Australian here! I actually love the whole vibe of getting up at 5am for the live show! It's become a real tradition, I get my favourite coffee, shower, put fresh comfy pjs on, then when the show is over we go for breakfast at one of our favourite cafes. Having the repeat at 7:30pm is a great option but I personally don't like it because it's more "commercial" SBS will play adverts, there is way too many backstage/behind the scene interviews and I can't stand the tweets that pop up on screen the entire time. But I am naturally an early bird so again I probably am more alone when it comes to loving the 5am start ❤
It’s very weird to me having them dispersed through the actual competing entries. I think they should perform full live as an interval after all competing entries have gone.
I think opening the voting lines from the beginning is good for two reasons: the people who already have their favourites can give the votes earlier and just focus on enjoying the show. On the other hand, having the votes flow over a few hours instead of 30 minutes at the end eases the stress on the system collecting the votes. The risk of the voting lines getting clogged and some votes not going through is lowered this way, and there is more time for trouble shooting in case something happens.
I dont think its a good thing that you can vote before even hear every song. The only reason why you can vote the entire show is that the song from Sweden starts the final.
@@matthijsblabla2498 didn’t it occurred to you that maybe the new voting procedure may have been in the works for a while before Sweden had drawn their grand final position slot and it’s more of an awkward coincidence that they’re both announced at the same time?
Having the automatic qualifers perform in the semis will be an interesting experiment and a treat for fans from the Big 5 countries to finally hear their songs in full twice. It will be interesting to see if the extra exposure affects voting. Ultimately, I don't believe it matters that much. A strong song will likely do well regardless.
I think it won't matter when it comes to voting, but as a German, it feels better to be part of the semis. Even if it isn't as a proper participant, I like that we won't be coming across as "distant" as in previous years. After all, Eurovision is about community. I really like this change!
I think both Germany and France would’ve done better last year if their songs had been heard in the semis. Maybe even the UK as there might’ve been time to change how badly Mae’s sound came across on TV.
@@sweedie71 This. Lots of times there are sound issues in the semis that get fixed in the finals. For some reaons regular reshearsals aren't enough and it takes a televized performance to identify certain problems. He she had a full run through she probably would have sounded a lot better in the final.
It's a very good idea to present the songs of the big 5 at the semis ! It can bring (new?) people to watch the semis (I think about the fans of Slimane, or Olly...)
In Melodfestivalen voting for a LONG TIME has started before the first song is sung. It's a bit of a tradition of Sweden to make Eurovision more and more like Melodifestivalen every time they host. In 2016 they started giving out the Televote point from the bottom up, just like in Melodifestivalen.
I think it would be a good idea if the host country (which is usually the previous years winner), always takes the first song in the running order in the grand final. Let’s be honest, nobody wants to win Eurovision two years running as it costs so much, so it wouldn’t be such a big sacrifice What do you think, Tom?
I think voting is a Tricky one. I dont like the ROW vote starting Before the show starts I think it should be Based on the Performance on the night. I haven't heard many songs yet cos I like to go into ESC blind to the song so id have more time to vote for an Earlier song
Thank you for pointing out that the Big 5 can be used to take less favourable spots and help mixing up the flow of performances. I didn’t even consider that. 😄
You cant leave us with a cliffhanger like that!!! Havinv big 5 perform in semi's makes sense but I would prefer them all together at start or end. I think the casual viewer will be very confused being told they cant vote for songs 1, 7 and 14 for example.
You raise a good point about the EBU wanting the Big Five to win more often, so that the bigger broadcasters with more money could host. I never thought about it that way! I'm happy that the Big Five are going to perform in the finals. It should redeem the disadvantage of them only performing once, while the other countries all get to perform twice. It also means the Big Five will have twice as many rehearsals that the audience will get to view. I'm going to the Malmö Arena during one of the semifinal 1 rehearsals, so I'll get to see the UK, Germany, and Sweden's songs live. Also, I love the rest of the world vote and the expansions it'll have this year, because it now proves that Eurovision is designed to appeal to the entire world. Makes me feel less weird about being so obsessed, as an American fan.
I keep hearing conflicting information about whether ROTW voting closes before the show. The press release makes it sound that way, but other sources says that's not the case. REALLY hoping for clarification from EBU because I don't want to vote before the show unless I have to. I live in the US, a Saturday afternoon watching and voting is perfectly reasonable for me lol
To save time, Olly's Dizzy spinning thing and his brown sand/soil can stay on the stage for Georgia becos the videos share these common themes. And Besa seems to be spinning around too. Windows 95 Man can pass his socks and sandals straight over to the tourist in the Greek song, if they use him on stage.
I love the being able to vote early! Here in California Eurovision comes on Mid-day, when everyone is at work so I usually watch at work and get stressed out when it comes to voting because if I can't take my lunch at that time, I miss out on voting!
The 5 FIVE in the semis is a cool idea. I 'm all for it. The ROTW vote thing is also cool. The early televoting is quite debatable. Is there any limit on how many times each voter can vote for the same song? Can people vote for a song before the time it's presented? If the answer to both is no, it would be very unfair for the ones to appear late. If at least one of the questions gets a yes, that's kinda ok. I also want Eurovision to keep going but despair is not a great advisor. Certain participations can bring more loss than gain. I m very worried this year. I m trying to hope that political controversies won't hurt Eurovision too much.
I like that the big 5 is performing in the semis. But I think they should perform at the end. Not in between songs, that might be confusing for the casual viewer
@@TheodorSjolanderlol. There are only 15/16 songs in the semifinals. There are no advantages or disadvantages on any spot. Songs from both halves have qualified equally
Do the songs performing last now have a disadvantage? If a favourite performs early and the public casts its votes before the last acts even make their way onto the stage…..
maybe i'll warm to the idea of splicing the automatic qualifier songs into the running order selection when i see it. on paper, it sounds kinda jarring but maybe it won't matter if it flows okay from one song to the next. i do like that we'll see their performances in their entirety though. should build some hype for them for the final.
My concern with voting opening from the start of the show is that people will use up all their votes before they have seen all the competing songs, unjustly disadvantaging those late in the Running Order. They could solve this by locking how often you can vote before the first recap - maybe only being able to use half your votes - or by giving everyone enough votes to vote once for each performance (26 votes for the 26 finalists, 15 votes for the 15 semi finalists). My other concern is with the Automatic Qualifiers performing BETWEEN the semi finalists. I am unsure how they are going to clarify the televote cannot vote for these countries as they are already automatically qualified, I fear some people will try to vote for these automatic qualifiers instead of the semi finalists who need the votes to qualify. They really could’ve been shown together at the end, just live and in full.
As An Australian I think your point about the rest of the world votes being open 24hrs before hand is all well and good but Australia is competing so If we still have to get up at stupid o'clock or not vote. I like what Junior Eurovision did and allowed everyone to vote 48h before the contest I wouldn't mind half that (so open them 24h before the contest) in both Adult and Junior Eurovision because I think 48 is too much because In Junior Eurovision I think we are seeing that the Jury Vote matters more because the Televote is a lot closer (I'm Pretty sure Zoé ended up winning both the Jury and Televote anyway) but I think 24h is enough but For everyone. I guess It would be harder to implement because in Junior Eurovision Televoters can vote for there own country if its competing but you cant in the Adult contest and If someone wanted to vote for there own country it would be hard to implement anything. But a lot of good changes and I reckon the Pros outway the Cons
Would opening lines at the start of the show also help the broadcasters? Every year, there's always something about the lines getting clogged so this might alleviate it?
So do we now get a shorter interval if the voting doesn’t need to remain open as long after the final act? Sweden/EBU planned to shave an hour off the show. It would be amazing to lose it off the interval instead losing parts that we really enjoy like the opening, the flag parade and the voting. I’m all for this!
