Organisation determined to have all participants perform in Rotterdam

Photo: Rotterdam Ahoy – https://www.ahoy.nl/

Earlier today it was released that the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and Dutch organizing broadcasters NPO, NOS and AVROTROS have published an extensive Covid-19 Health and Safety Protocol for the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest. Everyone accredited to the event (those working on or competing) will have to live up to this protocol, creating the base for a Eurovision Song Contest where every artist can perform in Rotterdam Ahoy.

“The spirit and tradition of the Eurovision Song Contest is about uniting Europe on one stage and we are very much still determined to achieve this in Rotterdam in May”, says Executive Supervisor Martin Österdahl.

The most important measures in the protocol are:

Everyone must keep 1,5 metres distance with one another
All those attending the Eurovision Song Contest from abroad are recommended to go into quarantine for 5 days before departure to the Netherlands and they must test negative for COVID-19 at most 72 hours before they fly.
Delegations have to stay in their hotel. They can only go outside the hotel for programme related activities, such as rehearsals and ofcourse the live shows.
Everyone working in the Ahoy Arena, like crew, artists and press, will be tested regularly in a special testing facility next to the arena.
Face masks are mandatory, except for, amongst others, the live performances.

As earlier released, for every performance, a backup recording will be made in the respective home country before the contest. In the case an artist is unable to perform live, due to a positive Covid-19 test, this backup recording will be aired during the live show.

The decision on whether a scaled down live audience will be able to be attending the live shows and on what public activities can take place around the event will be made later in the coming months.

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Wouter Huele

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October 25, 2024 No Comments

General

They will rock you!

It is often said: Rock music… that doesn’t belong in the Eurovision Song Contest. But why not? And who decides? That is the counter-question. The answer is simple; If we look at the rules of the EBU, there are rules about length, publication, originality, but not about the genre.So…. Rock music at Eurovision: Sure thing! The early years For the very first Rock entry, we’re going all the way back to…..1956! An entry in the very first year of Eurovision, which would not be out of place for Elvis (regardless of the language). The Austrian Freddy Quin was one of the German representatives; his song was called was “So geht das jede Nacht”. As with every entry in the Eurovision Song Contest of 1956, apart from the winner, the placement is unknown. Varying degrees of success and the lowest ranking Rock songs were submitted with varying degrees of success in the years that followed. In 1982 a Rock-bottom was reached: Finland’s Kojo with “Nuku pommiin”, took the very last place with 0 points. Was it really that bad, or was Europe not ready for it? Judge for yourself: Rock Win It took quite some time before Rock really made a difference at Eurovision, but in 2006 the time had come: Lordi for Finland with “Hardrock Hallelujah” won the contest with 292 points. Rock is part of it After that, Rock as a type of music at Eurovision was taken a lot more seriously. Bigger successes were achieved, and in 2018 even a Hungarian hard metal band managed to reach the finals. That AWS with “Viszlát Nyár” finished last in the grand final, doesn’t matter… They made it to the finals. The icing on the Rockcake was, of course, Måneskin in 2021. France was the big favorite (Barbara Pravi), but with 524 points, Italy left France behind. The conclusion may be that Rock definitely belongs at Eurovision, although opinions will always be divided on this. 2024 was a year without Rock. We are curious to see what 2025 will bring. Share

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October 25, 2024 No Comments