The Eurovision Song Contest 2020 was planned to be the 65th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It would have taken place in Rotterdam, Netherlands, following the country's victory at the 2019 contest with the song "Arcade" by Duncan Laurence. This was the first and only edition in the contest's history to be cancelled, being called off on 18 March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The contest was scheduled to be held at Rotterdam Ahoy and would have consisted of two semi-finals on 12 and 14 May, and a final on 16 May 2020. Forty-one countries would have participated in the contest; Bulgaria and Ukraine would have returned after their absence from the 2019 contest, while Hungary and Montenegro had confirmed their non-participation after taking part in the previous edition. All 41 competing artists and songs were confirmed by the relevant broadcasters by early March 2020.
Following the cancellation, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) began discussions of potential carryovers for the 2021 contest, such as the host city and participating artists, with various parties. In place of the cancelled contest, the EBU and its Dutch members NPO, NOS and AVROTROS organised a replacement show, Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light, to showcase the selected entries on 16 May, the day of the planned final. Rotterdam remained host of the 2021 contest on 18, 20 and 22 May 2021; however, the songs selected for the 2020 contest were not eligible for the competition.
Planned participants[]
Semi-final 1[]
| Country | EBU member station | Artist | Song |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | SBS | Montaigne | "Don't Break Me" |
| Azerbaijan | İTV | Efendi | "Cleopatra" |
| Belarus | BTRC | VAL | "Da vidna" (Да відна) |
| Belgium | VRT | Hooverphonic | "Release Me" |
| Croatia | HRT | Damir Kedžo | "Divlji vjetre" |
| Cyprus | CyBC | Sandro | "Running" |
| Ireland | RTÉ | Lesley Roy | "Story of My Life" |
| Israel | IPBC (Kan) | Eden Alene | "Feker Libi" (ፍቅር ልቤ) |
| Lithuania | LRT | The Roop | "On Fire" |
| Malta | PBS | Destiny | "All of My Love" |
| North Macedonia | MRT | Vasil | "You" |
| Norway | NRK | Ulrikke | "Attention" |
| Romania | TVR | Roxen | "Alcohol You" |
| Russia | Channel One | Little Big | "Uno" |
| Slovenia | RTVSLO | Ana Soklič | "Voda" |
| Sweden | SVT | The Mamas | "Move" |
| Ukraine | UA:PBC | Go_A | "Solovey" (Соловей) |
Semi-final 2[]
| Country | EBU member station | Artist | Song |
|---|---|---|---|
| Albania | RTSH | Arilena Ara | "Fall from the Sky" |
| Armenia | ARMTV | Athena Manoukian | "Chains on You" |
| Austria | ORF | Vincent Bueno | "Alive" |
| Bulgaria | BNT | Victoria | "Tears Getting Sober" |
| Czech Republic | ČT | Benny Cristo | "Kemama" |
| Denmark | DR | Ben and Tan | "Yes" |
| Estonia | ERR | Uku Suviste | "What Love Is" |
| Finland | Yle | Aksel | "Looking Back" |
| Georgia | GPB | Tornike Kipiani | "Take Me as I Am" |
| Greece | ERT | Stefania | "Supergirl" |
| Iceland | RÚV | Daði og Gagnamagnið | "Think About Things" |
| Latvia | LTV | Samanta Tīna | "Still Breathing" |
| Moldova | TRM | Natalia Gordienko | "Prison" |
| Poland | TVP | Alicja | "Empires" |
| Portugal | RTP | Elisa | "Medo de sentir" |
| San Marino | SMRTV | Senhit | "Freaky!" |
| Serbia | RTS | Hurricane | "Hasta la vista" |
| Switzerland | SRG SSR | Gjon's Tears | "Répondez-moi" |
Finals[]
Country in silver is the host country and the countries in lime are the "Big 5" countries which are rewarded with automatic spots in the finals.
