From left to right : Michael Götzhaber, Richard Grasl, Kathrin Zechner,
Jon Ola Sand, Alexander Wrabetz, Sietse Bakker
Photo: ORF/Milenko Badzic

With fans still buzzing from the excitement of this month’s Eurovision Song Contest final, EBU executives gathered in Vienna yesterday with next year’s host – Austrian broadcaster ORF – to discuss the 2015 contest.

The kick-off meeting took place between EBU Executive Supervisor Jon Ola Sand and Event Supervisor Sietse Bakker and ORF Director General Dr. Alexander Wrabetz, Commercial Director Richard Grasl, TV Director Kathrin Zechner and Technical Director Michael Götzhaber.

Preliminary details about next year’s 60^th anniversary shows emerged from the meeting. Organizers agreed that the arena should be available six weeks before the event, and that it would be a ‘closed hall event’ to avoid issues with daylight.

Jon Ola Sand, Executive Supervisor at the EBU expressed his pleasure at the meeting. "We appreciate the early invitation for this kick-off meeting, which shows ORF's commitment to a successful Eurovision Song Contest in 2015. The foundation of that success is an early start, and we are looking forward to the challenge ahead."

Dr Alexander Wrabetz added: "With a major international event such as the Eurovision Song Contest, it is important not to lose time and to start the preparation work. In this sense, we also have already started initial discussions - just a week after the victory. All are highly motivated and with the EBU, we have a top professional partner on our side. It is sure that a mega project of this magnitude can only be realised as a pan-Austrian cooperation between ORF, the state, municipal and private partners."

The preliminary dates for the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest are 12, 14 and 16 of May.