Is it time to abolish the big 5?

[GermanBango]

How much favour should they get???? That's totally unfair that they are allowed to perform in semis without competing.

I'm totally sick of Big 5 arrogant attitude.

Uhm calm down - we're not arrogant at all. We're just trying to find suitable solutions for the negative sides of the big 5 rule.
Tbh you tend to see only one side of the medal - Yeah we're pre-qualified, so what? That doesn't mean it's an advantage - as you can see in this years results.
I have no problem with losing this status but then it would only be fair that we have to pay just as much as all the others do ... and we all know that this would mean higher costs for everyone. How should some small countries effort those costs? Keep in mind that not all countries are as wealthy as Sweden or Austria. Just be happy that the big 5 rule exists - without this rule the contest wouldn't be as big as it is today

 

[FilipFromSweden]

The thing is, passing the semi-finals isn't that hard as long as you're ambitious and puts time and effort on a great song. I think it would only do good for the big 5 countries, it would give the audience/voters some time to let the song grow on them in time for the final.

 

[lowyby]

IMO they should cut the crap and cut the viewer-argument. Those 5 countries could easily become the new Russias and Romanias and Azerbaijan. They have a decent music scene and the opportunity to qualify each year (well if you send decent songs yes this is for you UK). Also everyone pays an amount of money to participate and they may brpadcast the 3 shows. If theyd have to perform in a semi and qualify from there, that would also mean a lot more viewers for that semi. IMO the semis are also a good way to build up the hype and even improve the ratings for the final. I actially just can't believe why those countries dont propose it by themselves to do the semis, I see nothing but advantages. Only the host is PQ and gets to perform in one of the semis, would be ok IMO, and there should be 12 qualifiers per semi which gives us a proper amount of 25 countries.

I mean, Italy could be sending the worst song SanRemo has to offer in a particular year and still qualify...

 

[Krishoes]

I'm ok with the idea of abolishing the Big 5. We pay more than other countries to allow YOUR nations to organize a great event. xdoh So, stop with this sh***t, some people don't deserve anything. NONO

 

[lowyby]

I'm pretty sure that if you calculate how many pennies each country spends per citizen, the highest paying countries wouldnt even be the big 5. You pay much because you have a bigger reach and audience. Its called demographics and it's logical. But its not because you're bigger that you deserve more

 

[Krishoes]

I'm pretty sure that if you calculate how many pennies each country spends per citizen, the highest paying countries wouldnt even be the big 5. You pay much because you have a bigger reach and audience. Its called demographics and it's logical. But its not because you're bigger that you deserve more

We are Big 5 because we pay much more than the others. If it's only about demographics or must become part of Big 5 (Big 7 in that case).

And I agree with you, we don't deserve more and it's illogical that we have to pay more than the others and stay directly in the finals. Maybe some tv channel don't care much about Eurovision and their entries 'cause they are already in the final, maybe they (we) need more competition.

 

[SuperGirl]

Isn't to EBU the big 5 pay more money?? How do we know they pay more money to ESC?

 

[Rusch]

Is say stop this big 5 nonsense. I consider it as a drawback because all qualifieres are presented twice and this is an advantage.
Also what its worth being with an entry in the final that got no chance for good place. There is maybe the risk, that the interest in the contest will further decrease, but I guess this will happen anyhow, if nothing changes.
And: Without the big 5 there are 12 to 13 countries to move into the final directly. I will become a bit more easy to qualify and the semis are geting more important, because we are now talking about 20 countries competing. This year it would have been 12 songs out of 19 in each semi.

I'm ok with the idea of abolishing the Big 5. We pay more than other countries to allow YOUR nations to organize a great event. xdoh So, stop with this sh***t, some people don't deserve anything. NONO

Of course you do. Italy never failed to reach the top 10 after the return 2011. You guys doing great.

If they were to get rid of the big 5, France would straight up withdraw. Let them send their boring songs and occupy a bottom space. France bring in loads of viewers and money

Ok, France will withdraw? I say this is not a loss. They sould take this seriously or the should let it go. Ok, they were doing a bit better than Germany, but we try at least sendings something, that might reach the top 10.

 

[Krishoes]

How do we know the night actually follows the day?
How do we know that 2+2 is actually 4?
How do we know that the Earth actually orbits the sun?

 

[Dante]

I don't see it happening. I'm ok with the host country to be in the final (more as a thank you for taking us in even if we have to endure a bad show and in the end you're the one that makes profit on our nerves and backs ).

If there were 1-2 countries that qualified it wouldn't have been a big deal, but this year, having 7 felt like another semifinal in the final.

 

[Rusch]

Yes, I agree. The Host nation (an former winner) should be placed directly in the finale. All other should qualify in die semis.

 

[ory26]

If they were to get rid of the big 5, France would straight up withdraw. Let them send their boring songs and occupy a bottom space. France bring in loads of viewers and money

Ok, France will withdraw? I say this is not a loss.

Pathetic comments by two idiots

 

[popavapeur]

i don't really understand the drama about the 5. Who cares ? They don't send shit cause they're PQ, they sent Shit because their HoD didn't understand yet the rules of ESC (UK and France) being in the semi won't change their mind by black magic, Italy is doing well, Spain is trying too hard and Germany has its own NF. France ratings are not that good but they beat the overall ratings of Sweden this year (i compare with the winner) . That's too much important for the EBU to abolish it.

