VIENNA, May 16 – While television viewers may hardly spot them, a dedicated crew of stage workers known as ‘ninjas’ at the Eurovision Song Contest accomplish an incredible behind-the-scenes challenge: completely changing each country’s stage setup in just 48 seconds between performances.
Despite the massive LED screen displays providing much of the visual spectacle, all 25 nations participating in Saturday’s competition finale bring their own physical stage elements that must be quickly moved on and off stage – including Finland’s set piece that actually catches fire.
The entire transformation happens in under one minute.
‘That’s the setup time these 20-odd people have to move from one ‘prop’ to the next and from one show’s set-up and dismantling to the next. It’s just mad what they manage to achieve,’ explained Christian Elgner, who serves as head of props and supervises the stage elements.
The approximately two dozen crew members must meticulously plan and practice every movement, making their accomplishment even more remarkable since most are local residents taking on the work as extra income.
‘We have to be always in a rush and we are not allowed to make any mistakes because once we make a mistake the show is over,’ explained Ahmed Abdelati, a civil engineering student from Egypt who lives in Austria.
‘I’m working here because I love music, like my other colleagues,’ he added.
Within just a few weeks, this black-clad team has transformed into a seamlessly functioning unit.
‘I’m not sure who first used that term but it’s taken off in the past three, four days: backstage ninjas. I mainly call them dancers because the (set) assembly is danced – it’s choreographed,’ Elgner noted.
‘There haven’t been any big mishaps so far. We rehearse often enough to always learn from the mishaps we have and to perfect everything.’
