Press Centre officially opens in Düsseldorf

Ahead of the first rehearsals starting tomorrow (1st May), a small ceremony took place to mark the official opening of the Press Centre at the Düsseldorf Arena. 

Two hosts working around the clock.

From May 1st to 14th, Branislav Katic and Sonia Kennebeck will host around 90 press conferences at the Eurovision Song Contest Press Centre in Düsseldorf. Even on the first rehearsal day, while the artists who are due to perform in the Eurovision Song Contest Semi-Final on May 10th are practicing on stage, Katic and Kenneback will take it in turns to host a marathon of a total twelve conferences. After each individual rehearsal, each country has the opportunity to appear in front of the press and tell them about the outstanding and maybe not quite so good moments of their rehearsal. The conference language is English. In addition to the conferences after the individual rehearsals, events such as the line-up draws for the final on May 14th will be held. The winners’ press conference on the night of May 15th and other features with presenters Anke Engelke, Judith Rakers and Stefan Raab will also take place. A total of around 2,200 journalists from over 70 countries are expected at the Eurovision Song Contest.

The Moderators

Branislav Katic was born in 1975 in Berlin, and later grew up in Munich. After positions at Bavaria Filmstudios, Sky, Motorvision and Discovery, he made his big breakthrough in 2008. After having hosted the Serbian Eurovision Song Contest heats, he interviewed the artists live in the Green Room at the Eurovision Song Contest final in Belgrade that year. Guest roles in series and a job as filmmaker during World Cup 2010 followed. Katic currently works as a freelance consultant, producer and presenter. 

Sonia Kennebeck, born in 1980 in Malacca/Malaysia, grew up in Hamburg. She first studied Applied Cultural Studies in Lüneburg and went on to graduate with a Masters in International Politics in Washington DC. In 2002 she started working as a producer in the ARD studio in Washington. Following her traineeship at NDR (2005) she became a regular freelancer at "Panorama" as well as a writer of ARD-aktuell contributions and documentaries.

See some pictures of the press centre, below:

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