• Dates – Grand Final: Saturday, 16 May 2020 – 21:00 CEST (planned – cancelled)
• Host – Venue & Location: Rotterdam Ahoy (Ahoy Rotterdam), Rotterdam, The Netherlands 
• Presenter (s): Edsilia Rombley, Chantal Janzen, Jan Smit, Nikkie de Jager (online host)
• Musical Director: Orchestra: Gli artisti cantano su basi musicali.
• Director: 
• Executive Producer: Sietse Bakker (Event), Inge van de Weerd (TV)
• Executive Supervisor: Jon Ola Sand
• Multicamera Director: Marnix Kaart, Marc Pos, Daniel Jelinek
• Host broadcaster: Algemene Vereniging Radio Omroep/ Televisie Radio Omroep Stichting (AVROTROS), Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS), Nederlandse Publieke Omroep (NPO) in Eurovisione
• Opening Act: Flag parade introducing the 26 finalist countries.
• Interval Act: Afrojack and Glennis Grace, “Non ho l’età” performed by Gigliola Cinquetti, “De troubadour” performed by Lenny Kuhr, “Ding-a-dong” performed by Getty Kaspers, “J’aime la vie” performed by Sandra Kim, “Rock ‘n’ Roll Kids” performed by Paul Harrington and Charlie McGettigan, “Fairytale” performed by Alexander Rybak, “Arcade” performed by Duncan Laurence.
• Motto: “Open Up”
• Participants – Number of entries: 41 (planned): Final 26 [🇫🇷 France (60ª), 🇮🇹 Italy (43ª), 🇩🇪 Germany (60ª), 🇬🇧 United Kindom (59ª), 🇪🇸 Spain (56ª), 🇳🇱 The Netherlands (58ª), …]; First Semi-Final 17 [🇸🇪 Sweden (57ª), 🇧🇾 Belarus (17ª), 🇦🇺 Australia (6ª), 🇲🇰 North Macedonia (20ª), 🇸🇮 Slovenia (25ª), 🇱🇹 Lithuania (21ª), 🇮🇪 Ireland (51ª), 🇷🇺 Russia (22ª), 🇧🇪 Belgium (59ª), 🇲🇹 Malta (32ª), 🇭🇷 Croatia (25ª), 🇦🇿 Azerbaijan (13ª), 🇨🇾 Cyprus (37ª), 🇳🇴 Norway (56ª), 🇮🇱 Israel (39ª), 🇷🇴 Romania (21ª), 🇺🇦 Ukraine (16ª)]; Second Semi-Final 18  [🇬🇷 Greece (39ª), 🇪🇪 Estonia (25ª), 🇦🇹 Austria (52ª), 🇲🇩 Moldova (16ª), 🇸🇲 San Marino (11ª), 🇨🇿 Czech Republic (9ª), 🇷🇸 Serbia (14ª), 🇵🇱 Poland (23ª), 🇮🇸 Iceland (32ª), 🇨🇭 Switzerland (59ª), 🇩🇰 Denmark (49ª), 🇦🇱 Albania (17ª), 🇫🇮 Finland (51ª), 🇦🇲 Armenia (14ª), 🇵🇹 Portugal (49ª), 🇬🇪 Georgia (13ª), 🇧🇬 Bulgaria (13ª), 🇱🇻 Latvia (20ª)]
• Debuting countries: —
• Return: 🇧🇬 Bulgaria (13ª), 🇺🇦 Ukraine (16ª) 
• Non-returning countries: 🇲🇪 Montenegro (11ª), 🇭🇺 Hungary (17ª)
• Vote – Voting system: Each country awards two sets of 12, 10, 8–1 points to 10 songs: the first–from a professional jury, the second–from viewers.
• Nil Points: —
• Winning song: “-” –  () (°) (cancelled)

About/Overview. The Eurovision Song Contest 2020 in Rotterdam is cancelled. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has taken the difficult decision to not continue with the live event as planned due to the uncertainty created by the spread of COVID-19 throughout Europe and the restrictions put in place by the governments of the participating broadcasters and the Dutch authorities. The text below – describing the content of the 3 live shows – remains as a tribute to the great work of Dutch Host Broadcasters NPO, AVROTROS and NOS.

Glennis Grace. Glennis Grace would have performed during the interval of the Grand Final with Afrojack. Glennis is no stranger to the Eurovision Song Contest; she participated in Kyiv in 2005 with the song “My Impossible Dream“. In 2012, Glennis formed the group Ladies of Soul, together with Dutch singers Trijntje Oosterhuis, Berget Lewis, Candy Dulfer and this year’s co-host Edsilia Rombley. As a group, they sold out the Amsterdam Ziggo Dome twice in 2014. In 2018, she participated in America’s Got Talent, where she sang Whitney Houston’s “Run To You” during the audition round. Glennis got a standing ovation from both the public as well as the judges and made it to the final.

Afrojack in the Grand Final. DJ Afrojack was supposed to be part of an interval act during the Grand Final with an orchestra and choir; both created specifically for the Contest. Grammy award-winning DJ and producer, Nick van de Wall – professionally known as Afrojack – is one of the most notable and iconic names in electronic dance music (EDM) today. At only 26 years old, he has made a significant impact on the music industry and is a key player in the worldwide popularity of EDM. In 2019, he came 9th place in DJ Mag’s Top 100 DJs.

