Eurovision 2026 Senior Stage Director Kaleen explains her exact role managing stand-ins and 35 delegations alongside Marvin Dietmann and Edward Hall.

Austrian star Kaleen returned to the Eurovision stage this year, stepping away from the spotlight to take on a critical, high-pressure role as Senior Stage Director and Assistant Head of Contest for Eurovision 2026. In an exclusive interview with EuroMix, Kaleen clarifies her exact responsibilities managing the stand-in rehearsals, elaborates on the intensive behind-the-scenes work with all 35 delegations, provides a glimpse into navigating a massive international production alongside her fiancé and Head of Contest Marvin Dietmann, and breaks down the complex logistical drama surrounding massive stage props like the diamond used by Noam Bettan.

 

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Kaleen – Who Are You?

Kaleen, whose full name is Marie-Sophie Kreissl, 31, is a singer, dancer, and choreographer. Fans remember her well as Austria’s representative at Eurovision 2024 with the song “We Will Rave“, which qualified for the final and finished in 24th place.

However, beyond the center stage, Kaleen maintains a rich and particularly impressive Eurovision resume behind the scenes. She served as the stand-in singer for Eleni Foureira for the song “Fuego” in Cyprus 2018, worked as the Creative Director for Parg, Armenia’s representative at Eurovision 2025 with the song “Survivor“, and took part in directing and managing the stand-ins at Junior Eurovision 2025. This is in addition to a series of choreography and directing roles for various countries at Eurovision and Junior Eurovision over the years, such as Bulgaria, Germany, and Spain.

Working Around the Clock: “I Was the Physically Active One This Year”

Kaleen shares that her responsibility in the production this year was the biggest she has experienced so far. Together with a small team that included Head of Contest (and her partner) Marvin Dietmann and stage director Edward Hall alongside her, she managed all the forms and requirements of the 35 delegations. “We were like the inbox for everyone’s ideas… every single thing went through our laptops,” she shares.

Kaleen took on the physical management and learned the choreographies for all 35 performances herself to instruct the stand-in artists who perform before the delegations arrive in the host city. “…Marvin was on calls… and I was the active one, the physically active one this year,” she explains. This physical readiness manifested unexpectedly during the first semi-final’s press rehearsal. To practice an emergency situation involving technical issues that requires a re-run, Marvin called Kaleen to the stage to perform Germany’s song herself. “Marvin, head of contest, just chose a very complicated act for us backstage to just throw us into the cold water,” she recalls with a smile, adding: “and since I did the stand-ins, I knew the choreography and that helped of course”.

She explains that managing the stand-ins is a complex process that requires sensitivity towards artists at the beginning of their careers. “…most of the stand-ins have never been on a big stage like that before… it can be overwhelming… they just have this one rehearsal on stage… we try to also make it fun for them”.

The Drama Behind Noam Bettan’s Diamond

When asked about the Israeli performance, Kaleen revealed the massive logistical challenge that unfolded backstage every time the song “Michelle” went on stage. Due to the dimensions of the backstage doors, the giant diamond could not be brought in as a single piece. “The diamond came in I believe four pieces, four separate pieces or five,” she describes. The team had about 30 seconds to assemble all the pieces together, plug them in, check that the structure is turning and spinning, get the camera and dancers inside, and position Noam Bettan, the cameraman, and dancer Lihi Freud inside – all this immediately after the German delegation cleared the stage.

The production also had to deal with unique technical challenges caused by the massive prop, such as testing beforehand whether the mirrors inside the diamond might interfere with microphone frequencies. Despite the pressure, Kaleen has only warm words for the Israeli delegation: “He always came to me, we high-fived. He was very open and in the moment. The choreography, I think, was one of the most beautiful ones we had this year,” she compliments, and concludes: “It was a nice moment”.

An Impressive Work-Life Balance 

In less than two months, Kaleen is expected to marry Marvin Dietmann. The two, who have worked together in the past wearing many hats, proved that it is possible to successfully combine a relationship with a high-pressure international production. “I thought it was going to be a challenge because it’s such a big project,” Kaleen admits, “but we have such a great team also around us… we compliment each other really well especially in a live big production environment because we’re both rooting for this and living for this”. These days, alongside wedding preparations, Kaleen is also working on a Christmas album and plans to release a new song soon.