Singapore approves Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for teens; Rotterdam to ‘open up’ for Eurovision

Rotterdam, Netherlands: The mood is defiant among the trickle of flag-waving Eurovision Song Contest fans who have made their way to Rotterdam -- like the mood of the Dutch port city itself.

A huge artwork outside the Ahoy Arena is emblazoned with the words "Open Up", the theme for this year’s version of a televisual spectacle that is meant to bring Europe together in song.

The theme was actually chosen before coronavirus swept the globe and forced the cancellation of the 2020 edition, but it has proved uncannily apt.

Rotterdam is now cautiously leading the way for Europe’s gradual reopening from Covid-19 and for other major events like the Euro football tournament and the Tokyo Olympics.

Rotterdam has glitzed up ahead of the first semi-final on Tuesday, with names of former winners including Abba’s "Waterloo" festooned across the city’s harp-like Erasmus bridge.

"We do think that this is the stepping stone to the next chapter," Dave Geensen, Project manager for the Eurovision Song Contest in Rotterdam, told AFP. "Right now we are in a phase of adjusting, and the next step obviously would be ‘opening up’."

Geensen said they had to "reinvent ourself and come up with resilience and contingency planning" to hold a safe contest in the midst of a global pandemic, but it was worth it. "These are times where we are debating each other, fighting a pandemic. Now it’s also time to have some fun."

Rotterdam is taking no chances in a country that has averaged 5,000 Covid-19 cases a day over the past week, and where vaccination has been sluggish.

Eurovision contestants are confined to a bio-secure "bubble", while shows in the Ahoy Arena including Saturday’s final are limited to just 3,500 fans -- 20 percent of the venue’s capacity. Everyone on site must be regularly tested.

Meanwhile, Singapore authorised the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid vaccine to teenagers aged 12 to 15, officials said on Tuesday, in a first for Asia.

The city-state’s Health Sciences Authority extended the use of the vaccine -- currently only approved for individuals aged 16 and above -- after reviewing clinical data submitted by the manufacturer.

Singaporean authorities "assessed that the Pfizer-BioNTech covid-19 vaccine demonstrated high safety and efficacy for this age group of 12 to 15 years old, which is consistent with what we have observed for the adult population," Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said at a press conference.