Eurovision

Next week, we’ll find out where the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 is going to take place. NPO will air a special mini broadcast that day to announce which of the cities, Maastricht or Rotterdam, will get the honourable task of welcoming the contest there. Cities of the Meuse The broadcast will start at 11:58 AM on NPO 1, the first channel in the Netherlands. So far, the organising parties have not announced anything about the broadcast in question. All we know so far is that it’s scheduled to last a whole two minutes. Later at night, 7:58 PM, the broadcast will be repeated. All the TV guide currently says, is that the organisers will announce the hosting city during the short programme. We will then finally find out which city of the river Meuse will get the job. There’s not a whole lot the Rotterdam and Maastricht bids have in common, except for the fact that both cities are located on the Meuse river. Visits, research and more The organising committee of the Eurovision Song Contest 2020, including Executive Producer Sietse Bakker, has done extensive research when it comes to both bids. Both venues, Ahoy Rotterdam and MECC Maastricht, were …

Portuguese broadcaster RTP have published the rules of the 2020 edition of Festival da Canção, following their announcement last week that news was coming about the national final. Like last year, 16 songs will compete in the national final to represent Portugal in The Netherlands in May 2020! 16 songs, two semi-finals, eight finalists The rules are very similar to the 2019 edition with 16 songs competing across two semi-finals, culminating in a final of 8 songs. 14 of the songs will by songwriters invited by RTP from various musical backgrounds, who will write a song alone or with other writers to be performed at the national final. The performers of the song will be selected by the songwriters, with final versions of the songs being submitted by 30 November 2019. The fifteenth songwriter will be selected through the radio show, MasterClass. The show promotes Portuguese music and supports new songwriters without published works. The songwriter will be selected by a jury made up of the show’s resident musician, the host of the show and Antena 1’s director, Rui Pêgo. Finally, the last songwriter will be selected through an open song submission. Songwriters entering the selection must be a citizen …

As the host city announcement and a brand new season draw nearer, we have a new confirmation, this time coming from Belarus! Seventeenth participation in a row Belarusian broadcaster (BTRC) confirmed their Eurovision 2020 participation to fellow news site ESCToday. In The Netherlands, it will be Belarus’s seventeenth appearance at the contest, having debuted in 2004 with Aleksandra and Konstantin’s “My Galileo“. Over the years, Belarus has struggled to achieve good results, qualifying for the final in 6 out of 16 attempts. To date, Dmitry Koldun’s 6th place in Helsinki in 2007 remains the country’s best result and only top 10 finish. Possible changes to selection format This year, Belarus held a round of over 70 auditions and a national finals with 10 acts to select their ambassador for Tel Aviv. However, earlier this year, during an interview with Sputnik, BTRC chairman Ivan Eismont hinted that national final may be replaced. Currently, it is not clear whether the formal will be internal selection or if it will involve the the launch of a talent show like The Voice of X Factor. Be sure to keep following ESCXTRA for further updates. Belarus at Eurovision 2019 In Tel Aviv, it was 16-year-old …

We have previously reported that Georgia will be selecting its act for The Netherlands through Georgian Idol. GPB has now confirmed that Georgian Idol will be returning on-screen this October. Auditions now taking place In addition to confirming that Georgian Idol will be returning in October, GPB has also confirmed that auditions for the new season have now begun. So, if you are interested in auditioning for the new season for Georgian Idol and have the chance to represent Georgia at the Eurovision Song Contest, auditions are taking place in the following cities: August 17 – 18; Tbilisi – 68 Kostava Street, First Channel of Georgia.August 24; Kutaisi – 58 Tabidze Street, Second Zakaria Paliashvili Music School.August 25; Batumi – Abuseridze # 11, Vakhtang Chabukiani Classical Ballet School.August 30 – 31; Tbilisi – 68 Kostava Street, First Channel of Georgia. Georgia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 Oto Nemsadze was selected to represent Georgia in Tel Aviv, through Georgian Idol. He represented Georgia with the song ‘Keep On Going’. Oto, unfortunately, failed to qualify for the Grand Final placing 14th in his Semi-Final. Will you be watching Georgian Idol? Let us know in the comments section below or at social media.  Be sure to …

With the all-important September 1st cut-off date around the corner, the Eurovision ‘season’ is upon us! In light of this, details of forthcoming national finals and confirmations of participation are beginning to emerge. Next week, Portugal’s RTP will be releasing some details of their 2020 selection – Festival da Canção. RTP, the Portuguese national broadcaster, has taken to the official Festival da Canção Instagram account to tease fans. According to the post, we will be getting some ‘news’ about the selection next week! This seemingly confirms that Portugal will be participating at the 2020 contest! View this post on Instagram Não podemos confirmar quem ganhou o Jenga, mas aproveitamos o suspense para vos dizer que para a semana temos novidades para partilhar. Agora voltem lá para os vossos mergulhos 🏊🏾‍♂️ #festivaldacanção #rtp A post shared by Festival da Canção (@festivaldacancao.rtp) on Aug 14, 2019 at 9:54am PDT We can’t confirm who won Jenga, but we can take advantage of the suspense to tell you that next week we have news to share. Translation of the caption The festival was first held in 1964, and 2020 will mark its 54th edition. Last year saw the festival undergo massive changes, visually and …

