A Guide to Alternative Eurovision Programming

Since the cancellation of the 2020 Eurovision Song Contest, the broadcasters have been busy preparing to fill the gap to its schedules. As May comes closer, more broadcasters are confirming what alternative programming they will be airing in the lead up to Eurovision. Right below, you are able to look at what programming has been undertaken by the participating broadcasters, and what alternative programming, and competitions will be available in the upcoming weeks. Please note that we will update our guide when further information is released by more countries about their alternative programming. Page 2 - AustriaPage 3 - AustraliaPage 4 - BelgiumPage 5 - BulgariaPage 6 - CyprusPage 7 - EstoniaPage 8 - FinlandPage 9 - FrancePage 10 - GermanyPage 11 - IsraelPage 12 - LatviaPage 13 - LithuaniaPage 14 - The NetherlandsPage 15 - NorwayPage 16 - PolandPage 17 - San Marino Page 18 - SloveniaPage 19 - SpainPage 20 - SwedenPage 21 - SwitzerlandPage 22 - UkrainePage 23 - United KingdomPage 24 - Eurovision Europe Shine A Light Austria - 'Der kleine Song Contest' & 'Österreich 12 Punkte – die Song Contest Erfolgsgeschichte' As part of their programming, Austria decided to air 'Der Kleine Song Contest' which saw Austria air three shows to find their Eurovision winner, where Iceland ended up as the eventual winner. https://escxtra.com/2020/04/10/austria-to-air-der-kleine-song-contest-as-part-of-their-alternative-programming-for-eurovision/ In addition to the above, on May 16, ORF will also air the documentary 'Österreich 12 Punkte – die Song Contest Erfolgsgeschichte' (Austria 12 points - the Song Contest success story) which looks at Austria's previous Eurovision entries. As with the rest of Europe, ORF will also be airing Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light on May 16. Australia - 'Eurovision 2020: Big Night In' As one of the latest countries to debut in the Eurovision Song Contest, SBS has confirmed a range of alternative programming, including Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light. You are able to find out more information by having a read of the below article: https://escxtra.com/2020/04/17/sbs-has-confirmed-its-alternative-programming-to-eurovision/ Belgium - 'Eurovision, votre Top 20' On May 14, RTBF; one of the the Belgian broadcasters, has announced that it will be airing a special where the Belgian viewers are able to vote for the Top 20 best performances from the recent years. The twenty acts to choose from are as follows: ABBAAlexander RybakBrotherood of ManBucks FizzCéline DionConchita WurstDana InternationalFrance GallJohnny LoganLenaLordiLoreenMåns ZelmerlöwMarie MyriamNettaRuslanaSalvador SobralSandie ShawSandra KimTeach-In You are able to find our more information about the programming right here: https://escxtra.com/2020/05/03/rtbf-to-make-eurovision-top-20-on-14-may/ As with the rest of Europe, RTBF will also be airing Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light on May 16. Bulgaria - A vote to find it's Eurovision winner & Eurovision re-runs Bulgaria has confirmed that they will be running a vote on the new BNT1 App during Eurovision week, where they will be in the search for their Eurovision winner. https://twitter.com/bg_eurovision/status/1253282353864232960 As well as this, Bulgaria has also announced that they will be airing reruns of Eurovision and Junior Eurovision Song Contest. You are able to find out more information here: https://escxtra.com/2020/05/06/bulgaria-announces-its-eurovision-alternative-programming/ As with the rest of Europe, BNT will also be airing Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light on May 16. Cyprus - Tribute to the 2020 Eurovision Participants CyBC will air a show on May 9 and May 10, and will be hosted by Lucas Chamatsou, by showing the clips from the 41 participating countries. https://www.instagram.com/p/B_4uXiwDVqC/ As with the rest of Europe, CyBC will also be airing Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light on May 16. Estonia - '12 punkti! Eurovisiooni hitid' ERR will be airing a special, which sees Sven Lõhmus, Birgit Sarrap, Ott Lepland, Evelin Samuel, Marko Reikop amongst others, recalling their favourite hits and favourite memories from the Eurovision Song Contest. As with the rest of Europe, ERR will also be airing Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light on May 16. Finland - Eurovision Programming & Re-Runs Finnish broadcaster YLE has announced a range of programming that they will air during Eurovision Week: May 14: Viisukevät 2020: Top 10 - The show looks at which of the 41 entries will be Finland's Top 10, had the competition went ahead as planned. The show will be hosted by Mikko Silvennoinen and Krista Siegfrids. Voting for this will take place on May 8 over at yle.fi/euroviisut.Eurovision 