Dutch Eurovision 1969 winner Lenny Kuhr has made it very clear she was annoyed and offended that her performance was edited out of the Dutch broadcast of Het Grote Songfestivalfeest earlier this week. Since then Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS and production company PilotStudio have announced that they will be adding the “De troubadour” singer in reruns of the show.
Eurovision fans could enjoy the 2022 edition of Het Grote Songfestivalfeest on NPO earlier this week. The eponymous concert was held on 17 December in Amsterdam’s Ziggo Dome. On New Year’s night, BBC viewers could enjoy another version of the same concert.
Het Grote Songfestivalfeest cuts Lenny Kuhr
Similar to the concert in 2019 that broadcast only in the Netherlands, the producers cut some acts. Eurovision 1969 winner Lenny Kuhr—one of the two Dutch winners performing that night—was among those cut. In a statement posted on Twitter, she deemed the move disrespectful.
“Tonight, they broadcast Het Grote Songfestivalfeest which they recorded in the Ziggo Dome. In Ziggo, during the “De troubadour”, [the audience] blew the roof off the place, but I can’t find that back in the broadcast tonight. Cut out without telling me. Disrespectful.”
Vanavond werd het grote Songfestivalfeest dat in de ZiggoDome werd opgenomen op TV uitgezonden. In de Ziggo ging het dak eraf bij de troubadour maar in de uitzending van vanavond was ik niet terug te vinden. Er uit gemonteerd zonderkennisgeving. Respectloos @AVROTROS
— Lenny Kuhr (@LenKuhr) January 4, 2023
Lenny Kuhr had earlier been cut in the BBC edition of the show, alongside Dutch Eurovision stars S10, Edsilia Rombley and OG3NE. Together with Michael Schulte, Antique and the Herreys, Lenny Kuhr received the boot in both shows. However, in 2019, her performance was seen as one of the highlights of the show.
Lenny’s outrage sparked media attention in the Netherlands, with Lenny claiming that AVROTROS pressured her to appear in the concert, although production company PilotStudio was responsible for montaging the show before broadcasting. Speaking to regional television station Omroep Brabant, the singer-songwriter said:
“AVROTROS made it seem very important that I would be attending the concert. I was not allowed to be absent among all other Eurovision winners. I have had a very nice performance and the public was very enthusiastic, but I was pressured beforehand to attend. That makes it somewhat sour that I am not shown.”
Lenny Kuhr’s performance to be added in reruns
On Thursday, the Eurovision 1969 winner announced that she had reached an agreement with the producer and AVROTROS. Her performance is scheduled to be added in reruns of the show during the Eurovision week in May of this year.
“One more time Het Songfestivalfeest. AVROTROS and PilotStudio have promised us that “De troubadour” will be [in the transmission] the next time it will be broadcast on television in the Netherlands. Definitely the week of Eurovision. With my thanks to everyone who has supported me. The troubadour is alive!”
Nog één keer het Songfestivalfeest. @AVROTROS en PilotStudio hebben ons toegezegd dat bij een volgende keer dat het in Nederland op tv komt de troubadour er in zit. Sowieso in de week van het songfestival. Met mijn dank aan iedereen die me heeft gesteund. De troubadour leeft!
— Lenny Kuhr (@LenKuhr) January 5, 2023
Do you think it’s fair that Lenny Kuhr will be included in the reruns of the broadcasts? Are you excited to see her performance? Let us know in the comments down below!
I watched the show and really enjoyed it but after reading this i’m really annoyed artists were cut. Edsillia and Antique have just two of my favourite songs. Why>. Cut Rylan and leave the real talent from Eurovision history to enjoy again while we can.
Where can we watch it back? 🙂
i honestly really enjoy all of the 1969 winners but frida boccara is just on another level
I agree, for me was Frida Boccara the best with th e most beautiful song and her great voice
Wiwibloggs you guys neeeeeed to report on the crystalball twitter account leaking every single national final competitor there is.
I am flabbergasted at how one individual could even obtain all this information.
I agree. And I need to talk about who they predicted for the Irish NF. I’m still not sure how to process this news.
Okay, please tell me… I hate leaks, but now I need to know. I’d rather hear it from you. Use the spoiler function here if you like.
