Eurovision 2022: Two scenarios are being considered for Turin!

An important revelation in view of Eurovision 2022 was made by the Executive Supervisor of our favorite competition, Martin Österdahl. Speaking on the sidelines of Junior Eurovision 2021 on the OGAE Sweden channel, Österdahl revealed that there are two scenarios on the table in view of the 66th Eurovision Song Contest.

Occasioned by the second Junior Eurovision since the outbreak of the pandemic, the Swedish Executive Producer of Eurovision Song Contest answered about the differences between Warsaw 2020 and Paris 2021:

There were definitely differences. Every year has its challenges, as we say with my team. In Warsaw, last year, we were fortunate that TVP had hosted the 2019 competition and had the necessary experience to host an event like that. Also, the pandemic was at a much earlier stage than now. It was different than this year. Today we know more about the pandemic, but we saw that three or four weeks ago we had the appearance of the Omicron variant that caused a lot of concern to all of us. The point is, when it comes to producing live TV shows, you have to be prepared for the worst and have an alternative scenario ready. But the pandemic complicates the situation.

Scenarios

Asked about the four scenarios that were used for Rotterdam 2021 and whether they would be kept in view of Turin 2022, Martin Österdahl replied:

We have more or less the same mindset that we are still in the middle of the pandemic. We have to prepare in the same way for the competition here in Paris but also for the Eurovision in the spring in Turin. Hopefully, we do not have to continue working with four different scenarios for Turin, as we did for a long time in Rotterdam. Maybe two is the realistic development for Turin. We hope that as the temperature rises, the pandemic will be less complicated.

Live-On-Tape

At the same time, the Executive Supervisor of the Eurovision Song Contest explained the EBU’s decision to maintain the use of live-on-tape as an alternative in case something goes wrong:

We have now seen how the new variant affected travel instructions and led to the application of new restrictions. We can not take the risk of this happening again. It is a huge production. There are 41 countries that are going to participate in Eurovision Song Contest in the spring. It is a huge investment on the part of RAI, the organizers of the competition. We must ensure that there is a competition and live-on-tape is the last guarantee that we will have a competition.