A Winners’ Journey. During the scheduled Grand Final on 16 May, as voters at home would have made up their minds, 7 former winners would sing their Eurovision evergreens during an unforgettable medley. Bridging between the live audience in Ahoy and hotspots across Rotterdam, we would have opened up to former Eurovision winners and the Host City like never before. Gigliola Cinquetti (Italy 1964) would have sung her beautiful “Non ho l’età”, Lenny Kuhr (The Netherlands 1969) would have performed “De Troubadour” and Teach-In’s Getty Kaspers (The Netherlands 1975) would have sung “Ding-A-Dong”, the last Dutch Eurovision winner for 44 years, until she could pass on the baton to Duncan Laurence last year. Belgium’s Sandra Kim (1986) would have sung “J’aime La Vie”, Paul Harrington & Charlie McGettigan would once again perform “Rock ‘n’ Roll Kids” (Ireland 1994) and Alexander Rybak would have picked up his violin to perform “Fairytale” (Norway 2009). And of course, moments before passing on the trophy to the next Eurovision Song Contest winner, Duncan Laurence would have sung his “Arcade” once more.

Buckle up!. During each of the 3 live shows, Eurovision Song Contest presenter Edsilia Rombley (who represented the Netherlands in 1998 and 2007) would have been Eurovision’s favourite taxi driver, driving around the streets of Rotterdam together with 4 past Eurovision winners: Ruslana (Ukraine 2004), Anne-Marie David (Luxembourg 1973), Izhar Cohen (Israel 1978) and Niamh Kavanagh (Ireland 1993). They would have talked about winning the Eurovision trophy and what the Contest has meant for their careers afterwards.

Redo to breakdance into 2nd Semi-Final. Internationally renowned breakdancer and motivational speaker Redo (Redouan Aiit Chit) would have opened the 2nd Semi-Final with a spectacular performance. Redo was born with several physical malformations. He has a shorter right arm, which lacks an elbow joint, and has a total of 5 fingers – 2 on the right hand and 3 on the left. He is also missing his right hip, has a shorter right leg, and walks with the aid of a prosthetic. Despite these complications, Redo never allowed his situation to negatively affect his life. Gerben Bakker, Head of Show of the 2020 Eurovision Song Contest, said: “We would like to show Dutch talent in all its facets. Redo’s enormous talent and story fit perfectly with the inclusivity and diversity of this year’s contest and the theme Open Up!”. At age 14, Redo spotted a group of people b-boying (breakdancing) at his high school. It was love at first sight and he decided to take dance classes, despite his physical condition. Initially, he had a hard time learning the basics because he wasn’t able to manage all of the steps. However, through creativity, determination, and the encouragement of his friends, he was able to create a style of his own. While Redo is familiar with international competitions and performing in front of big crowds, he considers this opportunity to be “next level”. Redo proves to anyone who thought of disabilities as limitations that anything is possible. green) Countries that would have participated in 2020; (Yellow) Countries that had participated in the past but did not plan to participate in 2020.

Participants of the final

R/O	Country	PARTICIPANT(S)	SONG – TRANSLATE – LANGUAGE	Language(s)
N/A	🇫🇷 France	Tom Leeb	“Mon alliée (The Best in Me)” (The Best in Me, Le meilleur de moi)	French, English
	🇩🇪 Germany	Ben Dolic	“Violent Thing” (Schlimmes Ding)	English
	🇮🇹 Italy	Diodato	“Fai rumore” ([You] Make noise)	Italian
	🇪🇸 Spain	Blas Cantó	“Universo” (Universe)	Spanish
	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	James Newman	“My Last Breath“	English
23	🇳🇱 The Netherlands	Jeangu Macrooy	“Grow“	English

• • Dates – Grand Final: Tuesday, 12 May 2020 – 21:00 CEST (planned – cancelled)
  • Host – Venue & Location: Rotterdam Ahoy (Ahoy Rotterdam), Rotterdam, The Netherlands 
  • Presenter (s): Edsilia Rombley, Chantal Janzen, Jan Smit, Nikkie de Jager (online host)
  • Musical Director: Orchestra: Gli artisti cantano su basi musicali.
  • Director: 
  • Executive Producer: Sietse Bakker (Event), Inge van de Weerd (TV)
  • Executive Supervisor: Jon Ola Sand
  • Multicamera Director: Marnix Kaart, Marc Pos, Daniel Jelinek
  • Host broadcaster: Algemene Vereniging Radio Omroep/ Televisie Radio Omroep Stichting (AVROTROS), Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS), Nederlandse Publieke Omroep (NPO) in Eurovisione
  • Opening Act: Flag parade introducing the 26 finalist countries.
  • Interval Act: Afrojack and Glennis Grace, “Non ho l’età” performed by Gigliola Cinquetti, “De troubadour” performed by Lenny Kuhr, “Ding-a-dong” performed by Getty Kaspers, “J’aime la vie” performed by Sandra Kim, “Rock ‘n’ Roll Kids” performed by Paul Harrington and Charlie McGettigan, “Fairytale” performed by Alexander Rybak, “Arcade” performed by Duncan Laurence.
  • Motto: “Open Up”
  • Participants – Number of entries: 41 (planned): Final 26 [🇫🇷 France (60ª), 🇮🇹 Italy (43ª), 🇩🇪 Germany (60ª), 🇬🇧 United Kindom (59ª), 🇪🇸 Spain (56ª), 🇳🇱 The Netherlands (58ª), …]; First Semi-Final 17 [🇸🇪 Sweden (57ª), 🇧🇾 Belarus (17ª), 🇦🇺 Australia (6ª), 🇲🇰 North Macedonia (20ª), 🇸🇮 Slovenia (25ª), 🇱🇹 Lithuania (21ª), 🇮🇪 Ireland (51ª), 🇷🇺 Russia (22ª), 🇧🇪 Belgium (59ª), 🇲🇹 Malta (32ª), 🇭🇷 Croatia (25ª), 🇦🇿 Azerbaijan (13ª), 🇨🇾 Cyprus (37ª), 🇳🇴 Norway (56ª), 🇮🇱 Israel (39ª), 🇷🇴 Romania (21ª), 🇺🇦 Ukraine (16ª)]; Second Semi-Final 18  [🇬🇷 Greece (39ª), 🇪🇪 Estonia (25ª), 🇦🇹 Austria (52ª), 🇲🇩 Moldova (16ª), 🇸🇲 San Marino (11ª), 🇨🇿 Czech Republic (9ª), 🇷🇸 Serbia (14ª), 🇵🇱 Poland (23ª), 🇮🇸 Iceland (32ª), 🇨🇭 Switzerland (59ª), 🇩🇰 Denmark (49ª), 🇦🇱 Albania (17ª), 🇫🇮 Finland (51ª), 🇦🇲 Armenia (14ª), 🇵🇹 Portugal (49ª), 🇬🇪 Georgia (13ª), 🇧🇬 Bulgaria (13ª), 🇱🇻 Latvia (20ª)]
  • Debuting countries: Nessuno
  • Return: 🇧🇬 Bulgaria (13ª), 🇺🇦 Ukraine (16ª) 
  • Non-returning countries: 🇲🇪 Montenegro (11ª), 🇭🇺 Hungary (17ª)
  • Vote – Voting system: Each country awards two sets of 12, 10, 8–1 points to 10 songs: the first–from a professional jury, the second–from viewers.
  • Nil Points: —
  • Winning song: “” –  () (°) (cancelled)