Perhaps this is a way to shorten the show to have the voting open for longer period and cut down the bloated parts, especially the interval acts. That part goes on way too long.
Voting closes 25 mins after the final song is performed, so pretty sure intervals will stay the same length. It has been said that the final will only be 5 mins shorter this year
Great to see a fellow Irishman that loves Eurovision. My dream would be to see an Irish entry that is pop but in Irish and a bit of English, that would have a good chance.
The voting from the start of the show is only in the GF, nothing changes for the Semis. I'm fine with it because at that point we've already seen all the performances.
Thank you for a very interesting video! I love that we can finally see the Big 5 and winner performing in the semi-finals, my country is one of the big 5 and I always had to wait to see the full song and the staging, that's a really nice change! Regarding opening the voting at the beginning, would you think it's possible that it actually has the opposite effect, boosting songs performing in the first half and at the expenses of songs in the second half, at least considering votes coming from more casual viewers? I would imagine that Eurovision fans who already know the songs and have their favourites would not be affected, they would vote for their favourites regardless of the position, but for those who watch the songs for the first or second time, they might start voting as soon as they hear something they like and run out of votes befose all songs are performed, even if maybe songs they would also vote for come afterwards in the running order. Is that a possibility?
I'm still confused about the voting. People are being encouraged to vote BEFORE even seeing the acts? Now if turn on Eurovision on Saturday and don't know any of the songs (and therefore won't vote until I see one I like), how is ithis NOT an unfair advantage for those songs performed near the top of the program? OMG, I'm surprised you heard about Katie Britt! lol
It doesn't matter in terms of votes for the entries. It only means the EBU will get more money from voting. By the time you get to song 16 most people aren't going to remember the songs that performed 1-6 anyway.
@@abbyroed We don't expect the juries to have already made up their minds before watching the acts, so why should the public be encouraged to do that?. We've all seen acts before that did great in the semis .but underperformed or chokeed in the Grand Final. We've seen props and sets malfunction and heard voices crack or go off key. BRIVIDI was my FAVORITE song going into the Finals in 2022..If given the chance back then, I might have voted for them ahead of time. .But after watchinng Italy's underwhelming performance in the Final, I would NOT have voted for them. I LOVE the song, but the performance, the harmonies, and the staging that evening were too sloppy and deficient. One of the best parts about Eurovision is watching acts -that few people expected to do well--rise to the occasion in the Grand Final and crush the competition. Moldova and Serbia in 2022 got huge scores from the public, and primarily because of how they both performed THAT EVENING in the Finals. But hardly anyone would've been pre-voting for Moldova.in 2022- they barely made it out of the semis. This new voting system won't do acts like these any favors. .
@@trao1938 I see your point, and would stress that the general public doesn't know that what we watch on television is kinda pre-recorded as the acts have to perform about three times on the day of the Semis and Grand Final and what we are shown on TV is the best take. The Juries witness their own performance so they have voted already by the time the show airs. Meaning they are not voting in realtime. An audience member is now given the option to vote early based on what they witnessed in the semis which the Grand Final performance should be of equal or greater quality to the Semi performance; or they can vote in realtime. You watch it and vote or don't vote based on what you just watched. I think it's a great option for us busy people and international voters. 😊 It's just more convenient, it's practical.
About the big 5, I'm actually really curious what would happen if another country decided they want to give more money than italy for example, what would then happen? 😂 or if germany decided that f*** this we ain't paying anymore. Would another country replace it so will it always be just 5 countries, no more, no less or what would happen in these scenarios
Their reasoning for removing it in 2012 was that the amount of voters that voted during the performances was very small, and most viewers still waited until all countries had performed. During those two years, #22 and #19 won the televoting (the latter by just two points, but still) so countries performing late were still favoured here.
This is all interesting, but the most important change I wanted to see in voting system is to be *rid of juries,* or at least lessen their power, and this is apparently not happening? 😟😢 So no cheers from me until that happens, lol. Not sure about voting lines in semis being open all through, as like you said it doesn't make much difference anyway, neither about ROW voting in advance, as they wouldn't even have seen the performances, so they'll only vote for the country in question, not the actual entry...? And I'm in the school that feels it's unfair to give even more screen time for automatic qualifiers, since their automatic qualification is unfair anyway. So Sweden getting nr 1 slot is about the only good piece of news of these 😅 Why weren't all of these news announced on the Eurovision official site, BTW, only Sweden drawing their slot yesterday..?
I've wondered about Italy getting to vote on the half with San Marino in. As San Marino uses the Italian phone system it feels wrong. It feels like San Marino could rig 12 points from Italy. Not that they would, just opens up the possibility
@@shyman2012 You misunderstand. Italy do get a televote, and they are voting in San Marino's half. If San Marino use the italian telephone system (Hence why they can't televote as you can't tell where they are voting from) What's to stop them televoting in the Italian vote
Phone voting from the start makes me think I might be able to persuade my non-fan friends to watch just parts of the TV shows and maybe vote - that lack of need to commit time and attention to the entire thing could actually hook people in more
Overall, I'm cautiously optimistic about these changes. I think the change regarding the Big 5 has been a long time coming personally, especially as I've always felt that going straight to the final has been more of a disadvantage to them. However, my only concern regarding this change is with them being interspersed between the songs competing in the semi finals. Would it not make it more difficult to qualify from the earlier running order spots, which already have less than desired qualification rates, with the addition of three more songs widening the time between their performances and the voting opening and the knowledge that the voting extension is something that is only being done for the final and not the semis. I really hope that the producers take this into consideration. I also think that opening the voting in the final earlier is a good idea too. With so many songs in the final, those in the earlier slots have always been greatly disadvantaged, especially with the televote. I think back to 2022 and the Czech entry which did really well in the semi, but ended up opening the final because they were the only real palatable upbeat song in the first half and the producers had no other option but to put them first. It will definitely be interesting to see the voting numbers and figures after the final. I just appreciate that the EBU and the producers seem to be aware that being early in the running order is a bit rubbish. Regarding Sweden, as the host country, opening the final, this is only the fifth time that this had happened. The last time it happened was in 1970 when the Netherlands opened. Its quite interesting that its took this long for it to happen again, 54 years to be exact.
yea thats a good point about the earlier songs being EVEN longer away from the end. i dont know what the solution for that is. unless theyre building up to the early voting eventually being used in the semis too
For the most part, I like the Big 5 and Host change, but would personally prefer they go either before or after the countries that are actually competing. My concern with the ROTW change is that the announcement implies that ROTW voting closes before the the first song in any show. From the announcement: "Online voting will open for the Rest of The World immediately after the second dress rehearsal for each Semi-Final and Grand Final has finished the previous night, and will stay open until the live shows begin." As for the main voting change, I'm not personally a fan, but I got used to the split voting, I'll probably get over this.
Yes, this will mark 20 years since semi finals were introduced in Eurovision. I’m actually doing a little study right now recording the instances where all countries were announced as the first qualifier, second, etc. to 10th qualifier, and then towing up to see how many times they’ve been announced as a particular numbered qualifier. I thought of that when I noticed that Sweden had announced as the eighth qualifier three years in a row for 2021, 2022, and 2023.
Not a fan of the changes. I like how the Big 5 actually perform in full now in the semi finals but I can already see people getting lost with them being halfway between actual entries people have to vote for! The voting opening from the very beginning in the GF will benefit opening entries but will skew the ones at the end as you have less time to vote for them. It’s kinda fishy they drew Sweden, the host nation and of Osterdahl’s home in 1st isn’t it?! Also, Tom, I see you in your Irish rugby shirt! Me and 10 members of my Irish extended family went to see the Ireland England game on Saturday! We all thought Ireland was gonna win until that drop kick by England at the very end!
