The Eurovision Song Contest 2020 was planned to be the 65th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. The contest would have taken place in Rotterdam, Netherlands, following the country’s victory at the 2019 contest in Tel Aviv, Israel, with the song “Arcade” performed by Duncan Laurence. It would have been the fifth time that the Netherlands hosted the contest, the last time having been the 1980 contest. It was due to be held at Rotterdam Ahoy. The contest was cancelled on 18 March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the first time in the contest’s 64-year history that it has been cancelled. Rotterdam is due to host the 2021 contest, although the songs selected for the 2020 contest are not eligible for the competition.

It was scheduled to consist of two semifinals on 12 and 14 May, and a final on 16 May 2020. Forty-one countries would have participated in the contest; Bulgaria and Ukraine would have returned after their absences from the 2019 contest, while Hungary and Montenegro had confirmed their non-participation after taking part in the previous edition. All forty-one competing artists and songs were confirmed by the relevant broadcasters by early March 2020.

Following its cancellation, the European Broadcasting Union began discussions of potential carryovers for the 2021 contest, such as host city and participating artists, with various parties. In place of the cancelled contest, the EBU and its Dutch members NPO, NOS and AVROTROS organised a replacement show, Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light, to showcase the selected entries in place of the Grand Final on 16 May.

L’Eurovision Song Contest 2020 sarebbe dovuta essere la 65ª edizione dell’annuale concorso canoro; la manifestazione si sarebbe svolta presso l’Ahoy Rotterdam di Rotterdam, nei Paesi Bassi, in seguito alla vittoria di Duncan Laurence nell’edizione precedente, il 12, 14 e 16 maggio 2020.

Il 18 marzo 2020, l’UER ha annunciato la cancellazione dell’evento a causa della pandemia di COVID-19 che ha coinvolto diverse regioni del mondo tra cui, più duramente, la Cina, l’Europa e gli Stati Uniti. La manifestazione verrà riorganizzata nel 2021 e verrà nuovamente ospitata dalla città di Rotterdam.

In seguito a questa cancellazione senza precedenti, l’UER ha voluto sostituire l’evento con una serata speciale legata alla manifestazione, dal titolo Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light; che è stata trasmessa la sera del 16 maggio, giorno in cui era prevista la messa in onda della serata finale.

Location. The 2020 contest was to be held at Rotterdam Ahoy in Rotterdam, Netherlands. It would have been the fifth time the Netherlands hosts the contest, following the country’s victory at the 2019 edition with the song “Arcade”, performed by Duncan Laurence. Rotterdam Ahoy had previously hosted the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2007.

Preparations. Preparations for the 2020 contest began on 19 May 2019, immediately after the Netherlands won the 2019 contest in Tel Aviv, Israel. Jon Ola Sand, the executive supervisor of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) for the contest, handed AVROTROS, the Dutch participating broadcaster, a stack of documents and a USB drive with tools to begin the work needed to host the next contest.[6] AVROTROS was co-organising the event with sister broadcaster Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS) and their parent public broadcasting organisation, Nederlandse Publieke Omroep (NPO).

In seguito alla vittoria di Duncan Laurence con Arcade, la sessantacinquesima edizione avrebbe dovuto essere ospitata dai Paesi Bassi e, secondo quanto annunciato, l’organizzazione e la produzione dell’evento sarebbero spettati a tre aziende radiotelevisive olandesi: AVROTROS, NPO e NOS.

I partner ufficiali di quest’edizione sarebbero stati l’azienda di prodotti cosmetici Moroccanoil e la società olandese di telecomunicazioni Koninklijke KPN.

Bidding phase. Already prior to the 2019 contest, when bookmakers expected Duncan Laurence to win, several Dutch cities, including Amsterdam, The Hague and Maastricht, announced their intent to host the contest should The Netherlands win. A spokesperson for NPO also stated that the broadcaster had a rough plan for how they would select the host city in the event of a Dutch victory. When Laurence won the contest, mayors of various municipalities immediately began lobbying Mark Rutte, the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, through text messages. Public figures, including Laurence, Esther Hart, Getty Kaspers and André Rieu, publicly voiced their support for their respective favourite host cities.

The hosting broadcasters launched the bidding process on 29 May 2019. In the first phase of this process, cities were to formally apply to bid. Nine cities—Amsterdam, Arnhem, Breda, ‘s-Hertogenbosch, The Hague, Leeuwarden, Maastricht, Rotterdam, and Utrecht—did so and received a list of criteria they and their venues needed to meet on 12 June 2019. Initially, Zwolle had also considered launching a bid to host the event but the city ultimately decided against doing so because it deemed its venue, the IJsselhallen, to have unsuitable proportions. Enschede could have been a potential host city as Enschede Airport Twente considered bidding to host the event in its eleventh hangar, however, it later learned that Enschede’s municipality executive board had decided against financially supporting such a bid.

From this point on, these nine cities had until 10 July 2019 to compile their bid books to demonstrate their capabilities to host the contest. Further cities were still able to join in on the bidding race by applying prior to the deadline. During this period, four cities withdrew. Amsterdam could not host the contest because it was preoccupied with hosting other events during the contest’s time frame. Breda dropped out due to financial concerns. Leeuwarden ceased bidding due to the insufficient height of the ceiling of its WTC Expo. The Hague dropped its bid because both of its potential venues were unsuitable for the event. The local Cars Jeans Stadion football stadium would have been large enough but lacked a roof, and installing such a roof would have made the bid financially unviable. Its other option would have been spanning a tent over the Malieveld field, but after reviewing the hosting conditions, this option fell out of favour.[21] Following its withdrawal, The Hague turned to support Rotterdam’s bid instead.

The five remaining cities—Arnhem, ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Maastricht, Rotterdam, and Utrecht—delivered their finished bid books to a ceremonial event held in Hilversum on 10 July 2019. The hosting broadcasters reviewed the bids presented and on 16 July 2019 announced that it eliminated those for Arnhem, ‘s-Hertogenbosch and Utrecht, shortlisting only Maastricht and Rotterdam. Utrecht was specifically eliminated because its proposal to span a tent over its Jaarbeurs offered limited possibilities for testing on location and had a questionable suitability for events like the Eurovision Song Contest, while ‘s-Hertogenbosch was dropped due to an insufficient ceiling height in its Brabanthallen and too few hotel rooms blocked for potential visitors of the contest.

To review and discuss the location, venue and surrounding events for the remaining bids, NPO visited Maastricht on 17 July 2019 and Rotterdam on the following day. By late July, additional visits to the two shortlisted cities were deemed necessary to review production logistics. The EBU did not pay visits to either city. Maastricht and Rotterdam were to hand in revised versions of their bid books by 9 August 2019 to add details involving the cities’ social programmes, side-events and programme licensing. A “concept agreement” was put before the organisers in both Maastricht and Rotterdam in August 2019. While Rotterdam signed this agreement, the city council of Maastricht discussed and rejected it. Within the same council session, it was also clarified that the MECC would not receive additional renovations. On 30 August, Rotterdam was announced as the host city during a special broadcast on NPO 1 and NPO 2.

All’indomani della vittoria olandese in Israele, le emittenti televisive avevano confermato che l’edizione 2020 si sarebbe tenuta nei Paesi Bassi, annunciando la candidatura di tredici città a sede dell’evento: L’Aia (Cars Jeans Stadion, Malieveld), Amsterdam (Amsterdam RAI, Ziggo Dome, Johan Cruijff Arena), Arnhem (GelreDome), Breda (Breepark), Enschede (Aeroporto Twente), Groninga, Leeuwarden (WTC Expo), Maastricht (MECC), Rotterdam (Ahoy Rotterdam), ‘s-Hertogenbosch (Brabanthallen), Tilburg, Utrecht (Jaarbeurs) e Zwolle (IJsselhallen).

Le prime città ad annunciare la mancanza di interesse erano state Groninga (in seguito ad una consultazione in consiglio comunale), Tilburg (che ha invece appoggiato la candidatura collettiva di Breda e ‘s-Hertogenbosch per la provincia del Brabante Settentrionale), Zwolle ed Enschede (per la mancanza di una sede adatta).

Il 18 giugno la città di Leeuwarden aveva ritirato la propria candidatura, in quanto il WTC Expo non rispettava i criteri imposti dalle emittenti. Successivamente si erano ritirate anche L’Aia (che avrebbe appoggiato la candidatura di Rotterdam in assenza di una sede adatta), Breda (che si era quindi unita alla candidatura collettiva di ‘s-Hertogenbosch) e Amsterdam (per la mancanza di sedi adatte che rispettassero i criteri di disponibilità).