About/Overview. The Eurovision Song Contest 2020 in Rotterdam is cancelled. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has taken the difficult decision to not continue with the live event as planned due to the uncertainty created by the spread of COVID-19 throughout Europe and the restrictions put in place by the governments of the participating broadcasters and the Dutch authorities. The text below – describing the content of the 3 live shows – remains as a tribute to the great work of Dutch Host Broadcasters NPO, AVROTROS and NOS.

Glennis Grace. Glennis Grace would have performed during the interval of the Grand Final with Afrojack. Glennis is no stranger to the Eurovision Song Contest; she participated in Kyiv in 2005 with the song “My Impossible Dream“. In 2012, Glennis formed the group Ladies of Soul, together with Dutch singers Trijntje Oosterhuis, Berget Lewis, Candy Dulfer and this year’s co-host Edsilia Rombley. As a group, they sold out the Amsterdam Ziggo Dome twice in 2014. In 2018, she participated in America’s Got Talent, where she sang Whitney Houston’s “Run To You” during the audition round. Glennis got a standing ovation from both the public as well as the judges and made it to the final.

Afrojack in the Grand Final. DJ Afrojack was supposed to be part of an interval act during the Grand Final with an orchestra and choir; both created specifically for the Contest. Grammy award-winning DJ and producer, Nick van de Wall – professionally known as Afrojack – is one of the most notable and iconic names in electronic dance music (EDM) today. At only 26 years old, he has made a significant impact on the music industry and is a key player in the worldwide popularity of EDM. In 2019, he came 9th place in DJ Mag’s Top 100 DJs.

A Winners’ Journey. During the scheduled Grand Final on 16 May, as voters at home would have made up their minds, 7 former winners would sing their Eurovision evergreens during an unforgettable medley. Bridging between the live audience in Ahoy and hotspots across Rotterdam, we would have opened up to former Eurovision winners and the Host City like never before. Gigliola Cinquetti (Italy 1964) would have sung her beautiful “Non ho l’età”, Lenny Kuhr (The Netherlands 1969) would have performed “De Troubadour” and Teach-In’s Getty Kaspers (The Netherlands 1975) would have sung “Ding-A-Dong”, the last Dutch Eurovision winner for 44 years, until she could pass on the baton to Duncan Laurence last year. Belgium’s Sandra Kim (1986) would have sung “J’aime La Vie”, Paul Harrington & Charlie McGettigan would once again perform “Rock ‘n’ Roll Kids” (Ireland 1994) and Alexander Rybak would have picked up his violin to perform “Fairytale” (Norway 2009). And of course, moments before passing on the trophy to the next Eurovision Song Contest winner, Duncan Laurence would have sung his “Arcade” once more.

Buckle up!. During each of the 3 live shows, Eurovision Song Contest presenter Edsilia Rombley (who represented the Netherlands in 1998 and 2007) would have been Eurovision’s favourite taxi driver, driving around the streets of Rotterdam together with 4 past Eurovision winners: Ruslana (Ukraine 2004), Anne-Marie David (Luxembourg 1973), Izhar Cohen (Israel 1978) and Niamh Kavanagh (Ireland 1993). They would have talked about winning the Eurovision trophy and what the Contest has meant for their careers afterwards.

Redo to breakdance into 2nd Semi-Final. Internationally renowned breakdancer and motivational speaker Redo (Redouan Aiit Chit) would have opened the 2nd Semi-Final with a spectacular performance. Redo was born with several physical malformations. He has a shorter right arm, which lacks an elbow joint, and has a total of 5 fingers – 2 on the right hand and 3 on the left. He is also missing his right hip, has a shorter right leg, and walks with the aid of a prosthetic. Despite these complications, Redo never allowed his situation to negatively affect his life. Gerben Bakker, Head of Show of the 2020 Eurovision Song Contest, said: “We would like to show Dutch talent in all its facets. Redo’s enormous talent and story fit perfectly with the inclusivity and diversity of this year’s contest and the theme Open Up!”. At age 14, Redo spotted a group of people b-boying (breakdancing) at his high school. It was love at first sight and he decided to take dance classes, despite his physical condition. Initially, he had a hard time learning the basics because he wasn’t able to manage all of the steps. However, through creativity, determination, and the encouragement of his friends, he was able to create a style of his own. While Redo is familiar with international competitions and performing in front of big crowds, he considers this opportunity to be “next level”. Redo proves to anyone who thought of disabilities as limitations that anything is possible. green) Countries that would have participated in 2020; (Yellow) Countries that had participated in the past but did not plan to participate in 2020.

