ESC Insight, Where You Are The Interviewer
Let’s start with our new social podcast feature. ‘You Ask…’
Back in the Eurovision press room after a 3-year sojourn, Sharleen Wright will be chasing down key figures from behind the scenes and giving you the opportunity to ask them the questions you’ve wanted to ask but never had the chance.
What exactly is a head of delegation responsible for?
What is it like to be in charge of the hot favourite entry?
What does it take to put together a ‘whole package’ for the stage?
How can someone get a foot in the door to part of the biggest music show on Earth?
How does a country who isn’t even part of European geography settle so well into Eurovision?
Send us your thoughts and contributions via Twitter (@ESCInsight). Sharleen will be online throughout the fortnight to not only find out out your questions to ask our guests directly, but will also be online to converse directly on all things Eurovision and announce who you can expect to hear on our downloads over the next two weeks.
Hello Internet!
As always the backbone of ESC Insight’s coverage will be through our podcast and the daily backstage chat show. Hosted by Ewan Spence with a rotating team of experts from ESC Insight and beyond, we’ll bring you our thoughts on the rehearsals, the performances and the atmosphere inside the IEC. We might bring in a few more interviews, explore Kyiv, as well as discussing who has a box under their dress and where the backing singers are hiding.
Alongside ‘You Ask…’, ‘Letters From Eurovision’ will return with Jon Jacob’s uniquely acerbic take on Europe’s favourite TV show and everything that has built up around the Contest; Ewan will chair a number of in-depth interviews; and you’ll be able to download our alternative commentary tracks in time for the Semi Finals and Grand Finals from Eurovision 2017.
Ewan Spence and Lisa-Jayne Lewis, ready to take over the commentary booths (image: Will Adams)
Going Live
As well as the online podcasts, ESC Insight in partnership with Radio Six International, will be providing an extensive syndication package to community and local radio stations around the world (and available to stream live at radiosix.com). These include six hours of musical previews, a daily chat show starting on Monday May 1st, and a nightly two-minute news bulletin keeping listeners around the world up to date with what’s happening at the Contest.
Then there’s the hour before the Grand Final on Saturday May 13th. As Europe and the rest of the world settles down to watch the Song Contest the excitement will be building backstage in Kyiv… and we’ll be bringing you a live preview show to get you ready for the Contest. The whole ESC Insight team will be involved, along with star guests, expert analysis, a look at the betting markets and polls, and much more.
And Lots To Read From Kyiv
Our regular feature articles such as the Spotters Guide to the live shows, analysis of the juries and running orders, and a look at the musical gigs outside the Kyiv Eurovision bubble will all be present. We’ll also have the chance to look carefully at many aspects of this year’s contest from stagecraft and performance, to promotion and politics.
We’ll also introduce a new set of Eurovision Awards from our sister site ESC Buzz!
You can stay up to date by visiting the website, followings on Facebook or Twitter, or signing up to the Email Newsletter.
Let Us Know What You’d Like!
Every year after the Contest we run a survey on your thoughts about ESC Insight’s coverage – this year will be no different but if you want to suggest content ideas for our time in Kyiv that you want to see, you can let us know in the comments.
Excited about the extra live chat shows! The daily podcasts are always a must listen to. Really looking forward to your coverage once again. Thanks for your hard work!
I think you should try to upload the daily podcast as earlty as possible.
Late year there were at least 2 day where the daily podscat was only around 3 or 4 pm online.That’s a bit too late.
Beside that is always a pleasure to read and listen to all the information you post.
Shai, there will always be circumstances in the press room and organisation that will impact the upload time. We do have a ‘must upload’ time of around 1400 GMT to make our window for the radio broadcasts, so best you set that as the ‘expected’ arrival time and anything early is a bonus.
I can see that your coverage is going to take over my life for a fortnight. In a good way. The downside is that even Graham Norton is going to seem ill-informed when the BBC finally grind out their own efforts. I won’t even start on Scott Mills and his fellow sneerers.
@Ewan – That is clear now, so I’ll wait patiently until it is online 🙂
Marc, we have that downside covered as well – during the afternoon of the Semi Finals and Grand Final the podcast will have an ‘Alternative Commentary‘ that you can listen to alongside the live broadcast to get the Insight Commentary Team in your ear. Short of paying hundreds of thousands of lawyers to get the rights to the broadcast, this is the best we can manage (at least until Junior Eurovision comes along, we’ve been able to do that live in previous years with the EBU’s support).