Eurovision 2020: The draw of Semi-finals on January 28

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The City of Rotterdam has announced the important dates ahead of the 65th Eurovision Song Contest, which will take place on May 12, 14 and 16 at Ahoy Arena. Of course, what interests most fans is the date for the draw of semi-finals, which will take place on January 28.

Significant dates on the road to Eurovision 2020 are as follows:

-Reference Group meeting on 11 and 12 November, 27 January and 8 March
-Tel Aviv Delivery Ceremony in Rotterdam and Semifinal Draw on January 28
-Heads of Delegations Meeting on March 9th
-Red carpet on May 10
-Stand in rehearsals and dress rehearsals from April 27 to May 16

Based on the above, all songs should be submitted to the EBU by 9 March at the latest. The first meeting of the Reference Group will take place in Rotterdam next week, essentially marking the transition from Israel to the Netherlands. The formal transition will take place on January 28, when the Mayor of Tel Aviv will hand over the competition keys to the Mayor of Rotterdam.

Source: Rotterdam

Montenegro: The second withdrawal from Eurovision 2020|EXCLUSIVE

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After Hungary, another country that participated in this year’s contest will be absent from Eurovision 2020 in Rotterdam. Montenegrin public broadcaster has just announced that it will not participate in the next event for financial reasons.

Eurovision 2020 without Montenegro

Montenegro has 11 entries, with two final qualifiers and four consecutive shutouts in recent years. Unfortunately,there will be no representative of the small Balkan country at Eurovision 2020.

This is the second time Montenegro has withdrawn from the event. The first was the years 2010 – 2011, when again due to poor results and the financial crisis that had just made its appearance, they were absent for two years.

41 countries in Rotterdam

After this withdrawment  the number of countries that will participate in the 65th Eurovision Song Contest will be the same as the previous year, 41.We have  two withdrawals  (Hungary, Montenegro) and two returns (Ukraine, Bulgaria).

In Tel Aviv, Montenegro was represented by D Mol with “Heaven”, who finished 16th in the first semifinal.

Australia: The first two candidates for Eurovision: Australia Decides

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Australia’s public broadcaster,SBS, released a video, which reveals the first two candidates for its national final for Eurovision 2020.. This is Casey Donovan and Vanessa Amorosi!

Ten candidates will compete at Gold Coast on February 8 to represent Australia at Eurovision 2020. Following this year’s success of Eurovision: Australia Decides, SBS has decided to organize the same concept for 2021.

The first two candidates for the Australian ticket in May to Rotterdam are two female artists. Casey Donovan and Vanessa Amorosi.

Casey Donovan is a 31-year-old singer, songwriter and actress. She was the winner of Pop Idol’s second season in Australia in 2004, and participated in other contests. In addition to her artistic career, Casey has also linked her name to volunteering and charities. He has released a full length album and two singles.

Vanessa Amorosi is considered one of the biggest names in the contemporary Australian music scene. She has sold millions of records and is well known for her range of voice. She is 38 years old, and in her long career, she has sung from pop, rock to jazz and country. She has won a total of 16 nominations in her career at the ARIA Music Awards, Australia’s most important music institution. He has released seven complete albums and over twenty singles!

This year,Australian National Final will also be hosted by radio producer and presenter Myf Warhurst and comedian Joel Creasey, who will also be airing the contest in May 2020 on behalf of SBS.

This year, Eurovision: Australia Decides winner’s Kate Miller-Heidke represented Australia in Tel Aviv, finishing ninth with 285 points.

SBS will announce the next eight nominees for Eurovision: Australia Decides!  in the coming days.

Georgia: The ten Finalists of Georgian Idol

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According to INFE Georgia, the 10 participants selected by the Georgian Idol (საქართველოს ვარსკვლავი) committee to compete in the live phase to claim Georgia’s representation at Eurovision 2020 were revealed.

-Mariam Shengelia

–Merab Amzoevi-Barbara Samxaradze

–David Rusadze-Nika Kalandadze

–Anri Guchmanidze-Tornike Kipani 

–Liza Shengelia-Tamar Kakalashvili

Mariam Gogoberidze

The four jury members who oversaw the three-episode phase of the auditions and will guide the ten finalists in their lives are:

–Natia Todua, a singer who has made a significant career in Germany after her win at “The Voice of Germany” in 2016.
–Tinatin Berdzenishvili, GPB’s Deputy General Manager and Head of Delegation of Georgia to the Eurovision Contest.
-David Evgenidze, composer. He was the head of the jury for the country’s participation in Junior Eurovision 2019. He will oversee the selection of the song for Eurovision 2020.
–David Aladashvili, pianist.

This year, Oto Nemsadze won Georgian Idol and with “Keep on Going” represented Georgia in Tel Aviv, finishing 14th in the first semifinal. As he said, shortly after the end of the contest, his song had a political message and was directed against Russia and its politics in his country.

