The Eurovision 2025 semi-finals are getting a makeover during the announcement of the semi-final qualifiers. In a press release summarising the changes, the EBU shared the following bullet points.
The basics of the results in the semi-finals are still the same:
• The result is determined by public voting.
• The top ten countries from each semi-final will move on to compete in the Grand Final.
• These ten countries are presented by the hosts, one a time in random order.
• No country is eliminated until the very end
The visuals of how these ten countries are revealed are different this year:
• The first nine reveals will be in a split screen, focusing on 3 countries at a time. One of them will qualify, the other two will have to wait to hear whether they made it or not.
• Then 10th and final reveal, when you learn the final qualifier and who the eliminated contestants are, is done the traditional way without any split screen.
So why the change?
“With the splits, we focus on the contestants instead of the hosts. We want to capture the moment the artists/delegations learn that they made it to the Grand Final. In previous years each reveal was made by the hosts on screen, and then we cut to the delegations in the Green room. We also want to treat the delegations more equally. Previously some where shown lot before each reveal, others hardly shown at all.”
So how will the three countries on the screens be chosen?
“The ”other” two countries in each split are chosen automatically by an algorithm. The algorithm seeks to treat all countries as equally as possible. No country should be shown more than 3 times in splits without qualifying (remember, 10th reveal is not a split, everybody is in the running until the end). Countries should not appear in two consecutive splits. Countries should not appear together more than once. The position of the qualifying country in each split is random. The production has only a couple of minutes to plan for 33 camera assignments.”
So what do you think of the changes? Let us know down below!
Last couple of years Eurovision has really changed to worse. Even though Malmoe edition had quite a few exceptional hits and we had successful Tattoo and Chachacha the EBU is destroying the contest by removing jury vote in semifinals, mixing drag queens and LGBT too much into the music festival targetting the show to narrower group and countries, being politically biased (removing Russia and Belarus and keeping Israël), bending to the knees of Israel (silencing the audience, removing press conferences). Disqualification fan favourite NL after he got provoked, prerecorded backing vocals, adding more AI effects in graphics, war against funs,… Read more »
Bulgaria withdrew in 2023 due to financial difficulties.
Russia are no longer members of the EBU. You have to be a member of the EBU to enter eurovision. (And I didn’t have to mention the Russian invasion of another country)
I didn’t mind it, but it didn’t really add anything to the excitement.
It was a bit annoying that it took so long before the finalists were finally announced. Like, in previous years, the show was shorter – which was good.
Lovely to see Martin behind the bulletproof glass. Just a thumbs up…….and we are good to go !
When it was Portugal, Sweden and Slovenia they should have announced Portugal…..it might have provided a few seconds of doubt.
It’s not as worse as I expected it to be but it’s also no revolution that was completely necessary. I liked it most when they showed Portugal, Azerbaijan and Slovenia together since they were all NQ for me but overall it got quite repetitive until the last reveal and didn’t really lead to more excitement
I hate that EBU is turning Eurovision into a reality show. I miss when it was a music festival ugh
That’s one of the reasons why I didn’t watch last night. For me the ESC season is now about finding great songs that usually don’t reach the ESC stage at all, and I don’t have to suffer all the circus. In that way, for me, it is still a song festival.
i think it made no difference, not better or worse, but at least we remembered everybody who was still in the running
It was bad. Earlier we had 10 options, then 9, then 8 etc. Now it’s only 3. Less fun. Dislike, ESC.
so pointless. it only serves to exclude hundreds of thousands of fans waiting to hear if their country qualifies .. particularly deflating as the 8th and 9th qualifiers are announced
Huh, this actually went OK for me to watch IMO
Eurovision is getting worse every year
This is a step back…. Very bad system, I didn’t like it at all… Your focus is only on 3 countries and that is not exciting at all….
I gotta be honest.. This looked great. When they show 3 supposed nq it really got me
Test.
Have you broken out of the moderation system muzzle?
I think we have returned to normal.
People are commenting about this as “esc fans”, when actually we should see this as a positive and fair move forward, because this is a screen time for every singer – the main reason for every singer here is their promotion and nothing else. Whenever they talk and talk about other reasons for participating, they are just politely lying, and that’s a fact. Cheers
Where everybody knows your name
Hi Norm!
It’s literally a competition and a show, it should be more exciting for the public this way, we’ll see. Artist know what they signed up for and know not getting through is a possibilty. Yeah it’s difficult but come on, they can probably take it, otherwise they wouldn’t be competing in the first place. Is it bad when they show split screen of 3 or 2 countries left who coud win at the grand finale? Maybe they should leave the camera on hosts the whole time then just in case no one’s feelings get hurt.
Ever thought of all the great artists who aren’t competing because they don’t want to go through all the circus?
“No country is eliminated until the very end.”
