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Spain: Blas Cantó will represent the country at Eurovision 2020

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Without waiting, Spain’s public broadcaster RTVE announced its representative for Eurovision 2020. This is Blas Cantó, who was selected by direct assignment to compete  in May in Rotterdam.

RTVE, after two years in which the Spanish representative emerged through the talent show “Operacion Triunfo”, decided to revise its strategy, hoping to break away from the last rankings.

Thus, for the first time after 2015, Spain chooses its representative in the contest by direct assignment. The announcement of Spanish public television really came out of nowhere, as no one expected it to happen so soon. The song with which it will participate will be announced at a later date.

Blas Cantó is 28 years old and has become known in Spain as a member of boyband Auryn. He is considered one of the most popular artists of his generation and his selection is certainly a pleasant surprise, as Spain has not accustomed us to select artists. It is not the first time it has been associated with the contest, having participated in the Spanish national final for Junior Eurovision in 2004, and in 2011 tried his luck at the national final for regular Eurovision with Auryn. A few days ago he released his new song which you can listen to below:

Eurovision 2020: Who are the possible presenters of the show?

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Although we are still eight months away from the next Eurovision event, more and more information is coming to light about our favorite institution.

This time, the news is about Eurovision’s keynote presenters in Rotterdam, Netherlands, in May.

So, according to the Dutch songfestivalweblog website, the names of the presenters will be officially announced between late November and early December, with discussions expected to start and contract signings slipping within days.

Three people in the presentation?

According to the same website, although it has not been finalized, the number of presenters at the upcoming event will not exceed three, while there are currently 4 names that are the most prominent for the presentation, of which 3 will be selected.

The first name is Dionne Stax, who has just joined the potential of the Dutch channel AVROTROS and seems to have a significant lead in presenting the contest. Another hotly-debated name is Jan Smit, who has been a Eurovision commentator for the Netherlands in 2011, who said he would be honored to present the event. Also, the names of Herman van der Zandt and Winfried Baijens appear to have been put on the wish list, which are part of the NOS potential, one of the three channels that have taken over Eurovision in the Netherlands.

Other names that are rumored but less likely to present the competition and which belong to the country’s public broadcaster staff  are Amber Brantsen and Annechien Steenhuizen (NOS), Rik van de Westelaken, Tim Douwsma, Buddy Vedder and Romy Monteiro (AVRO) Witzier and Lucille Werner (KRO-NCRV), Nadia Moussaïd (VPRO) and Astrid Joosten and Emma Wortelboer (BNNVARA).

At the same time, Tooske Ragas and Nance Coolen do not belong to any television station, but have expressed their desire to present Eurovision 2020.

 Roos Moggré Press Conference Presenter?

Along with the names of the main presenters, the site also mentions the name of Roos Moggré as the presenter of the press conferences after each rehearsal of the missions, after the end of the semifinals and the grand final, and so on, as well has also presented other press conferences on Eurovision. Another name for the presentation of the press conferences is Koos van Plateringen.

Source: songfestivalweblog

Eurovision in Concert 2020: Tickets go on sale on October 11

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It was announced today that on Friday, October 11, 2019 at 10:00 am (CET time) tickets for the Eurovision in Concert 2020 will be launched.

The upcoming Eurovision in Concert 2020 event will take place on 4 April 2020 at 20:00 (local time) on AFAS Live. Tickets cost 45 euros (excluding 4.50 euros for services). For purchase of ticket, you can contact here.

Cornald Maas, Eurovision’s commentator on Dutch television for years, will be presenting the event.

What is Eurovision In Concert?

Eurovision in Concert is the largest music event for Eurovision, featuring artists who will be participating in the Eurovision event of the year. The contest’s journalists and friends travel from all over Europe to the Dutch capital, Amsterdam, every year to live the biggest pre-Eurovision party.

There, artists are required to sing live, and so we have the opportunity to listen for the first time – if not elsewhere – to the artists’ vocal abilities. Every year, several countries declare their presence at the event. For example, in 2019 28 of the 41 participating countries participated!

San Marino: Aly Ryan submitted 7 songs for Eurovision 2020

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The candidate for the German national final in 2019, Aly Ryan, after announcing that she had sent a bid to represent Switzerland at Eurovision 2020, also expressed her interest in another country.

Yesterday through her Twitter account, she revealed that she had sent 7 songs to San Marino public television, SMRTV. However, SMRTV has not yet responded to her emails.

The 23-year-old singer, who is ready to compete at Eurovision, has already submitted 5 songs to claim the Swiss representation in Rotterdam, while she, along with two others, has filed them on San Marino television.

Aly Ryan was a contender in the 2019 German national final Unser Lied für Israel, which, though one of the big favorites to represent the country, was limited to 4th place and missed the opportunity to represent her country in Israel.

 

Estonia: On December 1st the 24 songs of Eesti Laul 2020 to be revealed

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Estonian Public Television,EER, has announced more details about the national final of Eesti Laul, to be held on February 29, 2020. The most important piece of information is that on December 1 we will be able to listen to  all 24 songs that will be claimed the representation of Estonia at Eurovision 2020.

As in 2019, in 2020 twenty-four songs divided into two semifinals out of which only twelve will qualify for the Final.

