Participants in the Eurovision Song Contest will be given so-called “safe spaces” to withdraw. This was reported by the chairman of the supervisory board of the Song Contest to the Swiss newspaper SonntagsBlick. The Song Contest will take place in Basel in May next year.
After criticism of the organization of the last edition in the Swedish Malmö, the European Broadcasting Union, the organizer of the Song Contest, commissioned an independent investigation. This resulted in serious recommendations to improve the event. Many countries, including the Netherlands, filed complaints because of “an unsafe atmosphere” behind the scenes. The organization is now trying to tackle this with safe spaces.
According to chairman Bakel Walden, “a few things” from the previous edition may not take place again. For example, communication will be improved and the event must remain as neutral as possible. “We cannot solve the many wars and conflicts in the world during the Song Contest,” says Walden. With this he refers to the controversy surrounding Israel’s participation.
Walden expects participants to behave “honestly and respectfully” during the Song Contest. It is not yet clear whether the Netherlands will participate in the upcoming edition. AVROTROS has not yet made a decision after Joost Klein was disqualified during the previous edition. Source: nu.nl
euro-vision.blog 