Earlier this year, in January, France produced their brand new National Selection on TV, “Destination Eurovision”. Despite a disappointing 13th place in the Final in Lisbon, France Télévisions confirmed that the selection would come back for 2019. And now we have more information about it.
Yesterday, on August 23rd, France 2 (the French broadcaster at Eurovision) held a press conference about their plans for the next media season (2018-2019). The channel’s executive director Caroline Got was present and answered questions from journalists.
The topic of the French national selection, Destination Eurovision 2019, came up, and Caroline Got gave us a few updates on the new edition, that were reported in a tweet by journalist Benjamin Rabier.
“The three show will be broadcast live”
In the first edition of Destination Eurovision, there were two semi-finals and a final. According to this tweet, the format should remain the same, but all three shows will be broadcast live. Indeed, this year, the semi-finals were pre-recorded on January 8th (semi-final 1) and January 9th (semi-final 2). They were then broadcast later, on Saturdays (January 13th and 20th).
Although we have no information regarding the voting format, a change from pre-recorded to live shows could allow the public to vote in the semi-finals. This year, only juries voted in the semi-finals. But whatever the format, it seems obvious that live shows will mean that the candidates, the live audience and the TV viewers will discover the results at the same time. With pre-recorded shows, anyone who looked for them could easily find the names of the qualifiers.
“A part of the jury will change.”
This is a direct quote from Caroline Got. Alone, it does not mean much. It most likely means that there will be a change in jury members, but it could also mean a change in format.
This year, there were technically four juries (although only three were intended by the production).
First, the French-Speaking jury composed of Amir (who represented France in 2016), Isabelle Boulay (Canadian singer) and Christophe Willem (French singer). They commented on the candidates’s performances and voted in the semi-finals. A three-member International Jury (Christer Björkman, from Sweden ; Nicola Caligiore, from Italy ; and Olga Salamakha, from Belarus) also voted in the semi-finals.
In the final, the French-speaking jury was still there, but Alma (France 2017) took the spot of Amir, and the jurors only commented on the performances, without voting. The International Jury grew bigger, with ten foreign Eurovision “stars” from ten different countries. They made up 50% of the final score, after watching the show in another room of the studios in Paris. The televote made up the rest.
Garou might not come back
Garou is a French-speaking Canadian very popular in France, and a former juror in “The Voice: La Plus Belle Voix.” He was chosen to host Destination Eurovision 2018. According to Benjamin Rabier, Garou’s return is “still being discussed, it will depend on his schedule.”
What do you think? What changes can be expected for the second edition of Destination Eurovision? And what would you change? Tell us more in the comments below or on social media at @escxtra!