SVT revealed today that a maximum of 125 million Swedish krona will be spent on television production of the Eurovision Song Contest 2016.

Sweden’s broadcaster confirmed the 2016 contest will be achieved within the same framework used for Eurovision 2013 in Malmö.

Safa Safiyara, acting programme director at SVT said, “We know that we are able to make a grand show for this budget.”

The total contribution of the city of Stockholm to the contest remains unclear but the city has already put forward 60 million SEK this year.

Taken together, that means roughly €20 million has been put aside for the event thus far.

That figure is less than half the final cost of Eurovision 2014 in Copenhagen and only a third of the amount spent by Azerbaijan hosting the 2012 contest in Crystal Hall in Baku.

Martin Österdahl, executive producer for Eurovision 2016, has elaborated on the problem focusing on making the contest “sustainable” and the selection of Globen Arena rather than the larger alternatives Tele2 Arena and Friends Arena.

“When we did Eurovision 2013, we came from a period where the contest in Moscow and Baku, had seen bigger and bigger venus and costs running wild…to us, making TV that jumps out of the screen is best achieved in an arena the size of Ericsson Globe.”

The challenge for the production team is delivering a contest as cheap as Malmö 2013.

“Our contest will be cheaper than Helsinki 2007 and they had fewer shows. We aren’t starting from scratch and have established working relationships with talented people who have done this before. Melodifestivalen offers us a template.”

Eurovision 2016: An Hour Earlier?

Österdahl is also suggesting moving the broadcast time from 21:00CET to 20:00CET.

“In the new countries above all, where Eurovision has arrived recently, it is extremely late when the shows begin ending and that makes it difficult for children to stay awake. If the Eurovision Song Contest is to grow over time and continue to be the world’s biggest broadcasting event in the next 40 years we must give the contest the same development as in Sweden: an event for all ages.”

The production’s team’s next challenge is framing a narrative for Eurovision 2016 and following on from Malmö 2013’s slogan of We Are One. 

What do you think? Are you excited for Eurovision 2016 or do you think the Swedes should be putting more money into the budget? Comment below!

FOR ALL THE LATEST NEWS ON EUROVISION 2016 AND SWEDEN CLICK HERE

Source: Dn.prio, cityam.com

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ESCaddict
ESCaddict
8 years ago

I will watch whatever the time.

RL
RL
8 years ago

Sweden can’t afford to make an extravagant, spend more than the arranger the previous year, show.

We just can’t build a new arena every time we win… 🙂

Edwin
Edwin
8 years ago

Certainly from a British perspective, 7 PM seems a little early for Eurovision to start. It was always the luxury of being allowed to stay up to watching Eurovision that appealed. And there’s always something about Eurovision that doesn’t seem entirely family friend; it’s cheeky, it’s risqué. I think losing that would be a mistake.

From my experience in in France as well, 9 PM is the typical start of the prime time slot. In many countries, life is later and 9 PM suits, but that is a problem for Eastern Europe.

xxxxJosheey17xxxx
xxxxJosheey17xxxx
8 years ago

20:15 would be PERFECT. All the films/series start at this time here in austria and germany 🙂

Andy
Andy
8 years ago

People are so bitchy here. Well here goes. If it was not for SVTs ESC2000, the contest would not have been as big as it is right now. The same for Melodifestivalen 2002 which introduced severel semi finals for the national selection making other countries do the same thing. And in 2013 SVT made standing areas in the arena for the crowd. What gives? LED screens does, thats what you all care about. Send better songs instead of trying to cover the bad ones in crappy backgrounds.

DR
DR
8 years ago

Why is it that if Sweden suggests a change every one is up in arms? If Austria or Denmark had suggested the time change, would everyone be so against it. I think we should remove Sweden from the equation and weight up the pros and cons. I personally agree with the change. It could mean more viewers in eastern Europe. In 2012 Eurovision was officially hosted on the 22nd/24th/26th of May, yet all three were technically hosted the next day because of the time difference. I agree that it seems like a natural progression of change as Eurovision evolves. I… Read more »

Marco
Marco
8 years ago

The earlier start is just stupid. The eastern countries are already used to the time. And why should Portuguese, Irish or Britons already turn in at 19.00? Sorry, but this is pure commerce – changing yourself with the only goal of growing. The ESC doesn’t have to grow in order to be successful, it has to deliver a good quality show, no voting/corruption scandals, and good songs and artists. Also, speaking of growth towards the East: not to insult anybody or any country, but what does Eurovision gain from a few more viewers in a rather poor country as for… Read more »

Melissa J
8 years ago

I think it’s a great idea to do a “more affordable” Eurovision. It encourages the smaller countries that they can afford to host, and therefore you’ll end up with more countries willing to try than sending a bad entry on purpose to avoid winning. I’m also glad we’ll be going to the Globe–a little piece of Eurovision and Melfest history.

EscCroatia
EscCroatia
8 years ago

They should’ve left the grand final at 21:00 and move the semis to 20:00.

Daniel
Daniel
8 years ago

@Eugene, I dont even need to make a point, jasmine said it for me?

jasmine
jasmine
8 years ago

@ Mike

Oh my god, Sweden introduced standing areas in Eurovision? Something EVERY rock/pop concert has now a days? How dare they. Don’t they know that we’d rather party like it’s 1956, waving our flags while sitting like it was the good ol’ opera? Jeez, it’s not like they gave us a choice if we wanted to sit or stand either. Those swedish bastards! *waves fist*

Jonas
Jonas
8 years ago

You say there are never enough tickets for even the larger venues…but what about the semi-finals? There’s always plenty.

esc1234
esc1234
8 years ago

oh my god these people are just going to do a melodifestivalen 2…..2013 seemed very cheap and god knows how 2016 will look like…

Oostenrijk
Oostenrijk
8 years ago

Denis, which technical glitches do you mean? The three breakdowns in the voting? What does that have to do with budget or the host? I remember glitches in Copenhagen and Malmö, but you seem to emphasize there have been most glitches in Vienna!?!?? Which ones?

