The Semi Final Allocation draw took place this Monday where all Semi Finalists were allocated to one of the to Semi Finals via a random draw and a somewhat complicated process. In addition, it was also determined in which Semi the Big 5 and the host country would vote in.
The EBU Supervisor Jon Ola Sand advised that the German broadcaster ARD requested to broadcast the Second Semi Final which was approved, therefore Germany was not added to the pots. According to German Eurovision expert Jan Feddersen, the five jury members (names are not known) are only available from Wednesday through Saturday that week, therefore unable to vote in the First Semi.
The juries actually don’t cast their votes during the live Shows, but rather the day prior during the Second dress rehearsal. There are a total of three dress rehearsals before the live broadcast takes place: The first one is in the afternoon the day prior, the Second (that’s when the juries will vote) in the evening and the third one is on the day of the show in the afternoon. There is a special broadcast that can only be seen by the juries in their respective countries as well as in the press center.
This is the reason why the EBU allowed Germany to vote in the Second Semi Final. Special requests have been granted before in the past. Israel asked to be allocated to a particular Semi to avoid having to perform on a National holiday.
Germany will have their National Final on March 5th, where several acts will fight to represent their country in Vienna. Join us HERE to talk about everything related to Germany in Eurovision and meet thousands of fans from around the world.
