Director's mission to make Eurovision 'cool again'

A stage director from Somerset is working on designing shows for a number of Eurovision contestants.

Dan Shipton, originally from Kingston Seymor in North Somerset, is a BAFTA-winning co-founder of creative studio Black Skull Creative.

He is working on designing Eurovision shows for six countries including Australia – their song is being performed by Delta Goodrum.

Shipton said, alongside his husband and co-director Ross Nicholson, he is working on making Eurovision cool and shaking the "cheesy" image. "There's been a real shift. It can absolutely make an impact on an artist's career," he added.

Shipton is supporting six different acts at the contest, planning their stage performances and how the songs will look on TV.

Of those six, four have made it into the final show on Saturday - Austria, Albania, Malta and Australia.

"It's like having different children. I want to make sure everyone gets equal love and attention," Shipton said.

"Everyone has their own identity and individuality. I'm intrigued to see everyone else's stage."

He has been working at Eurovision for 12 years, including in 2023, when he was creative director for the entire event, hosted by Liverpool.

He says he works with the artists on how they want their show to look, where the cameras will go and what props they will use.

"Staging is every detail, every camera, every piece of the lighting and the video and the prop design. Every detail is completely considered.

"It's a conversation between us and the artists. Together, we shape a direction and idea and figure out how to make it happen," Shipton said.

He added that he is looking forward to the show.

"I get to walk side of stage for each of the artists and then get to sit in the green room and watch the points come in."

He added that people could expect big things during the show, and Delta Goodrum will be using a prop previously used by Beyoncé.

Eurovision 2026 will be live on BBC One at 20:00 BST on Saturday.

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