song contest
ARD sticks to ESC participation
A disappointed Lord Of The Lost frontman Chris Harms at the ESC final in Liverpool. photo
© Peter Kneffel/dpa
After another last place at the Eurovision Song Contest, Germany could make an offended liverwurst and get out of the music show. But the ARD says: Pustekuchen.
Despite the series of bankruptcies at the world’s largest music show and once again only last place, ARD is sticking to Germany’s participation in the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC). “We are very happy to be there every year. And it will stay that way,” said a spokeswoman for the Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR), which is responsible for ARD, the German Press Agency on Monday.
“Germany is such a diverse, exciting and innovative music market that there is absolutely no reason not to compete again.” The NDR emphasized that in 2024 the finale – this time live from Sweden – will also be broadcast on the ARD joint program Das Erste.
The ESC is “not only the biggest music show in Europe, the ESC is also one of the most successful shows on German television”. There are only a few events “that – like live from Liverpool on Saturday evening – reach almost 8 million people from all generations”.
About the rock band Lord Of The Lost, which ended up at the bottom on Sunday night, NDR said: “Honestly, we didn’t expect the title to catch on with the ESC audience and the juries. That’s why we’re going now Discuss together and probably communicate in the next few weeks how to proceed.”
It is not yet clear where and how the ESC semifinals, which were last shown on Spartenkanal One, can be seen in Germany next year. “The live semi-final broadcasts do not migrate to the main program,” said the NDR spokeswoman. The ARD does not yet reveal who will comment on the ESC in the first in 2024: “We will announce Peter Urban’s successor when it is ready to be decided.”
After the seventh last or penultimate place since 2015, many people are currently discussing whether it makes sense for Germany to continue participating in the ESC. The Grand Prix participant from 1998, Guildo Horn (“Guildo hat dich lieb”) commented in this direction and wrote on Facebook: “My tip: Just take a break and use the money you have saved (Germany is one of the big sponsors of the ESC) invest sensibly.”
Entertainer Thomas Gottschalk wrote on Instagram: “With all love, but we are now being fooled by the rest of Europe when it comes to the rating at the ESC. They just don’t like us.”
In Siegerland Sweden, meanwhile, speculation has begun about the venue for the music spectacle next year. According to the tabloid Aftonbladet, the capital Stockholm has the best chance of being awarded the contract.
A spokeswoman rejected speculation about an Abba reunion at the ESC final in 2024 – for an appearance 50 years after the “Waterloo” victory in Brighton. “That’s certainly wishful thinking on the part of fans. There are no such plans – a clear denial,” said an Abba spokeswoman on Monday for the Swedish television station SVT.
Foreign media had speculated that the four band members Björn (78), Benny (76), Agnetha (73) and Anni-Frid (77, “Frida”) could be back on stage together for the anniversary of their victory.
With repeat winner Loreen, Sweden has now won the international TV music competition, which has existed since May 1956, for the seventh time. After the Abba victory, the ESC took place in Stockholm in 1975, then in Gothenburg in 1985, in Malmö in 1992, in Stockholm in 2000, in Malmö again in 2013 and in Stockholm in 2016.
eurovision.de