The EBU has quietly announced an update on the Eurovision Reference Group composition, with the appointment of Gert Kark, from Estonia, to replace Marin Österdahl. But descriptions from the Eurovision and EBU websites seem to indicated that the role of Executive Supervisor has been replaced by a new one: the position of “Eurovision Song Contest Executive Producer”.
The Reference Group and the Executive Supervisor
What does the Reference Group do?
The Eurovision Reference Group is an institution of the EBU (European Broadcasting Union), the organization which oversees the Eurovision network, and organises the Eurovision Song Contest. Technically, it is a group created by the the EBU Television Committee, one of the main institution of the Union. The EBU describes the tasks of the Reference Group as the following:
- Approving the development and future format of the ESC
- Securing the financing of the ESC
- Modernizing the brand and raising awareness of the ESC
- Overseeing the yearly preparation by the Host Broadcaster
Who can sit on the Reference Group?
At least eight members sit on the Reference Group :
- One chairperson
- Three representatives of the Eurovision national delegations
- Three Eurovision Executive producers
- The producer of the upcoming contest
- The producers of the two previously-held contests
- The Eurovision Executive Supervisor
- Up to two members invited by the chair or the EBU itself
Note that the Executive Supervisor is in italics there. That is because official EBU sources have changed this title in the past few days, to that of “EBU Eurovision Song Contest Executive Producer“.
Right now, the sitting members are:
- Ana Maria Bordas – Chair – 🇪🇸 RTVE/Spain
- Carla Bugalho – HoD representative – 🇵🇹 RTP/Portugal
- Claudia van der Pas – HoD representative – 🇳🇱 AVROTROS/Netherlands
- Molly Plank – HoD representative – 🇩🇰 DR/Denmark
- Michael Krön – Executive Producer ESC 2026 – 🇦🇹 ÖRF/Austria
- Moritz Stadler – Executive Producer ESC 2025 – 🇨🇭 SRG SSR/Switzerland
- Ebba Adielsson – Executive Producer ESC 2024 – 🇸🇪 SVT/Sweden
- David Tserunyan – EBU invitation – 🇦🇲 AMPTV/Armenia
- Tomislav Štengl – EBU invitation – 🇭🇷 HRT/Croatia
- Gert Kark – EBU ESC Executive Producer– 🇪🇪 /🇪🇺 EBU
A newly-defined role of “ESC Executive producer”?
The change does not come as a strong surprise, since the EBU had teased potential changes in the working organisation of Eurovision when it announced the departure of Martin Österdahl, the Executive Supervisor between 2020 and 2025.
Further announcements regarding the future structure of the Eurovision Song Contest team will be made in due course.
EBU’s statement on martin öSterdahl’s stepping down, 27 june 2025
Although no details have yet been revealed on the exact job description of the role, it seems to follow the trend set in motion by the conclusions of last year’s report on Eurovision 2024, after the creation of a position of Eurovision Director.
It seems likely that the Eurovision Director, Martin Green, will keep his focus on the topics of business and marketing/branding for the contest, while the newly-created Eurovision Executive Producer will focus on the actual production of the event, on a more technical, operational level. This would be coherent with both the situation present in Basel (where Martin Green was very visible and Martin Österdahl very much behind the scenes), and with the profile of Gert Kark.
Who is Gert Kark?
Gert Kark is an Estonian TV producer, who has been working with the EBU for almost ten years. He has worked as Project Manager for Junior Eurovision since 2016, and for the senior Contest since 2017. In recent years (including JESC 2024 and ESC 2025), he was described in the shows’ credits as “Project Manager Show, Contest and Voting”. This made him the operational, second-in-command of Martin Österdahl on the EBU side of the contest’s production, managing everything save for the finances (in the hands of Stephanie Caflisch).
He was recently seen sitting next to Österdahl during voting sequences.
With 10 years of experience with both contests, and his role already starting for Junior 2025, Gert Kark seems like both an experienced man for the job, and adds some geographic diversity to the role and the Reference Group, being from a Baltic country.
What do you think about this choice to replace Martin Österdahl? How do you feel about the new role of “Executive Producer”? Tell us more in the comments below!
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