With such a big announcement this week regarding changes to the Eurovision Song Contest, it is not surprising that fans have been particularly vocal in their views about the two semi-final plan and jury vote idea, as revealed by esctoday.com. Already several myths are engrossing the fans� communities and in this have your say article, I hope to put forward a clearer view as to why I am backing the EBU�s plans.
The reason that we need two semi finals is simple: There are more European states now than there were in the 1950s-1980s. The Eurovision Song Contest was born out of a movement to promote peace and cultural respect throughout Europe in the aftermath of a bloody war. Embracing Europe’s new countries, several of whom fought wars to achieve their independence and nationhood, is absolutely in line with the ethics of the event and these countries cannot and should not be denied the right to compete.
It became apparent this year that the semi final, with 28 competing songs, was simply too long. Whilst fans of the Eurovision Song Contest enjoyed the event, a three hour long show without the voting at the end was simply too long to hold viewers' interest in the main. This is not the MTV awards, where people can watch several of their favourite acts that they know and listen to regularly, with star after star to keep them interested. Whilst fans of the competition know every song in advance of the live event, the vast majority of viewers have no previous knowledge of the entrants and must be engaged throughout the show for it to be successful.
The EBU recognised that the Eurovision Song Contest needed to change once again to protect its future. In one move, they have tried to tackle the issue of neighbourly / diaspora voting and increase the likelihood of the show’s success in as many countries as possible. If the EBU does not take decisions that may be unpopular with fans initially, they risk losing the show’s overall popularity with the wider audience. If that occurs, fans’ will have no competition left to argue about.
Whether you agree or disagree with the EBU’s plans for changing the Contest, and it must be remembered that these changes are based on very strong opinions of certain participating broadcasters, as well as ratings, finances and fans’ opinions, the EBU and the fans have something clear in common: To protect the Eurovision Song Contest and ensure it’s longevity.
Holding the two semi finals as live shows on different nights has a wide range of problems, including costs, increased rehearsal time, more live links with all the technical problems and issues that entails and taking up more of each broadcaster’s programming time – which many would like to avoid. Broadcasters will be able to opt in to broadcasting the semi final that they do not compete in. On television, the difference between a live and pre-recorded show will not be noticable, and the results will still be broadcast live.
Viewers will only be able to vote on the semi final that their country participates in a move clearly taken to reduce the impact of block voting and diaspora voting in the semi finals to ensure that a fair line-up of finalists is achieved. Whilst fans may feel aggrieved that they will possibly be denied the chance to watch the other semi final, that is something for their own national broadcaster to determine. The EBU have tried to take steps to appease the fans by providing both semi finals on eurovision.tv. It is therefore an issue for the national broadcasters to air the shows on their television channel.
Whilst the finer details of the plans are awaited with anticipation, the reasons for the changes are clear and in the wider picture, very much justified.
Have your say!
Do you agree or disagree with these views? Do you think the EBU has got it wrong? What else can be done to satisfy broadcasters and fans? What other ways could the EBU find to reduce the effect of political/neighbourly/diaspora voting? Have your say in the reactions section below (Remember, you have to be a registered member of the site to post reactions).
