The build-up to the 68th Eurovision Song Contest has been marred by protests over Israel’s inclusion in the event.

Israeli singer Eden Golan qualified for tomorrow’s (11 May) grand final at Sweden’s Malmö Arena after a public vote. The 20-year-old received a mixed reaction from the audience during last night’s semi-final and had been booed during rehearsals the previous evening.

Eurovision has faced boycott calls over Israel’s participation in the 2024 contest, amid the ongoing war and escalating humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Thousands of pro-Palestinian protestors gathered in the streets of Malmö yesterday. The Guardian reports that further protests, and an alternative concert, which organisers have billed as “a song contest without genocide”, are planned for Saturday.

A smaller demonstration in support of Israel also reportedly took place.

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which organises the competition, allowed Israel to compete after it changed the lyrics to its song, originally titled October Rain, which was understood to reference the 7 October attacks by Hamas, breaching Eurovision’s rules on political neutrality. It has since been renamed Hurricane and features amended lyrics.

“It is truly such an honour to be here on stage, representing [Israel] with pride,” said Golan, as per the BBC. “I’m so grateful for everyone who voted and took part in supporting us, and me.”

“The European Broadcasting Union acknowledges the depth of feeling and the strong opinions that this year’s Eurovision Song Contest – set against the backdrop of a terrible war in the Middle East – has provoked”

According to Al Jezeera, About 1,139 people were killed in the coordinated 7 October attacks according to Israeli authorities – including more than 360 in the Supernova festival massacre – while over 34,904 people have since been killed in Gaza, and 78,514 wounded.

The EBU released a statement last month regarding the “abuse and harassment” of Eurovision artists.

“The European Broadcasting Union acknowledges the depth of feeling and the strong opinions that this year’s Eurovision Song Contest – set against the backdrop of a terrible war in the Middle East – has provoked,” says Jean Philip De Tender, deputy director general of the EBU. “We understand that people will want to engage in debate and express their deeply held views on this matter. We have all been affected by the images, stories and the unquestionable pain suffered by those in Israel and in Gaza.

“However, we wish to address the concerns and discussions surrounding this situation, especially the targeted social media campaigns against some of our participating artists.”

De Tender continues: “The decision to include any broadcaster, including the Israeli’ broadcaster Kan, in the Eurovision Song Contest is the sole responsibility of the EBU’s governing bodies and not that of the individual artists. These artists come to Eurovision to share their music, culture, and the universal message of unity through the language of music.

“The EBU has previously explained the reasoning for the inclusion of KAN and the differences between them as an independent broadcaster and previous participants who were excluded. Constructive debate is a positive consequence of such decisions.

“However, while we strongly support freedom of speech and the right to express opinions in a democratic society, we firmly oppose any form of online abuse, hate speech, or harassment directed at our artists or any individuals associated with the contest. This is unacceptable and totally unfair, given the artists have no role in this decision.”

“We urge everyone to engage in respectful and constructive dialogue and support the artists who are working tirelessly – on what is a music and entertainment show”

He adds: “The EBU is dedicated to providing a safe and supportive environment for all participants, staff, and fans of the Eurovision Song Contest. We will continue to work closely with all stakeholders to promote the values of respect, inclusivity, and understanding, both online and offline.

“We urge everyone to engage in respectful and constructive dialogue and support the artists who are working tirelessly – on what is a music and entertainment show – to share their music with the world.”

Meanwhile, Sky News reports that the Netherlands’ Eurovision entry Joost Klein is under EBU investigation due to an “incident”.

“We are currently investigating an incident that was reported to us involving the Dutch artist,” says an EBU statmement. “He will not be rehearsing until further notice. We have no further comment at this time and will update in due course.”

Malmö Arena, owned by Parkfast Arena, can host up to 15,000 people for music events depending on the position of the stage, according to the venue’s website. It will be the seventh time Sweden will host to Eurovision and coincides with the 50th anniversary of ABBA’s first triumph. Former winners Charlotte Perrelli, Carola and Conchita Wurst are set to perform an homage to the legendary Swedish band during Saturday’s ceremony.

Latvia, Austria, the Netherlands, Norway, Greece, Estonia, Switzerland, Georgia and Armenia also qualified for tomorrow’s final. Last year’s trophy was taken home by Sweden’s contestant, Loreen, who won the competition, hosted by Liverpool, UK, on behalf of Ukraine, for the second time. Croatia are the current favourites to win the 2024 contest.