There’s a spoiler function?
They claim it’s Public Image Ltd.
I didn’t even know they still existed, but having Johnny Rotten as a possible representative for Ireland is rather unexpected. He’s such an English icon. I didn’t know he was rumored before, this information came completely out of the blue for me.
Liverpool would be the same week as the coronation of Charles! Maybe he feels differently today than he did in 1977, but this could be interesting…
I didn’t even think of that… But I suppose he’s settled down since then.
Well, this was an Lydon tweet after Elizabeth’s death:
“In John’s view, the timing for endorsing any Sex Pistols requests for commercial gain in connection with ‘God Save The Queen’ in particular is tasteless and disrespectful to the Queen and her family at this moment in time.”
WHAT
Exactly my reaction.
https://mobile.twitter.com/pilofficial/status/1611996125891805184
Speculation: The account is not run by one individual, but by a group.
I’m glad they’ve elected not to leak the songs, the memes are so hilarious tbh
Im very impatient so I would also love to see the UMK artists, but I already have my own theories and since they have hints it’s a bit of a game.
Likewise to Luxembourg’s last winner. I know she was in the 2019 edition of the concert but she was not shown in the broadcast that aired that year.
Same with Ireland’s last winner. I know this is not just for the people at home, it’s mostly a live event for ticket-buyers, but it would be nice if everybody made it to television.
A complete disgrace…such a beautiful song! They better keep their promise this time!
Even one of the most beautiful songs ever sung at esc.
Poor Lenny. Imagine watching at home with your family and friends… waiting… and waiting… end credits. Sad. She deserves so much better.
I found that cutting out acts to be ridiculous in the first place. They could have shown some acts in part while the iconic ones in full. From the BBC production – some of the footage was from the Dutch production – they cut quite a bit and had focus on Rylan and his interviews. Might be ok, but was that necessary? I don’t know. The Dutch episode cut out not 1 but 7 acts. Lenny was one of them. Others included televote favourites from 2019 Keiino, 2006 winners Lordi, 1984 winners the Herreys, Greek entrants Antique, Germany’s Michael Schulte… Read more »
BBC cut out anything that wasn’t in English, I think? Including Carola. A disgrace!
A busy time of year for him.
He probably was busy with the Pope’s funeral
They kept Keiino – which is part *the Norweigan indigneous language I can’t remember the name of*, Jamala, and Kalush Orchestra. I think it just more a case of ditching anything that not’s either a classic, or recent. Lenny is hardly a household name in the UK, whereas many would remember Lordi, for example,
It’s fairly standard at least for foreign broadcasters to cut footage from programming they’ve bought overseas for a variety of reasons, from running times to ad breaks to, in the case of the BBC, feature bits exclusive for their own broadcast.
But The Great Song Party itself was made for a Dutch broadcast so that’s basically what matters most.
Sámi. Thank you. It would have been very bad for the BBC to leave out Ukrainian songs in the year they are hosting on their behalf. Still, I would count Lenny and Carola as “classics”, definitely more so than Efendi or Senhit. This show is for Eurovision fans, an education in history would not hurt them.
The entire concert was three hours, so I guess cuts were inevitable, just like in 2019.
They were asked to perform at a concert, which they did, no-one got the confirmation that their perfomance would be broadcast
I can understand her being cut from the BBC broadcast; there was much more of an emphasis on recent acts and ‘classics’. But a Dutch winner being cut from the Dutch edition is odd to say the least.
For most ESC Fans and fan websites nowadays, ESC only existed since 2000 anyway. It’s so sad!
exactly
That would be like only watching Doctor Who from 2005 onwards and not know or watch anything from The Classic Who era (1963-1989).
Inviting people to perform without showing their performance is stupid and I am being polite. They also cut the antique reunion. For what?
For that thing from Azerblowjan. Didn’t need to see Johnny Logan twice either. Pleased not to see 1975 winner as she was clearly miming when I saw her last April.
Your comment screams toxicity
No he’s correct actually from the moment Getty performed Ding-a-Dong again in 2019 all she did was playback.
They were asked to perform for a concert, which they did. No-one got the confirmation that their performance would be broadcast.