Submissions have already started (on September 1st) and will end on November 6th. Selected songs and therefore nominees at Eesti Laul 2020 will be announced no later than November 22, and on December 1st we will be able to enjoy them!

All entries must be filed in their final form and not as a demo. The entry fee, if we could allow it, is 50 Euros for each song written in Estonian and 150 Euros when it is written in any other language.

The stage presence that will be used in the Eesti Laul final should be the same as that used on the Eurovision stage, just like Melodifestivalen.

Although not mandatory under the regulations, Estonian Public Television reserves the right to use online voting to select the winner, in addition to sms, telephone voting and, of course, jury voting.

The presenters of the Eesti Laul 2020 will be Karl-Erik Taukar and Tõnis Niinemets, the first being one of the presenters and last year’s Eesti Laul, while the second will be in this position for the first time.

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, 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 on Tel Aviv Stage and took 20th place.

Source: EER

Malta: The X Factor launches on October 6th

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The country’s public broadcaster, TVM, has announced that the second season of “The X-Factor” will launch on October 6, but it has not been clarified if Malta will choose its representative for the Eurovision 2020 Music Contest through this show.

The game’s auditions have already been completed, with the Six-Chair Challenge taking place on September 20 and 21.

The panel of judges will be the same as last year. Ira Losco will once again be one of the 4 judges to take part in the talent show. The well-known singer has already participated twice in the Eurovision contest. It was the first time in 2002 in Tallinn, Estonia, with the song “7th Wonder” and took the 2nd place with 164 points. The second time was in Stockholm in 2016, when she reached the final with ‘Walk on Water’ and finished 12th with 153 points.

While the other three chairs belong to: Howard Keith Debono, manager of the most prominent Maltese artists, Ray Mercieca, composer and producer, having worked mainly with bands, and Alexandra Alden, who lives in the Netherlands, although Maltese in origin, having her assets. already two very successful albums, to complete the jury’s four.

X Factor Malta’s presenter will be Ben Camille, well-known in Eurofans, having presented both the MESC and the last Junior Eurovision in Malta in 2016.

This year, 18-year-old Michela emerged victorious and traveled to Tel Aviv with the song “Chameleon”, ranking 14th with 107 points.

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.

 

 

 

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.

Albania:Till 15 September the submissions to FiK 2019

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Albania’s public broadcaster,RTSH, will choose the song and the artist that will represent it in the Eurovision 2020 contest through the country’s historic « Festivali i Kenges » , as it does every year since 2004 when it made its debut in the competition.  The submission deadline for the FiK 2019, to be held sometime at the end of this year, began today and ends on 15 September.

Through FiK 2019 the representative of Albania in the Netherlands

Albania wants to continue its series of qualifying to Eurovision finals also in 2020 in the Netherlands.  After two qualifications in 2018 and 2019, the next representative will be called upon to do something better and,why not, bring Albania to the top10 after eight whole years.

Already, a very popular artist living in US,is rumored to be preparing the participation in FiK 2019. It is about Arilena Ari, which we mentioned in a previous article.

Interested parties can send their applications electronically to festival@rtsh.al or in person at the headquarters of Albania’s public broadcaster in Tirana.  More regulations for FiK 2019 were not released, although this year’s winner is expected to be featured only by the jury vote.

Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest

Albania’s maiden participation in the contest took place in 2004, winning the seventh place. Since then the country has been participated 15 more times, with moderate results.  The country became known in the contest for female ballads with demanding vocals.  In 2012, Rona Nishliu with « Suus », won the fifth place, which is up to now the best position of Albania in the ESC.

This year, in Tel Aviv, Jonida Maliqi with « Ktheju tokës », the song which won in FiK 2018, brought Albania to the final, winning the 17th place with 90 points.

Eurovision 2020: Rotterdam – Maastricht: the battle of the venues

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The battle of Rotterdam and Maastricht to claim Eurovision 2020 hosting has been culminated, with the visit of the Dutch public broadcaster , the so-called ”Eurovision 2020 Committee”, in the two cities, to look closely at everything they propose for the next contest , in case ,of course, this takes place in their city.
The focus of interest for the the Eurovision 2020 Executive Producer, Sietse Bakker, was of course the venues  visit proposed to host the next event.
The questions that concern the people involved are of course the size, the location in the city center, its accessibility, the lights that can be supported by the roof, the existence of space for journalists, delegations, dressing rooms, press room etc .

MECC – Maastricht:
What do we know about the MECC in Maastricht?
* Capacity: about 11,000 – 12,000 people
* Floor area: 10.225 m2
* Ceiling height: about 16 meters

As the Maastricht’s  municipality has revealed, the city has been preparing its candidacy for hosting the contest for five years since the Netherlands came to a breath near to victory in 2014 with Common Linnets and ”Calm After The Storm”.

During the Committee’s visit to MECC, the officials had the opportunity to see in virtual reality how the venue will be set up to for the needs of the Event.

Ahoy – Rotterdam:
What do we know about Ahoy in Rotterdam?
* Capacity: about 11,000 – 12,000 people
* Floor area: 3.300 m2
* Ceiling height: about 23 meters

Ahoy of Rotterdam looks more ready for such a big event, since it hosts many important concerts each year.

The final decision on the city that will host the 65th Eurovision Song Contest will be announced in August.

Source: NOS