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The 68th Eurovision Song Contest will take place at Malmö Arena in Sweden’s third-largest city, it has been revealed.

The coastal town in the south of Sweden was selected after organisers evaluated the city’s venue facilities and accommodation availability for thousands of visitors.

Malmö Arena, owned by Parkfast Arena, can host up to 15,000 people for music events depending on the position of the stage, according to the venue’s website.

It has also been revealed by the Malmö Municipality Board, that the city of Malmö intends to invest SEK 30 million (€2.5 million) to host the contest, alongside other sources of funding.

“Malmö holds a special place in the history of the contest, having successfully hosted it firstly in 1992 and then in 2013”

This will be the seventh time the Scandinavian nation will be home to Eurovision and it coincides with the 50th anniversary of Abba’s big win.

Last year’s trophy was taken home by Sweden’s contestant, Loreen, who sang Tattoo and won the competition for the second time.

The UK co-hosted the 67th Eurovision Song Contest alongside Ukraine in Liverpool, due to the ongoing and internationally condemned invasion of the country by Russia.

Commenting on the decision to host the competition in Malmö, executive supervisor of Eurovision, Martin Osterdahl, says: “Malmö holds a special place in the history of the contest, having successfully hosted it firstly in 1992 and then in 2013 — following Loreen’s last win.”

“We’re excited to be returning to this vibrant and dynamic city, which has demonstrated it has the venues and infrastructure that are perfect for staging the world’s largest live music event.”

The official Eurovision website says that tickets will be “on sale soon” and that prices and availability are based on the chosen venue and the amount of space it has, as organisers need to evaluate where the cameras, technical equipment, and stage will go before arranging audience seating.

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As the final sequins are swept up and the outfits packed away, we’re reflecting on a whirlwind week for our venue and city.

It was an honour to be chosen to host Eurovision ’23 on behalf of Ukraine, and in the same year as we celebrate our 15th anniversary. From the moment Liverpool was announced as the host city, we knew this would be an event like no other and would require a massive effort from our teams, in a very short timescale. But delivering fantastic events is what we do best and we were ready to rise to the challenge.

It was a huge collaboration between our teams and service partners, working closely with the BBC; EBU; Culture Liverpool; Combined Authority; DCMS and Merseyside Police.

The event utilised the whole campus, with the live shows taking place in the arena, the convention centre hosting the delegation bubble and dressing rooms, and crew catering, media centre and hospitality in the exhibition centre. The event build was extensive, with the BBC taking tenancy from 27 March and technical rehearsals starting in April.

There were 12 shows in total, nine of which were open to the public. The staging for the live shows involved more than 600 rigging points, 140 tons of steel ground support structure, and 1KM of additional steel truss work. It featured eight miles of cabling for lighting, sound, video and SFX, over 2,000 specialist lighting fixtures, 200 custom staging decks, 950sqm of staging for the main stage, and 500sqm of staging for the green room.

The grand final smashed viewing figures, with a record breaking 180 million tuning in

Outside of the campus, an additional 500,000 visitors flocked to the city during the two-week period to soak up wider events including a Eurovision Village, art commissions at a Eurofestival, glittering open ceremony and numerous community and school engagement programmes.

The grand final smashed viewing figures, with a record breaking 180 million tuning in, making it the most viewed final in Eurovision history. Both audience and client feedback has been outstanding, with the European Broadcasting Union hailing this year’s event as ‘the best production and host city we have ever seen’.

The impact of Eurovision 2023 will become clear in coming months. There are already some key legacy projects emerging, including the development of a Eurovision music legacy fund driven by the Liverpool City Region Music Board, which will support local grassroots artists. We are also engaging with TikTok, who was the official entertainment partner of the contest, to platform the local music scene.

As a UNESCO City of Music, we want to fully embrace the slogan United by Music. Eurovision has been a living, breathing example of the power of live events. For us, it is the culmination of the challenging journey that we, like so many others in our industry, have been on since 2020. From lobbying the government to support the events industry and acknowledge the power of live experiences, to welcoming one of the biggest events in the world to the UK, our industry has achieved so much. It has been a privilege to be at the heart of this phenomenal global event and we are excited for the next chapter of our incredible journey.