Source: INFE Georgia

Sweden: Linda Bengtzing returns to Melodifestivalen | Two more names are added to the list

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The list of artists we will see competing in the next Melodifestivalen grows. Three names have been added today, according to Aftonbladet, among them the legend of schlager musician and veteran of the competition, Linda Bengtzing!

Linda Bengtzing for the seventh time in the Melodifestivalen

This will be the seventh entry for Linda Bengtzing at Melodifestivalen, now 45 years old. Her first attempt was in 2005, with her fifth best in 2008. Her last attempt was in 2016, when she was excluded directly in the semifinals.

Her song will be in the style she knows best to serve, the pop schlager, a type of music that has been steadily coming to an end in recent years (see Jessica Andersson and Linda Hedlund).

Paul Rey is favorite, Frida Örn for fourth time

Frida Öhrn, 40, is preparing for her fourth appearance at Melodifestivalen. This will be her first involvement as a solo artist, having previously competed with groups that were then part of them.

Paul Rey is 27 years old and is thought to be one of the wonders of the Melodifestivalen 2020, as he is involved with a song among the favorites. This is his maiden entry into the competition, which he thinks as a springboard to get more people to know him.

The artists who have so far confirmed for Melodifestivalen 2020

Ten contestants have so far secured a place in the Melodifestivalen 2020 semifinals:

-Amanda Aasa (from P4 Nästa)
-Victor Crone
-Hanna Ferm
-Jakob Karlberg
-The Mamas
-Albin Johnsén
 -Suzi P.
– Liza Bengtzing
 -Frida Öhrn
 -Paul Rey

Two names have been targeted by SVT, but have not yet confirmed their involvement:

-Carola
-Eric Saade

Recall that 14 of the 28 participants of the Melodifestivalen result from the open invitation to SVT creators, 13 are selected through an invitation of SVT and 1 is from the P4 Nästa radio competition.

In detail the program of Melodifestivalen 2020 is as follows:
Linkoping – First Semifinal – 1 February
Gothenburg – Second Semifinal – 8 February
Lulea – Third Semifinal – February 15
Malmo – Fourth Semifinal – February 22
Eskilestone – Second Opportunity – February 29
Stockholm – Final – 7 March

David Sundin, Linnea Henriksson and Lina Hedlund will all be presenting the six nights of the show.

Source: Aftonbladet

Croatia: Dora 2020 on February 29th | Through Dora at Eurovision 2021 as well

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The head of production company Opatija 21, which was responsible for organizing this year’s Dora as well as the Dora 2020, revealed that the selection of Croatian participation for Eurovision 2020 will take place in the city of Opatija on February 29th.

The deadline for submitting applications for Dora 2020 has already begun, and it appears that Croatian public broadcaster has already signed an agreement with Opatija 21 to co-operate in organizing Dora in Opatija in 2021.

The same company helped the municipality of Opatija to bring Dora to their town.

“We have reached the end of negotiations to sign a private agreement for a two-year partnership with HRT Public Television for the coming years”

(Igor Stok on behalf of Opatija 21 for Dora 2020-2021)

In his interview, Igos Stok revealed that the agreement states that the Dora 2020 will take place on February 29 in Opatija. So far there has been no official confirmation by Croatian public television.

In Tel Aviv, Croatia was represented by Roko Blažević with the song “The Dream”, composed by Jacques Houdek, who represented Croatia at Eurovision 2017. Unfortunately, he was ranked 14th in the second semifinal and so did not qualify for the final.

Source:eurosong.hr

Estonia: 178 songs submitted for Eesti Laul 2020|The 24 contestants to be announced on November 13 and 14

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Slightly fewer songs were submitted for Eesti Laul 2020 than last year, according to Estonian public broadcaster. Of the 178 entries, the jury will now have to select the 24 to compete in the two Eesti Laul semifinals. The announcement of the song titles, as well as the performers and performers will take place on November 13 and 14.

High level at Eesti Laul 2020

Tomi Rahula, producer of Eesti Laul 2020, provided more information on the songs submitted for this year’s Estonian final. Although there have been fewer entries, the level is significantly ups he stated.

“The quality of the songs submitted to the competition is high and so we can expect a truly exciting and varied contest”

(Tomi Rahula, producer of Eesti Laul 2020)

Of the 178 songs submitted, 76 are in Estonian and 102 in all other languages, with English of course being the most used foreign language.

What happens until the announcement of the participants?

A 14-member jury, made up of experts, will select the top 24 entries to compete in the two semifinals of the Eesti Laul 2020.

All the songs, singers and conductors who have reached the semifinals will be announced on ETV’s “Ringvaade” on November 13th and 14th, and on November 30th and December 1st we will be able to listen to them!

The semifinals will take place on February 13 and 15 in Tartu, while the grand final will be traditionally held at Saku Suurhall in Tallinn, where Eurovision 2002 took place. Tickets are already on sale. Eesti Laul 2020 will be presented by Karl-Erik Taukar and Tõnis Niinemets.

