen: Extra was hosted by Fredrik Ekelund and Charlotte Lundgren. Singer Jason Diakité (also known by his stage name Timbuktu) was a reporter, and traveled a month before Musikhjälpen to Congo, where he met refugees and assisted the organization on the ground. In its first year, Musikhjälpen gained 3,016,247 SEK in donations.
Musikhjälpen 2009
Theme – "Din musik stoppar malaria" ("Your music stops malaria") In 2009, the Musikhjälpen glass house stood at Avenyn in Gothenburg between 14–20 December. The theme for this year was malaria and as in 2008 the show was broadcast live around the clock at Sveriges Radio P3 and on SVT Play at certain times. The hosts were radio presenters Ametist Azordegan, Christer Lundberg and rapper Jason Diakité (a.k.a. Timbuktu), who all got locked into the glass house by singer Alice Cooper. Traveling reporters this year were Ehsan Noroozi and Kitty Jutbring. The Musikhjälpen Extra host was Mela Tesfazion. 5,748,442 SEK was raised this year, approximately 2,300,000 more than in 2008. On 7 January 2010, it was revealed that the project had been defrauded during twenty minutes on the night of 19–20 December. The number shown in the television screens which showed how to wish for songs and give money had been changed. No money was ever given to the fake number and no arrests were ever made.
Musikhjälpen 2010 Theme – "Barn är inte till salu" ("Children are not for sale") In 2010, the glass house was located in Malmö for the second time in 3 years. Jason Diakité (Timbuktu) hosted again alongside morning-radio host Martina Thun and comedian Nour El-Refai. Ametist Azordegan and Christer Lundberg were traveling reporters this year and theme was the trafficking of children. As before, the show was broadcast on Sveriges Radio P3 and SVT Play, and at times on SVT during 13–19 December. By 18 December 2010, the previous year's record total had already been broken; when the show was over 12,236,417 SEK had been collected to help the victims of trafficking.
Musikhjälpen 2011
Theme – "Alla flickor har rätt att gå i skolan" ("All girls have the right to go to school") In 2011, the glass house was located in Gothenburg for a second time, at the Gustaf Adolfs torg square between 12–18 December. For the third time in a row, rapper Jason Diakité hosted the show, along with TV-personality Gina Dirawi and radio presenter Kodjo Akolor. The theme for this year was that all girls should have the right to get an education. The travelling reporters for this year were comedian Klara Zimmergren and artist Daniel Adams-Ray, who visited Ethiopia. 264 auctions were held which raised 2.1 million SEK. Among the auctioned items was Michael Jackson's platinum record for his Thriller. A total of 18,104,362 SEK was raised.
Musikhjälpen 2012 Theme – "Barnen i slummen har rätt till rent vatten" ("Slum children have the right to clean water") Malmö again hosted the event, from 10 to 16 December, for the third time. For the second year in a row Jason Diakité (Timbuktu), Kodjo Akolor and Gina Dirawi were the hosts of the Musikhjälpen and were locked inside the glass house. This became Timbuktu's fourth year as host of the show. A total of 135,000 song-requests were registered, and 23,301,823 SEK was raised, again a steady increase to the previous year. Filip & Fredrik auctioned themselves off as receptionists, which raised 221,100 SEK.
Musikhjälpen 2013
Theme – "Alla tjejer har rätt att överleva sin graviditet" ("All girls have the right to survive a pregnancy") Musikhjälpen was held in Gothenburg between 9–15 December 2013. This was the third time that Gothenburg had been the host city of Musikhjälpen. The show was broadcast from Gustaf Adolfs torg and this year the money was used to help pregnant girls in poorer countries. The show's hosts were Kodjo Akolor for the third time, artist Sarah Dawn Finer and radio presenter Emma Knyckare. For the first time since 2009, Musikhjälpen Extra was a daily show; it was hosted by Sofia Rågenklint. This year's travelling reporters were Bianca Kronlöf and Robin Olin, who went to Bangladesh to give daily live reports from the country. It was the first time that the traveling reporters were at the foreign location live throughout Musikhjälpen's broadcast. 28,426,046 SEK was raised.
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