Participants of Semi-final 1

R/O	Country	PARTICIPANT(S)	SONG – TRANSLATE – LANGUAGE	Language(s)
01	🇸🇪 Sweden	The Mamas	“Move“	English
02	🇧🇾 Belarus	VAL (ВЭЛ)	“Da vidna” (Да відна, Before dawn)	Belarusian
03	🇦🇺 Australia	Montaigne	“Don’t Break Me“	English
04	🇲🇰 North Macedonia	Vasil (Vasil Garvanliev, Васил Гарванлиев)	“YOU“	English
05	🇸🇮 Slovenia	Ana Soklič	“Voda” (Water)	Slovene
06	🇱🇹 Lithuania	The Roop / The ROOP	“On Fire“	English
07	🇮🇪 Ireland	Lesley Roy	“Story of My Life“	English
08	🇷🇺 Russia	Little Big	“UNO” (Один, ONE)	English, Spanish
09	🇧🇪 Belgium	Hooverphonic	“Release Me”  (Libère-moi)	English
10	🇲🇹 Malta	Destiny (Destiny Chukunyere)	“All of My Love“	English
11	🇭🇷 Croatia	Damir Kedžo	“Divlji vjetre” (Wild Wind)	Croatian
12	🇦🇿 Azerbaijan	Efendi (Samira Efendi, Samirə Əfəndi)	“Cleopatra” (Kleopatra‎)	English[Contains the Japanese mantra “Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō”]
13	🇨🇾 Cyprus	Sandro (Sandro Nicolas)	“Running“	English
14	🇳🇴 Norway	Ulrikke (Ulrikke Brandstorp)	“Attention” (Oppmerksomhet)	English
15	🇮🇱 Israel	Eden Alene (עדן אלנה;ኤደን አለነ)	“Feker libi” (ፍቅር ልቤ, My beloved)	English, Amharic[c]
16	🇷🇴 Romania	Roxen (ROXEN)	“Alcohol You” (Te sun (joc de cuvinte))	English
17	🇺🇦 Ukraine	Go_A (Ґоу_Ей)	“Solovey” (Соловей, Nightingale)	Ukrainian

• • Dates – Grand Final: Thursday, 14 May 2020 – 21:00 CEST (planned – cancelled)
  • Host – Venue & Location: Rotterdam Ahoy (Ahoy Rotterdam), Rotterdam, The Netherlands 
  • Presenter (s): Edsilia Rombley, Chantal Janzen, Jan Smit, Nikkie de Jager (online host)
  • Musical Director: Orchestra: Gli artisti cantano su basi musicali.
  • Director: 
  • Executive Producer: Sietse Bakker (Event), Inge van de Weerd (TV)
  • Executive Supervisor: Jon Ola Sand
  • Multicamera Director: Marnix Kaart, Marc Pos, Daniel Jelinek
  • Host broadcaster: Algemene Vereniging Radio Omroep/ Televisie Radio Omroep Stichting (AVROTROS), Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS), Nederlandse Publieke Omroep (NPO) in Eurovisione
  • Opening Act: Flag parade introducing the 26 finalist countries.
  • Interval Act: Afrojack and Glennis Grace, “Non ho l’età” performed by Gigliola Cinquetti, “De troubadour” performed by Lenny Kuhr, “Ding-a-dong” performed by Getty Kaspers, “J’aime la vie” performed by Sandra Kim, “Rock ‘n’ Roll Kids” performed by Paul Harrington and Charlie McGettigan, “Fairytale” performed by Alexander Rybak, “Arcade” performed by Duncan Laurence.
  • Motto: “Open Up”
  • Participants – Number of entries: 41 (planned): Final 26 [🇫🇷 France (60ª), 🇮🇹 Italy (43ª), 🇩🇪 Germany (60ª), 🇬🇧 United Kindom (59ª), 🇪🇸 Spain (56ª), 🇳🇱 The Netherlands (58ª), …]; First Semi-Final 17 [🇸🇪 Sweden (57ª), 🇧🇾 Belarus (17ª), 🇦🇺 Australia (6ª), 🇲🇰 North Macedonia (20ª), 🇸🇮 Slovenia (25ª), 🇱🇹 Lithuania (21ª), 🇮🇪 Ireland (51ª), 🇷🇺 Russia (22ª), 🇧🇪 Belgium (59ª), 🇲🇹 Malta (32ª), 🇭🇷 Croatia (25ª), 🇦🇿 Azerbaijan (13ª), 🇨🇾 Cyprus (37ª), 🇳🇴 Norway (56ª), 🇮🇱 Israel (39ª), 🇷🇴 Romania (21ª), 🇺🇦 Ukraine (16ª)]; Second Semi-Final 18  [🇬🇷 Greece (39ª), 🇪🇪 Estonia (25ª), 🇦🇹 Austria (52ª), 🇲🇩 Moldova (16ª), 🇸🇲 San Marino (11ª), 🇨🇿 Czech Republic (9ª), 🇷🇸 Serbia (14ª), 🇵🇱 Poland (23ª), 🇮🇸 Iceland (32ª), 🇨🇭 Switzerland (59ª), 🇩🇰 Denmark (49ª), 🇦🇱 Albania (17ª), 🇫🇮 Finland (51ª), 🇦🇲 Armenia (14ª), 🇵🇹 Portugal (49ª), 🇬🇪 Georgia (13ª), 🇧🇬 Bulgaria (13ª), 🇱🇻 Latvia (20ª)]
  • Debuting countries: Nessuno
  • Return: 🇧🇬 Bulgaria (13ª), 🇺🇦 Ukraine (16ª) 
  • Non-returning countries: 🇲🇪 Montenegro (11ª), 🇭🇺 Hungary (17ª)
  • Vote – Voting system: Each country awards two sets of 12, 10, 8–1 points to 10 songs: the first–from a professional jury, the second–from viewers.
  • Nil Points: —
  • Winning song: “” –  () (°) (cancelled)

About/Overview. The Eurovision Song Contest 2020 in Rotterdam is cancelled. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has taken the difficult decision to not continue with the live event as planned due to the uncertainty created by the spread of COVID-19 throughout Europe and the restrictions put in place by the governments of the participating broadcasters and the Dutch authorities. The text below – describing the content of the 3 live shows – remains as a tribute to the great work of Dutch Host Broadcasters NPO, AVROTROS and NOS.

