The European Broadcasting Union and BBC press conference for the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 has been held in Liverpool, United Kingdom.

As the 67th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest continues in Liverpool, the EBU and BBC press conference took place earlier today. Among the topics discussed was the Rest of the World vote, Press conference changes and the announcement of the qualifiers.

Rest of the World Vote

This year a Rest of the World vote has been introduced to enable viewers across the globe to vote for their favourites outside of the participating countries. Martin Österdahl explained that the vote was inspired by Junior Eurovision which has used an online vote since 2017. He explained:

I was taken aback that 182 countries voted in Junior Eurovision 2020 in Warsaw, and says something about Eurovision becoming a global phenomenon.

Voting is however not available in certain countries, which have not been specified. The only country to be specifically named as not being able to vote was Russia, as payment providers have suspended operations in the country. It was confirmed that the EBU will not provide a list of countries that are eligible to vote using the Rest of the World platform.

Press Conference & Rehearsal Changes

This year has seen a change to press access to the contest, with the first and second rehearsals for all countries kept behind closed doors. Martin Österdahl, the Executive Supervisor explained that the decision was taken due to “toxic coverage” in previous years.In addition, there is a need to ensure the well-being of the participants, especially younger or more inexperienced performers.

Announcement of Semi-Final Qualifiers

Martin Green from the BBC explained how the idea for the change to the announcement of the qualifiers came about. He explained that the team was discussed in meetings and was supported up until the moment that the artists were on stage.

The Managing Director, BBC Eurovision 2023 was clear that the team were given the ability to play with the format of the contest. And that he is of the opinion that we should “Seek change but don’t always expect it to work”.

Image Source: Nick Robinson / BBC