Peter Urban (74) will comment on the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) for the 25th and final time this year. This was announced by the NDR on Wednesday. With the final on May 13, he will say goodbye to this task, according to the announcement. The NDR journalist, radio and TV presenter has been accompanying the music competition since it was held in Dublin in 1997. Urban officially retired in 2013, but continued to commentate on the two ESC semi-finals and the ESC final.
Before this year’s final in Great Britain, Peter Urban will be honored on May 12 (8:15 p.m.) by NDR television with the portrait “Lena, Stefan Raab and Co. – Peter Urban’s 25 legendary ESC years”. In it, the 74-year-old remembers “his greatest and most moving ESC moments – and how he experienced these moments, which have often found their way into the collective memory of Germans, and see them today”.
Before leaving the ESC, Peter Urban explained that he had “tried to bring the change from the traditional Grand Prix to the world’s top event on the international music scene to the German viewers, sometimes informatively and factually, sometimes emotionally and with quieter or louder irony”. . He hopes that even in the years “with weaker German results, my comments have helped to keep the interest in this fascinating, unique event that is unparalleled in the world alive”. He added: “Thank you for the trust and loyalty over the years, it was an honor and a great pleasure!”
Peter Urban began working for Norddeutscher Rundfunk in Hamburg while he was still studying English and History. From 1974 he was an author and moderator for “Music for Young People” and for the program “Der Club” in the NDR 2 studio. Urban has been part of the music department at Popwelle since 1988. According to the broadcaster, he was also responsible for the programs “Nachtclub” and “Nightlounge” as an editor at NDR Info and continued to moderate music specials on NDR 2.
Since his retirement in 2013, Peter Urban, who celebrates his 75th birthday on April 14, has continued to be heard on NDR 2 (the “Peter Urban Show”) and with his music podcast “Urban Pop” alongside the ESC.