I hope 2 things: - they don't put them in a spot that damages the song that follows or precedes. - they don't do an interview like they usually do with the artists (unless they interview everyone)
I like the fact the big 5 can perform in the semis. Unsure what the early voting will do and if it will change the outcome of the results by much i will be interested to see the numbers after the final and maybe you can do a vid on it. The rotw vote is so small i cant see that influencing much plus if they get to see all the performances from the semis they will not need to watch the final live.
just the winner unfortunately, I am very sad i didnt get to cover FdC this year, but i was just so behind this season because of spending so much time on copyright
@@ESCTom That’s alright! I don’t know much about it but I’m sure copyright was really annoying to deal with this year. I’d still encourage you to listen through the other songs if you have time, it ended up being quite a nice year! And btw, my personal favorite was Joao Borsch, but don’t let that bias you lol 😁
I understand you want to split the solo female artists in the semis, but the first three songs should be auto-qualifiers, as none of the competing countries wish to have those slots. This decision will allow all delegates to NOT blame the “first three curse” slot for their failure. Since Sweden wants the first slot in the grand final, they can have a practice at the semis.
Holy moly, the Katie Britt reference made me belly laugh. Totally caught me off-guard in the context of ESC! As you mentioned, this could be an awesome way to help address the death slots in the running order and I love, love, love that idea.
You're spot on with these I think! All very positive, especially the televote changes. I remember the disappointment I felt last year when Austria drew #1 so hopefully these changes will even it out a bit.
I like that the automatic qualifiers are now also performing in the semi. But i wonder how they will distinguish them from the countries that are actually competing u know. Like won't it get a little confusing for the normies?
To present the "big" 5 in the semis is a step in the right direction, I guess. The next logical step would be to fully include them in the competition for the grand final. Money shouldn't be more important than quality. To speak for my country: I know many Germans who lost interest in the ESC and to be honest: I think there would be no big difference for us between not qualifying or becoming last in the grand final. Not qualifying would rather feel less devastating and just more honest. If our entry is considered not good enough it should not take away a spot for one that is more deserving. We still could pay like we did before (as long as possible) and finally get out of an endless circle of frustration. May the other "big" ones make their own decisions, but come on... Italy is delivering quality every year, France is very popular at Eurovision and yes, Spain and the UK have their ups and downs but also have their fans. It's Germany that is really struggling in many ways and seriously: Eurovision is one of our smallest problems. (And I wished we could look forward to a joyful event without owning the label of the loser)
yea i agree with a lot of your points, but i think over time many Germans would get frustrated at the fact that they are probably the biggest financial contributor to the contest, but dont get to be in the final. I think its possible in a future where money just isnt an issue at all, but right now it is
@@ESCTom I get your point, Tom. But what about the possibility that not qualifying year after year could lead to real changes - like putting much more effort in finding competitive songs/artists. On the other hand - even if we go on like before - the system will have to change anyway because all those last places affect the general interest as I said. One way or the other: I don't believe that the German audience keep on watching ESC if we keep on failing. The party can't depend on Germany's money alone. We have become stuck that much ... there is a German saying like "you can't ride a dead horse" and our horse is really sick already.
While it’s a very worthy statement saying “money shouldn’t be more important that quality” the hard truth is that money does rule the roost! There would potentially be no Eurovision if it wasn’t for the big 5. Or it would be a lot smaller - then many fans would complain about that and the lack of ability to attend etc.
@@philipdobinson8275 If money is the only argument... it will just be a matter of time before Germany leaves the contest. Honestly: Why should we keep on paying for a party in which we are the one who regularly gets bullied and laughed at? (Our songs may not be great but they are not always the worst - even if this has become the verdict.)
I’m kind of surprised that the decision to have the big five and the host country perform in full at the semi finals hadn’t been done earlier. When I started watching your video, it never made sense to me to only have snippets of the prequalify shown, instead of having full performances. While I would’ve preferred to have the pre-qualifiers perform after all the semifinalists perform and during the interval, portion where the voting will happen, I have an idea of how to place the big five in Sweden in the running order that won’t disrupt too much or cause confusion. The first prequalifier should perform before the first semi finals, the second prequalifier should perform smack dab in the middle between the semifinal halves, and the last prequalified should perform after the final semifinalist.
Ha love the comment of Katie Britt. I do not think this is a big financial strain for Sweden though, not really. But maybe it would be easier to have it in Stockholm.
I think the big 5 in the semis is a good idea and I’m in favour of it but the voting from before the first song kicks off seems a bad idea because peoples vote ought to depend on the actual performance on the night. Imagine last year if people had voted for Mae Muller based on the song alone, then witnessed her car crash vocals. She would have finished much higher than she actually deserved. And with regards to Sweden, it’s still possible they could have rigged going up first, since they probably don’t want to risk having to host it next year as well so decided to take the shortest straw
I got this theory that Sweden is a secret 6th big sponsor, they just always are doing well while most of their songs just not worth it. It would also explain why Loreen became first with the jury's, but that's just my theory,
Literally that would explain it, as the song itself wasn't winning-worthy ;) Plus the fact the organizers wanted ESC to be in Sweden for Abba 50 year anniversary... As if next door here in Finland (where ESC *should* now be happening!) would have been too far away... :(
I think having the big 5 perfrom in the semis is great and something I've been hoping for a long time. However, imo they should be interval acts and not among the running order. I'm afraid this could confuse some casuals greatly when you can vote for some entries and some not. I'm curious to see how the producers will make it clear and understandable for people who are just casually enjoying the show, chatting and looking at their phone etc. 🤔 I hope votes aren't lost because people don't understand when you can vote and when you can't.
I live in America so I have never really been affected by the the Eurovision show being in the middle of the night and I voted 60 out of 60 times I could last year. However last year I was schuedled to work for a good fraction of Semi-Final 2 on Thursday and I had to change my schedule for that day to end earlier so I could watch the whole entire Semi-Final so I could get a good sense of who I wanted to vote for. Due to the new rule change for the Rest Of the World vote it really depends on when I am schedlued to work for that Thursday but my favorite song is in that semi-final and if this rule chnage works as it sounds I might vote early for the 2nd semi-final. Also this change combined with the voting starting from the beginning of the show combined with the big 5 in the semi-final just makes it easier for me to stick to my personal favorites with some slight changes in the final based on the semi-final performances and stagings.
Come on lighting! I love this lighting for you Tom! Im loving the changes with regards to having the Big 5 plus the Host country performing during the semi finals. Yes the Big 5 had a bit of a leg up in the competition previously, but they carry the competition in terms of costs, so its a deserved advantage. It doesnt change anything in the finals however as theyll be competing fair and square. Also it'll make the countries that invest less in the competition try harder with better songs and staging ideas, thus bunping up the quality of the songs. I like that idea.
Italy is big 5 but the 2022 Eurovision had so many technical difficulties, starting from the stage malfunction to the way it was filmed…they may have money but they’re certainly not the best with technology, camera work or hosting, so I’m not rooting for them to win again purely for that reason lol not sure about the others, although obviously the UK’s hosting was great
I gotta say that considering the BBCs budget they did seem to scrimp a bit on their hosting. That stage they used at Liverpool seemed like it had been built on a shoe string budget, not to mention certain deficiencies in sound quality and venue size. Although as a U.K. resident I never held out high hopes of the BBC been great hosts since, only once in a blue moon do they even have the skills to choose a decent entry
@@cultfiction3865The venue actually ended up being perfect - great location and the smaller size is much better for television! I think some fans forget that it’s a TV show, not a concert. The BBC used a lot of new lighting technology in the show. The stage design was of a more simple design but the BBC was also hosting on behalf of Ukraine so it wouldn’t have looked the best if it was an all crazy elaborate stage.