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Eurovision 2023 host city Liverpool has geared up for tomorrow night’s song contest by holding a week-long series of events in the city.

Featuring free one-off shows, live performances, DJ sets and special guest appearances, dedicated fan zone The Eurovision Village opened at Pier Head last Friday 5 May and is running every day until the 13 May Grand Final.

Tomorrow night’s Grand Final Party at the Pier Head, for which tickets cost £15, is already sold out. Acts will include Steps’  Claire Richards, Vengaboys, Katrina of the UK’s last Eurovision winners Katrina and the Waves and Jedward’s Epic Eurovision Singalong, along with a screening of the contest itself. The final will also be screened live in UK cinemas for the first time in the event’s history.

The competition is taking place on UK soil for the first time since 1998 following Kalush Orchestra’s victory for Ukraine in Turin, Italy last May, after it was concluded that it could not be held in the winning country for safety and security reasons. The UK’s Sam Ryder finished second in last year’s contest at PalaOlimpico in Turin, Italy.

Liverpool’s M&S Bank Arena (cap. 11,000) was given the nod ahead of Glasgow’s OVO Hydro to stage the final and semi-finals after the seven-strong UK shortlist was cut to two. Liverpool was chosen following a bid process that examined facilities at the venue, the ability to accommodate thousands of visiting delegations, crew, fans and journalists, infrastructure, and the cultural offer of the host city in reflecting Ukraine’s win in 2022, amongst other criteria.

“We need to look at a lot of requirements for hosting an event of this size”

“We need to look at a lot of requirements for hosting an event of this size,” Eurovision directing supervisor Martin Österdahl tells the Liverpool Echo. “It’s quite massive [when it comes to logistics] but the soft factors include a city that’s really engaged, enthusiastic, engaged, has the experience and expertise but also the passion to make the most of it and I think Liverpool has that.”

The initial batch of 6,000 tickets for the 2023 event sold out in 36 minutes in March, with around 64,000 tickets for rehearsals and semi-finals also snapped up within an hour. A final batch of tickets released sold out last month.

The UK is hosting the Eurovision Song Contest for a record ninth time having previously stepped in to host the event for other broadcasters in London in 1960 and 1963, in Edinburgh in 1972 and Brighton in 1974. The BBC also staged the Contest following four of their five wins: in London in 1968 and 1977, Harrogate in 1982 and Birmingham in 1998.

“I think Liverpool and the BBC have done a phenomenal job with it,” adds Österdahl. “This is a special edition, it’s completely unique and we’ve never seen a contest like this before and I don’t think anyone is going to miss the message. Walking around Liverpool you see tributes to Ukraine everywhere.

“You have to remember the Eurovision Song Contest has not been in the UK for 25 years and it has changed a lot in that time. When we first moved around and spoke to a lot of different cities, they still didn’t understand but after Liverpool, they will know.

“I think there’s a special shift in the UK. What I’ve seen in the past couple of years, the contest is growing phenomenally, the fan base is growing, the viewers are increasing, and we’re getting more partnerships. Across the board, Eurovision is expanding in the big markets.”

“Through this partnership we’ll be bringing Liverpool’s rich musical heritage and personality, to our global community”

The Eurovision Song Contest is the world’s largest live music event, with over 180 million people tuning in across linear and digital channels in 2022. The contest has launched the global careers of artists including Måneskin, Celine Dion, ABBA and Julio Iglesias.

TikTok has been named by the European Broadcasting Union as the Official Entertainment Partner for Eurovision 2023, and will be supporting key busking sites around Liverpool at Holy Corner, Liverpool One, Sugar House Steps and Liverpool Lime Street. The app will be working alongside tourism body VisitLiverpool to provide workshops and support to small businesses, local attractions and emerging artists.

“Through this partnership we’ll be bringing Liverpool’s rich musical heritage and personality, to our global community,” says James Stafford, TikTok’s general manager, marketing & operations UKI & Nordics. “TikTok is where stars get started and that’s true whether you’re an artist, a small business or a TikTok creator.

“We’ll be providing workshops to businesses, museums and local landmarks, working with local creatives and supporting busking spots across the city; so whether you are a visiting for the first time or discovering the Scouse sense of humour in app, let TikTok be your guide to Liverpool!”

