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In order to make the contest fairer, the “Big Five” can now also appear in the semi-finals.
Everything is new in May: The Eurovision Song Contest is changing its rule book. The “Big Five” – Germany, France, Spain, Italy and Great Britain – have traditionally been automatically seeded for the ESC final since 1996 and have only appeared live in front of the TV audience once each. A blessing and a curse for these countries: Because they didn’t present their songs live in the semi-finals, the songs were not yet familiar to the audience.
Now they and the host country will perform in full for the first time in the semi-finals, giving them more opportunity to showcase themselves. The “Big Five”, the largest donor nations, have always tended to end up at the bottom of the list in the past.
“We believe that this change will give the Big Five and the host country more chances in the grand final
“We believe that this change gives the ‘Big Five’ and the host country more chances in the grand final, as they now have the opportunity to be on stage ‘for real’ in the semi-finals,” says ESC manager Ebba Adielsson. “It’s also a win for the audience in the arena and for the viewers at home, as they can see all the artists competing this year live before the grand finale.”
Germany, Sweden and Great Britain will appear out of competition in the first semi-final on May 7th. The second semi-final on May 9th will feature France, Italy and Spain.
Voting is also changing
There is another innovation in the voting system. In the finale, telephone voting and online voting will now be activated right at the start of the show, so that the audience can cast their vote under the immediate impression of the live performances. In 2010 and 2011 you could vote from the first post.
Adielsson says: “We want to give viewers the opportunity to participate right from the start – if you see something you like, you should be able to vote straight away. Of course, you can also wait until the fast-track at the end, as in previous years.”
And there is a third change: Anyone who comes from a country that does not take part in the ESC can vote almost 24 hours before the start of the three shows.
The final of this year’s ESC in Malmö will take place on May 11th. Switzerland represents ESC hope Nemo with the song “The Code”.