If the Eurovision Song Contest would take place today, it would have to be in “lockdown mode” (Scenario D). However, according to Executive Producer Sietse Bakker, “things can change quickly” and a very positive scenario A is still on the table.
“If this pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that things change quickly.”
“A lot of things are happening in the world right now. The combination of fast testing, vaccines and the energy of a new year… Altogether that makes us hopeful,” Bakker says in a video interview with Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad. “If this pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that things change quickly. Scenario A seems almost unthinkable right now, but who knows what can happen between now and May? Therefore we will keep Scenario A on the table as long as possible.”
Sietse Bakker: “Early February and Mid March are important decision moments”
“Early February is an important moment for us to make first decisions,” Bakker adds. “Mid March is also an important moment, to make decisions about the number of people in the audience.”
Until then, Sietse Bakker and his team will make strategies, follow the news around the world and prepare for each scenario. This is important in order to stay flexible. “We want to guarantee that Eurovision will happen even if things get worse. At the same time, we want to take full advantage if the situation gets better.”
Update: Scenario choice in February, but “flexible until the very last moment”
In another interview with the Dutch Radio 1 Journaal, Bakker has clarified more about the decision moments. “In February we will probably choose one of the four scenarios. However, we want to remain as flexible as possible for as long as posible. Hope is at the horizon, the first vaccines in The Netherlands have just been given. So we can always scale up at the very last moment – or scale down if we have to.”