“We are delighted to be partnering with The National Lottery again to extend the celebrations to the rest of the UK”

Elsewhere, the Music Venue Trust (MVT) teamed up with The National Lottery to stage the United By Music Tour of Liverpool, which has seen more than 20 gigs at 20 venues during Eurovision week to showcase the city and support grassroots music venues. On Wednesday (10 May), the partnership hosted a stage at The Eurovision Village, featuring artists including Miles Kane and Lightning Seeds, as well as Eurovision 2023 entrants from Italy, Finland, Norway and Azerbaijan.

The National Lottery and the MVT will also be staging live music events in all 17 UK towns and cities that bid to host Eurovision. In total, more than 20 acts will embark on national tours as part of the initiative. Tickets go on sale on Monday 15 May.

“Following the success of the Liverpool Tour, which saw us host a week-long series of music gigs across the city, we are delighted to be partnering with The National Lottery again to extend the celebrations to the rest of the UK,” says MVT CEO Mark Davyd. “Supporting grassroots music venues has never been more important and we’re delighted to be using venues across the country to highlight new and established artists the world will come to know and love.”

Upcoming concerts at M&S Bank Arena, meanwhile, include Pet Shop Boys, Olly Murs, S Club 7, Madness and Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds.

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The grand final of the Eurovision Song Contest will be screened live in UK cinemas this year for the first time in the event’s history.

The 2023 competition is due to take place at the M&S Bank Arena (cap. 11,000) in Liverpool from 9-13 May, on behalf of Ukraine.

Today (March 24), it has been announced that the closing round of Eurovision will be broadcast in 500 cinemas nationwide.

“Fans can bring their usual Eurovision parties from the front room to the cinema, with fancy dress heavily encouraged,” a press release reads.

“Fans can bring their usual Eurovision parties from the front room to the cinema”

“Presented on the big screen and in 5.1 surround sound, the screenings of the Eurovision – Grand Final Live encourage sing-a-longs with all of the 26 acts that will make up this year’s final.”

John Travers of CinemaLive, distributor of the event in cinemas, adds: “We’re delighted to be working with the BBC to bring Eurovision’s Grand Final live into cinemas across the UK for the first time ever!

“We want audiences to enjoy themselves, come along in groups, get your fancy dress on, and come together to enjoy this historic occasion on the big screen!”

All 6,000 tickets for the 2023 event at Liverpool’s M&S Bank Arena sold out in 36 minutes, with around 64,000 tickets for rehearsals and semi-finals also snapped up within an hour.

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Liverpool has won the race to host the 67th Eurovision Song Contest on behalf of Ukraine.

The 2023 competition will take place in the UK following Kalush Orchestra’s victory for Ukraine in Turin, Italy in May, after it was concluded that it could not be held in the winning country for safety and security reasons. The UK’s Sam Ryder finished second in this year’s contest.

Liverpool’s M&S Bank Arena was picked ahead of Glasgow’s OVO Hydro to stage the final on Saturday 13 May along with the semi-finals on 9 & 11 May after the seven-strong UK shortlist was cut to two. Liverpool was chosen following a bid process that examined facilities at the venue, the ability to accommodate thousands of visiting delegations, crew, fans and journalists, infrastructure, and the cultural offer of the host city in reflecting Ukraine’s win in 2022, amongst other criteria.

The 11,000-cap venue has previously hosted events such as the MTV EMAs and MOBOs and has upcoming shows by acts such as Westlife, N-Dubz and Rod Stewart.

The BBC, together with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), will organise next year’s Eurovision in consultation with Ukraine’s public broadcaster UA:PBC. Tickets will go on sale for nine shows, including dress rehearsals, in due course.

“The city is synonymous with music and Liverpool Arena exceeds all the requirements needed to stage a global event of this scale”

“Liverpool is the ideal place to host the 67th Eurovision Song Contest on behalf of Ukraine,” says Eurvision Song Contest executive supervisor Martin Österdahl. “The city is synonymous with music and Liverpool Arena exceeds all the requirements needed to stage a global event of this scale. We have been very impressed with the passion the city has shown in embracing the contest and their inclusive ideas for placing last year’s winners, Ukraine, front and centre when thousands of fans visit next May.”

The UK will host the Eurovision Song Contest for a record ninth time having previously stepped in to host the event for other broadcasters in London in 1960 and 1963, in Edinburgh in 1972 and Brighton in 1974. The BBC also staged the Contest following four of their five wins: in London in 1968 and 1977, Harrogate in 1982 and Birmingham in 1998.

