Learn the “invisible” team behind the scenes that makes the song competition a sign

Thirty five seconds. This is all the time you get to change the group in the Eurovision.

Thirty -five seconds to get one of the artists from the theater and put it in the right place.

Thirty -five seconds to make sure that everyone has the right microphones and passengers.

Thirty -five seconds to ensure that the supports are in place and secure them tightly.

While you are at home watching the introductory videos known as postal cards, dozens of people wander around the theater, putting the scene for anything that comes after that.

“We call it changing tires in Formula 1,” says Richard van Roindel, director of the Dutch National Theater who makes everything works.

“Every person in the crew can only do one thing. You work on the stage with one electric bulb or one pillar. You are always on the same line. If you go out of the track, you will press someone.

“It is somewhat similar to skiing.”

The theater crew begins to train to “change F1 tires” weeks before the contestants arrive.

Each country sends detailed plans for its launch, and EUROVISION rented a stand -alone business list (in Liverpool 2023, the students were from the local theatrical arts school), while the theater begins in a valuable seconds of changes.

“We have about two weeks,” says Van Rouwndaal, who is usually located in UTRECHT but in Basel in this year’s competition.

My company is about 13 Dutch and 30 local young men and women, who shake it in Switzerland.

“In these two weeks, I must know who is appropriate for every job. Someone is well in running, and someone is good in lifting, and someone is good in organizing the scenes area. It is somewhat similar to being good in Tetris because you have to connect everything in a small space, to the ideal way.”

Once the song is over, the team is ready for the roll.

In addition to the theater, there are people responsible for setting lights and setting fireworks; And 10 detergents who sweep the theater using MPS and vacuum cleaners between each performance.

“My cleaners are no less important than the theater crew. You need a clean stage for dancers – but also, if there is a upper shot of a lying person, you do not want to see chocolate on the ground.”

Attention to clinical details. Behind the scenes, every performer has his own microphone holder, and he is set on the height and the right angle, to ensure that each perfect performance for the camera.

“Sometimes, the delegation will say that the artist wants to wear different shoes for the big final,” says Van Roinal. “But if that happens, the microphone holder is in the wrong height, so we have a problem!”

Automatically changing shoes is not the worst problem it faces. In the 2022 competition in Turin, the theater was 10 meters higher (33 feet) from the scenes area.

As a result, they were pushing the pillars on the heavy theater – including the mechanical bull – on a sharp slope between each action.

He recalls, “I have exhausted every night.” “This year is better. We have even an additional tent behind the scenes where we prepare the supports.”

The pillars are a large part of the uurovgen. The tradition began in the second competition ever in 1957, when Germany Margot Helshir sang part of her song Phone, phone In (I guessed that) the phone.

Over the decades, the graduation has become more detailed. In 2014, Maria Yarimchuk trapped from Ukraine, one of its dancers in the giant hamster, while Romania brought a literal cannon to its performance in 2017.

This year, we have disco balls, space measurement, a magic dining mixer, Swedish sauna, and a fallen rich.

“It is a great logistical effort, in fact, to organize all pillars,” says Damares Rest, Vice President of Production in this year’s competition.

“Everything is organized in the type of circle. (The pillars) come on the stage from the left, then it is removed to the right.

“Behind the scenes, the supports used to the back of the waiting menu are pushed, and so on. Everything is in planning.”

During the show, there are many secret corridors and “smuggling methods” to get the pillars inside and outside the vision, especially when the performance requires new elements in the middle of the road.

You threw your mind again, if you can, to the performance of Sam Ryder for the United Kingdom in the 2022 competition in Italy.

There was, alone on the stage, Valsito was highlighted in his excessive stretching, when suddenly, the electric guitar appeared from the delicate air and landed in his hands.

Are you guessing who put it there? Richard van Roinal.

“I am a magician,” laughs. “No, no, no … that was a cooperation between the camera manager, the British delegation and the theater crew.”

In other words, Richard set out on the stage, and guitar at hand, while the director cut a wide shot, hiding his presence from viewers at home.

“It has been designed for the nearest millimeter,” he says. “We are not visible, but we have to be uninterrupted.”

What if everything was wrong?

There are some tricks that the audience will never notice.

If he declares an “unclear phase” in his headphones, the director can buy time by showing an extended shot of the audience.

In the event of a larger incident – “the camera can break, the stent can fall” – it is cut into an introduction in the green room, which can fill for a few minutes.

In the control room, the dress rehearsal bar plays in conjunction with the direct display, allowing managers to switch to pre -registered footage if there is something like an invasion of theater or a microphone involved.

However, a visual defect is sufficient to stir up the backup tape, and Zoe Moraka discovered in the semi -finals on Tuesday.

Her performance was briefly cut when feeding was frozen from a camera on the stage, but the producers simply cut a wide shot until it was fixed. (If this happened in the final, I was offered the opportunity to perform again.)

“There is actually a lot of measures that are taken to ensure that every action can be displayed in the best way,” says Rest.

“There are people who know the regulations by heart, who were playing through what could happen and what we will do in different different situations.

“I will sit next to our production head, and if there is (a position) where someone must run, then this may be me!”

It is not surprising that we know that the organization of the direct broadcast for three hours with thousands of moving parts is very stressful.

This year, the organizers have provided measures to protect the welfare of the contestants and the crew, including closed rehearsals, longer breaks between the shows, and the creation of a “separate area” where the cameras are banned.

However, Rest says she has worked every week over the past two months, while Van Roindall and his team regularly withdraws 20 hours.

The transformations are so long that, in 2008, the Eurovision Ola Melzig production legend built a cache under the stage, with sofa, unused PS3 and two “and two” and two (yes, two).

“I don’t have hidden luxuries like Ola. I’m not at this level yet!” Laughing Van Roindel

“But behind the scenes, I got a place with my calamities. We have Stropwafels there, and last week, the king’s day was in the Netherlands, so he baked the pancakes for everyone.

“I try to make it fun. Sometimes we go out, drink and drink because we spent a great day.

“Yes, we must be at the forefront, and we have to be sharp as a knife, but enjoying together is very important as well.”

And if everything goes, you will not see them this week.