2014 Grand Final Re-Run - YLE will show the Grand Final of the 2014 competition where Conchita Wurst won the competition, and their representative Softengine placed 11th. May 15: Viisukevät 2020: Viisutoiveet - Mikko Silvennoinen and Krista Siegfrids will be hosting a show where Finnish viewers are able to send in request as to what is their favourite Eurovision entry and why. Requests can be sent in from 27.04.2020 via yle.fi/euroviisut and yle.fi/radiosuomiEurovision 2006 Grand Final Re-Run - A rerun of the 2006 contest will be aired, which shows Finland scoring their first win with Lordi and their song 'Hard Rock Hallelujiah'. May 16: Euroviisustudio 2020: Etkot - Mikko Silvennoinen and Krista Siegfrids hosting a show in the lead up to the rerun of Eurovision 2007 and Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light.Eurovision 2007 Grand Final Re-Run - A rerun of the 2007 contest will be aired, which shows Finland hosting the contest for the first time in Helsinki and Hartwall Arena.Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light - As with the rest of Europe, YLE will also be airing the EBU's alternative programming. In addition to the programming above, their Eurovision preview program 'De Eurovisa' has been airing. YLE's schedules have also confirmed that they airing their documentary 'Eurovision Diaries' twice a day on May 11 (15:00 & 19:24 EET) and May 12 (14:50 & 19:52EET), as well as airing it on May 13 (13:18EET) France - 'La Grande Histoire d’Eurovision' France 2 has confirmed that, as well as airing Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light it will also air a special titled 'La Grande Histoire d'Eurovison' (The Great History of Eurovision). https://twitter.com/France2_Presse/status/1254800924838694916 Germany - 'World Wide Wohnzimmer' plus other Eurovision programming ARD has announced that it will be finding their Eurovision winner through two shows, with the schedule as follows: 9th May ESC-Halbfinale im "World Wide Wohnzimmer" - The 41 competing entries and the music video for their entries will be released. The viewers will then be able to vote for their favourite, via calling or online. Their vote will then be combined with the 100 person jury that selected Ben Dolic's 'Violent Things'. The ten acts with the highest votes will take part in the final. 16th May Deutsches "Finale" - Barbara Schöneberger will be hosting the final live from Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg. The show will involve live performances from the ten finalists, as well as seeing what would have been Ben Dolic's staging for 'Violent Things' Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light - As with the rest of Europe, ARD will also be airing the EBU's alternative programming. However, the airing of the show will be done on a 1 Hour Delay.Eurovision 2010 Grand Final Re-Run - A rerun of the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest will be aired after Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light, where it sees Germany winning with Lena and 'Satellite' Israel - Vote for Israel's Eurovision 2020 favourite & Documentary about Eurovision 2019 KAN is currently holding a vote to allow it's viewers pick their favourite from their 2020 participants. KAN is set to reveal the results via their Facebook Page and their radio station 'KAN Tarbut' In addition to the voting, KAN will also air a documentary series, about the hosting of the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest in Israel, which is set to air on May 11, 12 and 16. The Documentary will be in Hebrew, with potential plans to add English subtitles for the wider Eurovision community to watch. As with the rest of Europe, KAN also be airing Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light on May 16. Latvia - 'Eirovīzija 2020. Studijā Samanta Tīna' LTV will be airing this special program on May 16, with the Latvian commentator 'Toms Grevins' as the host, and mainly featuring Latvia's 2020 representative Samanta Tina. You are able to watch the programming by clicking right here. As with the rest of Europe, LTV also be airing Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light on May 16. Lithuania - 'Eurovizija Istorijos, kurių negirdėjote & EuROOPvision' LRT has announced a range of programming that will air during Eurovision week, which includes an hour long concert by 'The Roop' before Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light on M Lithuania's schedule for Eurovision week are as follows: 12th May (21:30EET) - Eurovizija, Istorijos, kurių negirdėjote (Eurovision, Stories You haven't heard) 14th May (21:20EET) - Eurovizijos“ konkurso nugalėtojų pasirodymai (Performances of the Winners of the Eurovision Song Contest) 16th May (21:00EET) - EuROOPvision - An hour long concert with the Lithuanian representative of the 2020 