Among the audience of Eurovision 2018 in Lisbon.
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Armando Franca / AP / SIPA
Eurovision will be a "field laboratory".
The Dutch government announced on Thursday that the competition, organized in May in Rotterdam (Netherlands), will be held with a limited audience, in order to assess the risks of contamination linked to the coronavirus.
This practical test will aim to study how events of this type could take place with an audience in a secure manner despite the Covid-19, the Ministry of Culture said in a statement.
A maximum of 3,500 spectators will be allowed for each of the nine planned concerts - only three of them, the semi-finals and the final, are broadcast on television.
The public will be admitted under strict conditions, with for example the obligation to present a negative test.
The plan could be modified in the event of an increase in contamination
Dutch Media Minister Arie Slob welcomed the opportunity to “safely and responsibly” organize a larger event at this “special” time.
However, the government reserves the right to modify this plan in the event of an increase in contamination as the competition approaches, scheduled for May 18 to 22, and will review the situation at the end of April.
If the risks are too great, it could be decided to organize Eurovision without an audience.
The 2020 edition of the competition, watched by millions of viewers around the world each year, had been canceled for the first time in the history of the competition due to the pandemic.
Some 65,000 spectators were expected for all of the concerts.
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Netherlands