Eurovision Song Contest 2020

Eurovision Song Contest 2020
Eurovision Song Contest 2020
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Dates and venue
Semi-final 1	12 May 2020 (cancelled);
Semi-final 2	14 May 2020 (cancelled);
Final	16 May 2020 (cancelled);
Venue	Rotterdam Ahoy; Rotterdam, Netherlands
Organisation
Organiser	European Broadcasting Union (EBU)
Executive supervisor	Jon Ola Sand
Production
Host broadcaster	AVROTROS; Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS); Nederlandse Publieke Omroep (NPO);
Directors	Marnix Kaart; Marc Pos; Daniel Jelinek;
Executive producers	Sietse Bakker; Inge van de Weerd;
Presenters	Chantal Janzen; Edsilia Rombley; Jan Smit; Nikkie de Jager (online host);
Participants
Number of entries	41 (planned)
Number of finalists	26 (planned)
Returning countries	Bulgaria; Ukraine
Non-returning countries	Hungary; Montenegro
	Participation map Countries that had planned to participate in 2020 and would have automatically qualified for the final Countries that had planned to participate in 2020 and would have competed in the semi-finals Countries that had participated in the past but did not plan to participate in 2020;

The Eurovision Song Contest 2020 was planned to be the 65th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It would have consisted of two semi-finals on 12 and 14 May and a final on 16 May 2020, to be held at Rotterdam Ahoy in Rotterdam, Netherlands. It was being organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcasters Nederlandse Publieke Omroep (NPO), Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS), and AVROTROS, all of which would have staged the event after AVROTROS had won the 2019 contest for the Netherlands with the song "Arcade" by Duncan Laurence. This was the first and only edition in the contest's history to be cancelled, being called off on 18 March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Broadcasters from 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 songs and artists were confirmed by the participating broadcasters by early March 2020.

Following the cancellation, the EBU began discussions of potential carryovers for the 2021 contest, such as the host venue, the songs, and artists, with the participating broadcasters. In place of the cancelled contest, the EBU, NPO, NOS, and AVROTROS organised a non-competitive replacement show, Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light, to showcase the selected entries on 16 May, the day of the planned final. The Dutch broadcasters remained the hosts of the 2021 contest on 18, 20, and 22 May 2021 in the same venue in Rotterdam, however, the songs selected for the 2020 contest were not eligible for 2021.