Martin Österdahl: Those who needed an outlet from their frustrations and disapproved of me, it was ok!

In an interview with the Swedish newspaper Göteborgs-Posten, Martin Österdahl, executive supervisor of Eurovision, answers about the changes announced by the EBU, the limitation of his duties, the difficult situations due to the political developments in the Middle East that had an impact on the contest in  Malmö, but also for the boos he received during the final of this year’s competition.

Initially, Martin Österdahl is very positive about the changes announced by the EBU, but also about the fact that his responsibilities are being limited, since he will now have more control over what has been assigned to him.

The Eurovision Song Contest has grown explosively over the last four years and the organization has in many cases gotten away from us. If we compare ourselves to a bigger sporting event that has the same media pressure, we were probably a bit naive and didn’t really have the resources we needed.

Martin Österdahl is proud that Eurovision 2024 had high ratings. He points out that Eurovision has lived with “geopolitical tensions” over the years, but that it was particularly difficult in Malmö.

The Middle East issue is complex. They are fighting it out in the White House and in 10 Downing Street, so it is clear that it is also difficult for an organization like the EBU. I don’t have concrete answers as to how we are going to solve this in the future, but that decisions need to be made clearer and that communication is improved, that is what we will focus on.

Regarding the boos he received from the public, Martin Österdahl says that his only concern was that everyone was safe and that he has no problem with boos if they came from people who found an outlet for their frustration this way their.

My concern was that we would overcome these situations and that everyone would leave (Malmo) safe and sound. If they needed an outlet for their frustration, then boos are fine with me. The main thing was that no one was injured.

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the updates!

Source: Göteborgs-Posten