Eurovision 2021: New case record of COVID-19 in the Netherlands | Concern about the contest!

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The number of daily Covid-19 cases in the Netherlands reached a new all-time high, with escalating incidents raising concerns about a second wave in Europe. As of Wednesday 16/9, the Dutch health authorities reported 1,542 recorded cases, the highest daily increase of all time and exceeding the levels in early April, when Covid-19 had swept the countries of Europe, leading to lockdown measures.

Wednesday’s cases surpassed the previous record of 1,379 cases on Tuesday, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the Netherlands to 86,320.

In this context, there is strong concern about the Eurovision Song Contest, which is scheduled to take place on May 18, 20 and 22. Although the organizers and the EBU say in all directions that the event will return in 2021 stronger than ever, nothing should be taken for granted, especially if the pandemic data worsens.

Given the current reality due to the dispersal of Covid-19, the Polish organizers of Junior Eurovision 2020, which will take place on November 29, decided to hold the show in a different way this year. Its presentation and Interval Acts will take place in a studio in the Polish capital, while all participants will present their songs in a studio located in each country. A scenario rejected by both the EBU and the Dutch organizers for the senior Eurovision.

“Eurovision returns to normality in 2021” say the Dutch hosts

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Two years without Eurovision is too much for the legion of staunch fans of the song festival, but after the worst of the pandemic, there is already a horizon. Eurovision, which was to have been held a month ago in Rotterdam (Netherlands), and which was canceled for the first time in its 64-year history due to the health crisis, already has a new date: from May 18 to 22, 2021. And It will do so on the stage where it was scheduled to be held this year, the Ahoy Arena in the Dutch city (which was converted into a field hospital for a few weeks to treat Covid-19 patients), which has the capacity to 16,000 people. On the other hand, the children’s edition, Junior Eurovision, which is going to be held this year in Warsaw (Poland) on November 29, will change its format and will be converted into a program done on a set instead of in a large venue before thousands of people due to health and safety restrictions.

« We have a whole year ahead of us to analyze in detail the possible scenarios with the parties involved and make the show take place despite the circumstances, making adjustments if necessary. We’re still aiming very high, ”executive producer Sietse Bakker said Monday. The organization has yet to decide the conditions for the celebration of the festival, but at the moment nothing has been ruled out and the possibility that there will be no restrictions due to the pandemic by then is being considered. Rotterdam had already invested 15 million euros to organize Eurovision this year and the city will have to invest 6.7 million more to readapt it next year, according to local authorities quoted by TVE on its website about the festival.

The European Broadcasting Union is already working to determine if they will keep elements that were already prepared for this year, such as the stage (always one of the attractions of the gala). “The stage will be moved to next year, because it was already prepared. Other than that, a lot depends on what is possible at the time, on the availability of everyone involved and what fits with the spirit of 2021, « said Bakker. In the 2021 edition, the songs that had been chosen this year will not be able to be presented, but the participants will be able to repeat.

Source: explica

Stefania’s first song as a composer | Listen the song she composed for “FOURCE”!

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Stefania comes to prove that apart from being a very talented singer, she is also a very good creator. Through her social networks, she informs us about the new song she composed for FOURCE, a very successful boy band in the Netherlands. Read more

EBU: “”We are considering two scenarios for the Eurovision Song Contest 2021”

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In an interview with the French-speaking Swiss public television RTS, Nadja Burkhardt, who is in charge of EBU events, referred to the conduct of Eurovision 2021. According to what she reveals, the organizers are in discussions with all parties involved, while considering every possible parameter , having come up with two basic scenarios for the next competition. Read more

The Netherlands: With Jeangu Macrooy at Eurovision 2021

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It was not long before the official cancellation of Eurovision 2020 was announced and the Dutch public television had already announced that Jeangu Macrooy would represent the country in 2021 as well.

