We already know around half of the Eurovision 2021 artists. But we’ll have to wait until March 6 to find out who will sing for Denmark in Rotterdam.
On that night Danish viewers will choose between eight finalists during the final of Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2021. That’s down from the traditional 10 acts that DMGP has invited each year for the past two decades.
Among the other changes? This year’s show will be filmed in a TV studio at the headquarters of the Danish broadcaster DR. That hasn’t been done since 1999 (when the country only invited five acts to the final).
Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2021 will have 8 finalists
Songwriters will have until November 20 to submit their entries. You can read the full rules on the DR Grand Prix web site. In order to submit, either the composer, lyricist or the artist must be a citizen or resident of Denmark, or be married to a Dane. Citizens of the Faroe Islands and Greenland are also allowed to compete.
The move to a smaller facility likely reflects ongoing concerns regarding the Covid-19 pandemic. As you’ll recall, Denmark’s 2020 national final was the only one across Europe and Australia that did not feature an audience.
Following advice from the Danish government, the broadcaster had to cancel its audience just one day before the final. That meant the ten finalists had to perform inside an empty Royal Arena in Copenhagen.
At the time, DR spokesperson Gustav Lützhøft said: “We obviously had a dream of thousands of people in the auditorium as it gives a special atmosphere for such a show, but we are still going to make a big TV production, which we can gather about at home in the living rooms.”
Ben & Tan won the right to represent Denmark at Eurovision 2020. However, in April DR confirmed that the duo would not get an automatic spot in next year’s national final
Despite initially confirming interest in participating in Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2021, Ben & Tan later revealed that they will not be putting themselves forward for the contest again in 2021.
Speaking to DR, Tanne ‘Tan’ Balcells said that she and Ben would like to leave on a high after winning DMGP 2020, rather than returning next year and potentially losing out:
“I feel we would take the place from some others. After all, we have tried to be part of the show. It must be someone else’s turn next year. That is most fair.”
“And you can run the risk of going again and then losing, and that’s what people remember. So we would rather leave with a victory and then focus on our music.”
Who do you want to see compete in Denmark? Do you hope that the TV studio will have a small audience if Covid rules permit? Let us know down below!
I would like to see Alma Agger!
Having only 8 finalists suggest that there weren’t a lot of submissions
Deadline is three weeks from now. They will have to test all involved prior to the start of taping. Most likely they will record each performance on different days. They limit to eight to make it more manageable considering the challenges they face due to covid-19.
The performances of the 8 competing entries will be broadcast live. However, cutting the number of songs reduces the amount of people involved in the show and the amount of resources required for pre-production and rehearsals. Additionally, it allows DR to reduce the length of the show itself.
The interval may well be done live on tape, as it was for DMGP 2020.
Eivor is amazing. I Tokuni is one of the best songs out there. I would add the Faroese artist Byrta to that list, as her song Andvekur is amazing. I wish Faroe Islands and Greenland could compete as their own countries.
Faroe Islands and Greenland are currently not eligible for participation because technically they are an autonomous part of Kingdom of Denmark rather than a completely separate country. The similar issue as with Scotland and Wales. ?
Wales does have a separate broadcaster, so they are eligible to participate in JESC. It’s because BBC officially doen’t participate in JESC and thus, it is arranged so each separate country can enter on their own. In ESC, it’s a bit more complicated, because as UK participates as a whole, it’s individual parts aren’t eligible to do so. If it was arranged differently, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland might’ve been eligible. This way, they aren’t. It can all change, though, as contest rules change rapidly.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_in_the_Eurovision_Song_Contest
Here’s an article. Look under ”Unsuccessful attempts to participate”.
They may technically be allowed to participate, but given how political the contest is in reality, they’d probably want to restrict to recognised nation states. Otherwise you could open the door beyond Faroe Islands and Kosovo into Northern Cyprus, Palestine, etc, which would be a diplomatic nightmare.
Moreover, Faroese and Greenlandic singers can easily participate via DMGP, they aren’t discriminated against in that process.
Greenland can never participate on their own, only through Denmark.
Should Greenland wish to separate from the Kingdom of Denmark, they would most likely lose their status as a European country and slowly make more and more investment with the American continent, also none of their territory is within the European Broadcasting Area, so should they become independent in the near future, a lot would hinder them from participating. Kazakhstan would honestly have a higher chance than Greenland and not even that is going to happen according to the EBU.
As Una said, “According to the broadcaster, they are not excluded by the rule that only independent nations can join, and as a result the Faroese broadcaster started internal discussions on applying for the EBU membership […]”.
Exactly my thoughts when I’ve read this headline. Last year’s Dansk MGP was very emblematic about the effects the pandemic would bring to Eurovision and the whole entertainment industry. Thought it was the absolutely right decision to have it without an audience, back then it was so uncomfortable to watch. I hope we all have a better experience next time.
Good question. I believe we won’t have the orchestra, since it goes against all the protocols during the pandemic. But I hope it comes back in the next years. Live orchestras are always welcome.
I agree – Eivør is amazing. She’s one of my favourite singers. But I wonder whether she’d prefer to compete for Denmark or Iceland. Faroe Islands are pretty close culturally to Iceland. And Eivør actually participated in Icelandic national final in 2003 with “Í nótt”
Hopefully Ben or (and) Tan will be competing