I would love for you to do a Big 5 video - be good to hear the arguments and hopefully put some of them to rest to a degree, or at least have a video you can point to when this discourse rears up again.
I don't mind big five giving performances at semis but to sprinkle them middle of the competing acts is just stupid in my oppinion. It might disturb audiences full attention from the competing acts that night.
Or confuse them in the voting process unless it is made very clear that you can’t vote for any of the pre-qualifiers in the semifinals. that’s why I think they should be performing after all the semifinalists perform during the voting. Period.
Thanks so much for the breakdown!! 😁 It's good to know from an expert about what the changes actually mean. I'm just wondering about Australia. Will they get to vote early along with the Rest of the world? 🤔
@@ESCTomGeez poor Aussies 😣 Perhaps if this goes well they will consider changing that for them. It's not like it gives the Australians an unfair advantage to vote early, they can't vote for themselves lol
Having the automatic qualifiers performing will confuse people at home voting and also takes away the attention that is giving to each of the semi-finalists, with that particular measure I dont agree with the EBU
@@ESCTom I forgot to add in my comment Tom that the ROW only voting until the beggining of each show its somehow unfair, there is not a level played field, in which the voters from each of the countries participating in the semi-finals can only see and vote in the live shows and the ROW voting only in a rehearsal, not the live show and beyond that having 24h to vote its not equal
I think it will be very confusing too. Especially putting them in between the others. They should at least be part of the interval act. Some people might try to vote for the big 5, then get confused as to why they can't and when it comes to the final, they may not bother voting, becos they tried in the semi and it didn't work.
I'm so glad to hear Sweden drew the first slot for the final 👏. That is amazing, considering that it was in a year when Sweden hosted that this unfair system of this producer-decision-based running order was introduced. I really don't care if 5 ballads are performed in a row. It's a competition, and knowing that there are unfavorable voting patterns for the first ones in the running order, it should be drawn as it was in the past.
Sweden's televote wasn't going to be very strong, in my opinion. Everyone's been saying that it's Benjamin Ingrosso all over again. I do like the addition of full performances by the auto-qualifiers. It means more UK viewers will watch semi 1 which can only be a good thing for Ireland.
i do worry that the average viewer will be confused watching the show, and having a song/country you can't vote for mixed into it, would have preferred them as an interval act instead, that way, it will be less confusing for the average viewer
I love LOVE that the voting opens right at the start, it's really nice to be able to vote for a performance while you're watching it. And while I do laugh at all the conspiracies I can tell you as someone who has worked at SVT for the past year that even some of my colleagues have been wearing a bit of tin foil about the whole running order thing. I don't work at melfest or in Stockholm so we're a bit seperated, but as many others SVT are trying to save money by making cuts and another win would throw the whole "save money" plan. Obviously they're not rigging it for failure, but even some people in the company have these theories 😅
Well, I've disliked nearly all the changes Sweden has made, e.g. the producer-decision-based running order, and I'm not the only one by far, so ;) (Not to mention they were NOT the deserving winners last year anyway, but won't go into that now.)
@@florenna do you not like the split points thing they did in 2016? Also they played completely fair and did deserve the win seeing as they dominated both jury and tele
Great rundown! I’m just a bit concerned that some great but maybe less buzzy acts could be negatively impacted by the vote timing change. Do you think that is unlikely? For instance if both Serbia and Portugal get through, I’m worried about Portugal which is so lovely but may not have a ton of advance buzz.
Let's see if you are hearing us, stand with us 🙂 Not sure if opening the lines from/before the start is a good thing for the performances, especially at later part of the show but also the show as a whole: the viewer-count (and advertising) could drop as a result of this?
I agree re Sweden being fab at eurovision (and that not being a bad thing) I watched melfest for the first time ever on Saturday and really enjoyed it, a very slick, high quality and organised show! When I first started watching Eurovision a Swedish song (Popular 2011) was one of my first ever favourites 👍🏾
Well, if they fear hosting so much, they shouldn't have rigged it last year... and given the trophy to one that actually deserved it. :( (Sorry, just a Finn here.)
Australian here! I actually love the whole vibe of getting up at 5am for the live show! It's become a real tradition, I get my favourite coffee, shower, put fresh comfy pjs on, then when the show is over we go for breakfast at one of our favourite cafes. Having the repeat at 7:30pm is a great option but I personally don't like it because it's more "commercial" SBS will play adverts, there is way too many backstage/behind the scene interviews and I can't stand the tweets that pop up on screen the entire time.
But I am naturally an early bird so again I probably am more alone when it comes to loving the 5am start ❤
It’s very weird to me having them dispersed through the actual competing entries. I think they should perform full live as an interval after all competing entries have gone.
I think opening the voting lines from the beginning is good for two reasons: the people who already have their favourites can give the votes earlier and just focus on enjoying the show. On the other hand, having the votes flow over a few hours instead of 30 minutes at the end eases the stress on the system collecting the votes. The risk of the voting lines getting clogged and some votes not going through is lowered this way, and there is more time for trouble shooting in case something happens.
yes, thats a great point! we dont need to worry about voting systems breaking down!
I dont think its a good thing that you can vote before even hear every song. The only reason why you can vote the entire show is that the song from Sweden starts the final.
@@matthijsblabla2498The voting system was announced before Sweden was drawn to open the show
@@matthijsblabla2498 didn’t it occurred to you that maybe the new voting procedure may have been in the works for a while before Sweden had drawn their grand final position slot and it’s more of an awkward coincidence that they’re both announced at the same time?
Yeah, being able to vote before the performance is BAD. Italy was my favorite when they hosted and then their performance just didn't deliver!
Having the automatic qualifers perform in the semis will be an interesting experiment and a treat for fans from the Big 5 countries to finally hear their songs in full twice. It will be interesting to see if the extra exposure affects voting. Ultimately, I don't believe it matters that much. A strong song will likely do well regardless.
I think it won't matter when it comes to voting, but as a German, it feels better to be part of the semis. Even if it isn't as a proper participant, I like that we won't be coming across as "distant" as in previous years. After all, Eurovision is about community. I really like this change!
@@emdove Yup. It feels like a win-win for everyone.
I think both Germany and France would’ve done better last year if their songs had been heard in the semis. Maybe even the UK as there might’ve been time to change how badly Mae’s sound came across on TV.
@@sweedie71 This. Lots of times there are sound issues in the semis that get fixed in the finals. For some reaons regular reshearsals aren't enough and it takes a televized performance to identify certain problems. He she had a full run through she probably would have sounded a lot better in the final.
It's a very good idea to present the songs of the big 5 at the semis ! It can bring (new?) people to watch the semis (I think about the fans of Slimane, or Olly...)
In Melodfestivalen voting for a LONG TIME has started before the first song is sung. It's a bit of a tradition of Sweden to make Eurovision more and more like Melodifestivalen every time they host. In 2016 they started giving out the Televote point from the bottom up, just like in Melodifestivalen.
I think it would be nice if the host always went first in the final, it would be like a welcome.
but it wouldnt be great if it was a ballad, or a bad song
I love this idea! No country needs to win two years in a row anyway 😄
Host countries should take one for the team and perform second in the running order 😂
I think it would be a good idea if the host country (which is usually the previous years winner), always takes the first song in the running order in the grand final. Let’s be honest, nobody wants to win Eurovision two years running as it costs so much, so it wouldn’t be such a big sacrifice
What do you think, Tom?
I think voting is a Tricky one.
I dont like the ROW vote starting Before the show starts I think it should be Based on the Performance on the night.
I haven't heard many songs yet cos I like to go into ESC blind to the song so id have more time to vote for an Earlier song
Thank you for pointing out that the Big 5 can be used to take less favourable spots and help mixing up the flow of performances.