“It is symbolic that the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest will be held in Liverpool, a twin city of Odesa,” adds Mykola Chernotytskyi, head of the managing board of UA:PBC. “The organisation of a contest of this level sets super demanding requirements. I am confident that the city recognised as the capital of pop music will meet them in the best way and will deliver the celebration of music that will amaze both delegations and fans of Eurovision.”

The Eurovision Song Contest is the world’s largest live music event, with over 180 million people tuning in across linear and digital channels in 2022. The contest has launched the global careers of artists including Måneskin, Celine Dion, ABBA and Julio Iglesias.

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Glasgow or Liverpool will host the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest after the seven-strong UK shortlist was cut to two.

The competition will be held at either the former’s 14,300-cap OVO Hydro or the latter’s 11,000-cap M&S Bank Arena next May, with a final decision to be announced “within weeks”.

Birmingham, Leeds, Newcastle, Sheffield and Manchester were also in the running after 20 UK cities expressed an interest when organisers decided 2022 winners Ukraine could not stage the event due to the war. The UK’s Sam Ryder finished second in this year’s contest.

“The EBU (European Broadcasting Union) would like to warmly thank all the seven British cities that put so much effort and enthusiasm into their bids to host next year’s Eurovision Song Contest on behalf of Ukraine,” says Martin Österdahl, executive supervisor for the Eurovision Song Contest. “We very much appreciate their cooperation and the quality and creativity of all the bids received.

“The Eurovision Song Contest is the most complex TV production in the world with very specific logistical requirements to accommodate around 40 delegations and thousands of crew, volunteers, press and fans.

“We’re confident our final two cities are the best placed to meet this challenge and look forward to continuing our discussions to choose the one which will stage the world’s largest music event next May.”

“The Eurovision Song Contest is a very complex event and Liverpool and Glasgow have the strongest overall offer”

The final decision on the host city will be decided by the BBC in conjunction with the European Broadcasting Union.

“Thanks to all seven cities across the UK who have demonstrated the enthusiasm and passion for Eurovision that exists right across the UK,” adds Phil Harrold, the chair of the BBC’s host city selection committee. “We were incredibly impressed by the quality and creativity of all the city bids, in what was a highly competitive field. The Eurovision Song Contest is a very complex event and Liverpool and Glasgow have the strongest overall offer; we will continue our discussions with them to determine the eventual host city.

“We are determined to make the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest one that both reflects the winning position of Ukraine and is also an event that all of the UK can participate in.”

The Eurovision Song Contest is the world’s largest live music event, with over 180 million people tuning in across linear and digital channels in 2022. The contest has launched the global careers of artists including Måneskin, Celine Dion, ABBA and Julio Iglesias.

Organisers are also planning to launch the event in Canada and Latin America, as the global expansion of the brand continues.

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The Eurovision Song Contest is set to launch in Latin America, as the global expansion of the brand continues.

According to the organisers, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest generated high content views in Latin America.

Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Mexico were among the top-performing markets for non-participating nations – one of which will be selected as the host city for Eurovision Song Contest Latin America.

“Following on from the launch of the American Song Contest, and with plans underway for Eurovision Song Contest Canada next year, the European Broadcasting Union is thrilled to be now working with Voxovation on bringing the excitement and magic of the Eurovision Song Contest to Latin America,” says Eurovision Song Contest executive supervisor Martin Österdahl.

“The unique Eurovision format finds new fans across the globe every year and we can’t wait to expand”

“The unique Eurovision format finds new fans across the globe every year and we can’t wait to expand the brand in this hugely diverse part of the world.”

Eurovision Song Contest Latin America will be produced by Voxovation, the producers behind American Song Contest and Eurovision Song Contest Canada.

Peter Settman and Greg Lipstone of Voxovation’s producing team, adds: “Fans across Latin America have consistently shown up and showed out for the Eurovision Song Contest brand, and Eurovision Song Contest Latin America is the embodiment of that fervent passion, as well as a continuation of the broad vision we, the producing team, have for Eurovision as a global brand.”

The Eurovision Song Contest is the world’s largest live music event, with over 180 million people tuning in across linear and digital channels in 2022.

