So some people have speculated since the semi's were introduced that some songs do well because people have heard them before, and remember them from the semi's (who's gonna forget Svetlana from tonight?) ... so, would it be beneficial for the Big 4 and the host country to perform in the semi's as well, perhaps when votes are being cast/counted? Or is the preview video enough?

Definitely not. If they want to perform, they should go through the selection like everybody else.

But without the Big 4's financial contribution, the contest would arguably not exist, or at least not to the standard it's at. They won't just pay for it all if they're going to gain nothing.

 

Personally I think if we'd had to qualify the last 6 years we'd have done a lot better, because we'd have had to send something deacent to make the final, but that's a whole other discussion :lol:

I think it would be good, better than some of the dreadful interval acts :kink:

I'd rather a low key competition taking place in a really small areana then Spain, uk, France and Germany qualifying automatically all the time. It's just not fair how they can get special treatment regardless of what they're paying. :(

 

Inside a Barn for 2010!! :P

An act in the local Malta competition in 2006 won after being allowed to perform twice, due to slight technical problems during the first performance. It could have just been a coincidence that this act won its country. However, it was a very bad act, and since then I've always suspected that performing twice is an advantage.

 

About the Big Four, I don't understand these financial strings. I mean, why is one of the most watched TV programs in the world so unprofitable that four countries must contribute to keep it afloat? This should be a huge cash cow, between advertising, marketing and ticket sales. In America, if there was a problem getting ad revenue from, say, Belarus' broadcasting company, what we'd do is to have the hosts inject advertisements in the contest itself. "And just one more vote to reveal, but first, Palmolive dishwashing detergent, it softens your hands while you do the dishes." Well, it can be done more smoothly, but you get the idea.

 

Another thing I don't understand is why countries sometimes don't want to be the host nation. Don't they want millions of dollars, er, euros, er, rubles, in tourism income? It's not just the people who come to the contest - it's the publicity that will result in future tourists. Perhaps more of the program could be dedicated to promoting the host nation's tourism.

 

Definitely not. If they want to perform, they should go through the selection like everybody else.

Agreed ^_^

 

I think it would be good, better than some of the dreadful interval acts :kink:

Do you have anything against the best folk dance collective in the Russia and all over the world?! :blink:

 

They were perfect! :wub:

Certainly not, like someone stated before, if they wanna perform they have to take part in the qualification process. And anyways the amount the big four are paying for EBU is so small I cannot understand why they couldn't just dive the amount between all nations and then all would have to qualify (except for the winner). Surely most Western European countries could pay by themselves alone the whole amount the big four are paying (I might remember totally wrong but I think it is well under £1M that the big four pay all together, hardly much for any stable nation to pay alone).

So small? How so small? They are each paying 10% each of all costs... that's nearly half...