Iceland’s Svala feels like paper

The Eurovision Song Contest is a highly sophisticated and ambitious live television broadcast, featuring some of the best production values seen on television. The success of the live shows is down to a huge team of people working backstage and today we spoke to two of them: Tine Matulessy Gullstrom and Henric von Zweigbergk. Check out our full interview with them. From backing singer to backstage manager Tine Matulessy Gullstrom was the backstage floor manager in Kyiv and comes from Sweden. She's no stranger to the Eurovision Family since back in 2009, when the show was hosted in Moscow, she was a background dancer and vocalist for the Swedish delegation: "It was fabulous," she said smiling. Her job as backstage floor manager was a little different to say the least! Backstage Grand FInal 2017 © Thomas Hanses Tine's role for the past couple of years has been to welcome the artists backstage and make sure they’re ready to go on stage: "I explain to them how it’s going to be, I will take them to sound, up on the stage and back after the performance. I make sure that we keep the motion going," Tine explained. Her role during rehearsals and during the show doesn't actually differ much: "It just goes way faster," she added laughing. Lights, camera, action! Henric von Zweigbergk, or Henke as everyone calls him, has worked on the Eurovision Song Contest for a number of years. As the Senior Floor Manager, von Zweigbergk coordinates all the activities on the stage and cares for the schedule. For the first rehearsals, all the entries have 40 minutes on the stage. For the second round of rehearsals, starting on Thursday, they only have 30 minutes, which is a key factor in the planning. "During the show I have to make sure that the stage is right for the delegations and the artists. I also check with the props guys and the stage manager to ensure that they have everything they need." Henric explained that there's more to his work than meets the eye. "I also have to make sure the hosts are in the right positions, that everyone looks into the right camera and I’m also the one telling the director that they have to cut their duties if something goes wrong," he said. Keeping everyone happy Backstage Semi-Final 2 2017 © Thomas Hanses Henric admitted that it is sometimes hard to do his job, but that is also what he liked most: "You get an adrenaline rush from the live broadcast. To me, it’s a good feeling that the shows are live, and that it is happening at that exact moment. Sometimes it’s hard, but it’s my job to keep everyone happy." Eurovision.tv would like to thank Tine and Henric for taking time out of their busy schedule in Kyiv to speak to us.

Iceland’s Svala feels like paper

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