The country that traditionally wins the Eurovision Song Contest is – with a few exceptions – responsible for organizing the event. “The day after the final, you really start working,” says Sitts Bakker, the executive producer of the Eurovision Song Contest in the Netherlands who is still involved with the broadcasting union EBU.
So much work, so little time
The organization will not leave a country in cold clothes. “It’s a lot of work in a very short time (actually). It also means that if you have to move the Eurovision Song Contest, for example because of safety, you won’t have much time to make that decision,” he told EditieNL.
Packer does not believe that this organization is now reserved for Ukraine. “We have to be honest: the situation in Ukraine does not look good now.”
Win, don’t organize
This would not be the first time that the festival has not been held in the winning country. The organization has often been abandoned in the past. It happened in 1974, after Luxembourg won the festival twice. After regulating once, the state thought it would be nice and handed over the baton to England.
The same thing happened to Israel: that country won in 1978 and 1979. They also did not want to organize the event twice in a row. In addition, the event was scheduled for a national day of mourning. This is why the Netherlands hosted the Song Festival in 1980.
There is also an exception if Australia wins. Due to the high cost, the festival would never take place in this country – even if it won. In this case, the Australian channel SBS will cooperate in the organization in a European country.
But where will we go if the country wins? “There are actually no rules for that,” he says. “Before making this decision, you have already spent some time. Then you have less time for preparations. So it is easier to choose a country that has all the resources ready. Or a country that you recently organized.”
The Netherlands can be an option in this regard. “That sounds tempting, but it’s up to the EBU to decide,” Packer said. “It’s still a bit too early to say anything about this. Let’s wait for the final first. One of the other favorite countries could also win.”
Eddie told NL that Ole Bisuk, a member of the Ukrainian Kalush Philharmonic Orchestra, hasn’t given up on his hopes yet. “We hope that next year the Eurovision Song Contest will take place in a new, beautiful and joyful Ukraine.”
