Yesterday's competition in Malmö Arena held 10,200 spectators. Each person has an individual expectation of the evening's event. I spoke with a handful of spectators before the show about the program.
Friends Maria and Johanna ready for the show to begin.
Decked out in little pink crowns and lovely feather boas, Maria and Johanna were in high spirits. Their smiles radiated across the rows and their joy spread to those around them. I was swept along in their happiness when I walked by and was given their camera to capture the moment. I took the chance to take my own photo of the moment and to ask them about their visit.
These two friends grew up watching the program on TV. This was their first visit to the live event. They decided to go all out, as you can see. Is there anything especially Swedish about the show? Johanna thinks it is more European since it is a qualifier for Eurovision. Maria added that different countries have specific qualifying systems. Germany, for instance, has one singer perform every entry and people vote on the best song. So, the system of qualifying could be seen as Swedish, Maria suggested. Johanna considered the question further, "The Swedish winter is more fun because of it. Every Saturday you look forward to it. You can look forward to it after Christmas is over." Did they have a favorite song this evening? "No! We have not decided yet. This will be the first time we hear the songs live. We wanted the whole live experience", Johanna added.
Looking around, I noticed more fans decked out in fancy feather boas. I saw a woman with a long pink feather boa sitting with her husband, Jonas. Ingela had just purchased her boa minutes before I arrived. I asked her to explain the phenomena, and she said "I have a boa because this is a party. It's a party atmosphere." This was the first time Ingela and Jonas had seen the production live and the first time she bought a pink boa, she noted. What is Swedish about the contest? "Everything!", Ingela mentioned. Jonas thought it was the artists that made it especially Swedish.
It was 6:55 PM and the house band started setting up. Before the band got underway, I stopped to chat with Annika and Stephen. They sat in the first few rows waiting to be showered with hearts and fire. Before the show and all its ensuing antics, I asked them about their experiences. The pair had been at the rehearsal show last year and planned to be at the live even this time around. What is Swedish about the contest? The experience factor looms large for Annika. "In Sweden, you don't have many shared cultural experiences. Twenty five years ago, people watched the same TV show or movie. Today, it is not too common." Shows like Melodifestivalen bring people together around one central touchstone. Annika added, "If you don't watch, you won't have anything to talk about at the office on Monday."
It's not right that in Germany it's only one singer performing several songs. We only had it 3 years back I think when the show was hosted in Germany. Last year it was a big competition with a strange evaluation system while this year it was a show with 3 different audiences that voted their fave... they try different ways I think o find out what works best and maybe also what brings the most money ;)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the clarification, Jessi. Maybe she saw that show three years back. It sounds like Germany is getting close to the Swedish model since they had three different audiences voting last year. Before you know it, there will be six competitions and the program will tour the whole country and you'll be writing a blog about it. ;o)
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