Mari Pudas
The changes in Eurovision rules are proof of the Swedes’ skill, writes journalist Mari Pudas.
Norwegian twins Marcus and Martinus will represent Sweden at Eurovision in Malmö. CLAUDIO BRESCIANI
The surprising rule changes of Eurovision were announced today. The first change concerns the fact that the five major sponsoring countries and the organizing country, Sweden, appear in the semi-finals, even though they automatically qualify for the final. This has not been the case before.
The second, and the more interesting change concerns voting in the final. Usually, the voting has only started when all the presentations have been seen. This has especially favored the artists performing in the second half of the long final broadcast, when their songs are still fresh in mind. The performances of Alkupää artists may have been forgotten and no one wanted to perform in the first place.
Now the voting starts even before the first performance, this is how Ebu announced this afternoon. A few hours later, it was reported that Sweden’s five-piece representatives Marcus&Martinus have been drawn for the first place in the finals, i.e. the place where no one wants to perform.
This raises questions. Could it be a coincidence that in the very year when Sweden appears in the worst possible place, a change is made to the rules, so the place is no longer so bad?
Of course, it may be that these issues are not related to each other, and the rule change was decided days ago. But in that case, Ebun should have announced the change days ago.
Responsible producer of Eurovision Ebba Adielsson said when justifying the rule changes, that the Swedish public broadcasting company SVT has had positive experiences with voting in Melodifestivalen (Sweden’s song qualifiers), and that now you can vote for your favorite at any time, you don’t have to wait until the end of the broadcast.
Adielsson also explained how the voting method is better for those countries that do not participate in Eurovision.
– Now they don’t have to set the alarm clock in the middle of the night, Adielsson says in the announcement.
The explanation is uncommonly lame. So that changes would be made to the Eurovision Song Contest because of the countries where the contestants are watched by a few weird viewers?
Another rule change favors Sweden (and the funding countries). Now for Marcus and Martinus Unforgettable the song is seen and heard twice and not just once, as in previous years.
Of course, the Swedes must do everything possible to maximize success in their own home competitions, that’s absolutely right. Competition is competition.
If changes to the voting power of councils had been desired in Sweden in the same way as what has been done in Finland and Norway, the change would have already taken place quite a few days ago.
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