Exclusive - The Future of Eurovision: Spokesperson predicts '100 years' for competition

During this time we've witnessed some of the most phenomenal performances TV has ever seen from the likes of Loreen, Conchita Wurst and ABBA, whose song Waterloo was voted as the UK's favourite Eurovision track.

We've laughed and rejoiced at Eurovision's best moments, including a Turkey representing Ireland in 2008. With so much history already behind it, you have to wonder what more could be left to come from the Song Contest.

Fans of the show will be happy to hear Eurovision though that won't be going anywhere anytime soon, with a spokesperson for the show predicting "100 years" for the competition.

Speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com, Eurovision Communications lead Dave Goodman opened up about the future of Eurovision, saying the show can "easily reach 100 years."

"I think there's something about Eurovision. I grew up with it and I think you know anybody who watches Eurovision and enjoys it has a relationship with this competition that generally is born out of when they were a child. And so they grow up with this event, and it's part of the annual calendar," he said.

"It's very special to the millions of people who will watch it, and 65 years after the first one in a tiny theatre in Lugano in Switzerland, when it was mostly on the radio that year and it was a tiny production in seven countries and now we're at 39 countries with a huge arena in Rotterdam.

"Can it last 100 years? Absolutely, because it's a timeless format. Music is timeless. Music evolves, television evolves and the European Broadcasting is all about evolving innovation in television, and helping public service media thrive and survive."

While Eurovision has its loyal and die-hard fans, Goodman says the show is always welcoming new viewers – something he believes will keep it going for many years.

"Eurovision can easily reach 100 years or more, because there will always be new people finding Eurovision every year. We see that on our social media channels. Every year, around the world, people discover Eurovision for the first time, and they're like, 'What have I been missing for 65 years?' And they go back and they watch old Eurovision."

Speaking of the show's iconic format, Goodman added: "Eurovision evolves, but it definitely stays the same. It's a familiar format and music will always be special and music will always touch people. And when we combine television and music and online and digital platforms, we reach millions more people. So yeah, definitely 100 years or more. We won't be around to see it but you know it's it's something that's so special that it will it will survive."

Goodman says the planning for the next series starts from as early as "1am on the night of the Grand Final."

"As soon as we know the winner of the Grand Final that is really when the cycle begins again. What we do at the press conference following the show is present the winning delegation with the Eurovision Bible, which explains what comes next and what they need to do in the coming months. And then a few weeks later, we meet with them - in an ordinary year in their country, normally we go there - because we have an executive supervisor at the EBU European Broadcasting Union in Geneva, where the coordinators of the event have a very small core team.

"I'm one of them, who works year round on the Song Contest and we liaise with the host broadcaster. The host broadcast is really important because it's the only show and the only competition in the world that you win the right to host the following year. And then, the journey begins!"

From the summertime, right round to when the show airs the following May, is when the the ground work takes place for each show.

He continued: "So we are the coordinators with them and we bring the knowledge that we gain, year after year to guide them in their production. The summer is is spent really introducing them to what they have to do, and finding a host city for the following year. Normally that's the period where the host country does a internal bid for the host city, and by September we normally have the host city, and then by November we normally have the sort of the slogan, the message and the narrative for the following year, and the artists for the following year start getting chosen from around December onwards.

"So all that year is spent with us liaising with the host broadcaster and the host city as well about the production. You then have a very small amount of time to produce a huge event. It's not just a TV show of course, it's an event!"

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