Behind the scenes of the ‘All you need is Love’ Christmas special

Anyone working in the TV world often gets asked: ‘which TV shows do you work for?’ The reactions are usually ‘oh yes, I know that one’, or ‘hmmm, I don’t know that one’. But there is one show that I always get a super enthusiastic reaction for: the ‘All you need is Love’ Christmas special. And I understand that better than anyone. This show is the reason I wanted to work in the TV world myself. Because who wouldn’t want to spread happiness and love throughout the country, and even around the world!

This is how we choose the most beautiful stories

Like every year, the editorial team is extremely busy selecting the stories of people who need our help the most. Because how do you judge that? ‘It’s a certain feeling you get from the story,’ says Linda van den Dikkenberg, the editor-in-chief of the program. Together with Robert and Roos (his wife, and yes, my mother) and the rest of the editorial team, she tries to convey that feeling to the viewers: ‘You should be able to feel through your TV why it is so important for that person to come to the Netherlands.’ I won’t spoil too much about the participants yet, but Belal, who came from Egypt to the Netherlands, was one of the most enthusiastic and happy people I have encountered in the 7 years I have been involved with this program. The people we take in the Christmas bus are always picked up at Schiphol at the gate. When we were waiting for Belal, a girl came up to us. She told us that she had sat next to him on the plane, and he had told her how happy he was to be on his way to the Netherlands. In the bus, he could no longer contain his emotions at the thought of holding his baby for the first time.

Why (almost) everything is recorded outside

Since the corona era, studio recordings have been abolished. And although we sometimes find that very unfortunate, it also leads to fantastic things. Because instead of having all the artists sing in the studio, they are now in the most special locations, and you can see all the Christmas decorations and the coziness of the lights even better. Moreover, we choose the locations with great care. I have been to the most special places: the roof of Amsterdam Central Station, practically under the wings of landing airplanes, the Maritime Museum after closing time, or the tip of the Westertoren in the heart of Amsterdam (the emblem of the city for born Amsterdammers like me). And suddenly you find yourself on a rooftop terrace with Yves Berendse, or looking at the most beautiful view over the city together with Paul de Leeuw. Or sailing in the pouring rain over the Amstel with Claude, who announced an hour earlier that he would represent the Netherlands at the Song Festival.

How do we always know for sure that everyone is home?

Well, that is probably the best-kept secret of the past 32 years. Let me put it this way: we have our tricks for that. Despite some people thinking it’s all staged, we will never be able to reveal this secret. Maybe it’s a bit of Christmas magic; it would be a shame to break that, right? The reaction at the door shows that the people we surprise really don’t know. The best example of this you will see in tonight’s broadcast, but to lift a little corner of the veil: when our Christmas bus stops somewhere, I usually wait by the bus until Robert has announced that the family member or loved one in question is actually waiting outside. It’s normal for there to be surprised reactions, but at one address, the door was opened with such a loud scream that I briefly thought something terrible was wrong. Moments like that not only create hilarious footage, but they also ensure that you know you’re going to make the right people happy. A kind of primal scream of surprise and happiness!

Yes, many people abroad wear a coat of the same brand

Imagine, you are woken up at four in the morning with the message that you need to pack some warm clothes as quickly as possible because you are going abroad. You don’t know where you are going, so you grab some clothes that are warm enough for winter in the Netherlands, hoping it won’t be too cold in that unknown foreign country. For that reason, we make sure that a warm coat is available for everyone. Not everyone just has a coat in the closet that keeps you warm when it’s -20.

And what is it like, working with my father?

Spoiler alert: we do sometimes talk about work in our free time. But luckily, I also have four sisters who occasionally put a stop to that. We certainly don’t hold entire meetings at home, thankfully, but that wouldn’t make any sense anyway. The things you see in the broadcast are conceived and arranged by a whole team. The meetings are usually a kind of permanent brainstorming session: new ideas are generated every time: what looks nice, what is the most surprising? Of course, you don’t want everyone to think ‘oh yes, that boy will come out of the ski lift again.’ That’s how it comes about that we let people jump out of a helicopter or send them down with a parachute. The craziest thing is that most of them dare to do this without hesitation, even if they have intense fear of heights. ‘Everything for love’ has never been more true. But the best part of working with my father and mother is that we experience things together that not everyone gets to experience with their parents. I showed my mother the view from the Westertoren and ran with my father over the runway at Schiphol. Those are moments you never forget.

It’s not an exaggeration: we make this loving program with a lot of love

By now, we have been working together with a largely fixed team for several years. As a result, we are all well attuned to each other, everyone knows what to do, and we can trust each other 100% that we all know exactly what we are doing it for: spreading love. It may sound hysterical, but when you have contact with your colleagues day and night for a few months, it feels like a kind of family. And what could be more beautiful than knowing that our program has become a real Christmas tradition for a large part of the Netherlands over the years? The only thing we can hope for is that love blows into everyone’s living rooms and provides that little bit of extra Christmas magic and coziness. Tonight at 20:30 you can see ‘All you need is Love’ on RTL4!