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Het Eurovisie Songfestival, dat dit jaar plaats zou vinden in Rotterdam, is in verband met het Coronavirus afgelast. Natuurlijk is AVROTROS hierover erg teleurgesteld, helemaal omdat het Songfestival in 2020 juist voor Nederland een extra bijzonder jaar had moeten zijn. Uiteraard heeft AVROTROS het volste begrip voor de beslissing van de EBU, de gemeente Rotterdam en het projectteam bestaande uit NPO/NOS/AVROTROS. Dit is geen makkelijk besluit, maar helaas onvermijdelijk omdat de gezondheid te allen tijde voorop staat. Ook voor Jeangu Macrooy is dit een spannende periode geweest, maar hij begrijpt het besluit volledig. AVROTROS blijft achter onze Nederlandse inzending staan en zet graag in 2021 met nieuwe energie en veel passie de samenwerking met Jeangu voort. Samen staan we sterk! Verdere details over #TeamJeangu en het Eurovisie Songfestival 2021 zullen in een later stadium gedeeld worden. #ESC2020 #ESF2020 #Eurovision #Songfestival @omroep.avrotros @jeangu_macrooy Foto: @antoncorbijn4real

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“The Eurovision Song Contest, to be held in Rotterdam this year, has been canceled because of the coronavirus. Of course, AVROTROS is very disappointed about this, especially since the Eurovision 2020 song contest would be a special event for the Netherlands. Of course, AVROTROS fully understands the decision of the EBU, the municipality of Rotterdam and the project team which also consists of NPO / NOS / AVROTROS representatives. This is not an easy decision, but unfortunately unavoidable because health is a top issue for everyone.
Eurovision 2020 would also be an exciting time for Jeangu Macrooy, but he also fully understands the decision. AVROTROS is pleased to continue working with Jeangu and Eurovision 2021 with renewed vigor and passion. Together we are strong!”

The above statement means that the Netherlands has already announced Jeangu Macrooy as its representative at Eurovision 2021, before the Reference Group decides what to do with the artists and the songs selected for this year’s competition. However, from Avrotros’s announcement, we conclude that only the artist is confident and not the song. Apparently, they are waiting for EBU announcements on this issue.

We remind you that the Netherlands would participate in Eurovision 2020 with the song “Grow”:

The Netherlands: Glennis Grace returns to Eurovision 2020

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Dutch public broadcaster AVROTROS has announced that one of the country’s biggest superstars, Glennis Grace, will return to the Eurovision stage after 15 years. Specifically, Glennis will be one of the guests to sing as an interval act, shortly before the announcement of the results on May 16.

Glennis, who is highly regarded by fans of the contest, represented the Netherlands at Eurovision 2005 with the song “My Dream Impossible”, without qualifying to the Final. In 2018, she participated in the 13th edition of America’s Got Talent, where she reached the Final.

As of early this year, Dutch public television, NPO, has announced that it will invite all previous representatives of the country for a unique appearance on the night of the big Eurovision 2020 Final while representatives of other countries and world-renowned Dutch artists will cross the threshold of the Ahoy Arena will cross the threshold of the Ahoy Arena.

Source: AVROTROS

The Netherlands: Jeangu Macrooy will compete with Grow in the 23rd place of the final

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The draw for the Eurovision 2020 final was held in the Netherlands. Jeangu Macrooy was particularly lucky after the Dutch chief of staff pulled the N.23.

As you know, the order of appearance in both the final and the semifinals is determined by the organizers and approved by the EBU. The only draw being held is whether you will compete in the first or second half.

The exception to the above is the order of appearance of the organizing country, which is always determined by lottery, including all possible seats. From 1 to 26.

The Netherlands will compete at No 23, a very good place. Let us remember once again the participation of the country that will host Eurovision 2020, with Jeangu Macrooy and “Grow”:

 

The Netherlands: Big plans in Amsterdam for Eurovision 2020

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Although the contest will take place in Rotterdam after the city’s victory over Amsterdam for the Eurovision 2020 event, the city of Amsterdam is implementing grand plans for the event.

The de Reguliers business club has plans to install large screens in May to broadcast the two semifinals and the grand final on Reguliersdwarsstraat Street, a street that has linked its reputation with the country’s homosexual life, as there are many gay restaurants and cafes, while hosting the annual Amsterdam Gay Pride.

The municipality has already awarded a € 35,000 grant from the event fund for this purpose. At the same time, there will be events and music playing on Eurovision for the rest of the day.

“We have been working closely with Eurovision Artists, an institution that has been involved with the song festival for at least twenty years”

Eward Koning, President of de Reguliers

However, in order to implement de Reguliers’ plans, special permits will have to be granted by the Centrum district council. Koning himself seems particularly optimistic about the request to the municipality:

“The municipality has stated that this is a unique and extraordinary event and that we want to help us implement it. Normally one can make noise by 23:00, but they have to make an exception on festival days”

Live link to Amsterdam during the contest?

