After returning for its second season in July, Eurovision Again has offered up four iconic contests – Jerusalem 1999, Gothenburg 1985, Kyiv 2005 and The Hague 1976. With just two shows to go until the monthly streams wrap up ahead of national final season, it’s been announced that the December Eurovision Again will be a ‘Semi-Final Special’!
The show will feature 20 popular non-qualifiers from 2004 to 2019, as voted for by Eurovision fans and “12 sites and podcasts from the Eurovision fan community”. The special, one-off show will be shown live on the Eurovision YouTube channel on Saturday 19 December at 21:00 CET.
Welcoming non-qualifiers “back with open arms”
Every day, from 6 to 23 November, you’ll be able to vote for your favourite non-qualifying entry from each country (starting today with Albania and Armenia) via Eurovision’s Instagram stories. The 20 most popular songs will be placed into a specially curated running order ahead of the special, and will be revealed during the show.
Eurovision Again founder, Rob Holley, has shared his excitement about the show today, saying that:
The loveliest thing about Eurovision Again is how it has created new space in the fandom for brilliant acts like MFÖ (Turkey 1985 and 1988), Paul Oscar (Iceland 1997) and Anne-Karine Strøm (Norway 1973, 1974 and 1976) to bask in a level of appreciation they might have missed out on originally. This Semi-Final Special makes that space even bigger and I can’t wait to see which old friends we welcome back with open arms.
– Rob Holley, founder of Eurovision Again
The show for ‘icons’!
With just a few weeks to go until the November show (which will be a normal rerun), it’s time to get your thinking cap about which unfortunate non-qualifiers you want to see in the final!
Earlier in the year, members of OGAE Australia voted Koit Toome & Laura’s “Verona” (Estonia 2017) as the Best Non-Qualifier, followed by “Hear Them Calling” (Iceland 2016) and “Stones” (Switzerland 2018). Will any of those songs take part in this special? Only time will tell.
And – if you’re feeling in a ‘voting’ mood, don’t forget the vote for this year’s edition of #ESC250 will begin on 9th November. It’s time to get that voting cap on!
Which songs would you like to see in the special show in December? What’s your favourite non-qualifier of all time?
Let us know in the comments below and on social media @ESCXTRA.