COPENHAGEN, DENMARK – During the preparations for the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 in Copenhagen the team at Danish Broadcaster DR looked at several potential hosts before choosing the three hosts. In a documentary shown on DR the viewers get close to the selection of the hosts as a tv team is following Executive Producer Pernille Gaardbo and Head of Show Jan Lagermand Lundme in the preparations.
When choosing the hosts the team wanted hosts what speak fluent English without a heavy Danish accent and they used keywords as warmth, humor, show person and positive.
Head of Show Jan Lagermand Lundme wanted Hollywood star Scarlett Johansson to host the contest as her father is Danish, but even though Scarlett Johansson has a Danish passport she doesnโt speak Danish. Executive Producer Pernille Gaardbo thinks that Scarlett Johansson is too American and she is thinking about the actress Connie Nielsen instead. At the end they decide not to pick a Hollywood star after a visit from the EBU and Jon Ola Sand who states that the Eurovision Song Contest is the largest show in the world without major stars.
To select the hosts the team at DR had several people for casting. Former host of the Danish national final Dansk Melodi Grand Prix Felix Smith was one of them. The potential hosts presented the Eurovision in front of a camera fully dress as they were on a big stage to make it as real as possible. During the castings Pernille Gaardbo and Jan Lagermand Lundme talks about making a new setup of the hosts with two men and one woman for the first time. They wanted a classical host, an emphatic host and a joker that no one saw coming.
After many talks they chose Nikolaj Koppel, Lise Rรธnne and Pilou Asbรฆk and they were all really happy to know that they were going to present the three shows for 195 million people all over the world!