Now we know the host city for the Eurovision Song Contest, Dutch media have started to think about who’s actually going to present the three shows in May. Three names are on everybody’s lips, with a fourth one now surprisingly added: Herman van der Zandt.
Former news anchors
Three of the hosts we hear about a lot are all former news anchors. Herman van der Zandt is the latest addition to this list. A week ago, showbusiness expert Evert Santegoeds said he was confident that NPO had indeed asked Van der Zandt for the gig.
Herman van der Zandt is a 45 year old TV host. He started off as a news anchor at NOS. Since then, he has moved on to the daily sports broadcasts. He also hosts a quiz show on NPO 1. Van der Zandt is a popular presenter in the Netherlands, but not generally well known for big amusement shows. Van der Zandt would however fit in to represent NOS during the event. The news broadcaster has agreed to team up with NPO and Avrotros to organise the event, so it would only be fitting to also deliver a host for the show.
http://gty.im/1145815970Another popular name is Eva Jinek. Now a talkshow host for KRO-NRCV, she works for the NPO and draws in great viewing figures on a daily basis. We’d be sure of hearing some solid English if NPO pick her: She grew up in the United States. When speaking to Cornald Maas about the possibility of hosting Eurovision, Jinek said: “It’s the biggest TV job in the whole wide world. You’d be an idiot to turn that down!” Since then, she’s been asked many times whether NPO have approached her yet, but she’s remained silent.
Finally, the name most media are confident about is Dionne Stax. The 34 year old has been a news anchor for a few years, but has recently left her job at NOS to instead join… Avrotros. For Avrotros, she was going to do some ‘interesting projects’. What could possibly be more interesting than hosting a TV show with 200 million viewers worldwide? In her career, Stax has hosted entertainment shows as well. She received praise for her documentary series on Lady Di, called Lady Di & Dionne.
Jan Smit: All but confirmed?
The fourth host being mentioned more than once is Jan Smit. The singer has success in his home country, as well as the German speaking nations with his band Klubbb3, together with Florian Silbereisen and Christof. Avrotros have given Smit a lot of opportunities to start his TV hosting career and has also given him a spot in the Dutch commentary booth, a position he’s held together with Cornald Maas.
He hosted the last Dutch national final to date, back in 2012 and has also hosted many Junior Eurovision national finals. Every Friday, Avrotros airs a special concert, called Muziekfeest op het Plein – also hosted by Smit. Another musical gig he gets to do is host Beste Zangers, the original version of Så Mycket Bättre.
Two, three or more?
Dionne Stax and Jan Smit are the names mentioned the most as a potential duo. If you would ask the country, though, you’d probably get Eva Jinek as the preferred option. Van der Zandt may be a very dangerous outsider to take the NOS spot on the podium.
One of the other favourites is Chantal Janzen. Her biggest problem is that she’s not actually with NPO, but with commercial broadcaster RTL. The chance of her being considered for the job, is next to nothing. She confirmed this weekend that she had not yet received the question to host the show.
NPO, Avrotros and NOS are expected to make an announcement regarding the hosts after Christmas. Below you can see a clip of one of the rumoured hosts, Eva Jinek, during her interview with 2016 US Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
Who would you like to see hosting the event? Let us know!