Il 16 luglio, l’UER aveva comunicato che la scelta era stata ristretta ulteriormente alle città di Rotterdam e Maastricht, che rispettavano tutte le necessità del concorso, eliminando quindi Arnhem, ‘s-Hertogenbosch e Utrecht. Il 30 agosto 2019 era stata annunciata Rotterdam e l’Ahoy Rotterdam rispettivamente come città e sede ospitante dell’Eurovision 2020. Inoltre erano state rese note le date per l’evento: martedì 12 e giovedì 14 maggio 2020 per le due semifinali, mentre la finale si sarebbe tenuta sabato 16 maggio 2020.

Articolazione del processo. Il processo di selezione della scelta si era articolato nel seguente modo:

• le città interessate avevano preso visione dei criteri fondamentali per ospitare la manifestazione;
• alle stesse città erano state poi concesse 4 settimane per preparare i propri piani e progetti per ospitare l’evento;
• nel mese di luglio le emittenti avevano potuto visitare le città che avessero confermato la candidatura;
• per la metà di luglio i progetti preparati erano stati inviati all’Unione europea di radiodiffusione che aveva così decretato, di concerto con le emittenti organizzatrici ed entro il mese di agosto, la città ospitante.

Criteri fondamentali. Le sedi e le città candidate dovevano rispettare i seguenti criteri:

• la sede doveva disporre di una copertura, anche provvisoria;
• la sede doveva avere una capacità minima di 10 000 spettatori;
• la sede doveva essere disponibile per almeno 5-7 settimane prima dell’evento;
• la città doveva avere a disposizione almeno 2 000-3 000 camere d’albergo per accogliere gli spettatori;

Key:  †  Host venue  ‡  Shortlisted venues

City	Venue	Notes
Arnhem	GelreDome	Joint bid with the city of Nijmegen and the Veluwe region.
Maastricht	MECC Maastricht ‡	Candidacy was supported by the province of Limburg and surrounding cities.
Rotterdam	Rotterdam Ahoy †	Candidacy was supported by the province of South Holland and the cities of Dordrecht and The Hague. The venue previously hosted the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2007.
‘s-Hertogenbosch	Brabanthallen	Candidacy was supported by the province of North Brabant and the cities of Breda, Eindhoven, Tilburg and Helmond.
Utrecht	Jaarbeurs	—

Other sites. The Eurovision Village would have been erected to serve as the official Eurovision Song Contest fan and sponsors’ area during the events week. There, it would have been possible to watch performances by local artists, as well as the live shows broadcast from the main venue. The Binnenrotte was the planned location for the Village. The Binnenrotte is one of the largest open spaces in the centre of Rotterdam. It is located in the heart of the city, next to some of Rotterdam’s most famous architectural marvels, such as the Markthal.

The EuroClub would have been the venue for the official after-parties and private performances by contest participants. Unlike the Eurovision Village, access to the EuroClub would be restricted to accredited fans, delegates, and press. It would have been located at the Maassilo. Maassilo is located on Rotterdam’s waterfront at Maashaven Zuidzijde, a 10-minute drive from Rotterdam Ahoy.

The “Golden Carpet” and Opening Ceremony events, where the contestants and their delegations present themselves in front of the accredited press and fans, would have taken place at the Rotterdam Cruise Terminal on 10 May 2020.

Production. The Eurovision Song Contest 2020 would have been a co-production between three related Dutch television organisations—AVROTROS, Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS), and Nederlandse Publieke Omroep (NPO)—of which each assumed a different role. Sietse Bakker and Inge van de Weerd would have served as executive producers, while Emilie Sickinghe and Jessica Stam would have served as deputy executive producers. In August 2019, Marnix Kaart and Marc Pos were announced as the directors of the three live shows, as well as Gerben Bakker as head of show. Cornald Maas would have been creative advisor. Jon Ola Sand, executive supervisor of the contest, would keep his role as he had done since 2011, though he planned to step down following the 2020 contest.

Il 2 dicembre 2019 era stato annunciato l’affidamento della scenografia, per il quarto anno consecutivo, a Florian Weider presentando inoltre le immagini del concept art del palco, che avrebbe dovuto essere “piatto, minimalistico e moderno”.

Il 5 luglio 2019 erano stati annunciati i due produttori esecutivi dell’evento, Sietse Bakker (supervisore esecutivo dello Junior Eurovision Song Contest dal 2011 al 2012) e Inge van de Weerd (capo-delegazione dei Paesi Bassi all’Eurovision Song Contest dal 2007 al 2009), e i due vice produttori esecutivi dell’evento: Emilie Sickinghe (capo-delegazione dei Paesi Bassi all’Eurovision Song Contest dal 2010) e Jessica Stam.

I direttori esecutivi di quest’edizione, resi noti il 27 agosto, sarebbero stati Marnix Kaart e Marc Pos.

Chantal Janzen, Edsilia Rombley e Jan Smit, come annunciato il 4 dicembre 2019, sarebbero stati i presentatori dell’evento, mentre la youtuber olandese Nikkie de Jager avrebbe curato i contenuti web e sarebbe stata presente sul tappeto rosso durante la cerimonia d’apertura e sul palco nelle due semifinali e nella finale dell’evento dal vivo.

Dal 24 febbraio 2020 erano noti i nomi di Roos Moggré e Andrew Makkinga come moderatori delle conferenze stampa.

Format. 

Visual design. The contest’s slogan, “Open Up”, was unveiled on 24 October 2019. The official logo and branding was unveiled on 28 November 2019. Designed by CLEVER°FRANKE, it is “an abstract representation of the flag colours of the 41 countries participating in 2020 by first appearance to the contest”.

Il 24 ottobre 2019 l’UER aveva annunciato lo slogan ufficiale dell’evento: Open Up (Apritevi), mentre il 28 novembre ne era stato presentato il logo: un disco che rappresentava, in ordine di debutto, i paesi partecipanti all’Eurovision Song Contest in chiave astratta, disegnato dall’agenzia CLEVER°FRANKE. La forma circolare del logo era stata ispirata da quelli disegnati per le edizioni del 1970, del 1976 e del 1980 da Frans Schupp.

Postcards. The concept of the 2020 postcards was based on the “Open Up” theme of the contest. Each artist would have visited a different part of the Netherlands and connect with locals by participating in a Dutch activity, tradition or hobby.

Stage design. The EBU revealed the stage design for the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 in December 2019. The design is inspired by the slogan “Open Up” and the typical Dutch flat landscape. The Eurovision stage was designed by German stage designer Florian Wieder, who also designed the stages for the contests in 2011–12, 2015, and 2017–19. Unlike the previous contest, the green room was placed inside to the main performance venue.

Presenters. The contest would have been hosted by three presenters: actress and television host Chantal Janzen, singer and commentator for the contest Jan Smit, and singer Edsilia Rombley, who represented the Netherlands in the 1998 and 2007 contests. Beauty vlogger Nikkie de Jager (NikkieTutorials) would have been the presenter of the contest’s online content, including a behind-the-scenes YouTube series to be recorded with the participating artists. She would have also reported from the red carpet during the opening ceremony and was scheduled to make an appearance in all three live shows on 12, 14 and 16 May 2020.[43]Roos Moggré and Andrew Makkinga would have hosted the contest’s press conferences.

Semi-final allocation draw. The draw to determine the participating countries’ semifinals took place on 28 January 2020, at Rotterdam’s City Hall. The thirty-five semifinalists were divided over five pots, based on historical voting patterns as calculated by the contest’s official televoting partner Digame. Drawing from different pots helps to reduce the chance of so-called “bloc voting” and increases suspense in the semifinals. The draw also determined which semifinal each of the six automatic qualifiers – the Big Five plus the Netherlands – would have to vote in. The ceremony was hosted by contest presenters Chantal Janzen, Jan Smit and Edsilia Rombley, and included the passing of the host city insignias from Zippi Brand Frank, Deputy Mayor of Tel Aviv (host city of the previous contest) to Ahmed Aboutaleb, Mayor of Rotterdam.

Pot 1	Pot 2	Pot 3	Pot 4	Pot 5
Albania  Austria  Croatia  North Macedonia  Serbia  Slovenia   Switzerland	Australia  Denmark  Estonia  Finland  Iceland  Norway  Sweden	Armenia  Azerbaijan  Belarus  Georgia  Moldova  Russia  Ukraine	Bulgaria  Cyprus  Greece  Malta  Portugal  Romania  San Marino	Belgium  Czech Republic  Ireland  Israel  Latvia  Lithuania  Poland

Voting. The Spanish Head of Delegation revealed on 22 October 2019 that the EBU was consulting with delegations on potential changes to the voting system. The Greek Head of Delegation revealed on 30 October 2019 that the majority of delegations (80%) voted in favour of maintaining the current voting system.