The EBU announced today that the professional haircare brand Moroccanoil will become the presenting partner for the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest 2020. But not just that. Moreover, the brand is now a long-term partner for at least the next five contests. The partnership contains the event, media, and digital rights. Moroccanoil to present the upcoming contest in 2020 Moroccanoil is no stranger to the contest. The company already styled the artists this year in Tel Aviv. For the upcoming contest, they will get all the artists ready for Eurovision events in The Netherlands. This of course including the Eurovision live shows. The company is used to big events all over the world. Not just Eurovision, but their products also get used for shows like the Grammys or the Academy Awards. “Moroccanoil is honored to be chosen by the EBU as Presenting Partner of the Eurovision Song Contest and excited to share our premium brand and values throughout Europe and Australia through this ground breaking event,” said Moroccanoil Executive Chairman David Cohen. “As a professional hair care brand that is focused on supporting the creative community of hairstylists, we believe the Eurovision Song Contest is the perfect partner and platform to …

Despite reports of attempts to debut in the contest, Liechtenstein have confirmed that they will not compete in Eurovision 2020. Waiting to become a reality 1 FLT TV, Liechtenstein’s broadcaster, has tried many times to apply for an EBU membership as well as compete in the Eurovision Song Contest. However, the broadcaster is still not an active member of the EBU and therefore ineligible to participate in the contest. Challenges yet to overcome Liechtenstein would need to receive the support from their government in order to compete in Eurovision in the future. Furthermore, they also need to consider the financial difficulties they may face with the costs of participating. Overall, there are many issues that are stopping Liechtenstein from confirming their debut in Eurovision one year. While the country is known to have many talented musicians, 1 FLT TV has to consider the costs of not only competing, but also their EBU membership. Eurovision 2020 Next year’s contest will take part in either Maastricht or Rotterdam in The Netherlands. An announcement on the host city is due to take place on 30 August. So far, 27 countries has confirmed their participation. This includes the return of Ukraine following their withdrawal …

Talk about upping your game! Česká televize manages to close their submission window with 152 entries that could potentially represent the country at Eurovision next year. The deadline for entering the potential representative closed on July 31st, however a more detailed report regarding the project was made public today on the official Czech Eurovision page on Facebook. Interestingly enough, eleven days after the deadline we learn that the interest regarding the contest is going strong and that 72 entries are pinned by Czech producers/authors. Starting Early? Although people outside of the euroverse will argue that July might be excessively early regarding thinking of potential representatives for next year, Česká televize assures us that there is no such thing as starting too early when it comes to Eurovision. The enthusiasm for the contest has exponentially grown in the picturesque Central European nation and they are truly giving it their all when it comes to serving us with extremely credible entries. About the National Selection Putting on a show takes time and effort! Česká televize and the team closely working with the project mention that the team responsible for putting up their national selection will also feature a bit of helping hand …

For the fourteenth consecutive year, Monaco will not participate at the Eurovision Song Contest 2020. The Monegasque national broadcaster TMC confirmed their non-participation to ESCToday.com. Microstates reluctant to return Alongside Monaco, both Andorra and five-time champion Luxembourg have previously confirmed their lack of interest in participating again at the Eurovision Song Contest. This is mostly due to the high costs involved in sending an act to take part in the contest. Andorra withdrew due to financial issues after the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 and are yet to return with the broadcaster, RTVA, recently confirming it has no plans to do so. However, other factors come into play. Monaco’s reason for withdrawal after the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 was that TMC believed specific regional voting blocks between certain countries gave Monaco practically no chance of qualification. Luxembourg, who withdrew after the Eurovision Song Contest 1993, echoed the concerns outlined by both Andorra and Monaco. Despite increasing pressure on the national broadcaster, RTL, it recently outlined that the contest is not in their vision for the future Of course, San Marino has since débuted at the contest after these withdrawals. The microstate entirely surrounded by Italy has managed to qualify on two …

For the past couple of years, Greece has been internally-selecting their artists and songs for the Eurovision Song Contest. Now, following the mixed results that this method has yielded, ERT may be switching things up for the 2020 contest. Greek media are reporting that the broadcaster may be opting to go back to a one-artist selection show, last used in 2017. ERT is looking to potentially switch-up their selection method for the 2020 contest. Although the broadcaster has yet to formally confirm their participation for next year’s contest, it appears that they are already considering their options. This early-stage brainstorming could be a sign of the broadcaster’s renewed focus on the competition, which was evident in the visuals and promotion behind Katerine Duska this year. According to Nassosblog, ERT are looking to return to a single-artist selection show. This year, this format was used by Finland. Although it has produced mixed results for other countries, this was the method used to select Helena Paparizou (2005), Anna Vissi (2006) and Sakis Rouvas (2009). In this format, an artist (usually a big name) is selected by the broadcaster. The artist performs a number of songs (usually three) in a live selection show. …