The echoes of the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest have not yet faded away, but works for next year are already off and rolling.

The kick-off meeting about the organization of the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest took place yesterday 19 May 2015, only 9 days after this year’s Grand Final.

Jon Ola Sand, the EBU Executive Supervisor, and Sietse Bakker, the Event Supervisor, met with representatives of the Austrian Broadcaster ORF, namely  the Director General Dr. Alexander Wrabetz, the Commercial Director Richard Grasl, the TV Director Kathrin Zechner and the Technical Director Michael Götzhaber.

Jon Ola Sand appreciated the early invitation to this meeting by the broadcaster, which shows ORF’s commitment to a successful Eurovision Song Contest in 2015, as the Executive Supervisor indicated.

Dr. Wrabetz further explained that with a major international event such as the Eurovision Song Contest, it is important not to lose time and to start the preparation work. He also mentioned that cooperation between ORF, the state, municipal and private partners is required to accomplish a project of such magnitude as the Eurovision Song Contest.

Many details are still to be addressed, but what is known so far is that the arena should be available six weeks before the show and that it should be a closed area in order to avoid problems related to daylight. The preliminary dates that had already been announced are still 12 and 14 May for the semi-finals and 16 May for the final, but they are open to change. The final dates should be decided this summer.

The 2015 Eurovision Song Contest will be organized by the Austrian broadcaster ORF after the country’s victory this year with the entry Rise like a Phoenix performed by Conchita Wurst.

Stay tuned to esctoday.com for more news on Austria and the Eurovision Song Contest.

Excited about the early preparations? Have you recovered yet from this year’s contest? Ready for the next one? Please let us know of your thoughts in the comments below.