Opening and interval acts. The second semifinal would have opened with a performance by breakdancer Redo. The final would have been opened with a flag parade, introducing all twenty-six finalists, accompanied by music produced by 15-year-old DJ Pieter Gabriel. A symphony orchestra of sixty-five young musicians from across the Netherlands, specifically formed for this occasion, was scheduled to perform in the final, together with DJ Afrojack and singer Glennis Grace, the latter who had represented the Netherlands in the 2005 contest. This interval act would have also featured forty dancers and a twenty-five-piece gospel choir.

Furthermore, the final was scheduled to include performances from eight former Eurovision winners: Gigliola Cinquetti would have performed “Non ho l’età”, Lenny Kuhr would have performed “De troubadour”, Getty Kaspers (of Teach-In) would have performed “Ding-a-dong”, Sandra Kim would have performed “J’aime la vie”, Paul Harrington and Charlie McGettigan would have performed “Rock ‘n’ Roll Kids”, Alexander Rybak would have performed “Fairytale”, and Duncan Laurence would have performed “Arcade” once again.

Countries set to participate. The EBU announced on 13 November 2019 that forty-one countries would participate in the contest, with Bulgaria and Ukraine returning after their absence from the 2019 contest, with Hungary and Montenegro withdrawing mostly due to financial reasons. Following the cancellation of the contest, artists who would have participated in this edition may be chosen to participate in the following year, but they have to enter with new songs in accordance to the Eurovision rules.

Il 13 novembre 2019 era stata ufficializzata la lista definitiva degli Stati partecipanti a questa edizione, che ne prevedeva 41, come nell’edizione precedente, mentre il 12 marzo 2020 si era completata la lista di brani e artisti partecipanti.

Artists that would have returned. Sanja Vučić previously represented Serbia in the 2016 contest with the song “Goodbye (Shelter)”; she would have returned as a member of the girl group Hurricane. Ksenija Knežević, another member of Hurricane, previously appeared as a backing vocalist for her father Knez, who represented Montenegro in the 2015 contest. Natalia Gordienko previously represented Moldova alongside Arsenium in the 2006 contest with the song “Loca”.Senhit previously represented San Marino in the 2011 contest with the song “Stand By”.Vincent Bueno provided backing vocals for Nathan Trent for Austria in 2017. Vasil provided backing vocals for Tamara Todevska for North Macedonia in 2019. The Mamas members Loulou Lamotte, Ashley Haynes and Dinah Yonas Manna were backing singers for John Lundvik in 2019. Stefania represented the Netherlands in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2016 as part of the group Kisses. Destiny Chukunyere won the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2015 and provided backing vocals for Michela Pace for Malta in 2019.

Semi-final 1. The first semi-final would have taken place on 12 May 2020 at 21:00 (CEST). Seventeen countries would have participated in the first semi-final. These countries, plus Germany, Italy and the Netherlands, would have voted in this semi-final.

La prima semifinale si sarebbe dovuta svolgere il 12 maggio 2020 alle 21:00 CEST; vi avrebbero gareggiato 17 paesi e avrebbero votato anche Germania, Italia e Paesi Bassi.

Draw	Country	Artist	Song	Language(s)
First half
01	Sweden	The Mamas	“Move”	English
02	Belarus	VAL	“Da vidna” (Да відна)	Belarusian
03	Australia	Montaigne	“Don’t Break Me”	English
04	North Macedonia	Vasil	“You”	English
05	Slovenia	Ana Soklič	“Voda”	Slovene
06	Lithuania	The Roop	“On Fire”	English
07	Ireland	Lesley Roy	“Story of My Life”	English
08	Russia	Little Big	“Uno”	English, Spanish
Second half
09	Belgium	Hooverphonic	“Release Me”	English
10	Malta	Destiny	“All of My Love”	English
11	Croatia	Damir Kedžo	“Divlji vjetre”	Croatian
12	Azerbaijan	Efendi	“Cleopatra”	English[b]
13	Cyprus	Sandro	“Running”	English
14	Norway	Ulrikke	“Attention”	English
15	Israel	Eden Alene	“Feker libi” (ፍቅር ልቤ)	English, Amharic, Hebrew, Arabic
16	Romania	Roxen	“Alcohol You”	English
17	Ukraine	Go_A	“Solovey” (Соловей)	Ukrainian

Semi-final 2. The second semi-final would have taken place on 14 May 2020 at 21:00 (CEST). Eighteen countries would have participated in the second semi-final. These countries, plus France, Spain and the United Kingdom, would have voted in this semi-final.

La seconda semifinale si sarebbe dovuta svolgere il 14 maggio 2020 alle 21:00 CEST; vi avrebbero gareggiato 18 paesi e avrebbero votato anche Francia, Spagna e Regno Unito. Questa semifinale avrebbe dovuto essere aperta da una performance del ballerino olandese di breakdance Redo.

Draw	Country	Artist	Song	Language(s)[
First half
01	Greece	Stefania	“Supergirl”	English
02	Estonia	Uku Suviste	“What Love Is”	English
03	Austria	Vincent Bueno	“Alive”	English
04	Moldova	Natalia Gordienko	“Prison”	English
05	San Marino	Senhit	“Freaky!”	English
06	Czech Republic	Benny Cristo	“Kemama”	English
07	Serbia	Hurricane	“Hasta la vista”	Serbian[c]
08	Poland	Alicja	“Empires”	English
09	Iceland	Daði og Gagnamagnið	“Think About Things”	English
Second half
10	Switzerland	Gjon’s Tears	“Répondez-moi”	French
11	Denmark	Ben & Tan	“Yes”	English
12	Albania	Arilena Ara	“Fall from the Sky”	English
13	Finland	Aksel	“Looking Back”	English
14	Armenia	Athena Manoukian	“Chains on You”	English
15	Portugal	Elisa	“Medo de sentir”	Portuguese
16	Georgia	Tornike Kipiani	“Take Me as I Am”	English[d]
17	Bulgaria	Victoria	“Tears Getting Sober”	English
18	Latvia	Samanta Tīna	“Still Breathing”	English

Final. The final would have taken place on 16 May 2020 at 21:00 (CEST). Twenty-six countries would have participated in the final, composed of the host country, the Big Five, and the ten best-ranked entries of each of the two semifinals. All forty-one countries participating in the contest would have voted in the final.

La finale si sarebbe dovuta svolgere il 16 maggio 2020 alle 21:00 CEST; vi avrebbero gareggiato i 10 paesi qualificatisi durante la prima semifinale, i 10 qualificatisi durante la seconda semifinale e i 6 finalisti di diritto, per un totale di 26 paesi. Il 9 marzo 2020, in seguito a un sorteggio, era stato stabilito che i Paesi Bassi, lo Stato organizzatore, si sarebbe esibito al ventitreesimo posto.

Per l’occasione, tutti i cantanti che hanno rappresentato i Paesi Bassi all’Eurovision Song Contest erano stati invitati alla serata finale. 

Durante la finale dell’Eurovision Song Contest 2020 a Rotterdam, un’orchestra sinfonica composta da giovani musicisti avrebbe dovuto prendere parte ad un’esibizione speciale.

La musica che avrebbe dovuto essere usata per la parata iniziale doveva essere prodotta da Pieter Gabriel (dj e produttore olandese di 15 anni) e da Eric van Tijn (direttore musicale di questa edizione).

Negli Interval acts si sarebbero dovuti esibire: Gigliola Cinquetti con Non ho l’età (per amarti), Lenny Kuhr con De troubadour, Getty Kaspers con Ding-a-Dong, Sandra Kim con J’aime la vie, Paul Harrington e Charlie McGettigan con Rock ‘n’ Roll Kids, Alexander Rybak con Fairytale e Duncan Laurence con Arcade. Si sarebbero dovuti esibire, inoltre, il dj olandese Afrojack, insieme a 65 musicisti, e Glennis Grace (rappresentante dei Paesi Bassi all’Eurovision Song Contest 2005).

Draw	Country	Artist	Song	Language(s)
23	Netherlands	Jeangu Macrooy	“Grow”	English
–	France	Tom Leeb	“Mon alliée (The Best in Me)”	French, English
–	Germany	Ben Dolic	“Violent Thing”	English
–	Italy	Diodato	“Fai rumore”	Italian
–	Spain	Blas Cantó	“Universo”	Spanish
–	United Kingdom	James Newman	“My Last Breath”	English

Notes.

1. ^[a]^ Contains the Japanese mantra “Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō”.
2. ^[b]^ Contains one repeated phrase in Spanish and two words in English.
3. ^[c]^ Contains “I love you” in Italian, Spanish, French and German, and one more word in French.
4. ^[d]^ Netflix, an over-the-top video on demand service, signed an agreement with the EBU in July 2019 that would have allow them to distribute all three shows of the 2020 contest on their service in the United States.