Glennis Grace. Glennis Grace would have performed during the interval of the Grand Final with Afrojack. Glennis is no stranger to the Eurovision Song Contest; she participated in Kyiv in 2005 with the song “My Impossible Dream“. In 2012, Glennis formed the group Ladies of Soul, together with Dutch singers Trijntje Oosterhuis, Berget Lewis, Candy Dulfer and this year’s co-host Edsilia Rombley. As a group, they sold out the Amsterdam Ziggo Dome twice in 2014. In 2018, she participated in America’s Got Talent, where she sang Whitney Houston’s “Run To You” during the audition round. Glennis got a standing ovation from both the public as well as the judges and made it to the final.

Afrojack in the Grand Final. DJ Afrojack was supposed to be part of an interval act during the Grand Final with an orchestra and choir; both created specifically for the Contest. Grammy award-winning DJ and producer, Nick van de Wall – professionally known as Afrojack – is one of the most notable and iconic names in electronic dance music (EDM) today. At only 26 years old, he has made a significant impact on the music industry and is a key player in the worldwide popularity of EDM. In 2019, he came 9th place in DJ Mag’s Top 100 DJs.

A Winners’ Journey. During the scheduled Grand Final on 16 May, as voters at home would have made up their minds, 7 former winners would sing their Eurovision evergreens during an unforgettable medley. Bridging between the live audience in Ahoy and hotspots across Rotterdam, we would have opened up to former Eurovision winners and the Host City like never before. Gigliola Cinquetti (Italy 1964) would have sung her beautiful “Non ho l’età”, Lenny Kuhr (The Netherlands 1969) would have performed “De Troubadour” and Teach-In’s Getty Kaspers (The Netherlands 1975) would have sung “Ding-A-Dong”, the last Dutch Eurovision winner for 44 years, until she could pass on the baton to Duncan Laurence last year. Belgium’s Sandra Kim (1986) would have sung “J’aime La Vie”, Paul Harrington & Charlie McGettigan would once again perform “Rock ‘n’ Roll Kids” (Ireland 1994) and Alexander Rybak would have picked up his violin to perform “Fairytale” (Norway 2009). And of course, moments before passing on the trophy to the next Eurovision Song Contest winner, Duncan Laurence would have sung his “Arcade” once more.

Buckle up!. During each of the 3 live shows, Eurovision Song Contest presenter Edsilia Rombley (who represented the Netherlands in 1998 and 2007) would have been Eurovision’s favourite taxi driver, driving around the streets of Rotterdam together with 4 past Eurovision winners: Ruslana (Ukraine 2004), Anne-Marie David (Luxembourg 1973), Izhar Cohen (Israel 1978) and Niamh Kavanagh (Ireland 1993). They would have talked about winning the Eurovision trophy and what the Contest has meant for their careers afterwards.

Redo to breakdance into 2nd Semi-Final. Internationally renowned breakdancer and motivational speaker Redo (Redouan Aiit Chit) would have opened the 2nd Semi-Final with a spectacular performance. Redo was born with several physical malformations. He has a shorter right arm, which lacks an elbow joint, and has a total of 5 fingers – 2 on the right hand and 3 on the left. He is also missing his right hip, has a shorter right leg, and walks with the aid of a prosthetic. Despite these complications, Redo never allowed his situation to negatively affect his life. Gerben Bakker, Head of Show of the 2020 Eurovision Song Contest, said: “We would like to show Dutch talent in all its facets. Redo’s enormous talent and story fit perfectly with the inclusivity and diversity of this year’s contest and the theme Open Up!”. At age 14, Redo spotted a group of people b-boying (breakdancing) at his high school. It was love at first sight and he decided to take dance classes, despite his physical condition. Initially, he had a hard time learning the basics because he wasn’t able to manage all of the steps. However, through creativity, determination, and the encouragement of his friends, he was able to create a style of his own. While Redo is familiar with international competitions and performing in front of big crowds, he considers this opportunity to be “next level”. Redo proves to anyone who thought of disabilities as limitations that anything is possible. green) Countries that would have participated in 2020; (Yellow) Countries that had participated in the past but did not plan to participate in 2020.

Participants of Semi-final 2

R/O	Country	PARTICIPANT(S)	SONG – TRANSLATE – LANGUAGE	Language(s)
01	🇬🇷 Greece	Stefania (Ελληνίδα; Stefania Liberakakis, Στεφανία Λυμπερακάκη)	“Supergirl” (SUPERG!RL)	English
02	🇪🇪 Estonia	Uku Suviste	“What Love Is“	English
03	🇦🇹 Austria	Vincent Bueno	“Alive” (Lebendig)	English
04	🇲🇩 Moldova	Natalia Gordienko (Наталія Гордієнко)	“Prison” (Închisoare)	English
05	🇸🇲 San Marino	Senhit (Senit)	“Freaky!“	English
06	🇨🇿 Czech Republic	Benny Cristo	“Kemama“	English
07	🇷🇸 Serbia	Hurricane (Харикејн)	“Hasta la vista“	Serbian[ d]
08	🇵🇱 Poland	Alicja (Alicja Szemplińska)	“Empires“	English
09	🇮🇸 Iceland	Daði og Gagnamagnið (Daði & Gagnamagnið)	“Think About Things” (Gagnamagnið, The datavolume)	English
10	🇨🇭 Switzerland	Gjon’s Tears	“Répondez-moi” (Answer me)	French
11	🇩🇰 Denmark	Ben & Tan (Benjamin Rosenbohm og Tanne Balcells)	“YES“	English
12	🇦🇱 Albania	Arilena Ara	“Fall from the Sky” (Shaj)	English
13	🇫🇮 Finland	Aksel (Aksel Kankaanranta)	“Looking Back” (Katsoa takaisin)	English
14	🇦🇲 Armenia	Athena Manoukian (Αθηνά Μανουκιάν; Աթենա Մանուկյան)	“Chains on You” (Շղթաներ քեզ վրա)	English
15	🇵🇹 Portugal	Elisa (Elisa Silva)	“Medo de sentir” (Afraid of feeling / Fear of feeling)	Portuguese
16	🇬🇪 Georgia	Tornike Kipiani (თორნიკე ყიფიანი)	“Take Me as I Am” (მიმიღე ისეთი როგორიც ვარ)	English[e]
17	🇧🇬 Bulgaria	Victoria (VICTORIA; Victoria Georgieva, Виктория Георгиева)	“Tears Getting Sober” (Сълзите стават трезви)	English
18	🇱🇻 Latvia	Samanta Tīna	“Still Breathing” (Vēl elpoju)	English

