Eurovision 2020 has been cancelled but the show is not over yet!
Eurovision 2020 has been cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak but the show is not over yet for several countries as several national broadcasters across Europe will be broadcasting alternative Eurovision shows and programs .
After the BBC in United Kingdom more broadcasters are following the same path and will be holding special shows during the initial dates the Eurovision Song Contest was set to take place. Austrians will watch a Eurovision video challenge show , a preview show will be aired in Germany, a week of programming in the Netherlands, a look back at memorable Eurovision moments in Norway and an online contest in Spain, are some of the alternative programs European broadcasters will be showing filling the gap the Eurovision 2020 cancellation left. Lets go and see the coutries one by one.
Austria (ORF) – Der “kleine” Song Contes ( The Little song contest)
Vincent Bueno would have represented Austria with his song “Alive”. After the necessary cancellation of the event, the ORF would like to offer him and all ESC 2020 artists the stage they deserve. Following the confirmation that Vincent will be present in the 2021 edition, ORF will broadcast “Der Kleine Song Contest”. Andi Knoll will be presenting the ESC Video Edition Challenge on April 14th, 16th and 18th at 8:15 p.m. on ORF 1, in which a song contest jury will rank the videos of the 41 songs produced for Rotterdam in three programs . After the third edition, the three jury winner videos will be announced and the the audience will have the opportunity to vote for their favorites and to choose the video winner of the ESC 2020. The details of the show will be announced in the coming days.
Germany (NDR) – ESC-Songcheck
The German broadcaster NDR has announced that it will still run the preview show, “ESC-Songcheck”, during the week that the Eurovision 2020 shows would have taken place . The show will feature a panel of jurors that will vote on the 2020 entries to find their favourite. Among the jurors we’ ll see Germany’s Eurovision commentator Peter Urban, German ESC 2006 representative Jane Comerford and TV presenter Thomas Gottschalk who commentated on the 1989 contest.
Thoughts of an online vote are on the table , which be broadcast in the week starting on May 11. Alina Stiegler and Stefan Speigel will present the show.
The Netherlands – A week of Eurovision programs
The host nation of ESC 2020, The Netherlands, will be unfolding through the week an special Eurovision program. On May 9, NPO1 will broadcast the 1975 Eurovision Song Contest, held in Stockholm. Teach-In won the contest, which was The Netherlands’ last victory before Duncan’s win in 2019.
On May 12 , which was the day for semi-final 1, Cornald Mass will present the Eurovision documentary, Op weg naar de winst. Finally, on May 16 , which was initially set to be the Eurovision final night , the broadcaster will air two shows – M Songfestival (talk show) and Beste Zangers – Songfestival (a show that took place just before the dawn of 2020 and featured Eurovision past participants).
Norway (NRK) Adresse Europa
The Norwegian broadcaster ,NRK, will broadcast the preview show Adresse Europa. That show that will begin on April 18 will unfold over four weeks an feature a series of memorable Eurovision moments. Objective of the show will be to find the most memorable Eurovision moment of all-time through a jury that will cast its votes . The jury consists of presenter Ingeborg Heldal, former Head of Delegation Per Sundnes, singer Bendik and stylist Jan Thomas. Eurovision fans will also share their opinions on the memorable moments.The show will be hosted by Marte Stokstad.
Spain – Eurovisión 2020 Online voting
The Spanish broadcaster RTVE has held so far two semi-final online votings with nearly 10,000 votes across the two semi-finals. Lithuania’s The Roop won semi-final 1 with 559 votes (two votes ahead of Russia) and Daði og Gagnamagnið from Iceland won the semi-final 2 with 787 votes. The 20 qualifiers will join the Big 5 and The Netherlands in the grand final vote, which is currently running and fans can cast their vote until 12:00 CEST on Monday.
