
Photo : http://www.cbc.ca
You know that saying ‘You get what you put in‘ – well that seems to be the case today with news coming from the EBU Reference Committee. 2016 will see the Big 5 plus the host country performing in the Semi Finals.
The Eurovision Reference Committee have ruled that the Big 5 countries (UK, Spain, France, Germany, Italy) and the Host Country (Sweden this year) will each perform in the semi finals that their countries will be voting in?
Why you may ask?
“It will look so much better to show the Big Five and the host country on the Eurovision Song Contest stage, performing their act as it will be in the Grand Final,” says Jon Ola Sand, Executive Supervisor of the contest.
However their places will still be automatically guaranteed for the Grand Final. Europe will get a chance to vote for the 6 countries in the Grand Final.
This year the Big 6 countries propped up the bottom of the leader board! Austria and Germany both gaining Zero points (a mystery to me personally) and finishing in 26th and 27th place respectively, Followed by France in 25th place, the UK in 24th place and Spain in 21st place. Italy were again the country to buck the trend and come 3rd in the Final.
So is it fair to say that the Big 6 are not getting enough ‘bang for their buck’ or ‘exposure for their songs’? Well the countries will now find themselves gaining more rehearsal time and will be in the host city several days earlier allowing them to gain more access to the gathered International Media oh and a bigger bill for accommodation too #JustSaying
However it still does not silence some fans from some of the Big 5 countries on the selection process for their entry.
SVT UPDATE
SVT have updated this story by saying that they will air clips of the official rehearsals from the Big 5 and Host country entries and they will be shown in the 2 semi finals.
SVT also spoke to the recent poor performance of this year’s Big 6 in their article – SEE HERE
Do you think having the Big 6 countries perform in the Semi Finals will increase their chances of a better result in the Grand Final? Will their performances add another dimension to the Semi Final? Should their be a Big 5 at all?
Let us know.
Author/Editor in Chief Garrett Mulhall
Source : Eurovision.tv
Categories: Eurovision 2015, Eurovision 2016, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, UK
Mary
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I personally think that the big five should be eliminated. Only the country that wins, will have a place in the finals. It will be more competitive as the big countries think, I don’t have to do anything now, as I will still be in the finals. At the moment the other countries have to do their best to get to the finals. And I think the number of countries to go to the finals should be less. The best six of the two semi-finals go to the finals with the country that won. Simple as that.