The Bar (TV series)

The Bar (Swedish: Baren) was a popular Swedish reality television program, that was first seen in Sweden in 2000 and in other countries from 2001. For around two months, a number of contestants work in a bar and try to avoid periodic publicly voted evictions from a communal house and hence win a cash prize. The show was devised by the Swedish company Strix.

Bar is all about staying in the game, but with the final power to decide resting firmly in the hands of the viewers. This format is a mixture of human relationships and elimination game, showing what happens when some charismatic strangers live together under the same roof to run a city center bar.

Bar is a completely interactive program where both viewers and internet surfers are part of the action. More than 25 web cameras are on-line round 24 hours a day in the bar and in the participants’ apartment. The viewers are urged to take decisions affecting the story lines. The bar is real and uniquely interactive, meaning anyone can drop by for a beer, hang out and talk to the contestants.

The program is stripped for approximately three months, the climax being the host-led live broadcast at the end of each week. Here the contestants candidly discuss the past six days’ events, holding nothing back in front of a live audience.

During the plus-and-minus meeting the contestants rate each other on their performances. The one with the lowest score becomes one of two nominees who can be voted out by the viewers during the live elimination show. Playing the elimination game is full of drama, because to remain in the show the contestants’ tactical instincts and the true nature of their relationships are brought to the surface. Despite this, no matter how they rate one another, they must always justify their choices in front of the viewers and their co- workers.

Having a good score is no guarantee for staying in ‘The Bar’, because the contestant with the highest score gets to choose the second nominee who can be voted out. When the choice is made, the rest is up to the viewers when they decide which of the two they will vote out.

Throughout the live show, a viewer poll is held by phone and via the Web and at the end of the broadcast one of the contestants is voted out. This elimination contest is at the very core of ‘The Bar’, as one by one the contestants are forced to leave the show. At the end of the series, after 11 tough elimination rounds, only the winner remains to claim the prize.

There are currently 42 winners of the The Bar format. The most recent winner is Črt Banko from Slovenia.

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Wikipedia