Earlier this week San Marino revealed its plans for a brand new national final to select the Sammarinese act for Eurovision 2018. Now eagle-eyed fans have discovered what appear to be details of the three judges for the national final. Eurovision stars Måns Zelmerlöw and Zoë Straub have been listed as judges, along with UK radio host Dave Berry.

The original announcement of the national final promised the judges would be revealed in November. However, fans found a page naming three judges on a site showcasing the design for the 1 in 360 competition — it appears to have been some sort of pitch brief involving their art direction.

Interestingly, the portion of the site was removed after fans began sharing screengrabs of the judges section. Måns has even come out and said on Instagram that it’s just “a rumour”. Is he being coy? Or did the 1 in 360 organisers use his image and bio without consent in their pitch?

In any case, if true the judges that were listed have a lot to offer San Marino’s national selection. Måns is, of course, the winner of Eurovision 2015 and co-hosted Eurovision 2016.

Zoë is the Austrian chanteuse who earned a 13th place finish at Eurovision 2016 with “Loin d’ici”. Her father, Christof Straub is also involved in the national selection. While his role has not been confirmed, it’s thought that the acclaimed musician and songwriter may later be involved with writing a potential Eurovision entry for a selected act. Zoë can be seen in the trailer running at the top of the 1 in 360 web site.

The show hosts have also been confirmed. It will be presented by Nick Earles and Kristin Stein. Nick may be familiar as the enthusiastic face of the promo video launching the national selection. Kristin is a Swedish/German actress based in London. Both are experienced presenters and — most importantly — are fans of Eurovision.

Details of San Marino’s surprising new national final format were released earlier this week. The contest is open to acts from any country. Submissions will be accepted online from today to November 30.

Judges will then select seven acts from a pool of eligible entries, along with three wildcards selected at a later date. Contestants either have to achieve 100 “likes” on the 1 In 360 website, or pay a €4.99 fee to be heard by the judges.

The ten candidates will be all revealed in December. They will be featured in a number of shows broadcast online, to battle it out to reach the final.

Each artist will work with a selected songwriter, and they will work together to create an original song. Each candidate will then perform their original song and a cover. Televoting will decide the ultimate winner, who will earn both a record deal and the Eurovision spot.

What do you think of San Marino’s hosts? Do you think the listed “judges” were merely placeholders? Who would you like to represent San Marino in Lisbon? Share your thoughts below!

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Alex
Alex
6 years ago

I have to agree that San Marino is leading the pack in terms of their selection method this season. If they don’t manage to make the final, nobody can say that they made a weak effort.

Purple Mask
Purple Mask
6 years ago

There are some interesting links to London there. It could be coincidence, or it could be that UK interest is fuelling San Marino’s continuation behind the scenes?
Whichever way it’s happening, good luck San Marino. If you win next year, can we all visit Valentina Monetta’s house in 2019? :p

CookyMonzta
CookyMonzta
6 years ago

So far, so good. So long as Ralph Siegel is not involved in any way, 2018 may yet produce another qualifier for San Marino.

sam
sam
6 years ago

and to think, last month we all thought san marino wouldn’t be returning

Pollaski
Pollaski
6 years ago

Well, that’s disappointing. I was actually kind of expecting the biggest trainwreck in Euro-qual history.

Gorilla716
Gorilla716
6 years ago
Reply to  Pollaski

Me too.

E 19
E 19
6 years ago

this is perfect, yes san Marino, finally, no more songs from Ralph Siegel, they’ve picked the perfect national final, they’ve picked good judges, a Eurovision winner, and an act from Austria who should have done way better than she did, and if these two are judges, San Marino should be a hot favourite, or get the first ever top 10. San Marino are contenders next year.

Celeste
Celeste
6 years ago
Reply to  E 19

San Marino hot favorite because two members of the jury are former eurovision participant ? yeah sure…..
The jury is not important, the song is and until we hear the 10 selected songs, San Marino, will stay a weak country, and i hope to be wrong but their national final, seem for now, a big joke (100 likes to be selected or pay 5e) but can’t wait for see their show,i sure it will be an “interesting” watch.

E,19
E,19
6 years ago
Reply to  Celeste

no I think you misunderstood me, I know just because two Eurovision contestants, one a winner, and another I think came 13th place doesn’t necessarily mean they are a guaranteed success, I meant that finally they should come out of the bottom places, and possibly get a top 10 hopefully, because the two judges past songs were in my eyes, very good, so they should be good at spotting talented singers, It doesn’t guarantee anything for san Marino, and they are still considered a weak country in terms of results and singers, but it should be a start for them… Read more »

E 19
E 19
6 years ago
Reply to  Celeste

The song is absolutely important, I agree, I just meant that these Eurovision Judges, may be able to make San Marino a hot favourite with their songs and singers, to hopefully Ensure a good placing, I know that there are no guarantees, I just think they might be able to help San Marino impress the viewers with a song we wouldn’t expect from them, so this can ensure we don’t forget about their entries, like last year.

Gorilla716
Gorilla716
6 years ago

Does anyone think that this will actually help San Marino get a good song and make the final?

Erasmus
Erasmus
6 years ago
Reply to  Gorilla716

I think their chances increased. They will do better with this ( and I’m happy Zoe and Mans will judge – it is going to be something modern) than something with Ralph Siegel…

E,19
E,19
6 years ago
Reply to  Gorilla716

Yeah this should definitely increase their chances, but not only that make Europe see that San Marino can be more Modern, and also have something Current, that they would want to pick up the phone and vote for, and a different artist, so we can hear a new song, they should do well

Jo
Jo
6 years ago

Where are the haters now? lol
Go San Marino!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tony
Tony
6 years ago

I hope it all pays off for San Marino. It would be really frustrating that after all the hard work they would still miss the final.

EscAU
EscAU
6 years ago

Aaah I thought Christof would be involved as I saw it on fb! This is shaping up to be so cool (however who’s footing the bill for the whole nf process? SM usually relies on the artist, and it’s internal selection at that)

kenna
kenna
6 years ago

This is turning out to be really interesting. I’m glad to see San Marino taking their contest more seriously this time.

Ethan1994
Ethan1994
6 years ago

Not gonna lie, I’m really, really interested to see how this one turns out in the end. It’s one of more unconventional selection processes we’ve seen in this contest.