Eurovision 2021 - Netherlands - NPO/AVROTROS/NOS

I've no issues with the acts performing in Rotterdam, with their delegation in attendance and the commentators there too. Also, I've no issue with a small local audience being there.

The issue is that once you open up the possibility of international attendance then you open a pandora's box. Already online I can see people trying to think of workarounds to be able to attend. The whole process of fan accreditation, which is troublesome every year, opens up the possibility of people saying they're 'accredited delegates' and 'working at the event' and using that as a genuine reason to travel. I'm sure the border authorities wouldn't be looking too closely at the different forms of accreditation. Also, you'll have those countries where either vaccination rates are low due to lack of vaccines or more worryingly the country has a very lax attitude to vaccinations and international travel i.e. Sweden. It all just adds up to the potential of a superspreader event, and I don't think I'm being melodramatic in thinking this.

Armenia has withdrawn from Eurovision 2021.
https://eurovision.tv/story/armenia-withdraws-from-eurovision-2021

Well, i guess this is the new logo #tvforum:a talent for tv discussion

Go back to 4 December.

It reminds me of the BBC election 2010 map titles

https://eurovision.tv/story/armenia-withdraws-from-eurovision-2021

Take a look towards the bottom right area of the logo - you might see that Ckck1707 has made another alteration A certain flag is missing.

As an aside, the Shine A Light geoblock for the UK has finally gone.



Not heard from DVB Cornwall since the news on Wednesday, I trust he will have a thread ready to go on TV Live!

Graham will be commentating from Rotterdam, and I assume Scott and Rylan will too - how are they going to handle all the wraparound stuff though given the restrictions in place on-the-ground? Stuff like the W1A take-off or mock taxi services are surely all out the window?

Denmark's Eurovision entry has been decided: Fyr og Flamme with " Øve os på hinanden ". For the first time since (I think) the 1990's, Denmark's entry will be in Danish.

I look forward to seeing the non-Scandinavian hosts and commentators trying to get their tongues around the song title.

Meanwhile in contrast Portugal for the first time ever sends a song completely in English.



And Italy sends our second rock act this year after Finnland ... in Italian:

All I can say is that I'm happy my country has finally done it since I was hoping that they would have an entry performing in English one day. In fact, this nearly happened last year with Blasted Mechanism's "Rebellion" before they were eliminated from the first semi-final as they finished fifth.

The BBCs Harding box is going to explode during that Italian number

Well, Belarus could be out from this year's contest as their entrant's song has some controversial political subtext, hence there's been a petition to disqualify them. Over 1000 people have signed it.
https://escxtra.com/2021/03/10/a-new-petition-to-disqualify-belarus-from-eurovision-2021-hits-1000-signatures/