I didn’t even consider that. 😄
You cant leave us with a cliffhanger like that!!!
Havinv big 5 perform in semi's makes sense but I would prefer them all together at start or end. I think the casual viewer will be very confused being told they cant vote for songs 1, 7 and 14 for example.
i think they just explain it and then they can back it up in the graphics as well
Thank you!
Thank you so much MsCanth! ❤️
You raise a good point about the EBU wanting the Big Five to win more often, so that the bigger broadcasters with more money could host. I never thought about it that way!
I'm happy that the Big Five are going to perform in the finals. It should redeem the disadvantage of them only performing once, while the other countries all get to perform twice. It also means the Big Five will have twice as many rehearsals that the audience will get to view. I'm going to the Malmö Arena during one of the semifinal 1 rehearsals, so I'll get to see the UK, Germany, and Sweden's songs live.
Also, I love the rest of the world vote and the expansions it'll have this year, because it now proves that Eurovision is designed to appeal to the entire world. Makes me feel less weird about being so obsessed, as an American fan.
I keep hearing conflicting information about whether ROTW voting closes before the show. The press release makes it sound that way, but other sources says that's not the case. REALLY hoping for clarification from EBU because I don't want to vote before the show unless I have to. I live in the US, a Saturday afternoon watching and voting is perfectly reasonable for me lol
ROTW gets two voting periods, 1 x 24 hrs before the show and then another one during the show
yea my guess is that its an extended voting period, not just one before the show, that would seem counter intuitive
To save time, Olly's Dizzy spinning thing and his brown sand/soil can stay on the stage for Georgia becos the videos share these common themes. And Besa seems to be spinning around too. Windows 95 Man can pass his socks and sandals straight over to the tourist in the Greek song, if they use him on stage.
😂
Wind95 and Zari is the crossover I need
I'm afraid that it's going to be confusing for viewers that there are performances in the show whom viewers can't vote.
I love the being able to vote early! Here in California Eurovision comes on Mid-day, when everyone is at work so I usually watch at work and get stressed out when it comes to voting because if I can't take my lunch at that time, I miss out on voting!
The 5 FIVE in the semis is a cool idea. I 'm all for it.
The ROTW vote thing is also cool.
The early televoting is quite debatable. Is there any limit on how many times each voter can vote for the same song? Can people vote for a song before the time it's presented?
If the answer to both is no, it would be very unfair for the ones to appear late.
If at least one of the questions gets a yes, that's kinda ok.
I also want Eurovision to keep going but despair is not a great advisor. Certain participations can bring more loss than gain. I m very worried this year. I m trying to hope that political controversies won't hurt Eurovision too much.
There are 20 votes to cast as normal, you could send those 20 votes all to the same song or split them between multiple songs
I like that the big 5 is performing in the semis. But I think they should perform at the end. Not in between songs, that might be confusing for the casual viewer
Yeah and give a disadvantege to the first half
@@TheodorSjolanderlol. There are only 15/16 songs in the semifinals. There are no advantages or disadvantages on any spot. Songs from both halves have qualified equally
Do the songs performing last now have a disadvantage? If a favourite performs early and the public casts its votes before the last acts even make their way onto the stage…..
definitely not, dont worry
maybe i'll warm to the idea of splicing the automatic qualifier songs into the running order selection when i see it. on paper, it sounds kinda jarring but maybe it won't matter if it flows okay from one song to the next. i do like that we'll see their performances in their entirety though. should build some hype for them for the final.
But what if everyone voted for the first ten countries and then the countries later in the (semi) final will get no points?
i think most people will still wait until the end to vote
I still don’t understand about the big 5. Can you explain it again and again and again?
when do we know the semi runningorders?
My concern with voting opening from the start of the show is that people will use up all their votes before they have seen all the competing songs, unjustly disadvantaging those late in the Running Order. They could solve this by locking how often you can vote before the first recap - maybe only being able to use half your votes - or by giving everyone enough votes to vote once for each performance (26 votes for the 26 finalists, 15 votes for the 15 semi finalists). My other concern is with the Automatic Qualifiers performing BETWEEN the semi finalists. I am unsure how they are going to clarify the televote cannot vote for these countries as they are already automatically qualified, I fear some people will try to vote for these automatic qualifiers instead of the semi finalists who need the votes to qualify. They really could’ve been shown together at the end, just live and in full.
As An Australian I think your point about the rest of the world votes being open 24hrs before hand is all well and good but Australia is competing so If we still have to get up at stupid o'clock or not vote. I like what Junior Eurovision did and allowed everyone to vote 48h before the contest I wouldn't mind half that (so open them 24h before the contest) in both Adult and Junior Eurovision because I think 48 is too much because In Junior Eurovision I think we are seeing that the Jury Vote matters more because the Televote is a lot closer (I'm Pretty sure Zoé ended up winning both the Jury and Televote anyway) but I think 24h is enough but For everyone. I guess It would be harder to implement because in Junior Eurovision Televoters can vote for there own country if its competing but you cant in the Adult contest and If someone wanted to vote for there own country it would be hard to implement anything.
But a lot of good changes and I reckon the Pros outway the Cons
Would opening lines at the start of the show also help the broadcasters? Every year, there's always something about the lines getting clogged so this might alleviate it?
yep thats another potential advantage
So do we now get a shorter interval if the voting doesn’t need to remain open as long after the final act? Sweden/EBU planned to shave an hour off the show. It would be amazing to lose it off the interval instead losing parts that we really enjoy like the opening, the flag parade and the voting. I’m all for this!
Perhaps this is a way to shorten the show to have the voting open for longer period and cut down the bloated parts, especially the interval acts. That part goes on way too long.
I also would love this. Tbh I often tune out of the interval
Voting closes 25 mins after the final song is performed, so pretty sure intervals will stay the same length. It has been said that the final will only be 5 mins shorter this year
@@sav0001 thank you. Honestly I’m kind of relieved. One hour less was going to mean some brutal cuts.
my only question is, when they gonna say the phrase "europe start voting now!" then? 🥺😄
haha yep i think so
Let the Eurovision Song Contest begin.... And start voting now ! 😉
Great to see a fellow Irishman that loves Eurovision. My dream would be to see an Irish entry that is pop but in Irish and a bit of English, that would have a good chance.
The voting from the start of the show is only in the GF, nothing changes for the Semis. I'm fine with it because at that point we've already seen all the performances.
Thank you for a very interesting video! I love that we can finally see the Big 5 and winner performing in the semi-finals, my country is one of the big 5 and I always had to wait to see the full song and the staging, that's a really nice change!
Regarding opening the voting at the beginning, would you think it's possible that it actually has the opposite effect, boosting songs performing in the first half and at the expenses of songs in the second half, at least considering votes coming from more casual viewers? I would imagine that Eurovision fans who already know the songs and have their favourites would not be affected, they would vote for their favourites regardless of the position, but for those who watch the songs for the first or second time, they might start voting as soon as they hear something they like and run out of votes befose all songs are performed, even if maybe songs they would also vote for come afterwards in the running order. Is that a possibility?
Can’t they just make the first 10 songs longer on the recap? That might be a more smooth transition xx
honestly ive suggested that before but i dont really think it would make a difference
Overall very positive changes I love that the big 5 get to perform in the semis now and like you say it's a good thing for the producers.
I'm still confused about the voting. People are being encouraged to vote BEFORE even seeing the acts? Now if turn on Eurovision on Saturday and don't know any of the songs (and therefore won't vote until I see one I like), how is ithis NOT an unfair advantage for those songs performed near the top of the program? OMG, I'm surprised you heard about Katie Britt! lol
By the time the Early Voting is available at the Grand Final, all the acts would've been watched already at the Semi-Finals 😊.
