NDR has revealed to ESC+Plus that the Europe-Panel will be made up of German people. This panel will represent the taste of the European audience that watches Eurovision every year in the best way possible.
“This has the following background. The scores of the German audience in recent years has always been very close to the actual result of the ESC grand final. Therefore, we are only looking for German people who represent the European taste in music for the Europa-Panel.”, NDR told ESC+Plus.
All German people interested in becoming a panel member should apply by filling the following survey available on the official website of the broadcaster.
New national selection formula for 2018:
In 2018, NDR will try a brand new formula through which they hope to improve their recent disappointing results achieved in the European music competition. The next year’s German representative will be chosen by a more international atmosphere featuring a Europe-Panel, an international expert panel, and the German audience.
The members of the Europe-Panel will represent the taste of the European audience that watches Eurovision every year in the best way possible. It will be made up of 100 people that will be chosen through interviews on social media following different stages. The international expert panel will be made up of 20-25 members that have previously been judges of their country’s national selection or the jury which voted at the Eurovision Grand Final. The German audience will also have a say in the national selection and the decision of the winning entry.
Submissions closed earlier this week, so in a few weeks, the Europe-Panel will shortlist 20 entries that will be assessed by NDR. The German broadcaster will work with the mentioned candidates in the studio to judge their voice and stage presence, and five acts will be selected to compete in the final by the Europe-Panel and the international expert panel according to the results of NDR’s assessment. Following the selection of finalists, the German broadcaster will work with composers, producers, and record labels from different genres to select an individual song for each finalist, so the five finalists will compete at the live show performing original songs written specifically for them.