{"id":40528,"date":"2019-12-11T12:00:28","date_gmt":"2019-12-11T11:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/songfestival.be\/?p=40528"},"modified":"2019-12-11T13:03:21","modified_gmt":"2019-12-11T12:03:21","slug":"sietse-bakker-finale-songfestival-kan-gerust-korter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/songfestival.be\/en\/interviews\/sietse-bakker-finale-songfestival-kan-gerust-korter\/","title":{"rendered":"Sietse Bakker: \u2018Final of Eurovision could be less long-winded\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Eurovision Song Contest has played a major role in Sietse Bakkers life for a long time. He has already had various positions within the EBU. He started as Online Manager<\/em> and made his way up to Event Supervisor<\/em>. Now that The Netherlands has the opportunity to organise the contest, he has the title of Executive Producer<\/em>. Sietse sat down with us and we could ask him a few questions.<\/p>\n

\u2018It all started when I tried to impress a girl from another class who was a big fan of the contest\u2019, Sietse told us when we asked where his interest in the Contest came from. \u2018I wanted to impress her by making a website reporting on the contest, ESCToday. After I went to the Eurovision Song Contest in Riga for the first time in 2003, I was addicted, and meanwhile our website had become very big. It didn’t work out with the girl, but it was the beginning of my career.\u2019<\/p>\n

It was a full circle\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Over the years, Sietse, with his own company in website building, grew within the EBU and even became Event Supervisor<\/em>. In 2016 he made the decision to stop. \u2018The very first Eurovision Song Contest that I saw was in Stockholm, so when it took place in Stockholm again in 2016, it was a full circle-moment<\/strong> for me. It was time to quit that position and get more involved in my own business.\u2019<\/p>\n

Proud Dutchman<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The Netherlands had quite a few tough years in the past, so when asked how Sietse experienced the victory of Duncan he said the following: \u2018AVROTROS has built that nicely from 2013 onwards, with Anouk to Duncan who now won. Of course that makes you proud, but it is also a strange feeling. How is the Netherlands going to do this?<\/em> So I am glad that we get answers to that question. Me being a part of the team which has the\u00a0final responsibility<\/strong> is a complete honour, but it\u2019s quite a tough job<\/strong>.\u2019<\/p>\n

Informative experience <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

You would think that after all these years, Sietse knows what he is doing. He thinks differently though: \u2018You would think that you have already experienced everything. Nothing could be further from the truth, every day things come to mind that you hadn’t thought of.\u2019 If we ask what he wants to do differently this year, Sietse says: \u2018One of the things we said from the start was that we would listen<\/strong> to people from delegations, fans, and the press, in order to gain a better understanding.\u2019 When we asked the question if the shows aren\u2019t taking too long, he said: \u2018The semi-finals are relatively short but it\u2019s true that the final takes a long time and could be less long-winded.\u2019<\/p>\n

Happy with our hosts<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

We only just found out who the three lucky ones are, but this did not happen overnight<\/strong>. \u2018We have been working since July on who could present it. Everything came to mind: from presenters to singers to actors to influencers. After several meetings, this combination is the best outcome and we are very proud<\/strong> of this trio,\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n

More news regarding hotels is coming soon<\/strong> <\/em><\/p>\n

Attending the contest is something on the bucketlist for every fan. The high prices of the hotels do not make that easy. We asked him if something could be done about it. \u2018We had 3.000 rooms blocked in the bidding phase, about which we will soon be publishing more news. Keep in mind that the Netherlands is relatively small and you should also look outside Rotterdam for a stay<\/strong>.\u2019<\/p>\n

Succesor of Jon Ola Sand?<\/strong> <\/em><\/p>\n

Would he aspire to the role of Jon Ola Sand in the future? ‘I have never aspired that job and now I\u2019m focussing entirely on the role that I have. And for the record, I have not yet been called by the EBU.\u2019<\/p>\n

The full interview can be seen here with English subtitles.
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