The clock has just struck midnight in Central Europe and this can only mean one thing.
Let the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 season begin!!!!
This means that we are eight months away until we are taken to Rotterdam for the 65th Edition of the competition. Why not have a read below of what we currently know and what we should expect for next year’s competiton.
What to expect from #Rotterdam2020
On August 30, 2019, it was confirmed that Rotterdam will be hosting the Eurovision Song Contest 2020. The contest will be held on May 12, 14 and 16 at the Ahoy Arena.
Since winning the competition in Tel Aviv, we have gradually received information about next year’s competition (e.g. who is involved with producing the show etc.) and the list below shows what information has been released about next year’s competition:
- Core Team – Inge van de Weerd, Sietse Bakker, Emilie Sickinghe and Jessica Stam has been revealed as the member of the ‘Core Team’ and will be overseeing the running and organizing of next year’s contest.
- Creative Advisor – Cornald Maas, who is known for hosting the annual Eurovision in Concert and Dutch commentator has been revealed as the Creative Advisor.
- Deadline of Entries – The Deadline of which broadcasters must submit their entries for the 2020 contest is currently set for March 9.
In addition to the above, we are set to find out the little details in some of the aspects of the competition at a later date, such as where the ‘Opening Ceremony’ of the competition will take place. Rotterdam’s Bid Book has been publicly released and you can find out more about Rotterdam’s plans for the competition below:
Who’s currently in and who’s out?
The following countries have confirmed that they will be attending the party in Rotterdam. Some of the participating Broadcasters have even confirmed plans on how they will be selecting their representatives:
- Albania – Submissions for Festival i Kegnes is open and will close on September 15.
- Australia – The Australian entry will be selected through their National Final: Eurovision: Australia Decides on February 8.
- Austria
- Belgium
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic – The Czech representative will be selected through a National Final due to take place on January 25.
- Denmark – The Danish representative will be selected through Dansk Melodi Grand Prix in Copenhagen on March 7.
- Estonia – The Estonian representative will be selected through Eesti Laul, which is due to take place on February 29.
- Finland – The Finnish representative will be selected through UMK.
- Georgia – The Georgian representative will be selected through Georgian Idol and is set to begin in October.
- Germany
- Ireland
- Israel – The Israeli representative will be selected through two selection shows, one to select the artist and one to select the song.
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- The Netherlands – As the Host Country, The Netherlands will automatically qualify for the Grand Final. Plans on how they will select their representative are yet to be announced.
- Norway – A special Melodi Grand Prix will take place to commemorate its 60th Anniversary, with the competition to conclude on February 15.
- Portugal – The Portuguese representative will be selected through Festival da Canção.
- San Marino
- Spain
- Serbia – The Serbian representative will be selected through Beovizija.
- Slovenia – The Slovenian representative will be selected through EMA.
- Sweden – The Swedish representative will be selected through Melodifestivalen, which will conclude on March 7.
- Switzerland – The Swiss representative will be selected internally, with the artist and song representing Switzerland to be revealed in due course.
- Ukraine
The following countries have participated previously, but have not publicly confirmed their participation for next year’s competition:
- Armenia
- Azerbaijan
- Bulgaria – After withdrawing in 2019, the decision on whether or not Bulgaria will be participating in 2020 will be decided later in September 2019.
- Croatia – We have contacted HRT in regards to participation in next year’s competition. However, they were ‘unable to confirm‘ whether or not they will be participating.
- France
- Greece
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Italy
- Malta – The second season of X Factor Malta is currently in production. However, it has not been confirmed if this will be used to select the Maltese act should Malta participate.
- Moldova
- Montenegro
- North Macedonia
- Poland
- Romania
- Turkey
- United Kingdom
The following countries have also confirmed that they will not be participating in next year’s competition.
- Andorra
- Bosnia and Herzegovina – BHRT is currently sanctioned by the EBU due to its debt.
- Luxembourg – Despite calls by former Eurovision winner Anne-Marie David, Luxembourg will not return to the competition, due to shift in programming.
- Monaco
- Slovakia
What are you most looking forward to for the 2020 Eurovision Song Contest? Let us know in the comments section below or at social media. Be sure to stay updated by following @ESCXTRA on Twitter, @escxtra on Instagram and liking our Facebook page for the latest updates!
