The Chief Editor's column (5)

Take a look through the eyes of Sietse Bakker, Chief Editor of esctoday.com. On a weekly base he will discuss the latest Eurovision Song Contest news and background information with you!

The Netherlands is one of the countries involved with the Eurovision Song Contest from the very first beginning in 1956. Many times, the Dutch participant has been chosen in a national final, the Nationaal Songfestival. In 2000, the national final came from the Ahoy' stadium, which also happened in 2001. In 2002, The Netherlands had to skip a year due to the disappointing result of Michelle with Out on my own in Copenhagen. In 2003, the Dutch broadcasters NOS and TROS organised four semifinals and one final. The semifinals came from a small village called Nijkerk, the final came, for the third time, from Ahoy' in Rotterdam. This year, the story is slightly different again…