[DavidWhitfield]

If it means we get Petra and Måns back as hosts next year, I'd Love (Love Peace Peace) to see Sweden win again!

[Jon]

If it means we get Petra and Måns back as hosts next year, I'd Love (Love Peace Peace) to see Sweden win again!

Didn’t Petra exclusively join a rival network (TV4) from the one that usually airs Eurovision? Although SVT might make allowances they’d probably want to push their own talent.

*She is currently hosting Michael McIntyre’s Swedish Wheel on TV4.

[ConorW2000]

They are indeed on BBC One this year.

I wonder if the BBC will make airing the semi finals on BBC One it a permanent thing beyond this year?

[DeMarkay]

Bring back Petra, she is Eurovision personified!

[Brekkie]

They are indeed on BBC One this year.

I wonder if the BBC will make airing the semi finals on BBC One it a permanent thing beyond this year?

It was baffling they weren't promoted to BBC2 when BBC3 closed really, and I suspect that might be where they find themselves next year.

[steve]

Wouldn't be surprised if they stayed on BBC1 - with the higher profile this year and so much focus on the wider significance at the moment, having hours of extra live, well-produced content that I'm sure would rate as highly as anything else they have to show on BBC1 seems to be a no-brainer to me.

[ConorW2000]

Totally agree.

I have noticed a real shift in perception in the past few months towards Eurovision here in the UK, and the audience is getting increasingly younger as well, so sticking on BBC One given its profile makes complete sense.

Even last year out of all the participating countries, the UK was the leading market for Eurovision, with something like 8.9million watching the final, and I would fully expect it to be even bigger this year.

I think the first semi final last year on BBC Three got 545,000 people watching, which made it BBC Three's third biggest show since it relaunched.

I recon the semi finals moving to BBC One may well become permanent, sticking it all onto the main channel makes sense if you really want to maximise viewership.

[VMPhil]

I think some are overstating the importance/popularity here - in normal years only the final is of interest to the casual BBC One audience. Obviously this year is slightly different.

[tellyblues]

The semi-finals would probably have ended up on BBC1 irrespective of where the contest was being hosted or the result last year because of the dearth of options in primetime and the need to freshen up the schedule. That the semi-final was popular on BBC3 is not saying much given it isn't aimed at the target audience for the channel.

[Jon]

I think some are overstating the importance/popularity here - in normal years only the final is of interest to the casual BBC One audience. Obviously this year is slightly different.

I would have agreed in the past. But as has been more or less pointed the semi-finals will probably do better than whatever would go out on a typical Tuesday or Thursday night. 

Assuming they do well this year, I guess they’ll be obliged to try it wherever the contest is next year. 

I think the only potential issue is of exposing the semi-finals to a wider audience, average viewers may feel they’ve had their Eurovision fix and may be produce slightly lower figures for grand final. On the other hand, it might help to build up interest in the Grand Final.