In a dead heat

After a pan-European search, Jon Ola Sand was named Executive Supervisor of the Eurovision Song Contest effective early 2011, having had extensive production experience at Norwegian public broadcaster NRK and TV2 Norway as well as independent production companies. Now responsible for Europe's favorite TV show, Sand was Head of Delegation at the contest for Norway from 1998 to 2005.

Deutsche Welle: Mr. Sand, looking back on the past two years: Eurovision 2009 in Moscow was a gigantic show. Russia invested considerable resources in it. The following year, in Norway, your home country, the Eurovision was not so gigantic but highly creative. What's your opinion of the show now in Germany?

Jon Ola Sand: I think Duesseldorf combines both of these aspects. They've put on a huge show. I think it's the biggest Eurovision ever. There are 43 countries, the same as in Belgrade in 2008, but the venue is huge, over 36 thousand seats for the finale. I think they managed to add good content to this. They have a very good motto: "Feel Your Heart Beat." You see good content with the presenters, the intermission acts and so on. I think it's a good blend of size and quality.

The greatest challenge for your predecessor Svante Stockselius was to solve the problem known as "neighbor country voting." He was largely able to do that. What are your goals as Executive Supervisor of the Eurovision Song Contest?

I have some focal points that I would like to achieve. One is to make Eurovision a feasible contest for the country that will host it. A lot of information has to be provided very early by the EBU. It depends on the size of the economy. Eurovision doesn't need to be all that big and expensive, but it needs to yield three first-class, cutting-edge television shows. Bringing that together isn't very easy. So one of my tasks is to examine the overall situation for the Eurovision Song Contest. I will work with subgroups in order to understand how we can change certain things without affecting the outcome. It's challenging, but it needs to be done.

Making political statements at the Eurovision is not permitted, but the stakes are very high for countries who want to win. Is the Eurovision really apolitical?

It's not political in the sense of a truly political show, but it is very important for a country to be able to show itself to the rest of Europe. That's an aspect of sports too. That's what it's all about - meeting on a common ground to perform together.

Some representatives, particularly those from eastern European countries, admit they don't think an honest competition is possible and believe that a win can be bought. Is it possible to buy first place at the Eurovision?

Absolutely not.

Why are you so certain?

Because I know the voting procedure, and the best song and the best performance will win. The decision is split fifty-fifty between the juries and televoting. We monitor this very closely. It would take far too much effort to buy yourself a victory at the Eurovision Song Contest.

In the run-up to the Eurovision each year there are various major and minor scandals. Are these targeted public relations by certain countries or a special ingredient of this show?

I think it's a combination of both. Some countries like to create a fuss. It can be positive, or maybe people get annoyed about it, but it's part of the Eurovision Song Contest. The sheer fact that 43 different countries meet with different perceptions, expectations, different artists and different management: all that will create some turbulence, and I think that's one of the charms of the ESC.

A question I have to ask: who are your favorites at this year's Eurovision Song Contest?

I've never been so unsure of the outcome here. It's a very strong heat, and I've been with the ESC since 1998. For the first time I have no clue who will win, and I think it will be very, very exciting.

Interview: Andreas Brenner

Editor: Rick Fulker