The “Bureau” is elected every two years by the member club presidents, and is responsible for the day-to-day administration of OGAE International and the coordination of activities between the various national clubs.
The Bureau consists of 7 members: a President, Secretary and Treasurer along with 4 bureau members. The current members of the Bureau are:
Simon Bennett (OGAE UK) – President
Based in London, Simon was elected President by the Vienna Presidents’ meeting in 2015 having already served 4 years as a Bureau member. He has been an active member of OGAE UK for more than 20 years and a Eurovision fan for more than 40 years. He first attended a live ESC in 1998 in Birmingham and has been to every contest since 1999. He is based in London where he worked for many years in the financial sector before changing career to become a tourist guide.
Anthony Cige (OGAE Iceland) – Secretary
Anthony was elected to the Bureau as Secretary by the Tel Aviv Presidents’ Meeting in 2019. He is a true European, based in London, where he works for an international hotel company, but originally from Belgium and a member of OGAE Iceland. Anthony remembers being sent to bed before the results in 1986 when Belgium won, but has forgiven his parents since. He has been attending the events since 2011 where he covers it for a Belgian radio station.
Morten Thomassen (OGAE Norway) – Treasurer
Morten took over as OGAE International Treasurer in 2017 in addition to his duties as President of OGAE Norway.
Klaus Woryna (OGAE Germany) – Bureau Member
Klaus has served on the Bureau since 2011 and is the current president of OGAE Germany. He is based in Munich.
Marcus Davey (OGAE Rest of the World) – Bureau Member
In 2015 Marcus became the the first non-European to be elected to the Bureau. He is an active member of OGAE Rest of the World and is based in Sydney, Australia, where he works as a commercial airline pilot. Within the Bureau he is responsible for new applicant and candidate clubs, assisting them with the preparation of their applications and monitoring them during their initial membership.
Frank Sevriens (OGAE Netherlands) – Bureau Member
Frank was elected to the Bureau in 2019, just in time to coordinate activities with his own club as hosts for 2020. He was born in the south of the Netherlands and now lives in Amsterdam. He is the headmaster of a primary school and at the weekend he is a DJ! Frank’s first visit to a live ESC was in Copenhagen where he also played as DJ FirstRANK in the fancafé!
Tamas Vamos (OGAE Hungary) – Bureau Member
Tamás was elected to the Bureau in 2019 but is also the first and current President of OGAE Hungary. He lives and works in his hometown, Budapest. His first Eurovision experience was at the age of (almost) 9 in 1994, when he was annoyed that the only song he understood (the Hungarian entry) didn’t win. 21 years later in 2015, he finally travelled to his first Eurovision and he is still stuck in the bubble – although he really doesn’t mind. Tamas is the OGAE Contest Coordinator.
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