It is referred to as a “field laboratory”.
Organizing Eurovision with a test audience, as envisaged by the Netherlands, will aim to assess the risks of contamination linked to the coronavirus.
And to study how events of this type could take place in the presence of spectators in a secure manner, despite the Covid-19.
Scheduled for May in Rotterdam, this Eurovision 2021 edition should welcome a maximum of 3,500 spectators, for each of the nine planned concerts, the Ministry of Culture said in a statement on Thursday.
Usually around 65,000 people attend all concerts.
These handpicked spectators will be admitted under strict conditions, for example with the obligation to present a negative test.
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Dutch Media Minister Arie Slob welcomed the opportunity to “safely and responsibly” organize a larger event at this “special” time.
"With the lessons we can learn from this field laboratory, we can hopefully take further steps towards a society in which more can be done."
A Eurovision without an audience, if the risks are too great
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.
“We welcome this decision by the Dutch government and the possibility that we can invite fans to join us, reacted Martin Österdahl, executive supervisor of Eurovision.
We will review the options now available and announce more details in the coming weeks on how we can safely admit the audience to the Ahoy Hall in Rotterdam if the situation allows.
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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.
This year, Barbara Pravi was selected to represent France.
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The Netherlands has already experimented with pilot events developed by the Fieldlab organization, created by the event industry in collaboration with the government.
A concert in Amsterdam in early March had notably gathered 1,300 people.