You have read that right, SVT have made more changes to the Eurovision Song Contest this year. This time, it is the way the running order the final will be decided.
SVT are famed for making changes to the way Eurovision works, for better or worse thats your decision. In the 2013 contest SVT added the changes to the running order that we know. In 2016 it was the way the voting was presented changed.
Currently the running order for the final is decided in a similar way to the semis. The acts randomly choose what half they will perform in during the semi-final winners press conference. From these selections, the producers then choose the rest of the running order (excluding the host nation which is chosen randomly.
So whats changing? Well, SVT have decided that this was too simple, and now there is a 3rd choice, the Producers Choice. 13 artists will get this choice, 6 will get to choose first half and 6 will choose the second half. Producers Choice gives the producers the chance to create a more compelling contest, and also remove the chance for bias to appear for certain acts when they choose either half.
Christer Bjorkman, contest producer, has this to say
“It’s all about creating the best TV show possible and giving all artists a chance to shine. In previous years, with just the First Half and Second Half draws you might find many ballads ended up in the same part of the show or many favourites were drawn to perform in the same half. Adding the flexibility of Producer’s Choice gives me the ability to create an even better flow of different tempos and an even more thrilling Grand Final.”
We will get to see the first impact this choice has when the Big 5 choose their running order place, and then when the running order is announced after the second semi-final in May.
Will this be the last big change before Eurovision 2024? What do #YOU think about the changes? Let us know in the comments, in our forum, and in our social media.
