RTVSLO, the Slovenian national broadcaster, has confirmed that semi-finals will be re-introduced to the country’s national selection for the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest.

Since the introduction of the Slovenian national selection, EMA (Evrovizijska Melodija) has seen numerous changes within the format to find the best selection process for the country.

EMA 2017 changes

Having alternated between semi-finals and just one Grand Final of the contest, RTVSLO has decided to revert back to the introduction of 2 semi-finals for the 2017 competition, in which a total of 16 acts will compete in the selection.

Each semi-final, a total of 8 acts will compete for a place in the Grand Final of EMA 2017 with 4 entries qualifying from each show; 2 qualifiers will be determined via a public televote with a further 2 acts being selected via a jury.

With 8 acts competing in the Grand Final, the winner of the selection and the Slovenian representative at the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest will be determined via a 50/50 televote/jury vote with the jury consisting of 6 regional members.

Total points given in EMA 2017

• Televote: 12 points to 6th place, 24 points to 5th place, 36 points to 4th place, 48 points to 3rd place, 60 points to 2nd place, 72 points to 1st place.
• Jury (per member): 2 points to 6th place, 4 points to 5th place, 6 points to 4th place, 8 points to 3rd place, 10 points to 2nd place, 12 points to 1st place.

The competing EMA 2017 acts are set to be revealed tomorrow in a segment on the television show Vikend paket.

Slovenia is looking to compete in the Grand Final of the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest following their non-qualification in the 2016 contest. The country last qualified in 2015 with Maraaya and their entry Here for you, finishing in 14th place in the Grand Final with a total of 39 points.