OGAE 2020. L’OGAE 2020 è la classifica stilata da gruppi dell’OGAE, organizzazione internazionale che consiste in un network di oltre 40 fan club del Contest di vari Paesi europei e non. Come ogni anno, i membri dell’OGAE hanno avuto l’opportunità di votare dal 29 marzo al 30 aprile per la loro canzone preferita, inoltre per la prima volta in assoluto, anche i non iscritti hanno potuto esprimere la loro preferenza attraverso un voto online e i risultati sono stati annunciati il 16 maggio 2020. 

Posizione	Paese	Cantante	Canzone	Punti
1	Lituania	The Roop	On Fire	770
2	Islanda	Daði & Gagnamagnið	Think About Things	634
3	Svizzera	Gjon’s Tears	Répondez-moi	620
4	Bulgaria	Victoria	Tears Getting Sober	401
5	Italia	Diodato	Fai rumore	380

*La tabella raffigura la somma dei punti del voto online e di 43 OGAE club, con un club (OGAE Montenegro) assente alla votazione di questo sondaggio.

Other countries. Eligibility for potential participation in the Eurovision Song Contest requires a national broadcaster with active EBU membership that will be able to broadcast the contest via the Eurovision network. The EBU issued an invitation of participation in the contest to all active members. In contrast to previous years, associate member Australia did not need an invitation for the 2020 contest, as it had previously been granted permission to participate at least until 2023.

Active EBU members. 

•  Andorra – In March 2019, Andorran broadcaster Ràdio i Televisió d’Andorra (RTVA) stated that they would be open to co-operating with Catalan broadcaster Televisió de Catalunya (TVC) to participate in future contests. The two broadcasters had previously co-operated when Andorra debuted in 2004. In May 2019, RTVA confirmed that they would not participate in the 2020 contest. In November 2019, the ruling party of Andorra (Democrats for Andorra) stated that RTVA would eventually return to the contest, with a cost assessment being a prerequisite. Andorra last participated in 2009, after which the broadcaster has not participated due to financial issues.
•  Bosnia and Herzegovina – In December 2018, Lejla Babović, an executive with Radio and Television of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BHRT), stated that returning to the contest was BHRT’s primary goal, but also that their financial situation made it difficult to return to the contest in 2020. In July 2019, BHRT confirmed that they could not return due to sanctions imposed by the EBU as a result of the broadcaster’s outstanding debt with the organisation. Bosnia and Herzegovina last took part in 2016.
•  Hungary – In October 2019, Hungarian broadcaster MTVA stated, that A Dal, which had been used as the national selection process since 2012, would not be used to select Hungary’s entry to the 2020 contest, and instead of focusing on Eurovision, the creators of A Dal wanted to focus more on supporting the Hungarian pop scene. Hungary’s absence was confirmed with the release of the full list of participants by the EBU. The non-participation came during a rise of anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment among the leadership of Hungary and MTVA; while no official reason for the non-participation was given by the broadcaster, an inside source speaking with the website Index.hu stated that the contest was considered “too gay” for MTVA to participate. This was later denied by MTVA.
•  Luxembourg – Because Luxembourg had not participated in the competition since 1993, there were increasing calls on them to return to the contest by 2019. In May 2019, Anne-Marie David, who won the 1973 contest for Luxembourg, called on the nation to return, while a petition from fans demanding a Luxembourgish return to the contest was sent to the Luxembourgish broadcaster RTL Télé Lëtzebuerg (RTL) and the Chamber of Deputies of Luxembourg. In previous years, RTL had stated they would not return to the contest due to financial concerns and the belief that smaller nations could not succeed in modern Eurovision events. In June 2019, the Chamber of Deputies opened a petition of its own, which accepted signatures through 1 August 2019. In July 2019, the broadcaster stated that they would not participate in the 2020 contest because the contest would be a financial strain on the broadcaster and because they focused on news content instead of music and entertainment.
•  Monaco – Monégasque broadcaster TMC confirmed in August 2019 that it would not take part in the 2020 contest. Monaco last participated in 2006.
•  Montenegro – Montenegrin broadcaster RTCG confirmed its preliminary participation in September 2019. However, the broadcaster informed website ESCToday in November that its participation in the 2020 contest would not be possible. RTCG’s director general, Božidar Šundić, challenged this statement, stating that a decision on the participation had yet to be made by RTCG’s council. Montenegro did not appear on the final list of participants, and RTCG later stated that they had decided not to participate due to “modest results” and financial issues. The money that would have otherwise been used for the contest participation fee was instead allocated to purchasing new cars to be used by RTCG staff. Montenegro’s non-participation was confirmed with the release of the full list of participants by the EBU.
•  Slovakia – In June 2019, Slovak broadcaster Radio and Television of Slovakia (RTVS) announced that it would not participate in the 2020 contest due to a lack of interest from the Slovak public. Slovakia last took part in 2012.
•  Turkey – In September 2019, the EBU stated that Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT) had not signed up to compete in the 2020 contest. Turkey last took part in 2012.

Associate EBU members.

 Kazakhstan – In November 2018, Jon Ola Sand, the executive supervisor of the contest, stated that Kazakhstan’s participation in the contest needed to be discussed by the contest’s reference group. Kazakhstan, through its EBU associate member Khabar Agency, had previously been invited to participate in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest by that contest’s reference group, though that would not affect their participation in the main contest. The EBU stated in September 2019 that they had no intention to invite Kazakhstan to the 2020 contest.

Non-EBU members.

•  Kosovo – In June 2018, Mentor Shala, the then-general director of Kosovan broadcaster Radio Television of Kosovo (RTK), stated that the broadcaster was still pushing for full EBU membership and that it hoped to debut at the 2020 contest. In June 2019, at the EBU’s 82nd General Assembly, members of the EBU voted against the abolishing of an International Telecommunication Union (ITU) membership as a requirement to join the EBU, thus RTK cannot join the EBU in time for the 2020 contest.
•  Liechtenstein – In August 2019, Liechtensteiner broadcaster 1 FL TV announced that they had ruled out debuting in the 2020 contest. The broadcaster had attempted to become an EBU member in the past but halted its plans when its director, Peter Kölbel, unexpectedly died. It would also need the backing of the Liechtenstein government to be able to carry the cost of becoming an EBU member and paying the participation fee for the contest.

Broadcasters and commentators. Before the contest’s cancellation, countries had started confirming their broadcasting plans and who would provide commentary either on-location or remotely at the broadcaster during the contest. The role of the commentators was to add insight to the participating entries and the provision of voting information.

Country	Show(s)	Broadcaster(s)	Commentator(s)
Participating countries
Australia	All shows	SBS	Not announced
Austria	All shows	ORF1	Not announced
Belarus	All shows	Belarus 1 and Belarus 24	Evgeny Perlin
Finland	Final	Yle TV1	Not announced
France	Final	France 2	Not announced
Germany	Both semi-finals	One	Peter Urban and Michael Schulte
	Final	One, Das Erste, and Deutsche Welle
Greece	All shows	ERT	Maria Kozakou and Giorgos Kapoutzidis
Israel	All shows	Kan 11	Geula Even-Sa’ar and Asaf Liberman
Italy	Both semi-finals	Rai 4	Not announced
	Final	Rai 1	Not announced
		Rai Radio 2	Not announced
Norway	All shows	NRK1	Marte Stokstad
Romania	All shows	TVR1 and TVRi	Not announced
Switzerland	All shows	SRF info	German: Sven Epiney
	Semi-final 2	SRF zwei
	Final	SRF 1
United Kingdom	Both semi-finals	BBC Four	Scott Mills and Rylan Clark-Neal
	Final	BBC One	Graham Norton
		BBC Radio 2	Ken Bruce
Non-participating countries
Canada	Not announced	Omni Television	Not announced
United States	All shows	Netflix	Not announced

Impacts of the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic and cancellation. Starting late February 2020, the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) from China to other countries around the world raised concerns and the potential impact over staging the Eurovision Song Contest. On 6 March, the Dutch broadcaster NPO stated: “Eurovision organisers would follow the advice of health authorities in deciding what form the event, due to be held on 12–16 May, would take.” In March, authorities in Denmark urged the cancellation of events with more than 1,000 spectators to limit the spread of the virus. This resulted in the Danish national final being held with no live audience. Representatives from Sweden, Finland, Israel, Switzerland, Italy and Greece pulled out of the Heads of Delegation meeting on 9 March. Jon Ola Sand attended the meeting remotely after a travel restriction was placed on EBU staff until 13 March after an employee contracted the virus. Eden Alene, the Israeli representative, revealed that she would not travel to the Netherlands to film her postcard as a precaution to COVID-19. The broadcaster noted they would try to find another way to film her postcard. The Lithuanian representatives The Roop also cancelled both the travel plans to film their postcard and their participation in pre-contest parties in London and Amsterdam. The Bulgarian representative Victoria also cancelled her participation in pre-contest parties in London and Amsterdam.

