Former Dutch Eurovision representative and Eurovision 2021 hostess, Edsilia Rombley, has shed more light on the format that could be adapted for the forthcoming 2021 Eurovision Song Contest in Rotterdam. Will there be an audience at the Rotterdam Ahoy in May?

Eurovision fans have been eagerly awaiting to find out which scenario/format will de adapted for the 2021 Eurovision edition after the unprecedented cancellation of the competition last year. Eurovision 2021 hostess Edsilia Rombley was interviewed today on NPO Radio 1 where she shed more light on the upcoming Eurovision edition, ruling out the idea that the event will be held with a full fledged audience like has been the case in previous years according to Dutch newsportal RTL Niews.

Edsilia commented on the show:

I think we can rule out that it will be a contest like the ones held in previous year, with a lot of people. It’s not going to happen.

The organization is checking every day to see what’s possible, but we have to wait and see how the  COVID 19 pandemic develops and more now with the new variant. It’s all very exciting, but it’s going to be held in one way or the other.

We proved last year that it can be done in a certain way and we are just going to make a combination of it this year.

The Eurovision 2021 organizing body told RTL Niews:

We keep repeating: the Eurovision Song Contest will take place in one way or the other.

We have developed four different scenarios with which the Eurovision Song Contest can take place in every conceivable situation and a new winner can be chosen. With the current situation and the measures that are currently implemented, it is difficult to imagine the event with a full Ahoy in May.

However the decision on the scenario has not yet been made and all four scenarios are still on the table, the final decision will be determined in the coming weeks and only then we will know how the forthcoming Eurovision edition will look like. Hereafter we will be open to either upscale or downscale the event in relation to the circumstances.

Sietse Bakker ( Eurovision 2021 Executive Producer) told AD. Nl that the chances of holding the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest with a full fledged audience at the Ahoy are very slim:

But even though we know that there will be tough weeks and even months to come, we have high hopes that we will have a different situation in the spring. Nevertheless, we keep that scenario ready, we are already more often surprised by the virus. At the moment we can’t imagine a Eurovision Song Contest without any restrictions, but the option is still on the table.

The EBU has four different scenarios on the table. The 2021 Eurovision host broadcasters NPO, NOS and AVROTROS are expected to choose the format and scenario in coordination with the EBU by mid February.

The 2021 Eurovision Song Contest will definitely go ahead after the untimely cancellation of the 2020 Eurovision Song Contest in Rotterdam last year. Dutch Eurovision broadcasters NPO, AVROTROS, NOS and the EBU have four different scenarios to host the event next year in Rotterdam:

• Plan A– A normal Eurovision Song Contest
• Plan B–  A Eurovision Song Contest with social distancing
• Plan C- A Eurovision Song Contest with travel restrictions
• Plan D– A Eurovision Song Contest with a lockdown

The 2021 Eurovision Song Contest is scheduled to be held on 18, 20 and 22 May at the Rotterdam Ahoy in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

Source: NPO Radio 1/ RTL Niews/ AD.NL