Ivan
Ivan
8 years ago

Yes, I think it’s better the contest to start earlier but I don’t agree with SVT for the budget. This year we saw a smaller eurovision than that in 2014. Personally, I prefer bigger eurovision and we all know that Sweden is not a poor country. They are happy with their 6th win so what is the problem?

#MarioVision
#MarioVision
8 years ago

It’s better to change the time & move it one hour earlier..
Now we will know the Winner before midnight & when the Vision ends it won’t be past almost 1 a.m. after midnight..
So it will still be the same day technically..
Although here in Greece it will be an hour later at 21.00 when the Vision kicks off..
And its good that the Swedes will keep the buget on low level & will not spend too much money like they did on Malmo’s Vision in 2013..

Jonas
Jonas
8 years ago

The best place to watch the contest is from your own living room. One of the worst things about recent years is the emphasis on the attending fanatics – the millions of Euros spent are not for their benefit. This is a television broadcast. The most important people are the television viewers sitting at home eating their popcorn. The standing area is dreadful. The loons in the audience taking up prime spots are dreadful. Sweden are spending a fortune on this thing – the very least thing that should happen is that the Swedes get the best seats, seeing as… Read more »

Nikos
Nikos
8 years ago

I like the earlier start even as a US East coast watcher. I always felt bad for people watching and reporting in the easternmost countries.

Denis
Denis
8 years ago

Nothing is confirmed until it’s published on SVT or Eurovision.tv. Until then all we have are rumours and hearsay. A bigger budget is not always better. Denmark and Austria even went over the budget leaving their companies in huge debts, all to create a spectacular show.But was it really that spectacular? Especially with Austria the show aspect wasn’t that great. All the technical glitches.. And so what if it starts one hour earlier? Are you such traditionalists that you can’t enjoy the show if it starts at 20.00? It won’t affect the contest the slightest, apart from ending earlier. The… Read more »

Slightly Biased ESC Fan
Slightly Biased ESC Fan
8 years ago

I wouldn’t mind this at all, although it would mean an 11am start for those of us here in the U.S. West Coast… :/

David Thielen
8 years ago

I also think the 2013 show was the best stage & setup ever. And standing in front of the stage is the best place to watch.

Snigelpenna
Snigelpenna
8 years ago

ITS CALLED KRONA OR KRONOR IN PLURAL IN SWEDISH!! NOT KRONE!!!

Daniel
Daniel
8 years ago

Why is everyone giving Sweden a bad time? Would you rather have the BBC host it, when they take the competition like a joke by sending bad acts and then complain about not getting good results? If we are going to complain about countries who think they own the contest I blame Turkey for coming up with the semi final system and Russia for the now constant overuse of LED lighting. You know the things that make the contest great, like the standing area the contest now has @Mike, @Pedro, @Oostenrijk. Honestly, I loved the 2013 contest (though the stage… Read more »

Alison
Alison
8 years ago

Wow, why are people so precious about the idea of the show starting an hour earlier when it would benefit lots of viewers and would have a detrimental impact on…hmm…that would be no-one!
All those years growing up when I would have been allowed to watch the whole show had it only started an hour earlier.

Oostenrijk
Oostenrijk
8 years ago

The Swedes really believe they own Eurovision, don’t they?

Oh dear, how I miss the chance of having ESC in Italy next year :cries:

Well, at least the Austrians slapped them hard yesterday in the Friends Arena in protest of all their Eurovision tricks. Austrians even spent more than 42 Million EUR for Eurovision and are with it. Vienna could afford an expensive Eurovision and made it very comfortable and welcoming for fans and journalists with many nice treats.

Pedro
Pedro
8 years ago

Sweden thinks that they can do everything they want in the Eurovision!! This is why I didn’t want Sweden to win this year’s ESC!! DO NOT BE DIFFERENT!! DO NOT ACT LIKE YOU WERE SUPERIOR TO OTHERS! Bad bad idea!!

Mike
Mike
8 years ago

Why do Swedes ALWAYS have to change major things like the starting time now?WHY? They were the first to have the audience standing and to me that’s one of the most terrible mistakes ever… Now they want the show to start earlier. They always have to get away with whatever they want and it’s really annoying.

Laura
Laura
8 years ago

Just don’t change the time. Why do they have to change things that work?

mad-professor
mad-professor
8 years ago

Ooh, Eurovision finishing at 10.30pm? I actually like the sound of that (especially after this year’s 12am finish)!

Alison
Alison
8 years ago

I’ve always though it should start at 20:00CET. It means the earliest starting time in a participating country is 7pm which is totally acceptable for an evening entertainment show and I’m sure would be very welcome by those watching in the countries further east!

jr esc nl
jr esc nl
8 years ago

Lol that would mean australians have to wake up even earlier XD (if they still compete)

cheesecake
cheesecake
8 years ago

Why move the broadcast time to 20:00 CET? Please don’t.

jr esc nl
jr esc nl
8 years ago

As long as the stage is great i’m ok with it and wouldn’t it be easier to cut the budget of melodifestivalen so you can spend more on esc? I mean they have to book and set up a stage for like 5 diferent venues..

WillFran
WillFran
8 years ago

Sounds good to me!
It’s important to make the budget/scale sensible and not to be frivolous. Baku may have spent millions but the show had no soul!
I thought the 2013 production was awesome! Sadly it seems most fans disagree.
The Globe is still a really big arena!