Yesterday, rumours surfaced that German broadcaster NDR was saying farewell to their selection process for the Eurovision Song Contest. The one-night-but-three-round format would be exchanged for a Melodifestivalen-like competition, spread out over several weeks. NDR have now firmly denied all rumours.
A report surfaced yesterday in which detailed information was given: Show hosts, show locations, show dates. It all seemed too good to be true. Did the Germans actually accidentally leak information before they were ready to give it? Well no. escXtra.com contacted NDR asking them about the matter. The broadcaster commented, short, but in clear words:
It’s a pure invention. Someone must’ve been pulling a joke there.
We’d say: Case closed. However, the idea that there might be changes to the format for Germany seem obvious. After the debacle with Andreas Kümmert, followed by Ann Sophie’s nil points in Vienna, several voices have spoken up to change the format which was deemed too complicated by many, including myself.
Thomas Schreiber, responsible for Eurovision in Germany, has said that all information regarding the German selection for the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest will be released in due course. It does however seem likely that there will at least be some sort of national final. The website NDR would presumably use, unser-song-fuer-schweden.de, is ‘under construction’. A story to be continued…
