WELCOME BACK!
Here we go again!
Hello dear readers! Welcome to Norway!
Just as usual, you will be able to follow the production up close and share the daily lives of the crew working on the Eurovision Song Contest production. There will be a lot of faces that you remember from last year’s production in Moscow, mixed up with a long row of new faces that I hereby give a WARM welcome to as the extended Eurovision family.
I personally find myself in a new role this year as well. For the first time ever, I’m employed by the Host Broadcaster this year, and it has been very interesting to sit on the other side of the table in this production. It has been a very exciting journey already, starting back in August 2009.
For those of you out there that are visiting us for the first time and maybe don’t even know what Eurovision is all about, may I suggest you visit www.eurovision.tv – the official website for the Eurovision Song Contest. Tell them Ola sent you 😉
Here are some fast facts about our new home away from home!
Norway is a country famous for its oil, trolls and fjords! The total area of Norway is 385,252 square kilometers and there are 4.8 million people living here. It was the second largest exporter in the world after China in 2006, so if you are into salmon, crab, shrimp and stuff, this is a great place to be!
Norway has been voted “The best country in the world to live in” no less than 7 times by the United Nations. You will also find it in the top three of most lists if you Google “Safest country in the world”. They also happen to be one of the largest Internet users in the world per capita. The official language is Norwegian, which, lucky for me, is pretty similar to Swedish!
In short, not a bad place!
Eurovision will be held at Telenor Arena, just outside the capital city of Oslo. The city is located at the bottom of the Oslo fjord, and is drop dead gorgeous!
Our Host Broadcaster this year is NRK, Norsk Rikskringkasting AS. It was one of the founding members of the European Broadcast Union (EBU) who happens to own the rights to the format of Eurovision Song Contest. The production is led by Executive Producer Jon Ola Sand and Producer Hasse Lindmo.
This year’s design team is part-Norwegian, part-British. Ole Jörgen Grönlund is the Director for all the music, while Kim Strömstad is directing all the openings, interval acts and voting sequences. A team from NRK, containing Kirsten Weltzin, Bonsak Schieldrop, Audun Stjern and Trond Olav Erga designed the stage. Al Gurdon, just as last year, is Lighting Designer.
As usual, our updates will have a 24-hour delay, but I’m sure you know the drill by now!
And hey! Don’t forget to become a fan on Facebook!
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=120379077975026 or search “What could possibly go wrong?”
So once again, WELCOME to our daily lives.
Yours truly,
Ola Melzig
Production Manager Design
