ARD’s Program Director, Volker Herres, has said that he would rather Germany did not win the contest soon. According to him, the contest has become too expensive to host, even for one of the richest countries in Europe. Is it possible that he has some not-so-good plans for Germany in Eurovision?
The statement was made during an interview with Süddeutsche Zeitung after Volker Herres was confirmed as the Program Director at ARD for another three years. Herres has been working at ARD since 2008, and has seen Germany go from continuously flopping in the contest to winning in 2010. Looking back over the poor performance of Germany in Eurovision for the last five years or so, Herres says:
“It is regrettable, but it has obviously become difficult to find artists who appeal to a European audience.”
Eurovision is too expensive
Over the last decade, the cost of hosting the Eurovision Song Contest has dramatically increased. It is estimated that in 2012, Azerbaijan spent around $800 million (around €670 million) on hosting the contest and beautifying the host city of Baku for the show. Despite being an amazing spectacle, it was rumoured that only three countries: Azerbaijan, Russia, and Sweden, actually wanted to win, because the price was so high.
For the show itself, the budget is much lower but still high. For example, last year’s contest left an €18.5 million sized hole in Ukraine’s wallet. Herres clearly believes that this cost is still too high:
“To be honest, I do not really want to win again in my term, because then you will be hosting next year, and that is expensive.”
Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest
Germany was one of the seven countries to participate in the inaugural Eurovision Song Contest in 1956. Since then, Germany has participated in every contest apart from 1996.
As of 2017, Germany has won the contest twice. The first was in 1982, when Nicole’s Ein Bisschen Frieden charmed Europe and became a worldwide hit. In 2010, Germany won again with the quirky Lena and her song Satellite. In the last three years, Germany have come last in the grand final, even receiving the dreaded nil points in 2015.
Last year, Levina just missed out on giving Germany a third last place in a row, when her song Perfect Life received only 6 points. See what we thought of her song here, and relive her performance below!
What do you think of this news? Has the contest become too expensive to host? What’s your favourite song from Germany in Eurovision?
Tell us in the comments below, or on social media @ESCXTRA
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