'Big Brother' creator joins Dutch selection

Dubbed as the European 'media baron' by the Forbes magazine, John de Mol is the one responsible for widely popular TV-show formats such as the Big Brother, Deal Or No Deal and The Voice.

Through that, he's become one of the wealthiest men in the world, currently placed at number 488 in the Forbes magazine's list of the richest people in the world.

Now he will work with TROS in the Dutch national selection for the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest, to make it of international allure. "John de Mol knows how to put such a show together," says TROS' Director, Peter Kuipers.

In 2010, the German broadcaster NDR made a similar move when they announced Stefan Raab, the mastermind behind German media, would join their efforts for Europe's favourite TV-show.

That year, the change was justified and Lena won the Eurovision Song Contest with the song Satellite, bringing the victory home after 28 years. 

The Netherlands haven't managed to qualify to the Final of the contest since 2004. In recent years, the Dutch act has been chosen internally, with only the song selection left to the general public. The broadcaster announced their ambitious plans for the revamped show just a month ago.

This year, the entries can be submitted in a number of ways. People are free to submit just lyrics, music, the name of an artist, a complete audio production or a combination thereof.

The deadline for entries to be submitted is midnight on the 30th of September after which 6 or 7 acts will be chosen to compete in the Nationaal Songfestival 2012 in January, for the right to represent the Netherlands in Azerbaijan.