It doesn't matter in terms of votes for the entries. It only means the EBU will get more money from voting. By the time you get to song 16 most people aren't going to remember the songs that performed 1-6 anyway.
@@abbyroed We don't expect the juries to have already made up their minds before watching the acts, so why should the public be encouraged to do that?. We've all seen acts before that did great in the semis .but underperformed or chokeed in the Grand Final. We've seen props and sets malfunction and heard voices crack or go off key.
BRIVIDI was my FAVORITE song going into the Finals in 2022..If given the chance back then, I might have voted for them ahead of time. .But after watchinng Italy's underwhelming performance in the Final, I would NOT have voted for them. I LOVE the song, but the performance, the harmonies, and the staging that evening were too sloppy and deficient.
One of the best parts about Eurovision is watching acts -that few people expected to do well--rise to the occasion in the Grand Final and crush the competition. Moldova and Serbia in 2022 got huge scores from the public, and primarily because of how they both performed THAT EVENING in the Finals. But hardly anyone would've been pre-voting for Moldova.in 2022- they barely made it out of the semis. This new voting system won't do acts like these any favors. .
@@trao1938 I see your point, and would stress that the general public doesn't know that what we watch on television is kinda pre-recorded as the acts have to perform about three times on the day of the Semis and Grand Final and what we are shown on TV is the best take. The Juries witness their own performance so they have voted already by the time the show airs. Meaning they are not voting in realtime. An audience member is now given the option to vote early based on what they witnessed in the semis which the Grand Final performance should be of equal or greater quality to the Semi performance; or they can vote in realtime. You watch it and vote or don't vote based on what you just watched. I think it's a great option for us busy people and international voters. 😊 It's just more convenient, it's practical.
About the big 5, I'm actually really curious what would happen if another country decided they want to give more money than italy for example, what would then happen? 😂 or if germany decided that f*** this we ain't paying anymore. Would another country replace it so will it always be just 5 countries, no more, no less or what would happen in these scenarios
I have an idea: make Sweden part of Big 5/6, they are always such jury pets anyway! :D
Opening the voting lines may be good thing. The fact that it only lasted for 2 years suggests that it may not work.
Their reasoning for removing it in 2012 was that the amount of voters that voted during the performances was very small, and most viewers still waited until all countries had performed. During those two years, #22 and #19 won the televoting (the latter by just two points, but still) so countries performing late were still favoured here.
This is all interesting, but the most important change I wanted to see in voting system is to be *rid of juries,* or at least lessen their power, and this is apparently not happening? 😟😢 So no cheers from me until that happens, lol. Not sure about voting lines in semis being open all through, as like you said it doesn't make much difference anyway, neither about ROW voting in advance, as they wouldn't even have seen the performances, so they'll only vote for the country in question, not the actual entry...? And I'm in the school that feels it's unfair to give even more screen time for automatic qualifiers, since their automatic qualification is unfair anyway. So Sweden getting nr 1 slot is about the only good piece of news of these 😅 Why weren't all of these news announced on the Eurovision official site, BTW, only Sweden drawing their slot yesterday..?
They were; all of this news is on the website
@@sav0001 No, it isn't actually - just have a look, only the Sweden drawing 1st ;)
I've wondered about Italy getting to vote on the half with San Marino in. As San Marino uses the Italian phone system it feels wrong. It feels like San Marino could rig 12 points from Italy. Not that they would, just opens up the possibility
San Marino dont have a televote, its an aggregation from other countries in the area's televote
@@ESCTom But if they use the italian phone system what's to stop them voting in the italian vote?
San Marino don’t get a televote
@@shyman2012 You misunderstand. Italy do get a televote, and they are voting in San Marino's half. If San Marino use the italian telephone system (Hence why they can't televote as you can't tell where they are voting from) What's to stop them televoting in the Italian vote
Phone voting from the start makes me think I might be able to persuade my non-fan friends to watch just parts of the TV shows and maybe vote - that lack of need to commit time and attention to the entire thing could actually hook people in more
The voting lines are only opening at the start of the grand final though! So Reiley wouldn’t benefit haha
Happy St. Patrick’s Day 😊🎉☘️🎵🌈❤
Overall, I'm cautiously optimistic about these changes. I think the change regarding the Big 5 has been a long time coming personally, especially as I've always felt that going straight to the final has been more of a disadvantage to them. However, my only concern regarding this change is with them being interspersed between the songs competing in the semi finals. Would it not make it more difficult to qualify from the earlier running order spots, which already have less than desired qualification rates, with the addition of three more songs widening the time between their performances and the voting opening and the knowledge that the voting extension is something that is only being done for the final and not the semis. I really hope that the producers take this into consideration.
I also think that opening the voting in the final earlier is a good idea too. With so many songs in the final, those in the earlier slots have always been greatly disadvantaged, especially with the televote. I think back to 2022 and the Czech entry which did really well in the semi, but ended up opening the final because they were the only real palatable upbeat song in the first half and the producers had no other option but to put them first. It will definitely be interesting to see the voting numbers and figures after the final. I just appreciate that the EBU and the producers seem to be aware that being early in the running order is a bit rubbish.
Regarding Sweden, as the host country, opening the final, this is only the fifth time that this had happened. The last time it happened was in 1970 when the Netherlands opened. Its quite interesting that its took this long for it to happen again, 54 years to be exact.
yea thats a good point about the earlier songs being EVEN longer away from the end. i dont know what the solution for that is. unless theyre building up to the early voting eventually being used in the semis too
It makes SF1 into a 18 song semi for example, which was a common number in previous years
For the most part, I like the Big 5 and Host change, but would personally prefer they go either before or after the countries that are actually competing. My concern with the ROTW change is that the announcement implies that ROTW voting closes before the the first song in any show.
From the announcement: "Online voting will open for the Rest of The World immediately after the second dress rehearsal for each Semi-Final and Grand Final has finished the previous night, and will stay open until the live shows begin."
As for the main voting change, I'm not personally a fan, but I got used to the split voting, I'll probably get over this.
ROTW gets two voting periods, 24 hrs before the live shows and then again during the shows
This year semifinals celebrate 20 years, the 1st being in 2004.
Yes, this will mark 20 years since semi finals were introduced in Eurovision. I’m actually doing a little study right now recording the instances where all countries were announced as the first qualifier, second, etc. to 10th qualifier, and then towing up to see how many times they’ve been announced as a particular numbered qualifier. I thought of that when I noticed that Sweden had announced as the eighth qualifier three years in a row for 2021, 2022, and 2023.
Greetings from Bosnia... We just don't have money (or our broadcasting service doesn't). But it's not just that. It's more about (our inner) politics.
It came back like 2010 and 2011 when the voting started in the beginning !
Not a fan of the changes. I like how the Big 5 actually perform in full now in the semi finals but I can already see people getting lost with them being halfway between actual entries people have to vote for! The voting opening from the very beginning in the GF will benefit opening entries but will skew the ones at the end as you have less time to vote for them. It’s kinda fishy they drew Sweden, the host nation and of Osterdahl’s home in 1st isn’t it?!
Also, Tom, I see you in your Irish rugby shirt! Me and 10 members of my Irish extended family went to see the Ireland England game on Saturday! We all thought Ireland was gonna win until that drop kick by England at the very end!
I hope 2 things:
- they don't put them in a spot that damages the song that follows or precedes.
