Speaking in an special bonus episode of The Euro Trip podcast, Melodifestivalen Supervisor and six-time Eurovision Song Contest Producer Christer Björkman has revealed the “chaos” in the days leading up to the 2017 contest in Kyiv, Ukraine.
In an interview with podcast host Rob Lilley, Christer explained exactly what happened months before the event was scheduled to take place.
🤔 Was there a time when the 2017 Contest didn't make it to air?
😱 Every day!Hear more about the chaotic 2017 #Eurovision Song Contest and much more in our interview with Christer Björkman 👇 🎧
— The Euro Trip | A Eurovision Podcast 🎶 (@EuroTripPodcast) March 22, 2021
“The government threw out the old producer and brought in the new Executive Producer, the one who had done it in 2005. He called me in December when I was in Armenia doing jury work… and he offered me to be the producer of the show.”
Christer went on to explain he couldn’t accept that position so late before the contest, but would take on the role of Contest Producer instead. However he became Producer after the team working on the show were dropped just months before broadcast.
“It was a disaster, and it was chaos, but in the end it was interesting… in the end it still becomes TV. And in the end, it wasn’t even bad.”
The 2017 contest was held in the International Exhibition Centre in Kyiv following Jamala’s victory in Stockholm the year prior.
When asked how close the show was to not making it to our television screens, Christer gave an honest assessment.
“Every day, every day, even during the first broadcast. We took down the last audio tapes into the system at 8.45pm, that’s how late everything was.”
“We didn’t even have the chance to double check it to make sure everything was okay.”
He did admit he now looks on the contest was fondness, although it wasn’t a scenario he’d be keen to repeat.
“It was an experience… I learned a lot from it.”
The full interview with Christer Björkman is available on all streaming services right now, including Eurovoix.TV.
The stories about Kyiv 2017 can be found at 42.42″ minutes into the podcast.
About The Euro Trip
The Euro Trip is a podcast available on Acast, Apple Podcasts and Spotify with Rob Lilley and James Rowe bringing you a weekly show featuring big guests and fun games from the world of the Eurovision Song Contest.
Brought to you by Eurovoix, every Wednesday Rob and James will be bringing you interviews with some of the biggest names from the contest, finding out what makes them tick and giving us their memories of performing on the Eurovision stage.
Games will also keep the listeners entertained with the European Quiz and the One Second Song featuring in the weekly show. In addition, they’ll also bring you the very latest news.
Hosts Rob and James have been fans of the contest for well over a decade, with Rob having been the presenter of Eurovoix’s Eurojury for the past five years and James having produced the last two editions.
Feature Image Credit: Eurovision.TV