On 13 March, Eurovision-Spain, organisers of the pre-party planned for 10–11 April in Madrid, announced that it would be postponed due to threats of the virus until further notice. On the same day, the organisers of Israel Calling, a pre-party planned in Tel Aviv, announced that it would be cancelled. On 16 March, the organisers of Eurovision in Concert, a pre-party planned in Amsterdam, announced that it would be cancelled. On the same day, the organisers of the pre-party London Eurovision Party announced that it would be postponed due to threats of the virus until further notice.

It was ultimately decided that the contest itself would be cancelled as a result of the pandemic and the uncertainty surrounding it, which was announced on 18 March 2020. By then, the Dutch government had decided to prohibit all gatherings with more than 100 attendees until further notice. The reference group for the contest explored the option of letting the artists selected for the 2020 contest instead take part in the following year. It decided on 20 March 2020 that, in accordance with the rules of the Eurovision Song Contest, the 2020 songs would not be eligible to compete in the 2021 contest and would instead be honoured in a non-competitive manner.

Of the Eurovision pre-parties, only PrePartyES was held. The organisers gathered artists to perform at home in a YouTube concert.

The Ahoy Arena itself, with all events requiring tickets in the Netherlands now being prohibited until at least 1 September 2020, now serves as a temporary care facility to cover the nationwide shortage of hospital beds. Construction of the stage would have started on 6 April.

Prima della cancellazione effettiva dell’evento a causa della pandemia di COVID-19, i pre party previsti nei mesi di marzo e aprile, sono stati cancellati per lo stesso motivo.

Eurovision Spain Pre-Party at Home. Dopo la cancellazione a causa della pandemia di COVID-19, gli organizzatori hanno annunciato che l’evento si sarebbe tenuto online, l’11 aprile 2020, dove ogni artista si è esibito in diretta da casa.[102] Condotto da Barei (rappresentante della Spagna all’Eurovision Song Contest 2016), Blas Cantó (rappresentante della Spagna all’Eurovision Song Contest 2020 e 2021), Krista Siegfrids (rappresentante della Finlandia all’Eurovision Song Contest 2013) e Victor Escudero. Vi hanno partecipato:  Australia,  Bielorussia,  Bulgaria,  Croazia,  Germania,  Irlanda,  Italia,  Lettonia,  Lituania,  Macedonia del Nord,  Moldavia,  Regno Unito,  Repubblica Ceca,  Romania,  San Marino,  Serbia,  Slovenia,  Svezia,  Svizzera,  Ucraina.

Hanno partecipato inoltre: Lucía Pérez (rappresentante della Spagna all’Eurovision Song Contest 2011), Melani Garcia (rappresentante della Spagna al Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2019), Soraya (rappresentante della Spagna all’Eurovision Song Contest 2009) e Zlata Ognevich (rappresentante dell’Ucraina all’Eurovision Song Contest 2013).

Alternative programming:

• Eurovision Song Celebration 2020. The EBU announced on 30 April 2020 that Eurovision Song Celebration 2020 would be released as a replacement for the semi-finals on the contest’s official YouTube channel. The shows, presented by Janouk Kelderman and premiered on 12 and 14 May, honoured all 41 participants and their songs in a non-competitive format. 

The first episode showcased the participants of the first semi-final, as well as those of host country the Netherlands and two of the Big Five, Germany and Italy, who would also have voted in this semi-final. The second episode featured the participants of the second semi-final, as well as those of France, Spain and the United Kingdom, who would also have voted in this semi-final.

The running order was determined by the producers of the show as if the contest were actually held, while fans were asked to contribute to the show by sending videoclips of their favourite entries.

Per onorare gli artisti e i brani di questa edizione, l’UER trasmetterà uno spettacolo denominato Eurovision Song Celebration 2020, sul canale ufficiale YouTube della manifestazione il 12 e il 14 maggio, i giorni inizialmente previsti per le semifinali.

Lo spettacolo condotto da Janouk Kelderman, comprenderà i 41 brani dell’edizione in un format non competitivo, mostrando le esibizioni delle finali nazionali o i video musicali.

Negli intermezzi delle due serate, vari artisti proveranno a reinterpretare il loro brano in un genere musicale differente, riveleranno i loro tre brani eurovisivi preferiti e mostreranno attraverso un tour virtuale delle loro case, come vivono le loro giornate in quarantena.

Ci saranno anche interventi di vari youtubers, che proporranno le loro impressioni e reazioni ai brani in gara.

Inoltre il tradizionale recap generale dei brani, sarà sostituito da un fan recap, dove i fan della manifestazione si esibiranno sulle note del loro brano preferito.

I brani verranno eseguiti seguendo l’ordine che i produttori dello show avevano deciso, nel caso lo spettacolo si fosse svolto regolarmente.

Prima parte. La prima parte è stata trasmessa il 12 maggio 2020, e ha riguardato i 17 paesi che avrebbero gareggiato nella prima semifinale, e i tre finalisti che avrebbero avuto diritto di voto: Germania, Italia e Paesi Bassi.

In degli intermezzi vari artisti hanno provato a reinterpretare il loro brano in un genere musicale differente, e hanno rivelato i loro tre brani eurovisivi preferiti.

Questa puntata dove era prevista la partecipazione dell’Ucraina, è stata trasmessa anche dall’emittente nazionale UA:PBC, sul canale UA:Peršyj il 14 maggio 2020.

N°	Stato	Cantante	Canzone
01	Svezia	The Mamas	Move
02	Bielorussia	VAL	Da vidna
03	Australia	Montaigne	Don’t Break Me
04	Macedonia del Nord	Vasil Garvanliev	You
05	Slovenia	Ana Soklič	Voda
06	Lituania	The Roop	On Fire
07	Irlanda	Lesley Roy	Story of My Life
08	Russia	Little Big	Uno
09	Belgio	Hooverphonic	Release Me
10	Malta	Destiny	All of My Love
11	Croazia	Damir Kedžo	Divlji vjetre
12	Azerbaigian	Efendi	Cleopatra
13	Cipro	Sandro Nicolas	Running
14	Norvegia	Ulrikke	Attention
15	Israele	Eden Alene	Feker libi
16	Romania	Roxen	Alcohol You
17	Ucraina	Go_A	Solovej
18	Italia	Diodato	Fai rumore
19	Germania	Ben Dolic	Violent Thing
20	Paesi Bassi	Jeangu Macrooy	Grow

Seconda parte. La seconda parte è stata trasmessa il 14 maggio 2020, e ha riguardato i 18 paesi che avrebbero gareggiato nella seconda semifinale, e i tre finalisti che avrebbero avuto diritto di voto: Francia, Regno Unito e Spagna.

In degli intermezzi vari artisti hanno provato a reinterpretare il loro brano nella propria lingua, e hanno mostrato attraverso un tour virtuale delle loro case, come vivono le loro giornate in quarantena.

N°	Stato	Cantante	Canzone
01	Grecia	Stefania	Superg!rl
02	Estonia	Uku Suviste	What Love Is
03	Austria	Vincent Bueno	Alive
04	Moldavia	Natalia Gordienko	Prison
05	San Marino	Senhit	Freaky!
06	Repubblica Ceca	Benny Cristo	Kemama
07	Serbia	Hurricane	Hasta La Vista
08	Polonia	Alicja Szemplińska	Empires
09	Islanda	Daði & Gagnamagnið	Think About Things
10	Svizzera	Gjon’s Tears	Répondez-moi
11	Danimarca	Ben & Tan	Yes
12	Albania	Arilena Ara	Fall From The Sky
13	Finlandia	Aksel Kankaanranta	Looking Back
14	Armenia	Athena Manoukian	Chains On You
15	Portogallo	Elisa Silva	Medo de Sentir
16	Georgia	Tornike Kipiani	Take Me As I Am
17	Bulgaria	Victoria	Tears Getting Sober
18	Letonia	Samanta Tīna	Still Breathing
19	Francia	Tom Leeb	Mon Alliée (The Best In Me)
20	Regno Unito	James Newman	My Last Breath
21	Spagna	Blas Cantó	Universo

• Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light. The EBU and the host broadcasters are working on a Europe-wide replacement show called Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light, which is scheduled to be broadcast live on 16 May 2020, the date the contest’s final was planned to take place, with Chantal Janzen, Jan Smit, and Edsilia Rombley serving as the hosts. Forty-six countries broadcast the show, including all of the countries that would have participated.

Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light
Eurovision: Europe! Shine A Light
Dates
Finale	16 May 2020 (120 min.)
Host
Venue	Studio 21, Hilversum, Netherlands
Conduttore(i)	Chantal Janzen Edsilia Rombley Jan Smit Nikkie de Jager (online host)
Executive supervisor  Executive producer	Jon Ola Sand Sietse Bakker
Host broadcaster	EBU-UER AVROTROS Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS) Nederlandse Publieke Omroep (NPO)
Participanti – Participation map
G – Would have participated in the 2020 contest and will broadcast the show Y – Participated in the past but will not broadcast the show B – Would not have participated in the 2020 contest but will broadcast the show
Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light

L’Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light è un programma televisivo che è andato in onda il 16 maggio 2020 per sostituire la finale dell’Eurovision Song Contest 2020 con l’intenzione di celebrare i 41 partecipanti che erano stati selezionati per l’edizione della rassegna musicale, cancellata a causa della pandemia di COVID-19.