+ they are the biggest contributors like… that's a huge amount of money : Ireland paid 63K€ in Oslo and 333K€ for the UK (you can find all the numbers with some research on google). If everybody has to pay the same fee to EBU, each country will add 30K € to their actual fee, that's just unbelievable for states like San Marino, Moldova, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

I'm fine with the big 5 and i'm fine with the fact that my country has to come through the SF (even if we pay around 100K each year)

 

[Xylidic]

i don't really understand the drama about the 5. Who cares ? They don't send shit cause they're PQ, they sent Shit because their HoD didn't understand yet the rules of ESC (UK and France) being in the semi won't change their mind by black magic, Italy is doing well, Spain is trying too hard and Germany has its own NF. France ratings are not that good but they beat the overall ratings of Sweden this year (i compare with the winner) . That's too much important for the EBU to abolish it.

+ they are the biggest contributors like… that's a huge amount of money : Ireland paid 63K€ in Oslo and 333K€ for the UK (you can find all the numbers with some research on google). If everybody has to pay the same fee to EBU, each country will add 30K € to their actual fee, that's just unbelievable for states like San Marino, Moldova, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

I'm fine with the big 5 and i'm fine with the fact that my country has to come through the SF (even if we pay around 100K each year)

This is basically my view. We send crap because the UK has the wrong idea as to what Eurovision is, not because we're prequalified. If we got rid of the big 5 we'd suddenly never qualify and then probably drop out. ESC needs the big 5 to allow smaller countries who wouldn't affort it otherwise be able to compete. I much prefer 5 songs in the final, Italy of which at least tends to send something final worthy anyway, that got there prequalified than have many countries drop out due to money issues.

 

[NemesisNick]

If that means we will listen only to ~21 songs, so maybe each semi will have 11 qualifiers+only host is prequalified, I will go with that...If the songs are good, we will qualify and a final with more than 24 songs is a mess. I wanted to turn off after Hungary, because I know nothing better would've come and hearing 5 more songs is butthurt

Mark my words, there'd be more than 21 songs in the Grand Final, even if the Big Five have to go through the semi-finals. With more countries in the semi-finals as a result, I think the EBU would have 25 finalists as follows:

Host country (direct qualifier)
12 from semi-final 1
12 from semi-final 2

This 1+12+12 situation would mean 25 finalists.

 

[lowyby]

Mark my words, there'd be more than 21 songs in the Grand Final, even if the Big Five have to go through the semi-finals. With more countries in the semi-finals as a result, I think the EBU would have 25 finalists as follows:

Host country (direct qualifier)
12 from semi-final 1
12 from semi-final 2

This 1+12+12 situation would mean 25 finalists.

This is the right thing to do...
Hopefully it's on Bjorkman's agenda

 

[MyHeartIsYours]

i don't really understand the drama about the 5. Who cares ? They don't send shit cause they're PQ, they sent Shit because their HoD didn't understand yet the rules of ESC (UK and France) being in the semi won't change their mind by black magic, Italy is doing well, Spain is trying too hard and Germany has its own NF. France ratings are not that good but they beat the overall ratings of Sweden this year (i compare with the winner) . That's too much important for the EBU to abolish it.

+ they are the biggest contributors like… that's a huge amount of money : Ireland paid 63K€ in Oslo and 333K€ for the UK (you can find all the numbers with some research on google). If everybody has to pay the same fee to EBU, each country will add 30K € to their actual fee, that's just unbelievable for states like San Marino, Moldova, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

I'm fine with the big 5 and i'm fine with the fact that my country has to come through the SF (even if we pay around 100K each year)

Well said!

The BBC have said that they couldn't envisage handing the primetime Saturday night slot to Eurovision if Britain wasn't there, so it'd be a lose/lose situation for all. Eurovision would decline in popularity here, the UK would more than likely drop out eventually losing the EBU one of its biggest contributions, Eurovision viewership would drop by 7-10 million people (bigger than the entire populations of several ESC countries), income from televoting would be down, income from advertising would be down, etc.

The present system works well for all parties concerned so just leave it as it is. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

 

[macmillanandwife]

I was thinking of each country to send 2 songs to the contest. One for the semi's and another for the finals. However, the determination of which song is either a final entry or a semi entry is not known until rehearsals. The big 5 will still have to participate in the semi's but they will be mixed in the running order (should they still automatically qualify).

 

[lowyby]

Well said!

The BBC have said that they couldn't envisage handing the primetime Saturday night slot to Eurovision if Britain wasn't there, so it'd be a lose/lose situation for all. Eurovision would decline in popularity here, the UK would more than likely drop out eventually losing the EBU one of its biggest contributions, Eurovision viewership would drop by 7-10 million people (bigger than the entire populations of several ESC countries), income from televoting would be down, income from advertising would be down, etc.

The present system works well for all parties concerned so just leave it as it is. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

But it is broken... Look at the bottom 5 of 2005, 2008, 2015 to mention some...

 

[MyHeartIsYours]

But it is broken... Look at the bottom 5 of 2005, 2008, 2015 to mention some...

That's to do with the songs those countries selected, not the Big 5 system. Perhaps only being heard once puts them at a minor disadvantage, but I really do believe that 99% vote according to what they hear on the Saturday night, not the Tuesday or Thursday. But if this is a problem then it can be easily remedied, the Big 5 system does not have to change because of it.