In a statement released in the early afternoon, theEuropean Broadcasting Union (EBU) announced the end of the review process into the events of theEurovision Song Contest 2024. The review, conducted by an unspecified external and independent body, led to the identification of areas to be addressed for future editions.
For this reason, after having collected feedback from all stakeholders of theEurovision – so all the heads of delegation, the members of the Reference Group, the executive board of theEurovision and the production of the Malmö 2024 edition – it was decided to create three task forces dedicated to the three critical areas identified as “EBU Governance and Participation“, “Safety and Risk Management” e “To ensure a show for the general public and a wide involvement“.
Not only that, following this independent review process theEBU underlines how it is necessary to strengthen the leadership team “to ensure adequate operational capacity to manage an event of this magnitude”. For this reason the role of Director of the Eurovision Song Contest. This figure will deal directly with the Deputy General Manager and Media Director of theEBUrole currently held by Jean Philip De Tender.
In the intentions, this new role will allow the Executive Supervisor – to date, despite the rumours of farewell, still Martin Osterdahl – to focus on the production of the event, relations with participating broadcasters and their delegation heads, and day-to-day production matters. In addition, theEBU specifies that this new Director will oversee the work of the Executive Supervisor and the holder of a new role, namely the Head of Brand and Commercial Eurovision Song Contest. It has not yet been announced who will assume these two new roles.
The new EBU Eurovision task forces
Returning to the tasks of the task forces, composed of senior leaders; according to the EBU press release, this will be respectively, as regards the part of governance:
Clarify the decision-making responsibilities of the various governing bodies of theEBU in relation to the list of eligible participants, ensuring that a wide range of members’ views are heard; the mandate of the governing bodies and the responsibilities of the Eurovision Song Contest core team; the role of the heads of delegation and the responsibilities of the participating artists.
For the part of safetythe task force will deal with:
Improve understanding of the Eurovision Song Contest rules by all stakeholder groups, including artists, with a focus on simplification, consolidation and improved accessibility; strengthen existing Eurovision Song Contest crisis management protocols; and enhance our security and cybersecurity arrangements in light of growing needs.
Finally, as regards the engagement generated by the showalways according to what is reported in the press release EBU:
Increase collaboration with fan groups, influencers and the media to build wider engagement based on the values of the Eurovision Song Contest; ensure that the event continues to be a spectacle for all audiences capable of attracting a large prime-time audience of all ages.
Finally, the press release underlines the speed of this process – six weeks from the end of the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 – underlining that the ultimate goal is the strengthening and growth of the show in the years to come, recalling that the seventieth edition of the Eurovision history, that of the 2026is getting closer and closer.
