© Steve Muller
In this week's Sunday interview, RTL's Pierre Weimerskirch shares his personal impressions about the ESC audition this past Thursday and the RTL team that assisted in organising the casting.
On Thursday afternoon, I ventured to the Rockhal concert hall to see what was happening.
I'm familiar with Rockhal as I enjoy attending concerts there. However, on this occasion, I was taken aback by how unusually empty the venue was. The singers and musicians I encountered appeared either nervous or completely focused on their upcoming performance. For many of them, the prospect of representing Luxembourg in Malmö is a significant dream, especially considering the country's absence from the event for the past 30 years.
The Luxembourgish organising team consists of Dave Gloesener, RTL's Eurovision coordinator, and Eric Lehmann, who serves as both the head of the Luxembourgish delegation and the person responsible for the Candidates Section. I had the opportunity to speak with both, and on the second day of auditions, they seemed visibly happy and at ease.
According to Dave Gloesener, "it’s not easy to choose the candidates for the final". There were many talented singers. And even the songs that were presented ranged from beautiful to fantastically pop-like.
Out of 500 songs, only 70 were chosen. The 50 candidates had the opportunity to audition over the course of 3 days in front of an international jury, to earn the chance to perform live at Rockhal in January.
It is important that the whole the country embarks on this journey. For Dave Gloesener, "it was obvious for us to take the public on board during the final," ensuring that the best candidate can represent the Grand Duchy on stage.
For Eric Lehmann, this is his 25th Eurovision in which he has been professionally involved over the course of his career. However, this particular edition holds a unique distinction, as Luxembourg is part of the ESC for the first time in his career.
Luxembourg as an old acquaintance with big chances
Eric Lehmann considered the announcement of Luxembourg's return to the Eurovision Song Contest during this year's competition in Liverpool as his favourite moment in any Eurovision.
"We want to do our best, we’re not just there to be there", says Dave Gloesener.
What happens if Luxembourg wins?
According to Dave Gloesener, "We would be extremely happy. We would even throw a big party. And the day after, we’d start to plan. So, we would have one year's time to organise Europe's biggest television show."
In any case, there is already a plan in place if Luxembourg wins.
At first, Luxembourg's participation in the competition felt somewhat abstract to me. However, upon hearing and seeing the songs and performances of some of the candidates, I realised that the bar had been set high.
With the organising team's statement that Luxembourg is "not just there to be there," one can easily envision the anticipation building as the finalists will be announced at the beginning of December.
