Swedish game show's Harlem Shake goes viral

The Swedish version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire featured an unexpected breakout into the latest viral sensation - the Harlem Shake - only to continue as normal directly afterwards. The clip has since gone viral online.

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Sweden's Postkodlotteriet danced to a different beat this weekend, namely, to the Harlem Shake, an internet sensation that has tickled the dancing bone of many amateur movie makers across the globe in the past few weeks.

And Swedes play no exception. Last week, The Local reported about a bunch of Borås firefighters who turned up the heat at their fire station, much to the irritation of their own officials.

However, the version that's really stirred interest in Sweden this week was that of Friday night's Postkodmiljonären - a television game show where contestants answer multiple choice questions.

In the clip (featured below), host Rickard Sjöberg asks a female contestant "How many cells does an amoeba have?" for a prize of 20,000 kronor ($3,119).

The woman considers the question for a moment and then locks in her answer, at which point the popular song by US producer Baauer blasts into the auditorium's speakers.

Only moments after, the entire crowd is jiving to the groove, including the contestant and the host himself, who jumps up onto his chair and begins to gyrate.

A cameraman even rushes on stage with his gear, and other film crew rush the scene holding what appears to be a plastic flamingo.

After the 30 seconds of music has died down, everyone returns promptly to their seats and the host reveals the answer to the question - all as if nothing had happened.

The clip was uploaded to the Postkodlotteriet's official Facebook page on Saturday, and has since garnered almost 22,000 likes, over 7,500 shares, and comments in the thousands.

A spokesperson from the organization told The Local that the video's success surprised the team at the Swedish Postcode Lottery.

"We are excited that the video has reached more that 1.5 million unique users just on Facebook. We know that both Rickard and the show are very popular but this is of course beyond expectations," said Fredrik Skärheden, Head of Communications.

At the end of the show, and included in the clip below, the host turns to the camera and says: "And for those sitting at home wondering 'Did that actually just happen?'... I can only say 'Yes, it really did'."

He then wishes the viewers a good week and walks off chuckling as the credits begin to roll.

See the gameshow dance in full


See the Borås firefighters in action


Oliver Gee
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