The contest has launched the global careers of a wide variety of artists, including most recently Italian winners Måneskin as well as Celine Dion, ABBA, Julio Iglesias and numerous others.

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Organisers have hailed as a success the grand final of the Eurovision Song Contest, which, with 3,500 Covid-negative live music fans in attendance, was the biggest indoor pilot event held in the Netherlands to date.

The 2021 contest, the first since 2019, concluded at the 16,500-capacity Ahoy arena in Rotterdam on Saturday (22 May), with Italian band Måneskin crowned the winner for their song ‘Zitti e buoni’. In total, 26 countries made it to the final, with all but one (Iceland’s Daði og Gagnamagnið, one of whom tested positive for Covid-19) performing live from the arena on the night.

This year’s competition took the form of a pilot show, welcoming an in-person audience as part of the government-approved Back to Live series, coordinated by pan-industry body Fieldlab Events. To gain entry to the arena, everyone involved – including performers, fans, country delegations, press, staff and crew – had to register a negative Covid-19 test in the previous 48 hours, and then get tested again once on site at the dedicated Eurovision test pavilion (pictured).

In addition, social distancing was enforced throughout the venue, while masks had to be worn whenever people moved around the arena (even performers on their way to the stage).

As a Fieldlab event, no persons deemed to be at risk, such as the elderly, were eligible to apply for tickets – which caused some controversy in the run-up to the show, with former Eurovision winner Getty Kaspers (of Teach-In) among those to criticise the ‘no over-70s’ rule.

“The Eurovision Song Contest is a turning point for me”

Among the fans who were successful in getting tickets, the atmosphere at the Ahoy was celebratory. “Everyone is decked out in flags and costumes with a lot of glitter,” one attendee, Deuss, tells public broadcaster NOS. “The atmosphere is cheerful and exuberant. People here feel that they are the lucky ones.”

Jolanda Jansen, director of Rotterdam Ahoy and a spokesperson for Fieldlab member Alliance of Event Builders, says seeing the arena full of staff and fans was her highlight of Eurovision week.

“The moment that moved me the most was seeing all our colleagues happy at work again,” she tells Tubantia. “We’ve come a long way; 2020 was a terrible year. We had to let 40% of the workforce go.

“The Eurovision Song Contest is a turning point for me. From now on it will only get better.”

According to Dutch economic minister, the provisional results from the second phase of Fieldlab/Back to Live events are positive. The full results, which follow the similarly positive findings from the first test events in February, will be announced in the near future.

This article forms part of IQ’s Covid-19 resource centre – a knowledge hub of essential guidance and updating resources for uncertain times.

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This year’s Eurovision Song Contest in the Netherlands will take place as a government-backed pilot event with a small in-person audience, a Dutch minister has announced.

Arie Slob, a minister for media under culture secretary Ingrid van Engelshoven, tells De Telegraaf that it will be possible to admit thousands of fans to Eurovision, which returns this spring after cancelling in 2020, by bringing the contest under Fieldlab Evenementen’s Back to Live, a series of pilot concerts, festivals and other live events which has been running since February. The most recent Back to Live events, two test festivals held at the Lowlands site in Biddinghuizen, took place on 20 and 21 March.

Currently, it is hoped a maximum of 3,500 people a day will be admitted to the 16,426-capacity Rotterdam Ahoy arena from 18 to 22 May, though plans are subject to change should the coronavirus situation deteriorate.

As with previous Back to Live trial events, fans will only be permitted to enter the Ahoy after testing negative for Covid-19.

“We welcome this decision by the Dutch government and the possibility that we can invite fans to join us”

In total, there will be nine shows, including rehearsals, for Eurovision 2021, the 65th edition of the pan-European song contest.

“We welcome this decision by the Dutch government and the possibility that we can invite fans to join us as we bring the Eurovision Song Contest back in May,” says Martin Österdahl, Eurovision’s executive supervisor.

“We will consider the options now available and announce more details in the coming weeks on how we can safely admit audiences to the Ahoy venue in Rotterdam should the situation allow. The health and safety of all those attending the event remains our top priority.”

“The fact that we now have the opportunity to plan for a Eurovision Song Contest with an audience again is something we could only dream of [previously],” the contest’s executive producer Sietse Bakker tells public broadcaster NOS. “We are grateful to the cabinet and to Fieldlab Evenementen for this perspective and the confidence they have placed in us.”

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