Missed participation

The Eurovision Song Contest 2020 was planned to be the 65th edition of the contest, however the contest was cancelled in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A statement released by the EBU following the cancellation confirmed that the entries chosen to compete in the 2020 contest would not be eligible to compete in 2021. As these songs were not performed live in the competition, they are not counted in the running total of entries performed.

Participation map

 

Countries that had planned to participate in 2020  Did not qualify from the semi final  Countries that had participated in the past but did not plan to participate in 2020

ESC 2020 Scoreboard Grand Final Ι Detailed voting results Ι Jurors:

Cancelled

ESC 2020 Scoreboard First Semi-Final Ι Detailed voting results Ι Jurors:

Cancelled

ESC 2020 Scoreboard Second Semi-Final Ι Detailed voting results Ι Jurors:

Cancelled

Press release from EBU. It is with deep regret that we have to announce the cancellation of the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 in Rotterdam.

Over the past few weeks, we have explored many alternative options to allow the Eurovision Song Contest to go ahead.

However, the uncertainty created by the spread of COVID-19 throughout Europe – and the restrictions put in place by the governments of the participating broadcasters and the Dutch authorities – means the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has taken the difficult decision to not continue with the live event as planned. The health of artists, staff, fans and visitors, as well as the situation in the Netherlands, Europe and the world, is at the heart of this decision.

We are very proud that the Eurovision Song Contest has united audiences every year, without interruption, for the past 64 years and we, like the millions of you around the world, are extremely saddened that it can not take place in May.

Jon Ola Sand, Executive Supervisor: “We are very proud of the Eurovision Song Contest, that for 64 years has united people all around Europe. And we are deeply disappointed about this situation. The EBU, together with the Host Broadcaster NPO, NOS, AVROTROS and the City of Rotterdam will continue to talk to see if it’s possible to stage the Eurovision Song Contest in Rotterdam in 2021. I would like to thank everyone who has been involved in the process of staging a great Eurovision Song Contest this year. Unfortunately, that was not possible due to factors beyond our control. We regret this situation very much, but I can promise you: the Eurovision Song Contest will come back stronger than ever.”

NPO chairwoman Shula Rijxman: “This decision by the EBU was inevitable, given the circumstances currently affecting all of Europe as a result of the coronavirus and all the measures that governments must now take. This is a big disappointment for the Dutch audience, the fantastic team behind the scenes, the presenters and the artists. In recent months, a large group of people have worked hard on the Song Contest. We thank them for their great commitment and regret that the results of the efforts will not be visible in the short term. We would particularly like to mention the municipality of Rotterdam, which has proven itself as the ideal partner in this project in the past year. This edition was an excellent opportunity to understand each other differently in a period of uncertainty in Europe, but above all an opportunity to really bring Europe together. Music is universally binding and – I am sure – it will stay that way. Even after this corona crisis.”

Sietse Bakker, Executive Producer Event, understands that many people are disappointed that the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 will not take place: “For the artists from 41 participating countries, our opening and interval acts that put their hearts and souls into their performance. For the fans who have always supported us and have kept confidence until the last moment. And not least, for the fantastic team, which has worked very hard in recent months to make this 65th edition a great success. We understand and share that disappointment. Some perspective is appropriate because, at the same time, we also realize that this decision and its consequences don’t compare to the challenges faced by people affected, directly or indirectly, by the coronavirus and the difficult but necessary measures.”

We ask some patience as we work through the ramifications of this unprecedented decision and patiently await further news in the coming days and weeks. During that time, we would like to pay tribute to all the Host Broadcaster team in the Netherlands and our 41 public service broadcasters who have worked so hard planning this year’s event.

We are all heartbroken that the Eurovision Song Contest will not be able to be staged in May but feel confident that the whole Eurovision family, across the world, will continue to provide love and support for each other at this difficult time.

Eurovision Song Contest 2020 was originally planned to take place in just two months, with Semi-finals held on 12 and 14 May, and the final on 16 May 2020.

The Eurovision Song Contest 2020 was planned to be the 65th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It would have taken place in Rotterdam, Netherlands, following the country’s victory at the 2019 contest with the song “Arcade” by Duncan Laurence. The contest was cancelled on 18 March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, making the first time in the contest’s 64-year history that an edition was not held. 

The contest was scheduled to be held at Rotterdam Ahoy and would consist of two semi-finals on 12 and 14 May, and a final on 16 May 2020.^[2] Forty-one countries would have participated in the contest; Bulgaria and Ukraine would have returned after their absence from the 2019 contest, while Hungary and Montenegro had confirmed their non-participation after taking part in the previous edition. All 41 competing artists and songs were confirmed by the relevant broadcasters by early March 2020.

