The EBU run an independent review over the past weeks in order to gather extensive feedback about this year’s Contest from a broad range of stakeholders – Heads of Delegation, members of the ESC Reference Group, as well as the EBU/ESC core team. Following this review, the EBU identified three areas to focus on, in order to strengthen and protect next year’s Eurovision Song Contest, and all future events to ensure they continue to unite audiences. These are

1. EBU Governance and Participation
2. Safety and Risk Management
3. Audience Engagement, Fans and Media

The EBU made the following statement about these three areas:

EBU Governance and Participation
This area will look at: clarifying the decision-making responsibilities of the various EBU Governing Bodies as it relates to the accepted list of participants, ensuring a wide range of member opinions are heard; the remit of the governing bodies, and the responsibilities of the ESC Core Team; and the role of the Heads of Delegations and responsibilities of Participating Artists.

Safety and Risk Management
This area will look at: improving understanding of the ESC rules across all stakeholder groups, including artists, with a focus on simplification, consolidation and improved accessibility; strengthening the existing ESC Crisis Management Protocols; and bolstering our security and cybersecurity provisions in light of increased needs.

Ensuring a general-audience show and broad engagement
This area will look at: increased collaboration with fan groups, influencers, and media to build broader engagement based on ESC values; and ensure that the ESC continues to be an all-audience show appealing to a broad prime-time audience of all ages.

Apart from this, the independent review also found that there was a need to bolster the leadership team of the ESC to ensure operational bandwidth to manage the Contest. They created a new role of “ESC Director”, which will report to the EBU Deputy Director General and Media Director. This will streamline the Executive Supervisor’s (Mr. Martin Osterdahl) responsibilities to focus on ESC production, Heads of Delegations and member relationship building, as well as day-to-day production issues. The ESC Director will oversee the work of the existing Executive Supervisor and a new role entitled Head of ESC Brand and Commercial.

Martin Osterdahl will remain the Executive Supervisor of the Eurovision Song Contest, whilst the roles of the ESC Director and the Head of ESC Brand and Commercial are yet to be filled.

EBU’s Deputy Director General, Mr. Jean Philip de Tender stated to Variety:

The Eurovision Song Contest is the biggest entertainment platform in the world.

If you’re Taylor Swift, you take your time to become as big as Taylor Swift. When you’re selected to take part in the Eurovision Song Contest, suddenly, in most cases, an artist which is not that well known on a European or a global level, suddenly you stand on that on that stage. And what we’ve learned is that we need to better prepare all of the artists.

We have a duty of care for the artists as well but also the artists need to understand that if you participate in the Eurovision Song Contest, what are the rules you’re contracting to?

He also added:

The EBU is a non-political organisation or a union of public service media broadcasters in Europe. So what we bring is a non-political event. But clearly because the event has become so big, you see that geopolitical tensions can have an impact on the event, that it can have an impact on the artists. We welcome freedom of speech. We have seen the demonstrations in Malmö (against the participation of Israel in the contest following the conflict in the Middle East). As public service media, it’s very important that people can express opinions and views. But the Eurovision Song Contest is non-political and needs to remain non-political.

We need to look in reviewing the rules as well as how potentially we can find new ways in mitigating the impact of these external events. What we have been doing is very much in line with what international sports federations have been doing. We have the Olympics, which will kick off in a couple of weeks, where exactly the same policies have been followed as what the EBU has been doing for the Eurovision Song Contest.

We are committed to ensuring that the Eurovision Song Contest continues to go from strength to strength and that all stakeholders, not least participating broadcasters and the millions who enjoy the event, can be reassured of our best intentions to maintain the success of this event that brings so much joy to millions around the world.