The famed Eurovision Song Contest, which has taken place in Europe for 64 years, has announced the cancellation of the 2020 event. The event was due to take place at Rotterdam’s 16,000 capacity Ahoy Arena, with the final scheduled for May 16. Read the official statement below:
It is with deep regret that we have to announce the cancellation of the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 in Rotterdam. Over the past few weeks we have explored many alternative options to allow the Eurovision Song Contest to go ahead.
However, the uncertainty created by the spread of COVID-19 throughout Europe–and the restrictions put in place by the governments of the participating broadcasters and the Dutch authorities–means the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has taken the difficult decision that it is impossible to continue with the event as planned.
We are very proud that the Eurovision Song Contest has united audiences every year, without interruption, for the past 64 years and we, like the millions of fans around the world, are extremely saddened that it cannot take place in May.
The EBU,NPO, AVROTROS and the City of Rotterdam will continue a conversation regarding the hosting of the Eurovision Song Contest in 2021. We would ask people to bear with us while we work through the ramifications of this unprecedented decision and patiently await any further news in the coming days and weeks.
We would like to pay tribute to all the host broadcaster team in the Netherlands and our 41 Members who have worked so hard on planning this year’s event.
We are all as heartbroken as they are that the Eurovision Song Contest will not be able to be staged in May and know that the whole Eurovision family, across the world, will continue to provide love and support for each other at this difficult time.
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual international song competition, produced every year since 1956 by the Eurovision broadcasting organisation, with participants representing primarily European countries. Each participating country submits an original song to be performed on live television and radio, then casts votes for the other countries’ songs to determine the winner.
Based on the Sanremo Music Festival held in Italy since 1951, Eurovision has been broadcasting every year since its inauguration in 1956, making it the longest-running annual international television contest and one of the world’s longest-running television programmes.