| Country | EBU member station | Artist | Song |
|---|---|---|---|
| France | France Télévisions | Tom Leeb | "Mon alliée (The Best in Me)" |
| Germany | ARD/NDR | Ben Dolic | "Violent Thing" |
| Italy | RAI | Diodato | "Fai rumore" |
| Netherlands | AVROTROS | Jeangu Macrooy | "Grow" |
| Spain | RTVE | Blas Cantó | "Universo" |
| United Kingdom | BBC | James Newman | "My Last Breath" |
Awards[]
OGAE Poll[]
| Rank | Country | Artist(s) | Song | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lithuania | The Roop | "On Fire" | 430 |
| 2 | Iceland | Daði og Gagnamagnið | "Think About Things" | 304 |
| 3 | Switzerland | Gjon's Tears | "Répondez-moi" | 297 |
| 4 | Italy | Diodato | "Fai rumore" | 226 |
| 5 | Bulgaria | Victoria | "Tears Getting Sober" | 197 |
Planned broadcasts[]
Participating countries[]
| Country | Broadcaster(s) | Commentator(s) | Show(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | SBS | Not announced | all shows |
| Austria | ORF 1 | Not announced | all shows |
| Belarus | Belarus-1, Belarus 24 | Evgeny Perlin | all shows |
| Finland | Yle TV1 | Not announced | finals |
| France | France 2 | Not announced | finals |
| Germany | One | Peter Urban, Michael Schulte | all shows |
| Das Erste, Deutsche Welle | finals | ||
| Greece | ERT | Maria Kozakou, Giorgos Kapoutzidis | all shows |
| Israel | Kan 11 | Geula Even-Sa'ar, Asaf Liberman | all shows |
| Italy | Rai 2 | Not announced | semi-finals |
| Rai 1, Rai Radio 2 | finals | ||
| Norway | NRK1 | Marte Stokstad | all shows |
| Romania | TVR 1, TVRi | Not announced | all shows |
| Switzerland (German) | SRF info | Sven Epiney | all shows |
| SRF zwei | second semi-finals | ||
| SRF 1 | finals | ||
| United Kingdom | BBC Four | Scott Mills, Rylan Clark-Neal | semi-finals |
| BBC One | Graham Norton | finals | |
| BBC Radio 2 | Ken Bruce |
The following list of participating countries did not announce any broadcast plans prior to the the contest's cancellation:
- Albania (RTSH)
- Armenia (ARMTV)
- Azerbaijan (İTV)
- Belgium (VRT, RTBF)
- Bulgaria (BNT)
- Croatia (HRT)
- Cyprus (CyBC)
- Czech Republic (ČT)
- Denmark (DR)
- Estonia (ERR)
- Georgia (GPB)
- Iceland (RÚV)
- Ireland (RTÉ)
- Latvia (LTV)
- Lithuania (LRT)
- Malta (PBS)
- Moldova (TRM)
- Netherlands (AVROTROS) (host country)
- North Macedonia (MRT)
- Poland (TVP)
- Portugal (RTP)
- Russia (Channel One)
- San Marino (SMRTV)
- Serbia (RTS)
- Slovenia (RTVSLO)
- Spain (RTVE)
- Sweden (SVT)
- Ukraine (UA:PBC)
Non-participating countries[]
| Country | Broadcaster(s) | Commentator(s) | Show(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | Omni Television | Not announced | Not announced |
| United States | Netflix | Not announced | all shows |
Alternative programming[]
EBU-produced[]
| Program | Date(s) | Host broadcaster | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eurovision Song Celebration 2020 | May 12 and 14, 2020 | YouTube | Replacement for the semi-finals. Hosted by Janouk Kelderman, honoring the 41 participants and their songs in a non-competitive format. |
| Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light | May 16, 2020 | AVROTROS NOS NPO |
Replacement for the final. Broadcast by 45 countries, including the 41 participating countries |
| Eurovision Home Concerts | April 3–May 15, 2020 | YouTube | Features the planned artists for the 2020 contest as well as past participants performing their entries, as well as one of their favorite other entries, from their respective homes. |
| EurovisionAgain | March 21, 2020–November 20, 2021 | Initiative launched by journalist Rob Holley and partaken by the EBU where the contest's YouTube channel would re-broadcast a final of a previous contest and fans would vote for their favorites during the interval. |
Nationally produced[]
| Country | Program | Date(s) | Host broadcaster | Winning artist and song |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | Big Night In | May 16, 2020 | SBS | "Think About Things" by Daði og Gagnamagnið (Iceland) |
| Austria | Der kleine Song Contest | April 14, 16 and 18, 2020 | ORF | "Think About Things" by Daði og Gagnamagnið (Iceland) |
| Germany | Eurovision Song Contest 2020 – das deutsche Finale | May 9 and 16, 2020 | NDR | "On Fire" by The Roop (Lithuania) |
| Iceland | Okkar 12 stig | May 14, 2020 | RÚV | "Fai rumore" by Diodato (Italy) |
| Slovenia | Pesem Evrovizije: Najboljših 25 | May 16, 2020 | RTVSLO | "No One" by Maja Keuc (Slovenia 2011) |
| Sweden | Sveriges 12:a | May 9 and 14, 2020 | SVT | "Think About Things" by Daði og Gagnamagnið (Iceland) |
| United Kingdom | Eurovision: Come Together | May 16, 2020 | BBC | "Waterloo" by ABBA (Sweden 1974) |