Sweden | New Changes Announced To The Voting In Melodifestivalen 2019
The broadcaster for Sweden, SVT, has announced in the last 24 hours that they plan a big change to the voting system for this years Melodifestivalen.
The producers have announced that the demograph of the voters will help determine the overall result. This was previously done in the contest when the jury groups split by age determined the winner in earlier Melodifestivalen's. Now, this system will be introduced using the public vote.
How It Will Work?
There will be seven age groups who will cast their vote through the official app. There will also be an eighth group, that will consist of voters who have opted to vote via phone. This year however, SMS voting has been scrapped due to the low number of votes received in previous editions.
These eight groups will then award points to their favourite songs based on the scoring system 1, then 2, then 4, 6, 8, 10, and finally 12. The semi final shows will see a maximum of 43 points that can be awarded by each age group.
The final will be similar. However, the scoring system will be based on the scale 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10 and then 12. This means a maximum of 58 points can be awarded be each group.
This year will only see a smaller eight international juries award points on the same scale. The Andra Chansen round will see each age group award one point to their favourite song in each duel. There will be eight points up for grabs ( 1 per group), and in the event of a tie, the song with highest number of votes cast via the app, and telephone will advance to the final.
When each song is being performed live, there will be a heart that will appear in the corner of the screen. This will beat faster when more votes are being cast, and will change colour to indicate which group are casting the most votes. This way it will encourage the public at home to vote more for their favourite song or songs. The eight colours will reflect the eight groups, and they are:
• Green: 3–9 years • Turquoise: 10–15 years • Blue: 16–29 years • Purple: 30–44 years • Pink: 45–59 years • Red: 60–74 years • Orange: 75+ • No colour : Phone
Europe's favourite national final will begin on Saturday February 2nd 2019, and will culminate in the final on Saturday March 9th 2019. The full list of shows can be seen below:
Semi-Final 1 – Gothenburg – February 2
Semi-Final 2 – Malmö – February 9
Semi-Final 3 – Leksand – February 16
Semi-Final 4 – Lidköping – February 23
Andra Chansen/Second Chance – Nyköping- March 2
Final – Stockholm – March 9
Do you think the new voting system will make the show more exciting? Do you like this system? Please tell us your thoughts in the comments below.
