2019: 25th place. 2020: Corona break. 2021: 25th place. 2022: 25th place. 2023: 26th place. Before Isaak, Germany had one bankruptcy after another at the ESC. The singer from Minden at least managed 14th place in last year’s competition.
So that things will be significantly better in 2025, RTL and Stefan Raab can now take part. After all, the entertainer won with his Lena (Meyer-Landrut) in 2010. After that there was simply no chance of winning the singing competition.
The ARD, which is actually responsible for the ESC, is now putting a lot of pressure on it. Program director Christine Strobl demands nothing less than first place. “The goal is clearly to win,” she told the TV magazine “Listen!”. “If that wasn’t our goal, we wouldn’t need to enter into a cooperation with RTL or Stefan Raab. We want to win – that is our benchmark.”
ARD+RTL+Stefan Raab = ESC success?
The cooperation with the private broadcaster is also a kind of last shot after several failed attempts to find optimal candidates. “Perhaps the suffering was not great enough before, but now the moment seems to have come when everyone involved says: ‘We have to come together,’” the program director explained.
When asked whether the concept would be scrapped again if it didn’t make it to the big time, Strobl replied: “Absolutely.” After all, the collaboration with RTL has been going well so far, as the 53-year-old confirmed. But: “Nothing less than victory justifies such cooperation.”
At the first press conference on the new ESC project, Stefan Raab made it clear that he was willing to accept the responsibility. “I’m not doing this to come second or third. I want to win! If we only come second, you can punish me afterwards,” promised the moderator. As punishment, we suggest appearing as a contestant on “Who’s Stealing the Show?”