ABSTRACT
The Eurovision Song Contest is Europe’s largest television production and the biggest non-sport event in Europe. Organized each year by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and a leading national television broadcaster, the 2010 final was broadcast from Oslo (Norway) to 45 countries, with an estimated audience of 69 million viewers and more that 2,000 journalists from 70 countries accredited to cover the event. This chapter analyzes the crisis communications planning and response actions undertaken by the EBU and NKR (Norway’s national broadcaster) after Jimmy Jump, a notorious pitch invader, intruded on the stage and took part in the choreography during the live performance of the Spanish singer. The security breach was widely criticized across Europe, affecting Norway’s reputation as organizer of future events. The issue was labeled in Norway as a “national drama” and a “national embarrassment.”
