2023 was the year of the most recent change in the Eurovision Song Contest voting system. With televoting gaining prominence and being the only thing responsible for selecting the finalists, a question arises: what impact would this change have since the introduction of semi-finals, back to 2004? Let’s find out!
2004 – 2007:
With the increasing number of participating countries in the contest, the European Broadcasting Union, the entity responsible for the Eurovision Song Contest, tried to solve the problem with the creation of a semi-final. This occurred in the editions of 2004 (Istanbul, Turkey), 2005 (Kyiv, Ukraine), 2006 (Athens, Greece) and 2007 (Helsinki, Finland).
Interestingly, between 2004 and 2007, the voting system was very similar to the current one: the public was the only responsible for selecting the 10 finalists from the only semi-final the competition had. All participating countries (semi-finalists and automatic finalists) used to vote on the Wednesday semi-final. However, with the number of participating countries growing (and with a single semi-final with more than 25 countries), the contest would end up undergoing changes the following year.
2008:
And so, we arrived at 2008. Serbia was responsible for hosting the event, which took place in the city of Belgrade, more specifically at the Belgrade Arena. 43 countries participated in this edition, a new record, with the debut of countries like Azerbaijan or San Marino. This was also the year when two semi-finals were introduced into the competition, with only the “Big 4” (France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom) and the host country having a guaranteed place in the Grand Final.
Regarding the semi-final voting system, a particularity: the top 9 songs most voted by the public in each semi-final would be automatically qualified for the Grand Final, with the 10th finalist being chosen by the jury. Dima Bilan and “Believe” would end up being the winners of the night, representing Russia.
Although in the 1st semi-final, jury and televote agreed on the 10 finalists, the same did not happen on the Thursday’ semi-final.
On the 2nd semi-final, Sweden, represented by Charlotte Perrelli and “Hero”, was the 10th finalist, despite being placed 12th by the televoters, with a total of 54 points. In turn, North Macedonia, represented by Tamara, Vrčak and Adrijan and “Let Me Love You”, which got the 10th place in the televote, with 64 points, ended up returning home without competing in the Grand Final.
2009:
42 countries travelled to Moscow to compete for the victory in the 2009 edition. The Olimpiysky Arena hosted the competition, featuring one of the biggest stages ever. Norway’ sweeping victory, with a total of 387 points, from Alexander Rybak and “Fairytale”, would mark a turning point in the contest.
As in the previous year, the voting system remained unchanged: in the semi-finals, 9 finalists were chosen by the public, while the 10th finalist was chosen by the jury. In the Grand Final, the famous 50/50 voting system was used.
On the 1st semi-final, Finland, represented by the group Waldo’s People and “Lose Control”, won the 10th place in the semi-final thanks to the jury’s vote, having obtained the 12th place in the televote, with 42 points. North Macedonia, represented by Next Time and “Nešto Što Kje Ostane”, 10th place in the televote (45 points) ended up returning home, once again.
On the 2nd semi-final, the 13th place in the televote ended up being the 10th finalist. Croatia, represented by Igor Cukrov feat. Andrea and “Lijepa Tena”, with a total of 33 points, won a place on the Grand Final. On the other side, Serbia, represented by Marko Kon & Milaan and the song “Cipela”, which got the 10th place in the televote (60 points), would be eliminated.
This voting system would end and the 2010 edition would have a new voting system… But we will see how things turn out in the next article!
Do #YOU think the new qualifiers would have made these contests better or worse? Let us know in the comments, on social media, or on our forum!
