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Organizational Hassles
The NPS presented itself as a fully-fledged broadcasting company where programming played a central role. 'There's way too much discussion about the organization. And yes, I'm a part of those discussions, but it's all about the programming, or at least that's what it ought to be about. Programme makers should be faced with as few organizational hassles as possible – I'm certainly one to champion this cause.' This instrumental role almost seemed to deal a fatal blow to the NPS in a new political discussion about public broadcasting. At the end of 2005, just days after celebrating its ten-year anniversary, the Minister for Education, Cultural Affairs and Science announced government plans to discontinue the NPS. In a brief, to-the-point statement, it was announced that it was programming that mattered and not the organization. For Willem van Beusekom, this came as a quite a shock for the most publicly minded broadcasting company within the Dutch public broadcasting system. However, it suddenly appeared that the NPS had unexpectedly strong support at a grassroots level. Almost 100,000 viewers and listeners signed a petition protesting the plan, and both friends and foes of the public broadcasting company alike joined ranks to decry the move as incomprehensible and utterly absurd, expressing their outrage during a well-attended protest in The Hague. The government coalition continued to act as though it were entrenched in the stance that it had taken. Almost a year later, the political tide seemed to turn, but that did not dispel doubts altogether.

Eurovision Song Contest
Alongside his long career within public broadcasting, Willem van Beusekom's passion for music and culture also formed a common thread throughout his whole life. This gave rise to several other positions. Awestruck by Teddy Scholten's 1959 winning song, Een beetje ['A Little Bit'], Willem became enthralled with the Eurovision Song Contest, 'It made such an overwhelming impression on me, I was never able to shake it off.

Willem in de krant

The excitement that the contest created, the point system, the anger when things turned out differently than expected, and being together with friends and family… I liken it to the biggest family game imaginable.' Every year from 1987 until 2005, with just one exception, his voice provided the Dutch commentary for the annual television broadcast. He was thorough, accurate and had a great feel for timing. In various capacities, he also became actively and ambitiously involved with Dutch Eurovision Song Contest organization, sometimes even against better judgement.

'I've always had the notion that the Netherlands could do better. Either the artists could do better, or it had something to do with the composers and lyricists that weren't actually competing. Take the Swedes for example – there, it seems to be a matter of national pride. Their songs always seem to be in the Top 10. They view it as a status symbol. Yet here, I'm more inclined to think how on earth did this song ever get past the adjudicators?' He justifiably earned himself the nickname Mister Songfestival [Mr Eurovision Song Contest]. However, this often overshadowed some of his other roles where he was less prominently in the spotlight. This was the price he paid for his own enthusiasm, 'Everywhere around you, there's Eurovision Song Contest fever… you talk about nothing else but songs, the probability of winning and the excitement. Even the smallest detail takes on life-size proportions. It's good old-fashioned fun about nothing. It's about attending daytime rehearsals and spending the whole evening out on the dance floor going crazy… precisely what you don't do the rest of the year,' as he had put into perspective several years earlier.

For almost four decades and in various positions, Willem van Beusekom left his own very special mark on Dutch public broadcasting history. He summarized his own role as follows: 'I think I eventually became what I had always wanted to become, only in another field. Even in my current position at the NPS, I feel like a sort of diplomat in the political arena. I don't seek conflict and I'm not a schemer… a search for harmony, that's the nature of the beast!'