Eurovision Song Contest, 'The Roop', where they will perform some of their songs, some footage of fans learning the dance to 'On Fire' as well as views of critics from other countries, to see how they would have fared in the competition. As with the rest of Europe, LRT also be airing Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light on May 16. The Netherlands - 'Beste Zangers Songfestival' & 'De weg naar de winst' After winning the contest last year in Tel Aviv, The Netherlands had the honour and hosting and organising the 2020 contest. Despite it's cancellation, AVROTROS has confirmed that they will have the following alternative programming: May 14: Beste Zangers Songfestival - With Edsilia Rombley hosting; Lenny Kuhr, Maribelle, Franklin Brown, René Froger, Kim-Lian van der Meij, Thomas Berge and Emma Heesters will sing a well-known Dutch Eurovision entry.De weg naar de winst - Cornald Maas will be hosting a special programming looking into how The Netherlands managed to score their Eurovision win in 2019. He will also be speaking to Ilse DeLange, Ruth Jacott, Duncan Laurence, Edsilia Rombley and Getty Kaspers. In addition to the above, AVROTROS, along with NPO & NOS will be hosting Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light on May 16 at in Hilversum in The Netherlands. Norway - 'Adresse Europa' & 'Alternativ Eurovisionkonkurranse' With the announcement of their new Eurovision commentator 'Marte Stoksad' NRK has confirmed the following alternative programming for Norway: Adresse Europa - which replaced 'Adresse Rotterdam' which sees Marte Stoksad along with Ingeborg Heldal, Bendik (Silje Halstensen) Jan Thomas, with some dedicated Eurovision fans looking at the ultimate moments in the Eurovision Song Contest.Alternativ Eurovisionkonkurranse - In this show, Norwegians will be able to vote to find the Norwegian winner of this year's Eurovision Song Contest, with guests and music. The show will also be used to pay a tribute to the 2020 representative Ulrikke who won Melodi Grand Prix with her song 'Attention'. As with the rest of Europe, NRK will also be airing Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light on May 16. Poland - 'Alicja Szemplińska - droga do Eurowizji' According to TVP's schedule, (as of May 4, 2020) TVP will be airing a documentary as a lead in to Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light, which details Alicja's Eurovision journey. As with the rest of Europe, TVP will also be airing Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light on May 16. San Marino - 'Eurovision 2020: una serata in musica' San Marino's broadcaster 'SMRTV' has opened an online vote in order to allow viewers to select their favourite Eurovision entry, and will close on the 14th May at 20:00CET, with the results being revealed on the 15th May at 20:00CET. As with the rest of Europe, SMRTV will also be airing Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light on May 16. Slovenia - 'Pesem Evrovizije: Najboljših 25' RTVSLO, held a vote via their website and social media, to rank 25 Slovenia's entries in the competition. The alternative program will air on 16th May at 20:00CET as a lead in to Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light. The program will be hosted by Nejc Šmit also see appearances from : Ana Soklič and Andrej Hofer Lea SirkZalagasper Raiven Alenka GodecLorella FlegoBernarda ŽarnMaja KeucBojan CvijetićaninRok Ahačevčič (Lumberjack) Cole Moretti (1x Band). As with the rest of Europe, RTVSLO will also be airing Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light on May 16. Spain - Eurovision Marathon & Other Alternative Programming RTVE has managed to treat Eurovision fans by playing a re-run of the past Eurovision Song Contest over at the RTVE website. The schedule for the marathon are as follows: 26th April – Eurovision 2004 Grand Final (Istanbul)27th April – Eurovision 2005 Grand Final (Kyiv)28th April – Eurovision 2006 Grand Final (Athens)29th April – Eurovision 2007 Grand Final (Helsinki)30th April – Eurovision 2008 Grand Final (Belgrade)1st May - Eurovision 2009 Grand Final (Moscow)4th May - Eurovision 2010 Grand Final (Oslo)5th May - Eurovision 2011 Grand Final (Düsseldorf)6th May - Eurovision 2012 Grand Final (Baku)7th May - Eurovision 2013 Grand Final (Malmö)8th May - Eurovision 2014 Grand Final (Copenhagen)11th May - Eurovision 2015 Grand Final (Vienna)12th May - Eurovision 2016 Grand Final (Stockholm)13th May - Eurovision 2017 Grand Final (Kyiv)14th May - Eurovision 2018 Grand Final (Lisbon)15th May - Eurovision 2019 Grand Final (Tel Aviv) As well as the Eurovision marathon, RTVE has also shown some Eurovision alternative programming in the lead up to Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light. RTVE recently release 'EUROBALCÓN' which saw recent Spanish Eurovision and Junior Eurovision