Il programma, ideato dall’Unione europea di radiodiffusione (UER), è stato prodotto dalle tre emittenti olandesi precedentemente incaricate della produzione dell’evento: NPO, NOS e AVROTROS ed è stato trasmesso in Eurovisione oltre che su svariati canali principali e secondari delle emittenti nazionali dell’UER e sul canale YouTube ufficiale della manifestazione.

Questo è stato anche l’ultimo evento ad avere Jon Ola Sand come supervisore esecutivo.

Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light was a live television programme, organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and produced by the Dutch broadcasters AVROTROS, NOS and NPO. It replaced the Eurovision Song Contest 2020, which was planned to be held in Rotterdam, Netherlands, but was cancelled due to the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic.

Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light will be a live television programme, organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and produced by the Dutch broadcasters AVROTROS, NOS and NPO. It will replace the Eurovision Song Contest 2020, which was planned to be held in Rotterdam, Netherlands, but was cancelled due to the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic.

The show was broadcast live from Hilversum, The Netherlands on 16 May 2020 and is expected to last approximately two hours. It was hosted by Chantal Janzen, Edsilia Rombley and Jan Smit, who had been chosen to present the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 before its cancellation.

Organizzazione / Background. As the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 could not take place due to the outbreak of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Europe, the EBU decided to organise Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light as an alternative. The name was inspired by the song “Love Shine a Light” by Katrina and the Waves, which won the Eurovision Song Contest 1997. This was the fourth time that the EBU organises a special show in the Eurovision format, after the shows for the 25th, 50th and 60th anniversaries. Like the 25th and 60th anniversary shows, this was a non-competitive show.

Format. During the programme, all 41 songs that had been chosen to take part in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 will be honoured in a non-competitive format. Participants from the past will also be invited to make an appearance. Together, the artists will perform “Love Shine a Light” from their respective home countries. Clips of Eurovision fans singing along to “What’s Another Year” by Johnny Logan, which won the Eurovision Song Contest 1980 in The Hague, will be shown as well.

Sede / Location. La trasmissione è andata in onda dal vivo dallo Studio 21 del Media Park di Hilversum. Questo è il secondo evento dell’Eurovisione che viene ospitato dalla città dopo l’Eurovision Song Contest 1958.

On 1 April 2020, Hilversum was confirmed as the host city for the event and Studio 21 in Media Park was confirmed as the venue of the show. It will be the second time Hilversum hosts a Eurovision event, having previously hosted the Eurovision Song Contest 1958.

Presentatori. Il 31 marzo 2020, sono stati annunciati che i presentatori dell’evento sarebbero stati coloro che avrebbero dovuto presentare l’Eurovision Song Contest 2020: Chantal Janzen, attrice e presentatrice televisiva olandese, Jan Smit, cantante ricordato in patria, soprattutto, come commentatore per i Paesi Bassi all’Eurovision, ed Edsilia Rombley cantante olandese, famosa per aver rappresentato la nazione nell’edizione del 1998 e del 2007. Mentre la youtuber olandese Nikkie de Jager curerà i contenuti web, per la serata evento..

The show was hosted by three presenters: actress and television host Chantal Janzen, singer and commentator for the contest Jan Smit, and singer Edsilia Rombley, who represented the Netherlands in the 1998 and 2007 contests. They would have been the three hosts of the Eurovision Song Contest 2020. Beauty vlogger Nikkie de Jager will host the show’s online content. 

Contents. 

Performances. The show featured performances from the following Eurovision artists:

Order	Country	Artist	Song	Location
01	Ireland	Johnny Logan	“What’s Another Year”	Dublin
	Netherlands	Chantal Janzen, Edsilia Rombley and Jan Smit		Studio 21, Hilversum
02	Sweden	Måns Zelmerlöw	“Heroes”	London
03	Israel	Gali Atari (of Milk and Honey)	“Hallelujah”[a]	Jerusalem
	Netherlands	Finalists of Junior Songfestival 2018 and 2019 (Mannes Bakker, 6Times, Remix, Max & Anne, Moves, Kiya van Rossum, Matheu Hinzen y Anna Grigorian) [b]		Unknown
04	Italy	Diodato	“Nel blu, dipinto di blu”	Milan
05	Serbia	Marija Šerifović	“Molitva”	Belgrade
06	Netherlands	Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra	“Love Shine a Light” (instrumental)	Several locations
07	Germany	Michael Schulte	“Ein bißchen Frieden”	Peace Palace, The Hague
	Netherlands	Ilse DeLange (of The Common Linnets)
08	Israel	Netta	“Cuckoo”	Tel Aviv
09	Netherlands	Duncan Laurence	“Someone Else”	Studio 21, Hilversum
10	All participating countries[c]	Artists of Eurovision 2020 (except Hooverphonic)	“Love Shine a Light”	Several locations
	United Kingdom	Katrina Leskanich (of Katrina and the Waves)

Song showcase. The show also showcased the artists and songs that would’ve been performed at the Eurovision Song Contest 2020, by showing short excerpts of the songs’ music videos or stage performances, along with video messages from the artists themselves. These were as follows:

Order	Country	Artist	Song	Language(s)
First segment
01	Israel	Eden Alene	“Feker libi” (ፍቅር ልቤ)	English, Amharic, Hebrew, Arabic
02	Norway	Ulrikke	“Attention”	English
03	Russia	Little Big	“Uno”	English, Spanish
04	Georgia	Tornike Kipiani	“Take Me as I Am”	English[d]
05	France	Tom Leeb	“Mon alliée (The Best in Me)”	French, English
06	Azerbaijan	Efendi	“Cleopatra”	English[e]
07	Portugal	Elisa	“Medo de sentir”	Portuguese
08	Lithuania	The Roop	“On Fire”	English
09	Sweden	The Mamas	“Move”	English
Second segment
10	Latvia	Samanta Tīna	“Still Breathing”	English
11	Belgium	Hooverphonic	“Release Me”	English
12	United Kingdom	James Newman	“My Last Breath”	English
13	Belarus	VAL	“Da vidna” (Да відна)	Belarusian
14	Finland	Aksel	“Looking Back”	English
15	North Macedonia	Vasil	“You”	English
16	Switzerland	Gjon’s Tears	“Répondez-moi”	French
17	Serbia	Hurricane	“Hasta la vista”	Serbian[f]
Third segment
18	Spain	Blas Cantó	“Universo”	Spanish
19	Albania	Arilena Ara	“Fall from the Sky”	English
20	Ireland	Lesley Roy	“Story of My Life”	English
21	Slovenia	Ana Soklič	“Voda”	Slovene
22	Austria	Vincent Bueno	“Alive”	English
23	Bulgaria	Victoria	“Tears Getting Sober”	English
24	San Marino	Senhit	“Freaky!”	English
25	Iceland	Daði og Gagnamagnið	“Think About Things”	English
Fourth segment
26	Greece	Stefania	“Supergirl”	English
27	Czech Republic	Benny Cristo	“Kemama”	English
28	Poland	Alicja	“Empires”	English
29	Moldova	Natalia Gordienko	“Prison”	English
30	Cyprus	Sandro	“Running”	English
31	Romania	Roxen	“Alcohol You”	English
32	Croatia	Damir Kedžo	“Divlji vjetre”	Croatian
33	Germany	Ben Dolic	“Violent Thing”	English
Fifth segment
34	Malta	Destiny	“All of My Love”	English
35	Estonia	Uku Suviste	“What Love Is”	English
36	Australia	Montaigne	“Don’t Break Me”	English
37	Ukraine	Go_A	“Solovey” (Соловей)	Ukrainian
38	Denmark	Ben & Tan	“Yes”	English
39	Italy	Diodato	“Fai rumore”	Italian
40	Armenia	Athena Manoukian	“Chains on You”	English
41	Netherlands	Jeangu Macrooy	“Grow”	English

Appearances.