- they don't do an interview like they usually do with the artists (unless they interview everyone)
i would guess that this means that they are cutting out the interview now
I like the fact the big 5 can perform in the semis. Unsure what the early voting will do and if it will change the outcome of the results by much i will be interested to see the numbers after the final and maybe you can do a vid on it. The rotw vote is so small i cant see that influencing much plus if they get to see all the performances from the semis they will not need to watch the final live.
yep i will def be looking at the effect of this in my analysis videos after the final
But... 24 hours slot does not affect Australia?... They should be included into same slot
i dont think they are, but i agree that they should
Hey Tom! Great info here! Also just wondering, are you still planning on doing an FdC reaction or will you just be reacting to the winner?
just the winner unfortunately, I am very sad i didnt get to cover FdC this year, but i was just so behind this season because of spending so much time on copyright
@@ESCTom That’s alright! I don’t know much about it but I’m sure copyright was really annoying to deal with this year. I’d still encourage you to listen through the other songs if you have time, it ended up being quite a nice year! And btw, my personal favorite was Joao Borsch, but don’t let that bias you lol 😁
I understand you want to split the solo female artists in the semis, but the first three songs should be auto-qualifiers, as none of the competing countries wish to have those slots.
This decision will allow all delegates to NOT blame the “first three curse” slot for their failure.
Since Sweden wants the first slot in the grand final, they can have a practice at the semis.
Holy moly, the Katie Britt reference made me belly laugh. Totally caught me off-guard in the context of ESC! As you mentioned, this could be an awesome way to help address the death slots in the running order and I love, love, love that idea.
Lol that wasn’t planned. I just did my setup and realised that it looked kinda similar to her empty kitchen 😂
You're spot on with these I think! All very positive, especially the televote changes. I remember the disappointment I felt last year when Austria drew #1 so hopefully these changes will even it out a bit.
yea austria getting #1 last year was really disappointing
I like that the automatic qualifiers are now also performing in the semi. But i wonder how they will distinguish them from the countries that are actually competing u know. Like won't it get a little confusing for the normies?
not if SVT explain it clearly, if the communication is good in the script and the graphics, nobody will be confused
Tom
Excellent video as ever.
To present the "big" 5 in the semis is a step in the right direction, I guess. The next logical step would be to fully include them in the competition for the grand final. Money shouldn't be more important than quality. To speak for my country: I know many Germans who lost interest in the ESC and to be honest: I think there would be no big difference for us between not qualifying or becoming last in the grand final. Not qualifying would rather feel less devastating and just more honest. If our entry is considered not good enough it should not take away a spot for one that is more deserving. We still could pay like we did before (as long as possible) and finally get out of an endless circle of frustration.
May the other "big" ones make their own decisions, but come on... Italy is delivering quality every year, France is very popular at Eurovision and yes, Spain and the UK have their ups and downs but also have their fans. It's Germany that is really struggling in many ways and seriously: Eurovision is one of our smallest problems. (And I wished we could look forward to a joyful event without owning the label of the loser)
yea i agree with a lot of your points, but i think over time many Germans would get frustrated at the fact that they are probably the biggest financial contributor to the contest, but dont get to be in the final.
I think its possible in a future where money just isnt an issue at all, but right now it is
@@ESCTom I get your point, Tom. But what about the possibility that not qualifying year after year could lead to real changes - like putting much more effort in finding competitive songs/artists. On the other hand - even if we go on like before - the system will have to change anyway because all those last places affect the general interest as I said. One way or the other: I don't believe that the German audience keep on watching ESC if we keep on failing. The party can't depend on Germany's money alone. We have become stuck that much ... there is a German saying like "you can't ride a dead horse" and our horse is really sick already.
While it’s a very worthy statement saying “money shouldn’t be more important that quality” the hard truth is that money does rule the roost! There would potentially be no Eurovision if it wasn’t for the big 5. Or it would be a lot smaller - then many fans would complain about that and the lack of ability to attend etc.
@@philipdobinson8275 If money is the only argument... it will just be a matter of time before Germany leaves the contest. Honestly: Why should we keep on paying for a party in which we are the one who regularly gets bullied and laughed at? (Our songs may not be great but they are not always the worst - even if this has become the verdict.)
I’m kind of surprised that the decision to have the big five and the host country perform in full at the semi finals hadn’t been done earlier. When I started watching your video, it never made sense to me to only have snippets of the prequalify shown, instead of having full performances.
While I would’ve preferred to have the pre-qualifiers perform after all the semifinalists perform and during the interval, portion where the voting will happen, I have an idea of how to place the big five in Sweden in the running order that won’t disrupt too much or cause confusion. The first prequalifier should perform before the first semi finals, the second prequalifier should perform smack dab in the middle between the semifinal halves, and the last prequalified should perform after the final semifinalist.
Ha love the comment of Katie Britt. I do not think this is a big financial strain for Sweden though, not really. But maybe it would be easier to have it in Stockholm.
I think the big 5 in the semis is a good idea and I’m in favour of it but the voting from before the first song kicks off seems a bad idea because peoples vote ought to depend on the actual performance on the night. Imagine last year if people had voted for Mae Muller based on the song alone, then witnessed her car crash vocals. She would have finished much higher than she actually deserved.
And with regards to Sweden, it’s still possible they could have rigged going up first, since they probably don’t want to risk having to host it next year as well so decided to take the shortest straw
I got this theory that Sweden is a secret 6th big sponsor, they just always are doing well while most of their songs just not worth it. It would also explain why Loreen became first with the jury's, but that's just my theory,
Literally that would explain it, as the song itself wasn't winning-worthy ;) Plus the fact the organizers wanted ESC to be in Sweden for Abba 50 year anniversary... As if next door here in Finland (where ESC *should* now be happening!) would have been too far away... :(
I think having the big 5 perfrom in the semis is great and something I've been hoping for a long time. However, imo they should be interval acts and not among the running order. I'm afraid this could confuse some casuals greatly when you can vote for some entries and some not. I'm curious to see how the producers will make it clear and understandable for people who are just casually enjoying the show, chatting and looking at their phone etc. 🤔 I hope votes aren't lost because people don't understand when you can vote and when you can't.
I live in America so I have never really been affected by the the Eurovision show being in the middle of the night and I voted 60 out of 60 times I could last year. However last year I was schuedled to work for a good fraction of Semi-Final 2 on Thursday and I had to change my schedule for that day to end earlier so I could watch the whole entire Semi-Final so I could get a good sense of who I wanted to vote for. Due to the new rule change for the Rest Of the World vote it really depends on when I am schedlued to work for that Thursday but my favorite song is in that semi-final and if this rule chnage works as it sounds I might vote early for the 2nd semi-final.
Also this change combined with the voting starting from the beginning of the show combined with the big 5 in the semi-final just makes it easier for me to stick to my personal favorites with some slight changes in the final based on the semi-final performances and stagings.
What’s your favorite song? Semi final 2 has so many of my favs this year but my number one is The Code by Nemo 😋
@@jordanwilson6490 Norway.
I love your videos! I check daily if you put put a new video. My favorite Eurovision creator.
Thank you 🙏🏻
Come on lighting! I love this lighting for you Tom!
Im loving the changes with regards to having the Big 5 plus the Host country performing during the semi finals.
Yes the Big 5 had a bit of a leg up in the competition previously, but they carry the competition in terms of costs, so its a deserved advantage. It doesnt change anything in the finals however as theyll be competing fair and square.
Also it'll make the countries that invest less in the competition try harder with better songs and staging ideas, thus bunping up the quality of the songs. I like that idea.
lol finally some decent lighting for me 💡😂
you used a word "balls" way too many times, my friend 😂
Hopefully the 24h voting does include Australia.
Strategically these are all smart moves-curious to see how it all play out!
Italy is big 5 but the 2022 Eurovision had so many technical difficulties, starting from the stage malfunction to the way it was filmed…they may have money but they’re certainly not the best with technology, camera work or hosting, so I’m not rooting for them to win again purely for that reason lol not sure about the others, although obviously the UK’s hosting was great
France is ready and showed it twice with the JESC.
