The Dutch broadcaster NPO has officially submitted a request to the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science asking it to make a financial contribution to the organization of the Eurovision Song Contest in Rotterdam next year. The spokesman for Mr Arie Slob (yes, that’s his real name), the department’s minister, confirmed the news to Dutch entertainment show Shownieuws.

According to Slob’s spokesperson, the request is now at the Ministry where it’s being looked into. The details of the request and the amount involved are not yet clear. In developing its request, the public broadcaster has taken into account that the cost for the music festival will amount to around 30 million euros.

It don’t come easy, and it don’t come cheap. But the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 is most definitely coming to the Netherlands. We know that a part of this expense will be funded by a contribution from the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), while the rest will be made up partly by sponsorship (from the likes of Moroccanoil) and the sale of tickets. But even with all of those contributions, there will still be a gap left to fill.

NPO boss Shula Rijxman said in August that she hoped that politicians would want to contribute 15 to 20 million euros to the organization. But Prime Minister Mark Rutte had already stated publicly that the Dutch government will not necessarily equip NPO with any additional funds. They should instead first try to finance it within the existing budget.

The costs incurred by the NPO for the organization of the music spectacle relate to the TV show and the event itself. The municipality of Rotterdam is already financing the song festival. The city has reserved an amount of 15.5 million euros, which relates to the so-called side events and visibility of the music spectacle throughout the city.

Do you think the Dutch government will contribute to ESC2020? Are you worried about the financing of ESC2020 in Rotterdam? Let us know in the comment section down below!

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Ana
Ana
4 years ago

Well, all what KAN managed to get from the government is a loan of 17m euros for 15 years. I feel that the Dutch broadcaster will have a much better deal.

Sam
Sam
4 years ago

You may recall that Moroccanoil was chosen by KAN (Israel) as the official hair design company in charge of all the participants styling: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lSuVvtWOOg Most people assume the company is Moroccan or that it benefits the Moroccan economy in some way when in fact – it’s an Israeli company whose products are manufactured and packaged in Israel, but this is being camouflaged because of the international ‘flair’ the company has achieved through its vast presence in the hair styling products market. It has offices and headquarters in more than 40 countries mostly from North America, Europe and Asia. It’s totally… Read more »

Dawid
Dawid
4 years ago

Isn’t it perfectly normal that government helps with that though?

Jonas
Jonas
4 years ago

I don’t know why the cost of the “side event” budget is €15,000,000 – half of the total budget for the actual contest? That seems like a waste of money – the viewers at home have no knowledge of anything that goes on off-screen, the number of visiting fans is always way overestimated, and why should the people of Rotterdam pay to put on “side-events” for them? If it’s for the actual Rotterdam locals, then fine, but still…it seems like a lot.

Roelof Meesters
Roelof Meesters
4 years ago
Reply to  Jonas

Side-events probably wasn’t the best word. Rotterdam is spending most of that money on security and infrastructure (i.e. trains, undergrounds and trams).

Vincent
Vincent
4 years ago

No I am not worried at all, 15M is really not that much if you see that they will spend forty billion Euros in Education, Culture and Sciences, 82B in healthcare, 9B in infrastructure, etc. next year. In the link below you can see all expected revenues and spendings in 2020. 15M is quite similar to building a new cycling bridge here, and it happens all the time. The big positive remark is that Eurovision does directly and indirectly largely contribute to the economy. The revenue is visible, compared to building a new bridge i.e. The only reason why the… Read more »

Adam
Adam
4 years ago
Reply to  Vincent

You can’t really compare a single-time event which takes place over a couple weeks in one city to the national expenditure which will bring improvements over many years. Of course, Eurovision is an important cultural event, but it’s not exactly on the same level as the socio-economic future of the country.

Joseph Mendy
Joseph Mendy
4 years ago

We’ve had enough problems funding-wise with this year’s Eurovision in Tel Aviv. Please Don let that repeat itself next year.

Hi243
Hi243
4 years ago
Reply to  Joseph Mendy

Don’t worry, it’s just the way Dutch politics work. When you want financial support from the government, you need to submit your plans officially, and this is what has happened. The government contributes to other events, such as the Formula 1 or the Women’s Euros in 2017, so I’m expecting the Dutch government to help out ESC 2020 too.

Jonas
Jonas
4 years ago
Reply to  Hi243

Sport is different…governments will do anything for sport, but music and art and culture…nah.

Sara
Sara
4 years ago
Reply to  Jonas

Thats actually true though. I have nothing against sports, but sometimes it feels like sports is everything in the Netherlands, and other things are just not that interesting or something. If this was formula one or football no one would have a problem with it. No offence to these sports or any other sport.