At the suggestion of Sietse Bakker, executive producer of Eurovision 2020, the event could be broadcast live during the competition.

“The competition takes place in Rotterdam. But our community (Amsterdam BC) immediately asked us if we wanted to have something fun. That’s why we do this. We don’t want to steal the show from Rotterdam, but we want to celebrate, share and experience the experience.We discussed the plans with him (ed. Sietse Bakker) a month and a half ago. He suggested to see if we could switch to live broadcasting during the show. I don’t know if it will work, but how perfect would it be to see us in 180 million salons? ”

Finally, Eward Koning did not hold out his optimism by expressing his desire to hear the famous “douze points” from Reguliersdwarsstraat Street.

Source/Image: parool.nl/Nikolai Karaneschev

Eurovision 2020: Sietse Bakker: “Eurovision final may last less”

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An interesting interview was given by Eurovision 2020’s executive producer, Sietse Bakker. Speaking at singfestival.bg, he revealed several aspects of the Dutch organizers’ preparation, but also expressed his conviction that unlike his two semifinal contests, the big final lasts long, given that it is always a television program. At the end of the interview, Sietse Bakker said that while he had never been interested in the position of executive supervisor of the contest, he did not rule out the possibility of seeing him succeed Jon Ola Sand.

It was a complete cycle
Prior to taking over as executive producer of Eurovision 2020, Sietse, with his own website designing company, had worked with the EBU on numerous occasions and even served as Supervisor Event. In 2016 he decided to stop. “The first Eurovision Song Contest I attended was in Stockholm, so when it was in Stockholm again in 2016, it was a complete one for me. It was time to quit the competition and get more involved in my own business”.

It all started for one girl 
“It all started when I tried to impress a girl from another class who was a big fan of the competition,” Sietse said when asked where his interest in the competition came from. “I wanted to impress her by making a website mentioning the contest, ESCToday. After attending the Eurovision Song Contest in Riga for the first time in 2003, I was addicted and in the meantime our site had become very big. He didn’t work with the girl, but it was the beginning of my career. “

Proud Dutchman
The Netherlands had a hard time competing, so when asked how Sietse lived up to Duncan’s victory, he said: “AVROTROS has built this beautifully from 2013 onwards, from Anouk to Duncan now winning. Of course this makes us proud, but it’s also a weird feeling. I’m part of the team that has ultimate responsibility is a complete honor, but it’s a very difficult job”.

The final may last less
The most important news that comes out of the interview is Sietse Bakker’s phrase about the duration of the final: “The semifinals are relatively short, but it is true that the final takes a long time and can be less long”.

Does this mean that we will see a shorter broadcast of the Eurovision final, coming to Rotterdam in May? It is worth noting here that the duration of its final competition in recent years is approximately three and a half hours.

Happy with the hosts
“We didn’t find the presenters overnight. We’ve been working since July on who could present it. Everything came to mind: from presenters to singers, actors and dancers. After several meetings, this combination is the best result and we are very proud of this trio “.

More news about hotels coming soon
Sietse Bakker had, of course, to respond to the high hotel prices during the competition. High hotel prices are a problem for many Eurovision fans who would like to watch the event up close. “We have booked 3,000 rooms in the bidding phase, for which we will soon publish more news. Keep in mind that the Netherlands is a relatively small country and you should also look outside Rotterdam for accommodation”.

Successor to Jon Ola Sand?
Will he seek to replace Jon Ola Sand in the future? “I have never pursued this job and now I focus exclusively on the role I have. And for the story, I haven’t been called by the EBU yet”.

You can watch the entire interview below:

Netherlands: Proposal to Edsilia Rombley to present Eurovision 2020

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Following “Game Of Thrones” star Michiel Huisman, Dutch media claim that the country’s representative at Eurovision 1998 and 2007, Edsilia Rombley, has accepted a proposal to present the 65th Eurovision Song Contest, which will take place May 12,14 and 16 in Rotterdam. .

In 1998 Edsilia Rombley took fourth place in the competition then held in Birmingham, with the song “Hemel en aarde”. In 2007, she represented the country for the second time, with the song “On Top Of The World”, but failed to qualify for the final of the event.

The news was broadcast by RTL television. Edsilia Rombley will also be one of the presenters of Eurovision In Concert, the biggest annual promo event, held before the contest.