The organisers of next year’s Eurovision Song Contest have whittled down the host city to just two potential options: Rotterdam or Maastricht. Whilst Rotterdam’s Ahoy is the hot favourite to welcome us next year, a delegation from the Dutch broadcasters: NPO, NOS and AVROTROS have visited Maastricht to assess their bid and see if they have what it takes to host the contest.
“Pleasantly surprised”
The focus of the visit was on the city, the MECC (Maastricht’s venue for Eurovision 2020) and the facilities. The press were not allowed to take part in the visit or any of the meetings or tours. However, they were able to speak to Sietse Bakker, who is now the Eurovision manager for NPO, after the visit:
We’ll keep the Maastricht bid behind closed doors for now, to see if Maastricht is able to take our concerns into account. I am pleasantly surprised by Maastricht’s enthusiasm. You can really see the enthusiasm.
Sietse Bakker, Eurovision manager for NPO
A look into the future with VR
The Maastricht bid team gave the committee a tour of the Eurovision venue with virtual reality headsets. Through these, they could see the arena and stage as it would be if Maastricht hosts the contest. However, it seems that the delegation had some issues, as the director of the MECC, Rob van de Wiel, reveals:
They wanted us to move the stage, as the logistics and set-up surrounding the stage are much larger than we had originally proposed. So, we have to go back to the drawing board.
Rob van de Wiel, MECC Director
Is Maastricht your choice to host next year’s Eurovision Song Contest, or would you prefer Rotterdam? Let us know your opinion in the comments below and on social media @ESCXTRA
