It’s the Eurovision down season, and don’t you for a second think we’re going to stop speculating, arguing, and pushing our heated opinions. Our latest series will look at the national finals of Eurovision, and discussing how we would reform the national finals of Eurovision. Today we’re having a look at Vidbir.
In part thirteen of this series Euan, Angus, and Daniel discuss what changes they’d make to Ukraine’s national final.
What is Vidbir?
Informally known as “Vidbir“, Ukraine’s national selection has been around since 2016, when it picked a Eurovision winner–Jamala’s “1944”–right off the bat. It’s a small selection with generally between six to ten entries competing each year, and is traditionally held in February. Vidbir features a three-person jury panel, and this year an online vote as well.
Do we like what the NF does so far, and do we think there’s a chance of it producing a winner?
Daniel
Vidbir has produced a song I thought had the potential to win Eurovision for three years in a row. (Only one of which actually made it to ESC!) The level of talent in Ukraine is off the charts and Vidbir is always a brilliant watch because of that. I think the wildcard and the public selection of jury members is a fun and engaging addition that I’d love if some other NFs copied.
Angus
The Ukrainian national final has produced absolute bangers and bops over the years. Some of them even have gone to Eurovision! I must admit that parts of Vidbir, like the public vote for the jury, are baffling. But it really is a unique twist to this already fascinating NF. It really is a fun show and contest, if often more than a bit messy. And what a competitive contest it is overall too, with multiple winners and a literally unbeatable qualifying streak to show for it.
Euan
Ukraine is one of three countries in the contest that can safely say that they have the opportunity of winning every year. Yes, they don’t always pick them, but the fact remains. Ukraine has the possibility of winning every year, and the strength of Vidbir is the main reason for it. It’s consistently one of the best NFs every year; inspite of or perhaps even because of the chaos that is interwoven into it every year.
What changes would we make to the National Final?
Daniel
Very very few. Vidbir is absolutely brilliant and is doing most things right, and a lot of the problems that do exist aren’t something that is within the remit of Suspilne to change. My only gripe at all is the flattening of the points to the bane of my existence in these articles, Eurovision style points. Alyona Alyona & Jerry Heil received over 700,000 votes this year, nearly 600,000 above the second place in the televote. This rewarded them with one additional point over the televote runners up. Whilst they did well with the juries as well, meaning they went to Eurovision and slayed, no jury, even an elected one, should have the power to overturn a voting margin that large.
Angus
I don’t know how many of these reform articles have gone before this one or are yet to come. Either you already know Daniel and I keep hammering on about proportional votes, or you can prepare yourself for that now. Beyond that, I don’t have much to note about Vidbir. The musical variety is there (although more rock never hurts in my opinion). It looks and sounds good from a production perspective. And it consistently delivers results? Yeah, Vidbir is really strong as is.
Euan
I’ll say what I say in every article; proportional voting. Daniel outline the exact reasons above. The quality of the National Final is so consistent every year that I definitely feel like they need to go back to having a multistage contest with several semi finals. Suspilne have created a perfect relationship with the Ukrainian music industry that I feel they could dramatically increase the number of acts participating and still keep the quality there. Though as part of this I do think this would require a return to the semi finals. Additionally, they should incorporate the online wildcard more formally into the format. Just having a small vote on the Internet doesn’t give enough of a focus on the great acts that are in there. I would turn it into a full Sanremo Giovanni style show beforehand with more than one choice.
Also they should get rid of the voted for juries because it just doesn’t make sense. The professional jury should be completely independent to the televote or its wishes; and I don’t think we should be forced to hear Jamala’s opinions.
Do we think any reforms are likely to happen to this NF?
Daniel
They introduced some good reforms this year, and they seemed to have gone down well, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they were looking at other ways to make this brilliant contest even better year on year.
Angus
There are always some changes happening to this one every year. However, this is one of the few national finals I wouldn’t be surprised to remain basically unchanged. Despite its brilliance, Vidbir always had things that could be improved. At least from a distance, it seems like Suspilne has largely succeeded and therefore they might be happy to keep things as they are. Either way, no complaints from me (until the points system leads to some heinous result).
Euan
In the case of Ukraine I honestly have no idea. Suspilne don’t need to make any changes, so I hope that any that are made are minor tweaks rather than wide overhauls.
Ukraine’s Eurovision Journey
Ukraine is one of the most successful countries to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest. The country has scored nine top-five placements, with an extra four top-ten finishes. Ukraine won the Contest three times – in 2004, 2016 and 2022 respectively. Ukraine made history for being the first ex-Soviet country to win the Contest more than once.
In 2024 alyona alyona and Jerry Heil represented Ukraine in Malmö with their song “Teresa and Maria”. The duo finished in 3rd place, scoring 453 points – of which 146?points came from the jury, whilst the remaining 307 points came from the televote.
What do you think about our reforms? As always, let us know what you think by commenting down below. Also, be sure to follow ‘That Eurovision Site’ on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Threads and Bluesky for all the latest Eurovision news!
News Source: That Eurovision Site
Photo Credit: Sarah Louise Bennett / EBU
Tim J