Ok, the notorious complainers can stop hyperventilating.
When they called Portugal and not Ukraine, I guessed either Belgium and/or Cyprus in trouble. No-one sane thought Ukraine would NQ.
Live orchestra: Out
Pre-recorded vocals: In
Running order: Determined by the broadcaster
Semi-finals: No jury
Comedy club songs: “More please”
Eurovision Song Contest = Eurovision Staging Contest
And now this! (Imagine an established artist being abused in a split screen)
What is next? Mandatory “personal story”? (just divorced, fighting cancer, a single parent…) to make ESC more dramatic…
All for the sake of more ratings….
Please no personal stories!!!!
My dog died, I slipped on a banana skin, and I have two penises
Steady on now Parg
No, please no personal story, that’s stupid
Yes I’m sure this will be a worthwhile addition once the 3 songs that pop up on the screen are Sweden, Portugal and Slovenia and we have to fake drama. (Also, is everyone having to get their comments approved now or is my account just flagged for some reason?)
Oh that’s good to hear cos I thought it was just my comments awaiting approval!!
It’s everybody. I guess it’s a precaution because of a certain heated topic. Takes a while for comments to show up, though. 🙁
OMG, would you believe that was the first time in ages that my comment did NOT immediately go into moderation.
I’m freeeeeeeeeee
Huh? Where’s the suspense in that?
We don’t have to fear change, but there could be a downside here because if a cerain country isn’t announced as a qualifier after appearing on the split screen 3 times before the 7th or 8th qualifier is announced, this discloses by process of elimination which country is likely to qualify from position 8 and 9 and which 6 countries left will fight for the 10th spot. So basically it’s how well the algorithm is made out so that you have 9 well-executed combinations of 3 countries each and then a 10th with the remaining six countries left. It can… Read more »
This is refreshing, somebody uses the words “a certain country” and they actually mean “a certain country” and not Israel.
I find it hilarious when ESC-fans worry about small details like “qualifying announcements”. But: One weird TEST-year is fine, but ofcourse we want a good system in most years.
It’s hard to judge what I think when I haven’t seen it in action yet.
I had no problems with the current way of saying who qualified, so I don’t understand the change though.
Got your scorecards ready Dane??
A very unnecessary change if you ask me. But we will soon tonight how it pans out.
Regardless of whether the change in itself is good or not, the timing for its introduction feels off. After all the controversy last year and the EBU’s pledge to focus more on the artists’s welfare this year, this just doesn’t seem like the right change at the right time…
At first I didn’t know why this was happening but now I get it! I think seeing the reactions of the contestants in real time will be a lot more fun, rather than going from the hosts to the contestants. I should stop being so negative ahaha
I really didn’t like it when they just kind of have the full list of flags and then they speed it up saying what ten is qualifying. Normally maybe you wish for a certain entrant to win, but actually showing them on screen like this will make it easier to remember all of them when they are presented. Actually I remember song and title, but here they normally just say the country. So it’s a good change. BUT…. maybe the camerawork could be a real challenge. Maybe they need to run around a lot to get those calculated shots. The… Read more »
There are a few things I’d like to changed at Eurovision–this isn’t one of them. I don’t understand why they are so adamant on changing the presentation of announcing the qualifiers. There was nothing wrong with old system, and it just seems like the problem only exists in their minds because, I don’t know. I want to give this a chance before slagging it off as a bad idea, but there are a couple things that give me pause. “The ”other” two countries in each split are chosen automatically by an algorithm. The algorithm seeks to treat all countries as… Read more »
Someone is obviously paid to think of “all the creative changes that will this fantastic event even fantasticker” and has to earn their salary.
You will never get a famous artist again unless they are from Automatic Qualifying countries. Nobody would be willing to put themselves through such humiliation just because a distinct minority of fans may find it amusing.
It will be ok: I don’t understand why fans hate all changes.
And I thought Doctor Who fans are bad about changes to their favorite show, ironically a show about and sustained for over sixty years through change.
Totally agree.
Because it was a better and fairer and shorter contest before they were made. And more people used to watch it, in my country at least.
You have to recognize that focusing 3 times on the same singer to never announce them as a qualifier is quite hard… Plus it’s just a system that doesn’t make sense. What was bad with the previous method? I liked to see all the flags of the competing countries on the screen… I hope they will at least keep that.
Eurovision is not a reality TV show as severals have said below.
Has anyone asked the artists if they want more focus at these difficult moments? I’m sure poor Iru for Georgia in 2023 did not. What happened to the priority of artist welfare? And what next? Celebrity jurors and golden buzzers by 2035? It’s a competition, not a reality TV game show.
It’s a competition. They all know that. And it’s also okay to feel sad or cry. We are humans, they are humans. That adds a nice emotional touch. And even if they don’t qualify, I mean, what the heck? It’s a TV show, not the end of the world. Enjoy Eurovision for what it is!
