The EBU is considering two possible scenarios to host the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest in Rotterdam next year according to the French speaking Swiss national broadcaster RTS.

Ms. Nadja Burkhardt (Eurovision Song Contest Event Supervisor/EBU) gave an interview to RTS , the French speaking Swiss national broadcaster where she shed more light on the EBU’s plans for the forthcoming 2021 Eurovision Song Contest after the untimely cancellation of the 2020 Eurovision Song Contest due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact. The ever changing scene in Europe due to the coronavirus travel restrictions and implementations may also influence the format of the competition next year.

This year saw the unprecendeted cancellation of the 2020 Eurovision Song Contest in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, leaving thousands of fans dismayed.  Dutch national broadcasters NOS, NPO and AVROTROS came up with a special alternative show Europe Shine Light where the European audience got to see short excerpts and messages from the 41 competing acts.

The pandemic has changed the manner of work for the EBU (European Broadcasting Union) and its members . Eurovision is a huge television show with more than 125 million viewers a year and is a huge event both for the organizer and host city.

The ESC 2021 edition is scheduled to be held in Rotterdam next year. The Dutch were set to hold the competition this year thanks to Duncan Laurence’s victory last year in Tel Aviv but the event got cancelled.

Ms. Nadja Burkhardt (Eurovision Event Supervisor) is currrently evaluating several scenarios for hosting the event next year. The EBU and the 2021 ESC host broadcasters are studying the current ongoing ever changing developments in Europe and consulting with various event organizing bodies.

Ms. Nadja Burkhardt says:

We are working with other associations, sports associations notably and our members, such as the BBC as a whole, to receive their know how and feebback on holding events, and evaluate what elements we haven’t considered yet.

Two possible scenarios

The organizers of the Eurovision Song Contest are currently considering  two specific scenarios:

• Holding the contest as usual (normal with no restrictions)
• Holding the contest with restrictions (implemented due to COVID 19)

Nadja Burkhardt adds:

In these two scenarios, there are sub-scenarios. We must consider both the legistlation of the host nation along with the legistlations of the 43 competing delegations.

Currently what concerns me the most is how to move from one scenario to another and how to switch from A to B in the last minute.

Regading holding the competition online Nadja adds:

That would be taking things the wrong way. We could indeed start with a completely online disaster scenario, but it really is not the goal. We will really try to do everything so that the competition can take place on-site

The 2021 Eurovision Song Contest is scheduled to be held on 18, 20 and 22 May at the Rotterdam Ahoy in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

Source: RTS