- Eurovision 2020, to be held in May 2020 in Rotterdam (Netherlands), has been canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
- Despite everything, several alternatives, on television or on the Internet, have appeared to bring the Eurovision spirit to life.
Eurovision 2020 is canceled, long live Eurovision! The fact that the international song contest is not taking place this year due to the coronavirus pandemic - a first since its creation in 1958 - does not mean that we will not hear about it. On the contrary: several alternative programs are in place by May to offer the world its share of pyrotechnic performances, piano ballads and distribution of points… At a time when a good part of humanity is confined, all these initiatives operate a return to the sources of the event. If the musical competition was born, it was to unite the populations of a continent bruised by the Second World War while exploiting a new technology: image sharing and live broadcasts simultaneously in several countries - or exactly what the Internet allows…
- An official show to replace the final
The Eurovision final should have been held on May 16 in Rotterdam (Netherlands). Alas, it will have to be done: we will not witness the victory of the sympathetic Icelandic or the moving Switzerland… Our French ego will console themselves by saying that the disappointment which seemed to await our candidate Tom Leeb - his song Mon ally (The Best In Me) did not generate the expected enthusiasm - we were spared.
#Eurovision: let's unite on 05/16
💫 Europe #ShineALight, a unique event to bring Europe together in this difficult moment and honor the artists and songs 2020.
🚨 @ france2tv will broadcast this exceptional evening live on 05/16 @TomLeebOfficial @Francetele pic.twitter.com/vKyBEYnK0k
We will especially be comforted with Europe Shine A Light , a special two-hour program produced by Dutch television and broadcast on France 2. Each of the 41 candidates who should have competed during this Eurovision 2020 will be highlighted. They will also collectively perform, from their respective countries, a song from a past edition of the contest "whose unifying words will be appropriate to the situation in which we find ourselves", announces the press release. In this case: Love Shine A Light (the title of the show gave a big clue), the song with which the United Kingdom won in 1997. "Let love light up every corner of the world", say words.
- Eurovision across our salons
Since the start of confinement, we have counted the number of artists who engage in live recitals on social networks live from their living room. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) which oversees Eurovision noticed this and came up with the idea for the Eurovision Home Concerts format. Every Friday, four artists who participated in the competition or who should have taken part this year, will sing their song from home, as well as a cover of a "cult" piece of the competition.
Everything is broadcast every Friday at 5 p.m. on the event's YouTube channel and remains online thereafter. On display this Friday: Ukrainian Jamala, winner in 2017, as well as Icelandic Daði Freyr and Australian Montaigne (yes, her nickname is a reference to Michel de) who had been selected for 2020.
- Ooooon refaaaaaiiiit the match
The L'Equipe chain is taking advantage of the confinement to rerun some of the great matches in the history of football and football addicts are enjoying it? Fans of Eurovision also plunge nostalgically into past editions. Briton Rob Holley, who writes for the daily The Independant , launched the concept of "Eurovision Again". In other words, the live broadcast on YouTube of an old competition that thousands of enthusiasts watch simultaneously while delivering their comments on social networks. The hasthag #EurovisionAgain was thus one of the most commented on Twitter these last Saturdays worldwide… At the end, Internet users are even invited to make a new vote by delivering their tops 10 on a dedicated site .
🚨 #EUROVISIONAGAIN REVEAL! 🚨
GET READY FOR 8PM:
Here's KING @AlexanderRybak introducing MOSCOW 2009! 🇷🇺 🎻
⁰LINK: https://t.co/ZyystMgH5f
And official @Eurovision YouTube channel.
Show starts 8pm for EVERYONE as those MEGABABES @EBU_HQ have set a COUNTDOWN TIMER 🥰
RT pic.twitter.com/wLJ6TrERfZ
Faced with the success of the first issues, the EBU supported the initiative by offering to host the broadcast on the Eurovision YouTube channel. Last Saturday, some 10,000 people spent their evening reviewing the 2009 competition. They elected the same winner as at the time: Alexander Rybak for Norway.
- Sweden keeps the competition in its own way
Sweden is to Eurovision what Brazil is to football or North Korea to censorship. The Swedes show an unwavering enthusiasm for the competition that their country has won six times (including two in the past ten years) and which it has won the Top 10 eight times since 2010… The SVT channel has therefore announced that it would organize its own version of Eurovision 2020. On Saturday 9 May, a first show will consist of the broadcasting of the 41 candidate songs. Viewers will vote through an app for their favorites. The 25 songs acclaimed by the public will participate in the "final" of Thursday 14 alongside the Swedish song. A new vote will then be launched to define the Top 10 Swedes and therefore the recipient of their 12 points…
Clarification: Unlike traditional Eurovision, France will not automatically qualify for the final. It will therefore be interesting to see if the song by Tom Leeb, which was written and composed by a Swedish trio, will be supported by the local audience. The shows will not be broadcast on French television but visible live on the Svtplay.se website. You don't speak Swedish? Just know that "song" says "melodi" and it will be fine.
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From Eurovision 2020 to Eurovision 2021
Unless we are still confined to next year, it is very likely that the Eurovision 2021 can be held. Rotterdam, which was to host the 2020 edition, is ready to organize the competition again, provided it is financially supported by the Dutch government. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has decided to allow the contending countries to renew their respective candidates chosen to represent them this year, but they will have to present a new song. To date, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Israel, Romania, Switzerland, Ukraine, Spain and the Netherlands have announced the renewal of their artists from 2020. For the time being, the French delegation has not taken a stand on the subject of Tom Leeb, who was to defend France's chances this year.
- Coronavirus
- Television
- Tom leeb
- Culture
- Youtube
- France 2
- Eurovision