Yesterday Eurovision announced a change to the voting in May, today SVT have announced a change to Melodifestivalen. Last year the Andra Chansen became the semi-final and as of today the format of the semi-final will change once again.
The new format of the semi-final is as follow:
- As always, two acts from each heat will progress direct to the final and two will progress to the semi-final.
- Eight acts will then compete in the semi-final for the final four spots.
- For the first time, the semi-final will have all eight acts competing against each other with the votes being presented from each age category.
- These scores will be presented live meaning that viewers know who is most popular going into the final.
This is a change from the old Andra Chansen system where artists would be placed in duels, as well as being different from this year’s semi-final where there were two groups of four competing head to head. SVT are looking to make this semi-final much less complicated. The new system means it is clearer who is more popular as everyone meets everyone as stated in Melodifestivalen’s Instagram post.
Melodifestivalen has been staged nearly every year since 1959, but was not used to select a Eurovision participant until 1962. Since the introduction of the semi-final structure in 2004 Sweden has not qualified for the grand final only once, when Anna Berhendahl’s song “This Is My Life” finished in 11th place. Last year’s representative Cornelia Jakobs finished 4th in Turin with a total of 438 points.
What do #YOU think about the change to a standard result reveal for the semi-final? Let us know on social media @ESCUnited, on our discord, or on our forum page!
