Expedition Robinson 1997


Expedition Robinson 1997 is the first version of Expedition Robinson to air in Sweden, and the first season of the show anywhere in the world. This season premiered on 13 September 1997. Martin Melin became the winner on 13 December 1997, with a jury vote of 6–2 over runner-up Kent Larsen.
Despite being the premiere season, the first season was the lowest rated season of the original seven having only garnered around 1.2 million viewers for most of its regular episodes and 2.3 million viewers for its final episode. A major controversy occurred during this season when the first person voted out, Sinisa Savija, committed suicide a month after returning home from the island. Because of this, the first episode to air covered the events between the time when the contestants first arrived on the island and the second elimination.
Following the success of the first season, Åsa Vilbäck, Kent Larsen, and Martin Melin all became well known in Sweden.

Finishing order

ContestantOriginal
Tribes
Merged
Tribe
Finish
Sinisa Savija
34, Norrköping
South Team
Anna Nordenfeldt
57, Uppsala
North Team
Peter Just
51, Stockholm
North Team
Suzanne Lai
39, Helsingborg
North Team
Zai Gordon-White
27, Södertälje
North Team
Camilla Lundegård
28, Borlänge
South Team
Christin Johansson
22, Copenhagen
North TeamRobinson
Johan Reffel
23, Stockholm
South TeamRobinson
Erika Bälldal
37, Oxelösund
South TeamRobinson
Jürgen Weis
26, Gothenburg
North TeamRobinson
Marie-Louise Niklasson
33, Malmö
South TeamRobinson
Markus Fondin
19, Gothenburg
North TeamRobinson
Åsa Vilbäck
23, Linköping
South TeamRobinson
Ola Melén
25, Lund
South TeamRobinson
Kent Larsen
61, Lycksele
South TeamRobinson
Martin Melin
30, Stockholm
North TeamRobinson

Game

The eighth vote was tied with Erika and Kent each receiving three votes. Following a tied second vote, a lot was drawn which led to Erika's eventual elimination.

Voting history

At the eighth tribal council both Erika and Kent received three votes. Following a re-vote, there was still a tie. Because of this, both were forced to draw lots to determine who would be eliminated.