Following the cancellation, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) began discussions of potential carryovers for the 2021 contest, such as the 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 on 16 May, the day of the planned final. Rotterdam remained host of the 2021 contest on 18, 20 and 22 May 2021; however, the songs selected for the 2020 contest were not eligible for the competition.

Location. The 2020 contest was to be held at Rotterdam Ahoy in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, following the country’s victory at the 2019 edition with the song “Arcade”, performed by Duncan Laurence. It would have been the fifth time that the Netherlands had hosted the contest, having previously done so in 1958, 1970, 1976 and 1980. 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 contest on behalf of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), 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.^[7] AVROTROS was co-organising the event with sister broadcaster Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS) and their parent public broadcasting organisation, Nederlandse Publieke Omroep (NPO).

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, 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. 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.

Locations of the candidate cities: the chosen host city is marked in blue. The shortlisted cities are marked in green, while the eliminated cities are marked in red. Key:  †  Host venue  ‡  Shortlisted venues

City	Venue	Notes	–
Arnhem	GelreDome	Joint bid with the city of Nijmegen and the Veluwe region.	–
Maastricht (Mestreech)	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 (DEN BOSCH)	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 — Nederlandse Publieke Omroep (NPO), Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS) and AVROTROS — 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.

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”.

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 “Golden Carpet” during the opening ceremony and was scheduled to make an appearance in all three live shows. Roos Moggré and Andrew Makkinga would have moderated the contest’s press conferences.

Stage design. The stage design for the 2020 contest was revealed on 2 December 2019. The design was 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 the main performance venue.

Opening and interval acts. The second semi-final would have opened with a performance by breakdancer Redo. The final would have been opened with the traditional 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 of whom 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.

Format. 

Voting system. 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.

Semi-final allocation draw. The draw to determine the participating countries’ semi-finals took place on 28 January 2020 at 16:10 CET, at the Rotterdam City Hall. The thirty-five semi-finalists were divided over five pots, based on historical voting patterns as calculated by the contest’s official televoting partner Digame. The purpose of drawing from different pots was to reduce the chance of “bloc voting” and to increase suspense in the semi-finals. The draw also determined which semi-final each of the six automatic qualifiers – host country the Netherlands and “Big Five” countries France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom – would broadcast and vote in. The ceremony was hosted by contest presenters Chantal Janzen, Jan Smit and Edsilia Rombley, and included the passing of the host city insignia 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

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 connected with locals by participating in a Dutch activity, tradition or hobby.

• Red: Countries that would have participated in the first semi-final.
• Pink: Countries that were pre-qualified for the final and would have voted in the first semi-final.
• Blu: Countries that would have participated in the second semi-final
• Light Blu: Countries that were pre-qualified for the final and would have voted in the second semi-final

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.

All the national selections for Eurovision Song Contest 2020: 

• National Selections in 2020:

• Internal Selections in 2020:

Artists which would have returned. Three artists which had previously competed as lead vocalists for the same countries had been selected to compete again. Natalia Gordienko had previously represented Moldova in 2006 with Arsenium and Connect-R; Senhit had represented San Marino in 2011; and Sanja Vučić, a member of Hurricane, had previously represented Serbia in 2016 in a solo performance.

A number of other acts had previously performed as backing vocalists in other years, but had been selected as the lead artist for the 2020 contest. Ksenija Knežević, a member of Serbia’s group Hurricane, had previously served as backing vocalist in 2015 for Montenegro’s entrant Knez; Destiny provided backing vocals for Malta’s Michela in 2019; Vincent Bueno backed Austria’s Nathan Trent in 2017; and Vasil and the Mamas were present at the 2019 contest, providing backing vocals for North Macedonia’s Tamara Todevska and Sweden’s John Lundvik respectively. In addition, two of the lead vocalists had previously competed in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest; Destiny won the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2015 for Malta and Greece’s Stefania had competed in the 2016 Junior contest for the Netherlands as member of the group Kisses.

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.

Participants of Semi-final 1^[a]

R/O	Country	Artist	Song	Language
1	Sweden	The Mamas	“Move”	English
2	Belarus	VAL	“Da vidna” (Да відна)	Belarusian
3	Australia	Montaigne	“Don’t Break Me”	English
4	North Macedonia	Vasil	“You”	English
5	Slovenia	Ana Soklič	“Voda“	Slovene
6	Lithuania	The Roop	“On Fire”	English
7	Ireland	Lesley Roy	“Story of My Life”	English
8	Russia	Little Big	“Uno“	English, Spanish
9	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[c]
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.

Participants of Semi-final 2^[a]

R/O	Country	Artist	Song	Language
1	Greece	Stefania	“Supergirl”	English
2	Estonia	Uku Suviste	“What Love Is”	English
3	Austria	Vincent Bueno	“Alive”	English
4	Moldova	Natalia Gordienko	“Prison”	English
5	San Marino	Senhit	“Freaky!”	English
6	Czech Republic	Benny Cristo	“Kemama”	English
7	Serbia	Hurricane	“Hasta la vista“	Serbian[d]
8	Poland	Alicja	“Empires”	English
9	Iceland	Daði og Gagnamagnið	“Think About Things”	English
10	Switzerland	Gjon’s Tears	“Répondez-moi“	French
11	Denmark	Ben and 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[e]
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 semi-finals. All forty-one participating countries would have voted in the final.

Participants of the final

R/O	Country	Artist	Song	Language
—	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
23	Netherlands	Jeangu Macrooy	“Grow“	English

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.

•  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.

Planned broadcasts. 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.

