Leestijd: 5 minuten
Met het officiële persbericht dat publieke ledenomroep AVROTROS ook in 2027 niet zal deelnemen aan het Eurovisie Songfestival, kunnen we een korte duidelijke conclusie trekken. Na een uiterst succesvolle periode van 12 jaar waarin de fusieomroep Nederland met veel succes zorg droeg voor zowel de uitzending van het festival als ook de interne liedjesselectie, is het hoofdstuk AVROTROS nu echt dicht. ■ Door: Gert Waterink ■
I was taught as a kid that every change serves something good. Change is the only constant on planet Earth after all, so from that change, a lot of better situations come to fruition. The choices you make in your life, design the outlines of that change. So if you think as a student that a particular studies doesn’t seem to be a good fit for you, you switch studies. ■ By: Gert Waterink ■
Leestijd: 5 minuten
Er was eens……een tijd van peis en vree in songfestivalland, waarin het liedjesfestival jaarlijks onder een stabiel, welvarend, zorgeloos en behoorlijk verenigd gesternte plaats-vond. Een tijd waarin de continuïteit van het songfestival een gegeven was, financiën altijd een gegarandeerde flappentap waren, social media nog voort moest planten en politiek sentiment hooguit de maandag na de finale nog even terstond aan bod kwam in de krant. Jep, dat waren nog eens fijne tijden. En als de songfestival-jonkies van nu zich eens verdiepen in die mooie jaren ’80, ‘90’ en ’10 (ik sla de uit het lood geslagen televoting-gekte van de jaren ’00 even over), dan gaan ook zij die weemoed ervaren. ■ Door: Gert Waterink ■
It’s a real beast of an organisation effort, this revived Intervision Song Contest. I have to give the Russians that. Coming September Intervision will be back with a bang. After the eastern bloc equivalent of Eurovision during the Soviet era eventually lost popularity (Intervision Czechoslo- vakia, 1965-1968; Inter- vision Sopot Poland, 1977-1980; and one attempt in Russia as recent as 2008), the new revived Intervision is a way tighter organized event. Co-facilitated by Russian president Wladimir Putin via a decree, the Kremlin and the Russian Ministry of Culture are heavily involved in the organization and financial execution of this event. ■ Door: Gert Waterink ■
While some would say that edition #69 has been a bit more peaceful and less polarizing than all the drama that edition #68 in Malmö has been, I just don’t quite believe it. Eurovision 2025 took place a little more than one week ago, and I guess last year’s drama with regard to the ‘Joost Klein Affair’, made me realize in a more wholesome way we people start saying “Fuck you EBU” more often. Netherlands had to deal with a more FIFA-esque EBU last year given the negative ramifications from last year’s contest. But now more national public broadcasters start to realize that dealing with the EBU is a rather precarious affair. ■ Door: Gert Waterink ■
As I have mentioned several times in my blogs and posts, the EBU cares less and less for rules and interventions that enhance competition fairness, but instead need to do everything in their power to enhance the financial security and durability of the contest. And with it the EBU applies every bit of rule to make sure that the risk of a cancellation of the contest is reduced to a minimum. In that light we need to see the decisions like the dreaded producer decided running order. ■ Door: Gert Waterink ■
Three pictures, a less than neutral blog from EBU-Heidi, and the whole wide world gets on A) a hype train or B) a sinking ship. It’s the sadness of social media influencing. And perhaps this year it’s getting even bigger, becáúse of stricter press rules and the absence of press during the first set of rehearsals (no camera footage in the press center). One fart is now riskier than last year.
So, I try to take the scarcity of press coverage with a grain of salt, but at the same time I realize that even the tiniest blog post or picture can create hype and can disrupt the odds. ■ By: Gert Waterink ■
Gert's Complex 