The BBC have revealed that there will be changes to the format of their Eurovision selection process, You Decide. The nation have used the same format for the last three years, however this has unfortunately not translated to success at Eurovision.
The national final will take place in February in Salford, in the northwest of England. This is the first time that You Decide will be held outside of Southern England. Mel Giedroyc and Måns Zelmerlöw will be returning as the hosts of the show for the second year in a row.
For the 2019 edition, there will still be six artists competing, however there will only be three songs in contention. Each song will be performed by two different artists who will compete against one another in a sing-off. After the sing-offs, the three remaining artist-song combinations will be voted on again with the winner of this vote going on to represent the UK at Eurovision in Tel Aviv, Israel.
Creative Director for Entertainment at BBC Studios and Executive Producer of Eurovision: You Decide, Mel Balac has commented on the format change, saying,
‘This year the three songs presented to the United Kingdom have been selected with the help of an international jury. Our exciting “euro-version” format will give fans the chance to compare and contrast these fantastic songs in a fresh, new way and deliver the United Kingdom the artist it deserves to fly the flag out in Tel Aviv in May.’
Kate Phillips, Controller of Entertainment Commissioning at BBC also commented on the changes, saying,
‘Forget about a sing-off, next year it’s all about the song-off as we once again try to marry a great singer with a great song, one which could finally get us on the left hand side of the leader board. We may be leaving the EU but we are still determined to win Eurovision again one day!’
Will this format change bring UK some success at Eurovision? Tell us what you think! Watch SuRie’s 2018 performance below: