Those were the words of the Executive Supervisor of the Eurovision Song Contest, Jon Ola Sand, spoken after visiting Copenhagen for an update on DR’s plans for next year’s competition in the city.
”DR has many big and bold ideas. In this phase we are exploring many different options so it is too early to comment on any concrete plans, but it definitely looks promising”, he said to dr.dk/grandprix.
A new dimension offered by B&W-Hallerne
It is six months since Emmelie de Forest won the Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö and brought the competition home to Denmark for the third time.
”I’m impressed by your drive. You are putting things in the right order and have taken the right decisions early on in the process”, says Jon Ola Sand, who is especially excited about DR’s choice of venue for the competition: the old ship yard, B&W Hallerne, on Refshaleøen.
”It is good to produce the Eurovision Song Contest in a completely different venue. B&W-Hallerne offers a completely different dimension to the competition and really helps the creative juices to flow”, he went on to say.
No fear of an X-Factor style Eurovision
It is DR’s ambition for the viewers to get closer to the participants, and the competition element will really be ratcheted up. Meanwhile, Jon Ola Sand is not fearful of the Eurovision Song Contest being transformed into something resembling the talent show X-Factor.
”There are many participants who will receive exposure over a short period of time, so the viewers need to get closer to them”, says Jon Ola Sand, who was the Executive Producer of the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest in Oslo. ”For me, reality TV is not a negative term. I think we can take some inspiration from there while at the same time maintaining the traditions of the Eurovision Song Contest”, he explains.
More work than one might realise
This week, Jon Ola Sand was presented with DR’s plans for the stage at B&W-Hallerne and also with the logo and graphic design as well as the ideas for a new way of presenting the participants – otherwise known as the postcards.
”There is still a lot more work to do, more than one might think; both in terms of the three TV shows and also everything you do not experience on screen: events, security, logistics and so on. There is not much time and things are really starting to heat up now”, says Jon Ola Sand.
”I believe that DR has a solid organisation, so they will definitely manage it. Otherwise they can call me whenever”, he smiled.
The 2014 Eurovision Song Contest will take place in Copenhagen, Denmark on the 6th, 8th and 10th of May.
