Eurovision 2020: 41 countries will travel to Rotterdam

For long time, we all were eagerly awaiting the official list of participating countries at the upcoming Eurovision in Rotterdam, as the deadline for the submissions has passed since October. Many countries since then have announced their participation or not, while there have been rumors of several others, which have not been confirmed.

Today, finally, the rumors and scenarios have finally come to an end, with EBU officially announcing the countries that will take part in the Eurovision 2020 in Rotterdam. Their number has been finalized at 41 and are the following:

Albania (RTSH)
Armenia (AMPTV)
Australia (SBS)
Austria (ORF)
Azerbaijan (ICTIMAI)
Belarus (BTRC)
Belgium (VRT)
Bulgaria (BNT)
Croatia (HRT)
Cyprus (CYBC)
Czech Republic (CT)
Denmark (DR)
Estonia (ERR)
Finland (YLE)
France (FT)
Germany (ARD/NDR)
Georgia (GPB)
Greece (ERT)
Iceland (RUV)
Ireland (RTE)
Israel (IPBC/KAN)
Italy (RAI)
Latvia (LTV)
Lithuania (LRT)
Malta (PBS)
Moldova (TRM)
The Netherlands (AVROTROS)
North Macedonia (MKRTV)
Norway (NRK)
Poland (TVP)
Portugal (RTP)
Romania (TVR)
Russia (Channel One)
San Marino (RTV)
Serbia (RTS)
Slovenia (RTVSLO)
Spain (TVE)
Sweden (SVT)
Switzerland (SRG SSR)
Ukraine (UA:PBC)
United Kingdom (BBC)

35 of them will compete in the 2 semifinals with ten from each semifinal qualifying to the big final where they will meet the host country (The Netherlands) as well as the Big 5 (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) and a total of 26 will compete in the big final on May 16th. The draw for the countries and the semifinal they will compete will take place on 28 January in Rotterdam.

So, officially, we have two returns, after a year of absence, Ukraine and Bulgaria, while Hungary and Montenegro will not participate of this year. The query, also for Turkey,Russia and Moldova, was resolved as Turkey will be out and the two others will compete normally.

Following that announcement, we also saw the reaction of Jon Ola Sand, Executive Supervisor of the Eurovision Song Contest, who stated:

“We can’t wait to “open up” to participants from 41 countries in Rotterdam next year. We are thrilled that so many public broadcasters will be presenting their nation’s best musical talent as we celebrate the 65th Eurovision Song Contest. The team from NPO, NOS and AVROTROS have 3 fantastic state-of-the-art shows planned and the excitement around the event in the Netherlands is incredible.”