•  Poland – Viki Gabor (winner of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2019)
•  Norway – Alexander Rybak (Norwegian representative in 2018; winner of the 2009 contest)
•  The Netherlands – Lenny Kuhr (co-winner of the 1969 contest)
•  Belgium – Sandra Kim (winner of the 1986 contest)
•  Luxembourg – Anne-Marie David (French representative in 1979; winner of the 1973 contest)
•  Ireland – Niamh Kavanagh (Irish representative in2010; winner of the 1993 contest)
• The Netherlands – Getty Kaspers (winner of the 1975 contest as part of Teach-In)
•  Azerbaijan – Ell & Nikki (winners of the 2011 contest)
•  Russia – Sergey Lazarev (Russian representative in 2016 and 2019)
•  Ireland – Dana (winner of the 1970 contest)
•  Greece – Elena Paparizou (Greek representative in 2001 as part of Antique; winner of the 2005 contest)
•  Sweden – Carola (Swedish representative in 1983and 2006; winner of the 1991 contest)
•  Austria – Conchita Wurst (winner of the 2014 contest)
•  Sweden – Björn Ulvaeus (winner of the 1974 contest as part of ABBA)
•  United Kingdom – Graham Norton (British commentator for the contest)

Luoghi storici / Landmarks. Il 27 aprile 2020, l’emittente tedesca NDR ha rivelato che durante la trasmissione ci sarà un segmento specifico chiamato Europe Shine a Landmark, in cui verranno illuminati diversi luoghi storici o di particolare importanza storico culturale di tutti i paesi partecipanti, ad eccezione di Finlandia, Moldavia e Repubblica Ceca. I luoghi illuminati, sotto le note di Love Shine a Light eseguita dall’Orchestra filarmonica di Rotterdam, sono stati:

Various landmarks across Europe weree illuminated as part of a segment of the show named Europe Shine a Landmark. The following landmarks were featured in the programme:

Order	Country	Landmark	City
01	Ukraine	Kyiv TV Center	Kyiv
02	Greece	Acropolis	Athens
03	Bulgaria	Ivan Vazov National Theatre	Sofia
04	Ireland	Rock of Cashel	Cashel
05	Denmark	The Little Mermaid	Copenhagen
06	Portugal	Belém Tower	Lisbon
07	North Macedonia	Archaeological Museum of North Macedonia	Skopje
08	Azerbaijan	Baku Crystal Hall (venue of the 2012 contest)	Baku
09	Australia	Sydney Opera House	Sydney
10	Lithuania	Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre	Vilnius
11	Iceland	Harpa	Reykjavík
12	Italy	Piazza del Campidoglio	Rome
13	Belgium	Atomium	Brussels
14	Norway	Oslo Opera House	Oslo
15	Albania	Skanderbeg Monument	Tirana
16	Malta	Esplora Interactive Science Centre	Kalkara
17	Serbia	Stari dvor	Belgrade
18	Latvia	National Library of Latvia	Riga
19	United Kingdom	London Eye	London
20	Cyprus	Presidential Palace	Nicosia
21	Spain	Teatro Real (venue of the 1969 contest)	Madrid
22	Croatia	Croatian National Theatre	Zagreb
23	Austria	Wiener Riesenrad	Vienna
24	San Marino	Statua della Libertà and Palazzo Pubblico	San Marino
25	France	Eiffel Tower	Paris
26	Russia	Spasskaya Tower and Saint Basil’s Cathedral	Moscow
27	Sweden	Globen (venue of the 2000 and 2016 contest)	Stockholm
28	Poland	Royal Castle in Warsaw	Warsaw
29	Slovenia	Ljubljana Castle	Ljubljana
30	Israel	Tower of David	Jerusalem
31	Switzerland	Matterhorn	Valais
32	Romania	Piața Unirii	Bucharest
33	Armenia	Yerevan TV Tower	Yerevan
34	Germany	Elbphilharmonie	Hamburg
35	Belarus	National Library of Belarus	Minsk
36	Estonia	Tallinn Song Festival Grounds	Tallinn
37	Georgia	Bridge of Peace	Tbilisi
38	Netherlands	Erasmusbrug	Rotterdam

Czech Republic, Finland and Moldova were the only countries that did not have a landmark featured.

Show. Allo show sono invitati a partecipare tutti i 41 artisti selezionati per l’ESC, dove si sono esibiti con un brano hit proveniente dalle edizioni passate della manifestazione. Tra un’esibizione e l’altra, inoltre, verranno proiettati su uno schermo dei video montaggi dove vengono presentati i brani degli artisti che avrebbero portato all’ESC 2020. Anche il pubblico è stato coinvolto nello show, infatti clip dei fan dell’Eurovision Song Contest che cantano insieme il brano What’s Another Year di Johnny Logan, vincitore dell’edizione 1980 tenutasi a L’Aia, saranno mostrate durante la trasmissione.

During the programme, all 41 songs that had been chosen to take part in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 will be honoured in a non-competitive format. Participants from the past will also be invited to make an appearance. Together, the artists will perform “Love Shine a Light” from their respective home countries. Clips of Eurovision fans singing along to “What’s Another Year” by Johnny Logan, which won the Eurovision Song Contest 1980 in The Hague, will be shown as well.

Paesi partecipanti. Nei mesi intercorsi tra marzo e maggio 2020 diversi artisti hanno annunciato la propria partecipazione al programma alternativo, includendo anche diversi vincitori degli anni passati, nonché alcuni partecipanti designati per l’edizione 2020.

I partecipanti sono stati invitati a cantare insieme il brano Love Shine a Light, mentre i fan di tutto il mondo hanno cantato in coro il brano What’s Another Year.

Hanno preso parte alla serata anche l’Orchestra filarmonica di Rotterdam, Nikkie de Jager (presentatrice online dell’Eurovision Song Contest 2020), Graham Norton (commentatore ufficiale dell’Eurovision per il Regno Unito), Ell & Nikki (Vincitori dell’Eurovision Song Contest 2011), Viki Gabor (Vincitrice del Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2019), Alexander Rybak (Vincitore dell’Eurovision Song Contest 2009), Lenny Kuhr (Una delle vincitrici dell’Eurovision Song Contest 1969), Sandra Kim (Vincitrice dell’Eurovision Song Contest 1986), Anne-Marie David (Vincitrice dell’Eurovision Song Contest 1973), Niamh Kavanagh (Vincitrice dell’Eurovision Song Contest 1993), Getty Kaspers (Vincitrice dell’Eurovision Song Contest 1975 con i Teach-In), Sergej Lazarev (Rappresentante della Russia all’Eurovision Song Contest 2016 e 2019), Dana (Vincitrice dell’Eurovision Song Contest 1970), Helena Paparizou (Vincitrice dell’Eurovision Song Contest 2005), Carola (Vincitrice dell’Eurovision Song Contest 1991), Conchita Wurst (Vincitrice dell’Eurovision Song Contest 2014) e Björn Ulvaeus (Vincitore dell’Eurovision Song Contest 1974 con gli ABBA).

Trasmissione internazionale. Il 16 aprile 2020, l’UER ha comunicato la lista dei paesi che trasmetteranno l’evento. L’evento è stato trasmesso anche in Eurovisione e in streaming su YouTube e sulle piattaforme accreditate delle emittenti nazionali. La maggior parte delle emittenti ha trasmesso l’evento dal vivo, fatta eccezione per l’australiana SBS. 

The show took place on 16 May 2020 at 21:00 CEST. The following countries broadcast the live show:

