When you have hard-knocking beats, uplifting lyrics, and a backlit stage, you can’t help but get excited for what’s to come. After last year’s song contest was postponed due to Covid-19, this year’s it’s back with coronavirus bubbles to add to the mix of music and melodrama. National delegations traveling to the Dutch port city of Rotterdam are abiding by strict protocols to help reduce the risk of infections. Even though thousands of fans are allowed to attend the dress rehearsals, semifinals, and the grand finale on May 22nd, they will have to undergo testing to help keep the virus at bay. Despite the extra guidelines in place, the executive producer Sietse Bakker is happy the event is going on period. He said organizing this event in less than a year is already challenging because it’s one of the biggest and most complex events in Europe. Adding the pandemic to the situation just makes it more complicated.
Regardless of the coronavirus situation, they intend to make this a grand celebration of their 65-year tradition. Fans near the Ahoy arena are already amped up for it early. Even the traffic lights on a pedestrian walkway outside the venue have a green figure dancing to Abba’s winning song “Waterloo” from 1974 to show when it’s safe to cross. Talk about getting into the spirit. They’re trying to keep things on a more light-hearted kind of feel. A good example is Norway’s Andreas Haukeland (TIX), who performs his song called “Fallen Angel” while wearing big white wings. The song is about inclusion and positivity and it avoids political messages. Belarus was booted out altogether because their country’s song has a strong political message, which is a conflict of interest for the contest. Even when they had a replacement song, it was still rejected.
The theme for this year is “Open Up”, which aptly titled due to Europe beginning to emerge from the pandemic. This was a theme before the pandemic started. However, they decided to keep it as a way to remind people of their emotions, feelings, and thoughts toward one another. Bakker said having this message is especially important in these times. The event will be open to 3,500 people, which is 20% capacity of the venue. Each person must show a negative test result that’s less than 24 hours old before entering the arena.
While things will be tough with the coronavirus restrictions, tons of people will be happy to see live performances in person again.