Eurovision 2020: It’s official: Rotterdam will host the 65th Eurovision Song Contest

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Although rumors about the next Eurovision host city had been circulated since two days ago,actually today the official announcement from Dutch public broadcaster has come out.

The official announcement by the organizing committee

The announcement was made through the contest’s  official website, EBU social networks, and the Dutch public broadcaster .

When Duncan Laurence won the Eurovision Song Contest for the Netherlands earlier this year, a total of nine cities initially applied in the hope of hosting the contest.  But the battle proved difficult for many of them, after one withdrew its candidacy, starting with Leobarden, since the arena it had did not meet the height requirements set by the EBU.

Then Amsterdam, The Hague and Breda left the race on a variety of issues, with only five cities officially submitting their candidacy.  Eventually Rotterdam and Maastricht were left to arrive at today’s announcement that Rotterdam will be the city that will host the next Eurovision.

A city in the center of Europe

Rotterdam was the favorite to win the event and eventually it did it. It has easy accessibility and a wonderful arena, the Ahoy, where big music events take place every year, and it also hosted Junior Eurovision in 2007.

Rotterdam has Europe’s largest port and is well connected by ferry to the United Kingdom and France.  Travelers wishing to travel to Rotterdam from Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport can be reached in about 20 minutes by train.  The city is 23 km from The Hague and 61 km from Utrecht.  In addition to trains, Rotterdam has various modes of transport, such as trams, subways and buses as well as water buses.

This will be the fifth time the Netherlands hosts the Eurovision contest on its territory (1958, 1970, 1976 and 1980), but the first in Rotterdam!

The dates of the three shows

At the same time, the announcement of the hosting city came the dates of the three shows also locked.  Specifically, the two semifinals will take place on Tuesday May 12 and Thursday May 14, respectively, with the Grand Final scheduled for Saturday May 16, 2020.

 

 

 

Sweden: Greta Thunberg’s mother is a Eurovision star!

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Greta Thunberg is becoming an icon in the fight against climate change. At the age of just 16, the activist has spearheaded a global school strike movement, been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize and speaking to governments worldwide to tackle climate change. Her mother is a famous singer who represented Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest! Read more

This was Russia’s second choice for the Eurovision!

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As you already know, Sergey Lazarev brought his motherland back to Eurovision’s top 3 by performing his epic ballad “Scream”. The song is composed by Dimitris Kontopoulos and the lyrics were Sharon Vaughn’s work.

Before the announcement of “Scream”, Sergey admitted that the song was chosen among 2 other recorded songs. Later this day it was released the first part of his EP “Ya ne boyus” (I’m not afraid), in which is included a bonus track in English. The song is called “Goddess” and it’s believed that this was one of the 2 other songs-choices for the contest, as it’s written by Dimitris Kontopoulos and it lasts less than 3 minutes.

The second part of his EP is expected to be released later in November. Probably the third song will be included there.

Could “Goddess” bring the trophy to Russia?

Eurovision 2020: Rotterdam or Maastricht: The long-awaited date revealed

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The two candidate cities, Maastricht and Rotterdam, had until yesterday  at 17.00 CET  the opportunity to send the latest details on the nominations for the Eurovision 2020 contest to the Dutch public broadcaster . As EBU announced yesterday, its final decision will be announced in Friday the 30th of August.

The anxiety for the two city staff and for all fans of the Eurovision is over.  After Rotterdam and Maastricht have submitted all the information they have requested, the Dutch public broadcaster(NOS, NPO and AVROTROS) having already visited both cities will come up with what they consider appropriate to host the next big event.  The decision will of course be made in co-operation with the EBU.

In the case  of a Maastricht win, the competition will be hosted at the 11,000-seat MECC Exhibition Center, while in the event of a Rotterdam victory then Ahoy’s 16,000-seat stadium will host the next Eurovision.

We’ll know in three weeks from now whether Maastricht or Rotterdam will host the 65th Eurovision Song Contest.

Stay tuned for the long-awaited announcement and all the details about out favorite contest.

Slovenia: Submissions to EMA 2020 begun

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After a very good result in Tel Aviv, Slovenia is bowling for Eurovision 2020 in the Netherlands, choosing its representative of course through the well-known EMA.  Submissions will last until November 18th.

Through EMA for another year 

Slovenia has achieved four qualifications in the last six years and of course wants to maintain this good result in the Netherlands as well. EMA 2020 regulations have not been announced yet, but we are already aware of a change to the next Slovenian national final.

EMA is looking for new talents 

RTVSLO has announced the launch of EMA along with a separate option, EMA FREŠ.  This is an online option where songs submitted by users  will be posted on the RTV website and across social media.  Visitors will have the opportunity to vote on their favorite composition  on a daily basis, with the winners coming out of the vote at the end of the week.  The winner of the competition will be announced during the night of the EMA 2020 final.

Eligible to participate in EMA FREŠ, are artists under the age of twenty-six who have released no more than three copyrighted  songs, that is, they have been released commercially, in any way.

RTV hopes that the introduction of EMA FREŠ will encourage younger musicians to submit their own compositions.  The application deadline for EMA FREŠ is September 19th.

Will the good results in the comfiest continue?

Earlier this year, Slovenia scored its best in Eurovision since 2015. Zala Kralj and Gašper Šantl finished 15th in the grand final with the atmospheric “Sebi”.  In addition, the duo won Slovenia’s fourth qualification in the last six years – Slovenia’s most successful run since the semifinals.

Sergey Lazarev and Helena Paparizou together again in Cyprus!

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Sergey Lazarev and Helena Paparizou at the 13th Cyprus-Russia Gala at Nicosia!

 

Since 2007, the Cyprus-Russia Charity Gala is one of the most significant events of the country and a great chance to get closer with Russian culture! The 13th Cyprus-Russia Gala will take place in the Presidential Palace in Cyprus on Saturday 5 October 2019 under the high patronage of the First Lady of the Republic of Cyprus, Mrs. Andri Anastasiades.

This year’s gala reminds us a little bit of Eurovision since two fan-Favorite stars will perform. It’s Sergey Lazarev, who took the 3rd place at the Eurovision 2016 and 2019 as well, and Helena Paparizou, the one and only winner for Greece! The program will also include performances by the Bondarenko Brothers virtuoso accordion duo from the Moscow State Academic Theatre of Nadezhda Babkina and Cypriot acclaimed Dionysos Dance Group.

 

The amount of money and other funds raised through auction sales and donations will be given to Radiomarathon Foundation, which helps children with special needs and their families. For more information about the tickets, click here

source: www.cyprusevents.net