Eesti Laul, the Estonian selection method, has been in use since 2009. The winners of this institution have awarded some of its most successful entries in the country – including: Urban Symphony (2009), Kuula (2012), La Forza (2018).

Victor Crone was the winner of Eesti Laul 2019 and Estonia’s representative at Eurovision 2019. He performed “Storm” in Tel Aviv and took 20th place.

Czech Republic: National Final Canceled- Online competition for its next representative in Eurovision 2020

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While what we knew so far that the Czech Republic would stage a national tv final on January 25, with eight songs competing for representation in Rotterdam, insurmountable obstacles seem to have forced the public broadcaster (ČT)  to cancel it and opt in for ESC 2020 online.

Through a Facebook announcement, ČT states:

“The national final will not be televised. Yes, so … after a few weeks and after a very difficult decision, the return to the national television final is postponed to next years (next, next year?) Due to many, many difficulties. We want to do something really different, and this year we thought it wouldn’t work the way we dreamed it would. We are returning to the online form of the competition as the previous two years. BUT … But don’t worry, we are doing our best to make the upcoming national finals online, so check out our online platforms for more information”

The dates for the ČT online national final for the Eurovision Song are:

-06.01.2020 Press conference and announcement of the eight finalists.
-13.01.2020 Release of songs and start voting.
-26.01.2020 End of voting and announcement of winner within a week.

In Tel Aviv the Czech Republic was represented by Lake Malawi with the song “A Friend Of A Friend”, which took the eleventh position with 157 points. It was the second best place in the Czech Republic after Mikolas Josef’s sixth place in 2018.

Portugal: The 16 composers of the Festival da Canção 2020 | The final on March 7th

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Portugal’s public broadcaster, RTP, has just announced the 16 composers to take part in the Festival da Canção 2020, the country’s national final for Eurovision 2020. In addition, the dates of the FdC have been announced. The semifinals will take place on February 22 and 29, with the final taking place on March 7!

Through the Festival da Canção, Portugal will choose its representative in the Eurovision Song Contest for another year. 16 composers have been selected to compete at the Festival da Canção 2020 and to claim Portuguese representation in Rotterdam next May.

The 16 composers are:

 -António Avelar Pinho
– Blasted Mechanism
– Cláudio Frank (from the radio show Master Class)
– Dino d’Santiago
– Dúbio ft. +351 (from the open invitation)
– Elisa Rodrigues
– Filipe Sambado
– Hélio Morais
– Jimmy P
– João Cabrita
– Marta Carvalho
– Meera
– Pedro Jóia
– Rui Pregal da Cunha
– Throes + The Shine
– Tiago Nacarato

From the list above,14 composers came out  from a direct invitation by RTP , one was the winner of the Master Class radio program and one came out from an open competition. Performers of the 16 songs will be announced at a later date. The songs will be made public shortly before each semifinal, as it was this year.

A total of 16 artists will claim the gold ticket for the Netherlands. Eight artists will compete in each semifinal, the first 4 in each semifinal will advance to the FdC Grand Final on March 7th. As a result, the eight finalists will compete for the right to represent Portugal in the Eurovision 2020 song contest.

This year, Portugal was represented by Conan Osiris with the song “Telemoveis”. Although a favorite  of many fans, he failed to qualify for the Final, finishing 15th with 51 points.

Norway: That’s how its represenative will be selected

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Escnorge reveals more details on how MGP 2020, Norway’s national final for Eurovision 2020, will take place.

As we wrote in our previous article, MGP 2020 will consist of six shows, five semifinals and the grand final.

1st Semifinal, 11/1 – Northern Norway
2nd Semifinal, 18/1 – Central Norway
3rd Semifinal, 25/1 – Western Norway
4th Semifinal, 1/2 – Eastern Norway
5th Semifinal, 8/2 – Southern Norway
Final, 15/2 – Oslo

Each semifinal will feature four songs in duels (as in Melodifestivalen’s second chance) and the final winner will qualify for the grand final. But along with the five songs that will come out of the semifinals, another five songs  that have been directly qualified and selected by the jury that evaluated all submissions  will compete in the grand final of December 5th .

The names of the finalists will be announced on January 3, while the names of the contenders in each semifinal will be announced on Monday before each semifinal. The day before each semifinal the songs will be revealed while at the semifinals we will have the opportunity to listen to  a song by the live finalists.

The results of both the semifinals and the final will be determined exclusively by the television audience.

MGP chief Stig Karlsen revealed that just like in 2019, at MGP 2020 we will have big names of the Norwegian music scene. Presenters will be announced in December. The semifinals will take place at the H3 Arena in Fornebu, next to Oslo Airport, with the grand final being traditionally at Oslo Spektrum.

This year, Norway was represented by KeiiNO after their victory at MGP 2019 with their song “Spirit In The Sky”, which took sixth overall in the Grand Final, but won the audience’s vote.