Ironically, Italy is often the only big 5 country that has a chance of winning.
I gotta say that considering the BBCs budget they did seem to scrimp a bit on their hosting. That stage they used at Liverpool seemed like it had been built on a shoe string budget, not to mention certain deficiencies in sound quality and venue size. Although as a U.K. resident I never held out high hopes of the BBC been great hosts since, only once in a blue moon do they even have the skills to choose a decent entry
@@cultfiction3865The venue actually ended up being perfect - great location and the smaller size is much better for television! I think some fans forget that it’s a TV show, not a concert. The BBC used a lot of new lighting technology in the show. The stage design was of a more simple design but the BBC was also hosting on behalf of Ukraine so it wouldn’t have looked the best if it was an all crazy elaborate stage.
When we gonna know semifinals running order?
Probably in a few weeks. First we need armenia and Azerbaijan’s song out.
Yeah, the running orders usually come out in late March (ever since the producer-decided running order was implemented) :)
Last year they came out March 23rd, so expect them around then
Kinda hyped for these changes, great update as ever :)
Putting big 5 and Sweden beetwen acts is a bad idea. They should perform after 15 acts
I would love for you to do a Big 5 video - be good to hear the arguments and hopefully put some of them to rest to a degree, or at least have a video you can point to when this discourse rears up again.
I'm actually sooo happy that i can vote 24 hours earlier
I don't mind big five giving performances at semis but to sprinkle them middle of the competing acts is just stupid in my oppinion. It might disturb audiences full attention from the competing acts that night.
Or confuse them in the voting process unless it is made very clear that you can’t vote for any of the pre-qualifiers in the semifinals. that’s why I think they should be performing after all the semifinalists perform during the voting. Period.
Thanks so much for the breakdown!! 😁 It's good to know from an expert about what the changes actually mean. I'm just wondering about Australia. Will they get to vote early along with the Rest of the world? 🤔
no, they wont, so itll still be the hardcore fans voting for Austrlia
@@ESCTomGeez poor Aussies 😣 Perhaps if this goes well they will consider changing that for them. It's not like it gives the Australians an unfair advantage to vote early, they can't vote for themselves lol
Having the automatic qualifiers performing will confuse people at home voting and also takes away the attention that is giving to each of the semi-finalists, with that particular measure I dont agree with the EBU
i dont think itll be confusing if its introduced clearly. Which i 100% trust SVT to do
@@ESCTom I forgot to add in my comment Tom that the ROW only voting until the beggining of each show its somehow unfair, there is not a level played field, in which the voters from each of the countries participating in the semi-finals can only see and vote in the live shows and the ROW voting only in a rehearsal, not the live show and beyond that having 24h to vote its not equal
I think it will be very confusing too. Especially putting them in between the others. They should at least be part of the interval act. Some people might try to vote for the big 5, then get confused as to why they can't and when it comes to the final, they may not bother voting, becos they tried in the semi and it didn't work.
I'm so glad to hear Sweden drew the first slot for the final 👏. That is amazing, considering that it was in a year when Sweden hosted that this unfair system of this producer-decision-based running order was introduced. I really don't care if 5 ballads are performed in a row. It's a competition, and knowing that there are unfavorable voting patterns for the first ones in the running order, it should be drawn as it was in the past.
You might not care but the producers and sponsors do, having 5 ballads in a row will lead to viewers tuning out and therefore less money for the EBU.
Sweden's televote wasn't going to be very strong, in my opinion. Everyone's been saying that it's Benjamin Ingrosso all over again. I do like the addition of full performances by the auto-qualifiers. It means more UK viewers will watch semi 1 which can only be a good thing for Ireland.
Euro fans have been saying it, that doesn't mean casual viewers who make up the majority of the viewing public will feel the same way
@@sav0001 of course not.
I am very very excited to see Nebulossa! I can’t wait to chant “Zorra Zorra Zorra!” with everyone in the arena.
Not the Katie Britt reference 😭 my country is a hellhole fr
pleeeeeeease tell me that you saw Scarlett johansson's impersonation. it was AMAZING
@ESCTom I'm so behind on SNL but I'll watch the sketch soon lmaooo
its absolutely brilliant, ive watched it like 5 times.
ruclips.net/video/cCfLpuLdF8Q/видео.html
it starts at 2:25
@ESCTom I'm not a huge Scarjo fan but DAMN she nailed that and I'm laughing so hard
13:06 Australia isn’t rotw though 😭😭
ah yea, thats actually a very unfortunate point. I guess the Aussie televote is gonna stay with the hardcore fans then
@@ESCTommore power for me haha
i do worry that the average viewer will be confused watching the show, and having a song/country you can't vote for mixed into it, would have preferred them as an interval act instead, that way, it will be less confusing for the average viewer
i think they can explain it clearly in 30 seconds. also the commentators can clear it up as well
im fine with the changes
green look great on you Tom!
❤️
I love LOVE that the voting opens right at the start, it's really nice to be able to vote for a performance while you're watching it. And while I do laugh at all the conspiracies I can tell you as someone who has worked at SVT for the past year that even some of my colleagues have been wearing a bit of tin foil about the whole running order thing. I don't work at melfest or in Stockholm so we're a bit seperated, but as many others SVT are trying to save money by making cuts and another win would throw the whole "save money" plan. Obviously they're not rigging it for failure, but even some people in the company have these theories 😅
I like how every time Sweden hosts they make big changes
And they’re good changes too
@@ESCTom exactly! Like I’ll always be happy if Sweden wins because it means we’re going to get some much needed changes
Well, I've disliked nearly all the changes Sweden has made, e.g. the producer-decision-based running order, and I'm not the only one by far, so ;) (Not to mention they were NOT the deserving winners last year anyway, but won't go into that now.)
@@florenna do you not like the split points thing they did in 2016? Also they played completely fair and did deserve the win seeing as they dominated both jury and tele
When are you reviewing the Israeli entry? Can’t wait to hear your thought….
Great rundown! I’m just a bit concerned that some great but maybe less buzzy acts could be negatively impacted by the vote timing change. Do you think that is unlikely? For instance if both Serbia and Portugal get through, I’m worried about Portugal which is so lovely but may not have a ton of advance buzz.
Thank you for this video, Tom. It’s helped me understand all the changes better
Goh, tis een hele uitzoekerij......belangrijk ook
Thank you for that informative video. Still waiting for your reaction to the Israeli song 🙂
me too, love from the UK ❤
I'm just patiently waiting for your reaction to Greece's song 😅🎉
I’m doing it this morning. I’m very excited!
@@ESCTom 🎲🫶🇬🇷
All good, positive news to me!
thanks for the video, do you think the next scoreboard update will be after all songs are released?
No I filmed it this morning. I’m editing it now
@@ESCTom ok, looking forward to it 🎉
Defo good news for Italy ,
Let's see if you are hearing us, stand with us 🙂
Not sure if opening the lines from/before the start is a good thing for the performances, especially at later part of the show but also the show as a whole: the viewer-count (and advertising) could drop as a result of this?
I agree re Sweden being fab at eurovision (and that not being a bad thing) I watched melfest for the first time ever on Saturday and really enjoyed it, a very slick, high quality and organised show! When I first started watching Eurovision a Swedish song (Popular 2011) was one of my first ever favourites 👍🏾
Or 1 is the best if you really don’t want to host next year
Yep. Although a host hasn’t won since 1993 so it’s not like any host is really at risk of winning
They might win from 1 with the new voting changes…. Conspiracy!!!!
Well, if they fear hosting so much, they shouldn't have rigged it last year... and given the trophy to one that actually deserved it. :( (Sorry, just a Finn here.)