Eurovision Song Contest Organizers Tease An ABBA Anniversary Twist And Switch-Up Voting Rules, Competition Format Ahead of Live Shows

ABBA’s Waterloo has been voted the greatest song in Eurovision history, and with the Song Contest in Sweden this year, the organizers have a surprise ABBA tribute up their sleeves. Changes are also being introduced to both the voting system and the format of the live shows. There will be full live performances in the semi-finals from the artists representing the ‘big five’ countries for the first time, and the public vote will now open at the start of the live final.

The Eurovision Song Contest is organized by the European Broadcasting Union, the alliance of European pubcasters. The huge event, in Malmö, will feature three live shows, covering the semi-finals and final, and nine shows in all, when rehearsals are factored in.

Swedish TV producer Martin Österdahl is the Executive Supervisor of Eurovision and took a few minutes out from preparations to speak to Deadline. He acknowledged the wider dimensions to the competition, with security levels heightened in Sweden and more protests planned by those unhappy about Israel’s participation.

Österdahl said, however, he wants the event to be a celebration, notably with Sweden’s strong ties to the competition. “We’ve got Sweden’s historic seventh win, tying the all-time record with Ireland, we’ve got Loreen who is the champion and the only woman to ever win this contest twice, and of course, there’s this particular group called ABBA that won the contest 50 years ago with Waterloowe will be celebrating all these things,” he said.

The anniversary of the momentous Waterloo performance that won Eurovision and helped propel ABBA to superstardom has even inspired a feature doc, as Deadline revealed last week.

Österdahl would not be drawn further on the planned ABBA celebration but another Eurovision insider teased that the tribute would be “something never seen on TV before.” Fans have speculated that ABBA might appear in virtual form as they do in the ABBA Voyage concerts in London. That show uses motion capture to create digital avatars of the band.

Eurovision topper Österdahl said getting viewers more deeply involved was another key goal. “We’re always trying to tweak this format,” he said. “We are perhaps the oldest music entertainment show and still going strong, but we always try and make it better and we do a lot of work on how to increase engagement in the shows.”

The format shake-ups include having the acts representing the ‘big five’ countries – France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK – perform their songs live and in full during the semi-finals. They still automatically have a place in the final. The same is true of Sweden as host country.

Another tweak means viewers will be able to vote from the start of the show this year rather than having to wait for the final performance to end, as has been the case. This has happened twice before, but not since 2011. International Eurovision fans can vote even earlier. They can watch rehearsal footage and videos and then make their choice 24 hours before the semi-final and final shows. The semi-finals are still decided by public vote and the finals by a mixture of a jury and public vote.