Eurovision 2024: Did Stig Karlsen succeed in reducing the power of juries?

As we have previously informed you, the Eurovision Song Contest’s workshop took place today in Berlin.

During this workshop representatives of the -already confirmed- competing broadcasters had the opportunity to interact and discuss on new ideas regarding the contest.

The attendees of the Eurovision Song Contest Workshop in Berlin.

Stig Karlsen’s “mission”

On behalf of Norway, Stig Karlsen was present. Karlsen serves as the head of the Norwegian delegation to the Eurovision Song Contest. A month prior to the workshop, Karlsen stated that the Norwegian Television is planning on proposing a change of the voting format and specifically a change in the ratio of jury-public voting results. He suggested that a 30% or 40% percent of jury’s participation in the final result would be essential as a balancing factor and a boost for public’s interest, who often sees its favorite entry not winning or placing low.

Karlsen posted earlier on his instagram feed the following story:

Mission accomplished ✔

Does the aforementioned indicate that a discussion regarding a possible change in the voting format has been made? Well, the reduction of jury’s power in the contest for sure would benefit Norway, a country that has experienced conflicting results between jury and public vote for the past years. The highlight was in 2019, when Norway won the public vote only to finish 18th in the jury voting. We can assume that Karlsen brought this topic on today’s meeting and made his proposal among Eurovision executives.

A possible change in the jury-public vote ration is indeed a hot topic among Eurovision fans due to this year’s Finnish entry finishing second overall, regardless taking the first place on public voting with a margin of 133 points. Considering EBU’s approach on the contest, eager to try new ideas and bring changes when needed, it might be the time for this specific change.

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