ARTISTS from 41 countries will appear live at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest in the Netherlands under plans set out by the event’s organizers.

Executive supervisor Martin Osterdahl told the BBC it was “necessary” for participants to travel to Rotterdam.

“This isn’t a holiday trip, this is actually a job that needs to be done,” he said, adding that a decision had yet to be made on a possible live audience.

Last year’s event was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The contest is due to take place in Rotterdam in May this year. Dutch singer Duncan Laurence won the competition in 2019 with the song “Arcade.”

Speaking to the BBC’s Newscast podcast, Osterdahl said the latest plans were developed following discussions with organizers of other international live events. “We have been in close contact with organizations like Formula 1, the tennis tour, the golf associations, and learned from best experiences,” he said. “We’ve compared our plans to the likes of the International Olympic Committee.”

Osterdahl said it had not yet been decided if an audience should attend the live event, but that organizers were hoping for “the most normal Eurovision Song Contest that we can.”

“Hopefully we’ll have some audience,” he said. However, that delegations would be smaller than usual — limited to 20 people, down from an average of 38 — and that health and safety measures to be put in place were “very thorough.”

Eurovision presenters like Graham Norton, who commentates for the U.K.’s BBC coverage, will broadcast from ventilated commentary booths under the plans.

Contestants had earlier been asked to produce a “live-on-tape” performance ahead of the competition, with the videos to be used if artists were unable to travel due to the pandemic, or forced to quarantine at the venue.

All 41 countries who were scheduled to compete in 2020 will return this year, as will many of the contestants who were supposed to take part last year. However, all artists will be required to perform a different song.

Returning entrants include Ireland’s Lesley Roy and Iceland’s Dadi Freyr, who was tipped as a potential winner.

(SD-Agencies)