participants perform their 'Eurovision' entries in a 45 minute concert, which you are able to watch below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2188&v=gNfMXFm51Kg&feature=emb_title As with the rest of Europe, TVE will also be airing Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light on May 16. Sweden - Sveriges 12:a SVT has announced that it will be airing it's own original programming to find their Eurovision winner. The show will be hosted by Sarah Dawn Finer, who has hosted Melodifestivalen numerous times, as well as being one of the interval acts from the 2013 contest. https://escxtra.com/2020/04/05/sweden-to-air-sveriges-12a-as-part-of-alternative-programming/ As with the rest of Europe, SVT will also be airing Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light on May 16. Switzerland - 'Die Schweiz am ESC – Dramen, Siege, Emotionen' In the announcement of their alternative programming, SRF has confirmed that the program will look into their 61 participation in the contest, as well as interviews with Paola Felix, Sandra Studer, Peter Reber, Sven Epiney and Gjon's Tears about their respective Eurovision experience. As with the rest of Europe, SRF, along with RTS and RSI will also be airing Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light on May 16. Ukraine - 'Євробачення Євробачень (Eurovision of Eurovisions) and Про що співає Європа (What Europe is Singing About)' UA:PBC will be airing two alternative programming during Eurovision Week. The Eurovision of Eurovision (which will air at 20:45CEST on May 15) will look into Ukraine's journey into the Eurovision Song Contest, with the viewers getting the chance to rank their favourite Ukrainian representative from 2004. The show will be hosted by 'Timur Miroshnychenko', who co-hosted the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest, as well as the 2009 and 2013, Junior Eurovision Song Contest What Europe is Singing About, which will consist of a musical digest of the 2020 Entries. The series will be eight episodes long, and will last 24 minutes each. The show will be aired between the 4th May - 15th May at 16:30CEST. As with the rest of Europe, UA:PBC will also be airing Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light on May 16. United Kingdom - Eurovision: Come Together & Alternative Programming Since the news of the cancellation, the BBC were one of the first broadcasters to confirm their alternative Eurovision: Come Together will be airing. The BBC has confirmed that they will be showing Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light via BBC iPlayer. https://escxtra.com/2020/03/24/eurovision-come-together-bbc/ As the schedule for May was released, it was announced that Eurovision: Come Together will air at 18:30BST for 90 minutes, then Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light will air on BBC One at 20:00BST, along with other programs on the other BBC channels. https://escxtra.com/2020/05/01/bbc-will-air-eurovision-europe-shine-a-light-live-on-bbc-one/ Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light On the 31st March, the EBU has confirmed that it will be airing an alternative programming, 'Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light'. So far, it's been confirmed that 46 Broadcasters will be airing the special. https://escxtra.com/2020/04/16/45-countries-will-broadcast-eurovision-europe-shine-a-light/ As we are getting closer to the airing of Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light, we are getting more information about the show: The 41 participants have been invited to sing the 1997 winning entry 'Love Shine A Light' by Katrina and the Waves.The organisers have invited fans to sing along in a virtual choir to sing the 1980 winning entry 'What's Another Year' by Johnny Logan. Former participants have been invited to appear in the special. So far the following have been confirmed: Ell & Nikki - Azerbaijan 2011Marija Šerifović - Serbia 2007Eleni Foureira - Cyprus 2018 You are able to find out more information about who will be appearing in the article below: https://escxtra.com/2020/05/06/guests-europe-shine-a-light/ Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light will air on May 16 at 21:00CET and will be hosted by the 2020 Eurovision Song Contest; Chantal Janzen, Jan Smit, Edsilia Rombley. If we have missed any alternative Eurovision programming a participating country will be airing, let us know and we will add it on to our guide :) Will you be watching any of the alternative programming for the Eurovision Song Contest? Let us know! Be sure to stay updated by following @ESCXTRA on Twitter, @escxtra on Instagram and liking our Facebook page for the latest updates! Also, be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel to see our reactions to the updates we receive over the coming months.