In a previous entry we wrote that the Dutch government and the Dutch organization of the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 in Rotterdam is still preparing for a 2021’s Contest with a live audience. Today it became known that this will be the case upcoming May! During the rehearsals and the semi-finals, as well as during the grand final, a total of 3,500 “Dutch” fans can be present per show, the Dutch government decided.
Eurovision 2021 will be an experiment
Demissionary Minister of Media, Arie Slob, let grand-scale Dutch newspaper “De Telegraaf” know that the Dutch government has decided to turn the greatest music event of the world into a Fieldlab test event. Fieldlab Events is a Dutch company that undertakes experiments to give an insight about what the possibilities and restrictions are of many different social health situations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Also Fieldlab Events’ program manager, Pieter Lubberts, has confirmed the news about a 2021 Contest with a live audience. The new plan is that there will be 3,500 “Dutch” live spectators present during each show. In total there are 9 shows: 2 semi-finals, the grand final, and 6 rehearsal shows.
“How the experiment will be executed will be planned in the upcoming weeks. There are two sides to this new plan. The Eurovision Song Contest 2021 can allow a live audience of 3,500 during the rehearsals and live emissions of the Contest that really cannot exist without a live audience, and on the other side, Fieldlab gets a chance to experiment regarding the options and restrictions concerning future events.”
Pieter Lubberts, Fieldlab Program Manager
Incorporating knowledge
“We are glad that we can incorporate all the knowledge that we already have during the Eurovision Song Contest 2021. For us it is all about creating a better insight of the knowledge that we have already gathered during test events in the Ziggo Dome (music arena in Amsterdam). Now we can see how even bigger audiences react to large-scale events, because during the Contest we will triple the number of spectators we have had during our previous Fieldlab experiments, without taking social distancing into account”, says Pieter Lubberts, Fieldlab Events Program Manager.
Restrictions are in place
There are restrictions though. Only “Dutch” fans are allowed to be present during the 9 shows, because of the travel restrictions of other countries, and only Dutch people who have been tested negative, regarding COVID-19, are allowed to enter Ahoy Rotterdam. Dutch people who do not have the financials to buy a ticket for the shows will be allowed tickets, obviously taking the restrictions above into account.
“Hopefully we can learn a great deal from the organization of a large-scale event, such as the Eurovision Song Contest 2021. This event can guide the way to a society in which more and more will be possible again. We really need this now.”
Arie Slob, Demissionary Dutch Minister of Media
Nothing is certain just yet
There is always a chance that the pandemic in the Netherlands, and other countries across the EBU nations, will be on the rise again. So, nothing is certain just yet. At the end of April the final plans, regarding the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 in the Netherlands, will become known.
“The organization of the Eurovision Song Contest in the Netherlands is glad beyond belief. We get the chance to open up our plans again for a 2021 Contest with a live audience, and that is something we could have only dreamed of. We are so proud of the Dutch government and Fieldlab Events to give us perspective and their trust. The health of the artists, crew, and eventually the live audience will be our top priorities. In the upcoming weeks it will become clear how we will allow the audience to be present, and how the new ticket sales will be planned.”
Sietse Bakker, Executive Producer of the Eurovision Song Contest 2021
The Contest will take place
The Eurovision Song Contest was cancelled last year because of the COVID-19 (corona) pandemic. This year the Contest will take place. The semi-finals will be on the 18th and 20th of May 2021, and the grand final on May 22nd 2021. The city of Rotterdam has made plans to make their city a real Eurovision host city, among other scheduled events, there is “Rotterdam, laat je horen!” (trans. “Rotterdam, make some noise!”), a grand talent show. In the Museum Park of Rotterdam there is a huge digital clock counting down until the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 starts.