Changes
Last March it was announced that some major changes would happen in Malmö. The first change was the announcement that the big five will show their full performance in the semi-finals. The second change was about voting. From this year, fans can vote as soon as the first artist enters the stage in the final.
Draw
Now the third change has been announced by the EBU: the starting order of the final will be determined in a new way. Before 2013, the starting places were always decided by a draw. In the past ten years it was decided only whether the artists would perform in the first or second half of the final. The show’s producers then determined where in the first or second half the acts would ultimately perform.
Producer’s Choice
Host channel SVT has revealed that 25 of the 26 artists in the final (Sweden has already drawn position 1) can pick first half, second half or ‘Producer’s Choice’ in a random draw. This means that if an artist draws ‘Producer’s Choice’, the show’s producers can place that song anywhere in the first or second half of the running order. There are six places to draw for the first half, six places for the second half and 13 places for the ‘Producer’s Choice’.
Christer Björkman
The reason for the change is to give the producers even more to make all the songs in the grand finale stand out and create the most exciting running order possible. Christer Björkman, this year’s competition producer, explains more about the reasons for the change: “It’s about creating the best possible TV show and giving all artists the chance to shine. In years, only with the first half and second half draws you could notice that many ballads ended up in the same part of the show or that many favorites were drawn to perform in the same half. By adding the flexibility of Producer’s Choice, I can create an even better flow of different tempos and an even more exciting grand finale.”