Country	Broadcaster	Channel(s)	Commentator(s)
Albania	RTSH	RTSH 1, RTSH Muzikë	Andri Xhahu
Armenia	AMPTV (1TV)		David Tserunyan and Emma Hakobyan
Australia	SBS	SBS	Joel Creasey and Myf Warhurst
Austria	ORF	ORF 1	Andi Knoll
Azerbaijan	İctimai Television (İTV)		Murad Arif
Belarus	BTRC	Belarus 1, Belarus 24	Evgeny Perlin
Belgium	RTBF	La Une	French: Jean-Louis Lahaye and Maureen Louys
	VRT	Eén	Dutch: Peter Van de Veire
Bulgaria	BNT	BNT 1, BNT 4	Elena Rosberg and Petko Kralev
Croatia	HRT	HRT 1	Duško Čurlić
Cyprus	CyBC	RIK 1, RIK Sat	Andreas Iakovidis
Czech Republic	ČT	ČT art	Jan Maxián
Denmark	DR	DR1	Ole Tøpholm
Estonia[g]	ERR	ETV	Estonian: Marko Reikop
		ETV+	Russian: Yuliya Kalenda and Aleksandr Khobotov
Finland	Yle	Yle TV2	Finnish: Mikko Silvennoinen and Krista Siegfrids Swedish: Eva Frantz and Johan Lindroos
France	France Télévisions	France 2	Stéphane Bern
Georgia	GPB	1TV	Demetre Ergemlidze
Germany[h]	ARD/NDR	Das Erste	Michael Schulte and Peter Urban
Greece	ERT	ERT1	Maria Kozakou
Iceland	RÚV	RÚV 1	Felix Bergsson
Ireland	RTÉ	RTÉ One	Marty Whelan
Israel	IPBC (Kan)	Kan 11	No commentary
Italy	RAI	Rai 1	Flavio Insinna and Federico Russo
		Rai 4, Rai Radio 2	Gino Castaldo and Ema Stokholma
Latvia	LTV	LTV1	Toms Grēviņš
Lithuania	LRT	LRT televizija	Ramūnas Zilnys
Malta	PBS	TVM	No commentary
Moldova	TRM	Moldova 1	Daniela Crudu
Netherlands	AVROTROS	NPO 1	Cornald Maas
North Macedonia	MRT	MRT 1	Aleksandra Jovanovska
Norway	NRK	NRK1	No commentary
Poland[i]	TVP	TVP1, TVP Polonia	Artur Orzech
Portugal	RTP	RTP1, RTPi	Nuno Galopim
Romania	TVR	TVR1, TVRi	Bogdan Stănescu
Russia	Channel One (C1R)		Yuriy Aksyuta and Yana Churikova
San Marino	SMRTV	San Marino RTV	Flavio Insinna and Federico Russo
Serbia	RTS	RTS1, RTS Svet	Duška Vučinić
Slovenia	RTVSLO	TV Slovenija 1	Andrej Hofer
Spain[j]	RTVE	La 1, TVEi	Tony Aguilar and Eva Mora
Sweden	SVT	SVT1	No commentary
Switzerland	SRG SSR	RSI La 2	Italian: Clarissa Tami and Sebalter
		RTS 1	French: Yoann Provenzano and Jean-Marc Richard
		SRF 1	German: Sven Epiney
Ukraine	STB		Timur Miroshnychenko
	UA:PBC	UA:First
		UA:Radio Promin	Oleksandra Franko and Les Myrnyi
United Kingdom	BBC	BBC One	Graham Norton
Non-participating countries
Bosnia-Herzegovina	BHRT	BHT 1	Maja Miralem
Kazakhstan	Khabar Agency	Khabar TV	Nursultan Qurman and Mahabbat Esen
Kosovo	RTK	RTK 1	Unknown
Montenegro	RTCG	RTCG 1, Radio 98

• Eurovision Home Concerts. The Eurovision Song Contest YouTube channel broadcast Eurovision Home Concerts every Friday from 3 April 2020 featuring planned and past artists performing their Eurovision hits, as well as one of their favourite other entries from their homes. For their cover, the act gave a shortlist of 2-4 entries for fans to choose in a poll on Twitter or Instagram, and covered the song (or songs if there was a tie) that won the poll.

Per sopperire alla cancellazione dell’evento e dei pre-eventi di promozione, l’Unione europea di radiodiffusione ha lanciato l’iniziativa denominata Eurovision Home Concerts, dove diversi artisti eurovisivi hanno la possibilità di cantare da casa sia il proprio brano che la cover di un eventuale altro brano, deciso dai fan della manifestazione tramite gli account social dell’Eurovision Song Contest. Fanno eccezione Helena Paparizou e Sergej Lazarev, che hanno cantato in coppia il brano di quest’ultimo, e Blas Cantó, Dana e i Secret Garden che hanno cantato solo i loro brani rispettivi.

• #EurovisionAgain. Upon hearing about the contest’s cancellation, journalist Rob Holley felt that many fans, like him, would miss the unity between fans while watching Eurovision. Therefore, he set up an initiative to watch a past contest on YouTube every week. #EurovisionAgain quickly became popular, so the EBU itself decided to join the initiative. Every Saturday at 21:00 CEST, the Eurovision YouTube channel re-broadcasts a final of a previous contest, revealed by the #EurovisionAgain team 15 minutes before the start. The initiative was generally received as a welcome distraction for fans. On Twitter, #EurovisionAgain regularly became a trending topic and received positive reactions of past participants. As part of the initiative, Holley has collected over £7500 for charity (as of 25 April 2020).

National programming. Besides the Europe-wide replacement show, broadcasters are left to make plans to fill the rest of the gaps themselves. Most broadcasters will provide their television audience with replacing Eurovision-related programming. Examples include holding an alternative song contest by making people listen to Eurovision 2020 entries and vote for their favourites, and re-broadcasts of already existing Eurovision specials and previous contests which are significant for their country, such as the contest they last won.

• Big Night In. Big Night In was organised and broadcast by the Australian broadcaster Special Broadcasting Service (SBS).
• Der kleine Song Contest. Der kleine Song Contest was organised and broadcast by the Austrian broadcaster Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF). The competition consisted of three semi-finals between 14 and 18 April 2020 and a final on 18 April 2020, and was hosted by Andi Knoll. All shows were broadcast on the television channel ORF 1, as well as on the streaming platform ORF-TVthek.
• Okkar 12 stig. Okkar 12 stig was organised and broadcast by the Icelandic broadcaster Ríkisútvarpið (RÚV).
• Sveriges 12:a. Sveriges 12:a was organised and broadcast by the Swedish broadcaster Sveriges Television (SVT). The competition consisted of a pre-qualifying round on 9 May 2020, hosted by Christer Björkman and David Sundin, and a final on 14 May 2020, hosted by Christer Björkman and Sarah Dawn Finer. Both shows were broadcast live on SVT1, as well as on the streaming platform SVT Play.

Official album.

 

Eurovision: A Tribute to the Artists and Songs 2020
Compilation album by Eurovision Song Contest 2020
Released	15 May 2020
Genre	Pop
Label	Universal
CD 1 1. Albania. Arilena Ara, Fall From The Sky 2. Armenia. Athena Manoukian, Chains On You 3. Austria. Vincent Bueno, Alive 4. Australia. Montaigne, Don’t Break Me 5. Azerbaijan. Efendi, Cleopatra 6. Belgium. Hooverphonic, Release Me 7. Bulgaria. VICTORIA, Tears Getting Sober 8. Belarus. VAL, Da Vidna 9. Switzerland. Gjon’s Tears, Répondez-Moi 10. Cyprus. Sandro, Running 11. Czech Republic. Benny Cristo, Kemama 12. Germany. Ben Dolic, Violent Thing 13. Denmark. Ben & Tan, YES 14. Estonia. Uku Suviste, What Love Is 15. Spain. Blas Cantó, Universo 16. Finland. Aksel, Looking Back 17. France. Tom Leeb, Mon alliée (The Best In Me) 18. United Kingdom. James Newman, My Last Breath 19. Georgia. Tornike Kipiani, Take Me As I Am 20. Greece. Stefanίa, SUPERG!RL 21. Croatia. Damir Kedžo, Divlji Vjetre	CD 2 1. Ireland. Lesley Roy, Story Of My Life 2. Israel. Eden Alene, Feker Libi 3. Iceland. Daði Freyr, Think About Things 4. Italy. Diodato, Fai Rumore 5. Lithuania. The Roop, On Fire 6. Latvia. Samanta Tīna, Still Breathing 7. Moldova. Natalia Gordienko, Prison 8. North Macedonia. Vasil, You 9. Malta. Destiny, All Of My Love 10. The Netherlands. Jeangu Macrooy, Grow 11. Norway. Ulrikke, Attention 12. Poland. Alicja, Empires 13. Portugal. Elisa, Medo De Sentir 14. Romania. Roxen, Alcohol You 15. Serbia. Hurricane, Hasta La Vista 16. Russia. Little Big, Uno 17. Sweden. The Mamas, Move 18. Slovenia. Ana Soklič, Voda 19. San Marino. Senhit, Freaky! 20. Ukraine. Go_A, Solovey
Eurovision Song Contest chronology
Eurovision Song Contest: Tel Aviv (2019) • Eurovision: A Tribute to the Artists and Songs 2020 • (2020) Eurovision Song Contest: xxx (2021)

Eurovision: A Tribute to the Artists and Songs 2020 is set to be the official compilation album for the contest, containing all 41 songs that would have taken part in the contest. It was originally scheduled to be released by Universal Music Group physically and digitally on 17 April 2020 but was delayed to 8 May, and later to 15 May.

Notes.

• [a] Performed in Hebrew, English and Dutch.
• [b] Mannes Bakker, 6Times, Remix, Max & Anne, Moves, Kiya van Rossum, Matheu Hinzen and Anna Grigorian.
• [c] Except Belgium.
• [d] Contains “I love you” in Italian, Spanish, French and German, and one more word in French.
• [e] Contains the Japanese mantra “Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō”.
• [f] Contains one repeated phrase in Spanish and two words in English.
• [g] In Estonia, the programme was broadcast under the name Eurovisioon 2020. Särav muusika! (“Eurovision 2020. Brilliant music!”).
• [h] In Germany, the programme will be broadcast with a one-hour delay, starting at 22:00 CEST, due to an overlap with the broadcast of Eurovision 2020 – das deutsche Finale.
• [i] In Poland, the programme was broadcast under the name Światło dla Europy (“A Light for Europe”).
• [j] In Spain, the programme was broadcast under the name Europa enciende una luz (“Europa Shine a Light”).