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Eurovision Debate

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Eurovision Debate
GenreTopical debate
Directed byRob Hopkin (2014)
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes2 editions
Production
Production locationsEspace Léopold, Brussels, Belgium
Running time90 minutes
Production companyEuropean Broadcasting Union
Original release
Release15 May 2014; 10 years ago (2014-05-15) –
present (2019)

The Eurovision Debate is a live televised debate between the lead political candidates (“Spitzenkandidaten”) running to be the next President of the European Commission. Produced by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and broadcast across Europe via the Eurovision network, it is hosted by the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium. The aim of the debate is to help public service media play their role in the democratic process by helping to better inform citizens and encouraging participation in the elections.

History

2019 Eurovision Debate candidates on stage. Left to right: Zahradil, Cué, Keller, Vestager, Timmermans, Weber.

The first Eurovision Debate took place on 15 May 2014 and was the first-ever live televised format to bring democratic political debate to a pan-European level.[1][2] Italian journalist and Director of the Rai News24 Monica Maggioni [it] moderated the dabate with RTÉ's Conor McNally as its social media co-presenter.[3] The Eurovision Debate is produced by the EBU under the guidance and the supervision of senior editors from European Public Service Media (the “Editorial Board”) and was directed by Rob Hopkin.[4]

The 2019 edition was broadcast live from the European Parliament in Brussels on 15 May 2019 at 21:00 CET, moderated by TV anchors Markus Preiss [de] (ARD/WDR), Emilie Tran-Nguyen [fr] (France Télévisions) and Annastiina Heikkilä [fi] (Yle)[5] and broadcast by the EBU's public service media members and others throughout Europe.

Format

The debate is presented by 2 television anchor personalities who ask the candidates on stage a series of questions on pre-determined themes, although the questions themselves are not known in advance. The debate obeys the strictest rules of transparency and neutrality, all candidates are allocated exactly the same speaking time. Interpretation is provided in almost all EU official languages

The order in which the candidates take the floor is decided by a draw which happens 5 weeks before the debate itself. The Eurovision Debate also uses social media to spark debate among citizens throughout Europe around issues that are topical for the next European elections. A third anchor person is monitoring the exchanges online and reports to the journalists on stage so that the social media dimension is taken into account during the discussions.

Candidates

2014

  1. Alexis Tsipras (Greece, European Left)
  2. Ska Keller (Germany, European Green Party)
  3. Martin Schulz (Germany, Party of European Socialists)
  4. Jean-Claude Juncker (Luxembourg, European People’s Party)
  5. Guy Verhofstadt (Belgium, Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe)

2019

The speaking order and the place of the lead candidates were drawn on 4 April.[6]

  1. Nico Cué (Spain, European Left)
  2. Ska Keller (Germany, European Green Party)
  3. Jan Zahradil (Czech Republic, Alliance of Conservatives and Reformists in Europe)
  4. Margrethe Vestager (Denmark, Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe)
  5. Manfred Weber (Germany, European People’s Party)
  6. Frans Timmermans (Netherlands, Party of European Socialists)

Broadcast

The debate is broadcast in more than 25 countries on TV, radio and online.[7] For the 2019 edition, the broadcasters are EBU members Azerbaijan (İctimai Television), Belgium (VRT and RTBF), Czech Repiblic (CT), Denmark (DR TV), Italy (Rai News24), Germany (Phoenix), Spain (RTVE Canal 24h, TvG2 and Canal Sur 2), Netherlands (NPO), Bulgaria (BNT), Cyprus (CyBC), Croatia (HRT), Estonia (ERR), Ireland (RTÉ News Now), Finland (Yle), France (France Info, Arte, Public Sénat and TV5Monde), Greece (ERT), Georgia (GPB), Poland (TVP and PR), Romania (TVR), Sweden (SVT), United Kingdom (BBC Parliament) and USA (Kingston TV).[8]

See also

References

  1. ^ "The Eurovision Debate: one week until first TV face-off with all five European Commission Presidency candidates". www.ebu.ch. European Broadcasting Union. 8 May 2014. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  2. ^ "EU leadership rivals hold big debate". BBC News. 15 May 2014. Retrieved 17 May 2019 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  3. ^ "Conor McNally Co-presents European Commission Presidential Debate". www.rte.ie. RTÉ. 30 April 2014. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  4. ^ "Eurovision Debate press briefing sets Brussels abuzz". www.ebu.ch. 6 May 2014. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  5. ^ "Leading European Parliament contenders debate head to head". eng.lsm.lv. LSM. 15 May 2019. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  6. ^ "Speaking order for lead candidates in Eurovision Debate decided". www.ebu.ch. 4 April 2019. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  7. ^ "EBU makes history with the Eurovision Debate". www.ebu.ch. European Broadcasting Union. 16 May 2014. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  8. ^ "Candidates for Presidency of the European Commission take to the stage". www.ebu.ch. European Broadcasting Union. 15 May 2019. Retrieved 17 May 2019.

Media related to Eurovision Debate at Wikimedia Commons