The BBC have today revealed more members of their senior production team for Eurovision 2023.
Back in October, the BBC revealed the first set of senior production team members who will be working on Eurovision 2023 alongside the Ukrainian broadcaster. Today, a further 11 names have been thrown into the mix, with both British and Ukrainian directors and producers taking a lead role in the 2023 contest.
Three is the magic number
It has been confirmed that a trio of hugely experienced multi camera directors will be directing the two semi finals and the grand final. Nikki Parsons, Ollie Bartlett and Richard Valentine will all be working together on the three live shows. But who are they?
Nikki Parsons will take on the role of lead director for the Eurovision 2023 grand final. Nikki has huge expertise in directing live entertainment shows in the United Kingdom and the United States, and has worked extensively with the BBC. She has been the Series Director of BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing since 2006, and has also directed the BAFTA’s, Britain’s Got Talent, Dancing On Ice, So You Think You Can Dance U.S., Nikelodeon Kids Choice Awards, The Hip Hop Nutcracker on Disney+ and the MTV Asia awards. She was also one of the BBC’s directors for coverage of Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgs funerals.
Ollie Bartlett is a multi camera studio and OB director. Some of his more recent credits include: Glastonbury, A Secret Night With Kylie Minogue, Soccer Aid, The Big Night of Musicals, The National Lottery’s New Year’s Eve Big Bash, Dance Monsters on Netflix, and The GRM Awards. He also worked alongside Nikki as one of the BBC’s directors for coverage of Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral.
Richard Valentine is a BAFTA and Royal Television Society award winning Multi Camera director. Some of his credits include: Concert for Ukraine, Global Citizen London, One Love Manchester, Ariana Grande at the BBC, Harry Styles at the BBC, The Sound of Music Live, The Royal Variety Performance, The Olympic Torch Concert and Live 8.
Dan Shipton returns!
Dan Shipton, who many people will know as being the Creative Director for numerous Eurovision performances (alongside Marvin Deitmann), including Sam Ryder’s ‘Space Man’ from Eurovision 2022. For Eurovision 2023 however, Dan will take on the role of Lead Creative Director.
He will oversee various creative elements of the shows, including the interval acts and the Flag Parade working. He will work collaboratively with German Nenov, who has been appointed by Ukrainian broadcaster UA:PBC as their Creative Director.
Outside of the Eurovision bubble, Dan has a huge expertise as Creative Director for many major events, tours and performances, including: Little Mix: The Confetti Tour, Westlife: The Wildest Dreams Tour, Ava Max (European promotional campaign and EMAs performance), and Jurassic World Live Tour.
Kojo Samuel has been appointed as Music Director for Eurovision 2023, and will oversee the music production and arrangements for the show’s interval acts and Flag Parade. Kojo’s previous experience includes working with artists such as Jess Glynne, Rudimental, Rita Ora, AJ Tracy, Ella Henderson and Stormzy. He was also the Music Executive of the 2022 Commonwealth Games Closing Ceremony.
Julio Himede will be the Set Designer for Eurovision 2023, having previously designed sets for numerous major events and television shows, including: the 64th Annual Grammy Awards, the 2018-2021 MTV Video Music Awards, the 2016-2021 MTV EMAs, Disney’s Beauty and The Beast: A 30th Celebration and the American Song Contest.
BAFTA award winner Robert Edwards will be Head of Sound for Eurovision 2023. This won’t be his first Eurovision experience, as he has previously worked on Eurovision in 2018, as Sound Supervisor. Some other credits include: The Masked Singer UK, Britain’s Got Talent, and X Factor (UK). He has mixed the world feeds for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Olympic Games in Tokyo and Beijing and was part of the Host Broadcaster Team for coverage of the World Cup in Qatar.
Taking on the role of Lighting Director will be multi-award winning Lighting Designer of BAFTA and Royal Television Society Awards, Tim Routledge. His credits include: Stormzy’s 2019 Glastonbury Festival set, Spice Girls ‘Spice World’ UK Stadium Tour, Beyonce’s ‘Formation’ World Tour, X Factor, Concert for Ukraine, 2014 Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony, I Can See Your Voice and Big Night of Musicals.
A Ukrainian collaboration
Throughout the production of Eurovision 2023, the BBC have been, and continue to, work closely with their Ukrainian counterparts from UA:PBC, on all creative elements for all three live shows. Leading the UA:PBC team is Oksana Skybinska, Tetiana Semenova and German Nenov.
Oksana Skybinska is the Head of Delegation for Ukraine in Eurovision. Tetiana Semenova is Executive Producer of programmes and events in Ukraine, some of which include: The Brain, New Year’s Night and Happy Birthday Ukraine.
German Nenov, Creative Director and Music Video Director, will work with Dan Shipton on creative elements of Eurovision 2023. He has previously worked on stage performances and music videos for artists such as: NK, Tina Karol (Eurovision 2006) and Zlata Ognevich (Eurovision 2013), as well as working on television shows Game of Talents and The Brain.
What are your thoughts on the BBC’s and UA:PBC’s senior production team members for Eurovision 2023? Let us know in the comments below!