Broadcasters and commentators in participating countries

Country	Show(s)	Broadcaster(s)	Commentator(s)	–
Australia	All shows	SBS	Not announced	–
Austria	All shows	ORF 1	Not announced	–
Belarus	All shows	Belarus-1, Belarus 24	Evgeny Perlin	–
Finland	Final	Yle TV1	Not announced	–
France	Final	France 2	Not announced	–
Germany	Semi-finals	One	Peter Urban and Michael Schulte	–
	Final	One, Das Erste, Deutsche Welle
Greece	All shows	ERT	Maria Kozakou and Giorgos Kapoutzidis	–
Israel	All shows	Kan 11	Geula Even-Sa’ar and Asaf Liberman [he]	–
Italy	Semi-finals	Rai 4	Not announced	–
	Final	Rai 1
		Rai Radio 2
Norway	All shows	NRK1	Marte Stokstad [no]	–
Romania	All shows	TVR 1, TVRi	Not announced	–
Switzerland	All shows	SRF info	Sven Epiney	–
	SF2	SRF zwei
	Final	SRF 1
United Kingdom	Semi-finals	BBC Four	Scott Mills and Rylan Clark-Neal	–
	Final	BBC One	Graham Norton
		BBC Radio 2	Ken Bruce

Broadcasters and commentators in non-participating countries

Country	Show(s)	Broadcaster(s)	Commentator(s)	–
Canada	Not announced	Omni Television	Not announced	–
United States	All shows	Netflix	Not announced	[f]

Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and cancellation.In January–February 2020, the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (known as COVID-19) from Wuhan, 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 attended the Heads of Delegation meeting on 9 March remotely. The contest’s executive supervisor Jon Ola Sand also attended the meeting remotely, due to travel restrictions being placed on EBU staff until 13 March after an employee contracted the virus.

Several pre-parties – promotional events which are held across Europe in the lead up to the contest weeks – were also impacted due to the emerging pandemic. These included the PrePartyES, planned for 10–11 April in Madrid and was eventually modified to an online-only format, where artists performed at home in a YouTube concert; and three pre-parties that were cancelled: Israel Calling, a pre-party planned in Tel Aviv; Eurovision in Concert, a pre-party planned in Amsterdam; and the London Eurovision Party. The pandemic also affected pre-contest activities of several competing artists. Eden Alene, the Israeli representative, revealed that she would not travel to the Netherlands to film her postcard as a precautionary measure; 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 the London and Amsterdam pre-parties. The Bulgarian representative Victoria also cancelled her participation in the London and Amsterdam pre-parties.

Ultimately, the contest itself was cancelled as a result of the pandemic and the uncertainty surrounding it, which was announced on 18 March 2020. On the same day, the EBU explained the reasons for which the alternative options that had been considered – postponement of the show, show without audience and remote show – were discarded. Postponement was impossible because at that time it was unknown when the pandemic would end and also because the winning country would not have enough time to organise the event the following year. The idea of staging a show without a live audience was also impracticable because, regardless of audience participation, the presence of production crews, delegations and relevant personnel was needed, which would constitute a breach of social distancing guidelines. Finally, a remote show was also off the table because it would have undermined the tradition and the spirit of the event, in which all contestants have an equal opportunity by performing on the same stage. By then, the Dutch government had decided to prohibit all gatherings with more than 100 attendees until further notice. The contest’s Reference Group explored the option of letting the artists selected for 2020 compete in the following year instead. A decision was made on 20 March 2020 that, in accordance with the contest’s rules, which disqualify songs released publicly before 1 September of the preceding calendar year, none of the 2020 songs would be eligible to compete in the 2021 contest.

The Ahoy Arena itself, with most events and gatherings in the Netherlands prohibited until at least 1 September 2020, served as a temporary care facility to cover the nationwide shortage of hospital beds. Construction of the stage would have started on 6 April.

Alternative programming. 

Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light. The EBU and the host broadcasters worked on a replacement show, Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light, after the contest’s cancellation. From Hilversum’s Studio 21, the show was 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 hosts. Forty-five countries broadcast the show, including all of the countries that would have participated.

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.

Eurovision Home Concerts. The contest’s official 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.

EurovisionAgain. Upon hearing about the contest’s cancellation, journalist Rob Holley launched an initiative to watch a past contest on YouTube every week, eventually giving it the title EurovisionAgain. The initiative quickly became popular, so the EBU itself decided to partake. Every Saturday at 21:00 CEST, the Eurovision YouTube channel would re-broadcast a final of a previous contest, revealed by the EurovisionAgain team 15 minutes before the start. Contests prior to 2004 are available for a limited time. The initiative was generally received as a welcome distraction for fans. On Twitter, #EurovisionAgain regularly became a trending topic and received positive reactions from past participants. As part of the initiative, Holley collected over £24,700 for charity.

From 18 July 2020, a second run of EurovisionAgain began with a replay of the 1999 contest, and aired every third Saturday of the month leading up to the 2021 selection season. The season ended with a special edition where the 26 most popular songs that did not qualify for the final, one from each country, as chosen via the official Eurovision social media handles, were streamed and put to a fan-vote. Iceland’s 2016 entry, “Hear Them Calling” by Greta Salóme, won the fan-vote.

National alternative programming. Besides the Europe-wide replacement show, broadcasters were left to make plans to fill the rest of the gaps themselves. Most broadcasters provided their television audience with Eurovision-related replacement programming. Examples include holding an alternative contest by offering people the chance to listen to the 2020 entries and vote for their favourites, with some countries holding a ranking of (their own) songs throughout Eurovision history, and re-broadcasts of pre-existing Eurovision specials and previous contests which are significant for their country, such as the contest they last won.

Big Night In was organised and broadcast by the Australian broadcaster Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) and aired on 16 May 2020. Australians voted online for their favourite 2020 song (minus Montaigne’s “Don’t Break Me”), and over three hours, the songs was counted down from 40 to 1, with the top twenty songs being playing in full. Iceland’s Daði og Gagnamagnið were crowned winners with “Think About Things”.

Der kleine Song Contest (The Little 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.