Tonight the final of Melodifestivalen 2023 takes place, after 4 heats and a second chance semi-final. Tonight’s absolute favourite is none other than the winner of Eurovision 2012, Loreen, who will perform “Tattoo” tonight, claiming to represent Sweden in the contest for the second time.
Loreen has already got all eyes on her, with her song having already amassed 8 million streams on Spotify and having climbed to #1 on the Swedish TOP 50 on the same platform. The interest is also piqued by her very unique and technologically advanced stage performance, which includes two platforms with led screens, one filled with sand and the other hanging above it.
Technical issue with the weight of the platform
In the great possibility that Loreen will win the representation of Sweden at Eurovision 2023 tonight, her team will have to deal with an important technical issue. The second platform hanging above Loreen is required to be supported by the ceiling. The weight of this platform, however, is 1.8 tons! The lighting rig, from which this platform hangs, will probably not be able to support it in Liverpool.
Photograph from the lightning rig from the Melodifestivalen 2023 stage!
In fact, in the photo above we can see that Loreen’s platform is hanging on the lighting rig throughout the show and it may be practically impossible for the same to happen on the Liverpool stage.
Furthermore, the lighting rig at Eurovision is significantly larger than the one used at Melodifestivalen, as it needs to support a much larger number of acts, and it needs to ensure that this year’s 37 participants have the same capability to present what they want on the Eurovision stage.
John Lundvik’s corresponding request had been rejected
The reluctance of the Eurovision organisers to allow objects of advanced technology to hang from the ceiling can be seen in the similar problem that the Swedish delegation faced in 2019.
In John Lundvik‘s Melodifestivalen 2019 performance, a large led construction stood out, hanging from the ceiling. However, its transfer to the Eurovision stage was not possible due to the rejection of the Swedish delegation’s request by the organisers and a similar structure which was supported on the ground was used.
The attitude of SVT and the organisers towards the emerging technical issue
Anders Wistbacka, project manager of Melodifestivalen, clarifies that any discussion with EBU and BBC will take place after the end of Melodifestivalen, when we will know for sure who the Swedish representative is, and says that:
“We haven’t reached that point yet, but I think you can now hang things that you couldn’t before. However, I don’t know if that means this 1.8 ton structure can be hung or not.”
The organisers of this year’s contest, on this issue, state that:
“It (SVT) knows all the details of what can and cannot be used on the Liverpool stage.”
Anders Wistbacka also states:
“We’ll see what happens. It might not work. If it doesn’t work, then we’ll find another solution if Loreen does win. We may, however, have another winner and have to adjust to other circumstances.
We will know what we will have to adapt to depending on the winner. This adaptation may be either easy or challenging.”
Loreen, says that she doesn’t have an alternative plan for her staging so far, however if she is called upon to come up with an alternative plan, she will! She competes tonight in the Melodifestivalen final with “Tattoo“, in the running order of 10!
Source: aftonbladet.se
If the speculations that Loreen will win the Sweden representation tonight are indeed confirmed, do you think she will be able to carry her stage performance to Liverpool? Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the news for Sweden’s participation in Eurovision 2023!
