THE NETHERLANDS – The College van Burgemeester en Wethouders – the city council of the city of Rotterdam – recently sent a letter to the city council, in which it informs its members that the EBU wants to know definitively if Rotterdam will host the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 by April 30th.
The motivation for this stringent request from the EBU is due to the fact that, if Rotterdam is not reconfirmed, then another city in The Netherlands will have the time necessary to apply and organize the event.
However, even if it has already lost 6.7 million Euros, the city of Rotterdam does not seem to give up and is said to be intrepid to host the event next year.
The majority of political groups support the city’s candidacy, as “it is a matter of principle to continue it”, but at the same time, they also say they are worried because they are forced to make decisions in a period of still high general instability.
Dennis Tak, a member of the PvdA party, is in favour of reconfirmation, but nevertheless makes some comments on the role of the EBU:
Rotterdam and the issuer NOS run far greater financial risks than the EBU. It would be nice for this organization to add some water to the wine next year and be more accommodating, for example in terms of the distribution of advertising revenue.
Councilor Dieke van Groningen is also looking to Rotterdam 2021, albeit with a firm eye on the COVID-19 threat:
Keep in mind that the Eurovision Song Contest should take place in more than a year and I hope that there will already be a vaccine by then. I don’t have a crystal ball, but I feel we will get rid of that virus. In any case, people are not offered hope by continuing to create scary scenarios.
Rotterdam has also decided to take out insurance for 2021 if the event is cancelled again. However, the idea does not seem viable. An insurance against Coronavirus, in this period, would cost too much.
The city council will meet on April 23rd to give its final decision.