Because this is a low profile intimate ceremony, yeah.
My late grandma had a saying that involves heat and kitchen.
Sorry for your loss. Why take the steps they have for artist’s welfare only to put a magnifying glass over them when, as you say, it gets really hot. It’s not consistent.
Stop the crying! It’s a competition, if you don’t like the camera on you during a live show then go home….
The Eurovision Song Contest is a live TV show. There is only one chance.If you cannot handle pressure Eurovision is the wrong place for you.
Just go back to revealing qualifiers from envelopes, more suspenseful and surprising. But this change is honestly not bad, as Eurovision has been getting more predictable each year, maybe this will make it at least somewhat exciting.
Changes are always welcome. Also, changes sometimes don’t hit the mark and that’s okay. It’s better than not trying anything new.
What, like the 2023 attempt to have all semi-finalists on stage for the reveal? That certainly wasn’t welcome.
That is a very stupid, very unnecessary move.
Congrats Martin, you never disappoint.
Which Martin?
There’s two now.
Just like the Swedish national final I guess. Every change made as non random running order draw, split jury and televote announcements and now this change are all attempts to make it look as Esc is copying the Swedish national final. Don’t forget producer again this year is Swedish Christer Bjorkman who will decide the running order and which will be approved by the executive supervisor who guess what, he is also Swedish.
Agree. They turned the contest “Swedenvision Song Contest” 🙁
How witty and original!
No! The offical name of the ESC is now Melodifestivalen – the Euroversion.
Someone needs to get the Swedes less influence in the contest
I think the split jury/televote points is a good idea tbh even if it is a very hard moment for those receiving very few points from public. For the non random running order I still don’t know what to think more than 10 years after this decision was taken. But yeah, Christer Bjorkman is definitely messing with the contest and I say this while still loving Sweden in ESC. This new qualifiers announcement system sounds really bad. Let’s see in like 7 hours.
Well, at least the artists are not standing on the stage, waiting to hear if they have qualified or not. I’ve read a live blog of the second dress rehearsal/jury show, but I have no idea if this new system is working or not. If it works, OK, but if it’s not, could they revert back to the old system as a back up?
Yeah, we came so close to an X Factor/Idol style announcement in Liverpool, right up to the dress rehearsal on semi one eve. Nightmare.
It looked like a potential disaster and I was glad they reverted back. But I wonder if they are going to be insistent on keeping the change for the live shows and not listen to feedback if it looks bad. I worry it might get too confusing in practice and get a lot of complaints.
Objection!
I don’t like it. Perhaps even hate it. There was nothing wrong with the old way. Functional and non-demeaning.
What the EBU really mean to say is… “Y’all didn’t think this was a genuine song contest, right? It’s a cheap TV reality talent show just like any other. Our job is squeeze every last drop of tears and sweat out of the
victimscontestants. All hail the REAL pope, Pope Simon Cowell…”Sad.
This would have been fun in 2006 to see the antics of “Silvia Night”. Apparently she walked onto the stage with the real qualifiers.
Well yes. Since that devil Björkman and that devil Österdahl among perhaps other shady people turned it into this farce, we might as well get something out of it.
Better the devil you know, as Sonia once said. Sonia was a liar.
I think this could be good. I wanna see the contestants and their emotions. Those few minutes are really the most interesting part of the shows. They should be given some room. A lot of times, these big reveals were so lame, like newscasters reading ten random countries as soon as possible. It’s good they know it’s wrong and try to change.
If I were a contestant, I would find it intrusive and not what I signed up for. I would borrow one of Gabry’s singers masks for the results.
I would be delighted because if I was a contestant I would qualify I would cry tears of joy and that wouldn’t embarrass me. 🙂
I totally agree that the way they usually do it is very boring. At least this new method shakes it up a bit.
“May the odds be ever in your favor” – Eurovision Games.
I read somewhere that only 3 countries will be mentioned at one time and a country will only be on the screen 3 times. So I’m no mathematician but will that work? For example if a country shows on Reveal 1,2 and 4 and doesn’t go through, then we know as an audience they won’t be mentioned again so that doesn’t lead to excitement. Is Eurofans will no doubt be writing the countries down once they appear in the reveal and will be able to work out the qualifiers based on how many times the country has made the reveal.
Bring back paper envelopes, shuffled by the host!
I can foresee this going terribly wrong (for the presenters). An NQ might be called out in error.
That’s why the 10th country announcement won’t be shown in split screen. All of the semi-finalists will be shown no more than 3 times, but all of those who didn’t initially make it into the final 9 spots “have a chance” to be the last qualifier. 🙂
P.S. Still wondering if it’s worth the change…
Exactly, just as they are able to do with the final result reveal. Anyone can work out how many points are left. Some people can’t help but do so.