The BBC’s coverage of the Eurovision Song Contest final was derailed by a tech blunder.
The annual competition returned with its grand final on Saturday night (May 11) hosted by Sweden in Malmo. But the BBC’s broadcast had a nightmare start, because viewers hoping to hear from presenter Graham Norton struggled to make out what he was saying.
Technical difficulties meant Graham’s mic wasn’t very audible in the first minute of the final, and to make matters worse, BBC DJ Scott Mills was heard over the top of him. Unfortunately, it came at the worst possible time; his opening monologue.
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He said: “Good evening to everyone in the United Kingdom. A royal welcome to this year’s 68th Eurovision Song Contest. Coming to you tonight live from Malmo, the southern tip of Sweden.”
Footage of Sweden’s mountains, woods and the arena were seen before he went silent completely. Luckily, producers managed to sort out the issue as Graham returned after a few moments and was much louder.
Viewers flocked to X, formerly Twitter, to complain about the audio issues. One wrote: “Did anyone face technical difficulties at the start of the show on the BBC where you could barely hear Graham?”
(Image: BBC)
Another wrote: “Graham honey we can’t hear you”. A third commented: “Ok BBC can we sort the sound out, I wanna hear Graham!”.
Graham eventually cleared up the issue. He said: “I think there might have been some problems with my microphone at the beginning.” Some viewers continued to have sound issues after this, while Graham could be heard loud and clear.
(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
It comes as the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) announced several changes to the grand final after the disqualification of Dutch act Joost Klein. The singer was axed after a backstage incident following his performance in the semi-final on Thursday (May 9).
An allegation of intimidation was made to Swedish police by a female member of the production crew. A statement from the EBU said: “The Dutch artist Joost Klein will not be competing in the Grand Final of this year’s Eurovision Song Contest. Swedish police have investigated a complaint made by a female member of the production crew after an incident following his performance in Thursday night’s Semi Final.
“While the legal process takes its course, it would not be appropriate for him to continue in the Contest. We would like to make it clear that, contrary to some media reports and social media speculation, this incident did not involve any other performer or delegation member.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
