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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.

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

Eurovision 2020: What did the Eurovision 2020 Committee see in Maastricht?

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The Eurovision 2020 Committee  (NPO / NOS / AVROTROS) completed yesterday  its first visit to Maastricht,the first is the two candidate cities for hosting ESC 2020.

The committee, as we wrote in our previous article, had technical meetings with the responsible parts  as well as visits to the proposed venues for the contest.

The Eurovision Committee 2020 was welcomed  by the Director of MECC MAASTRICHT, Mr. Van de Wiel and ESC Maastricht Project Leader, Ms. Inge Dovermann.

The meeting began with a virtual trip to the MECC, emphasized of course, on the stage created to host the great musical event.

The journalists did not have access to the meetings of the two parties but were given the opportunity to meet the city’s  officers  and the Eurovision 2020 Committee afterwards.

Sietse Bakker, Executive Producer ESC 2020, at the end of the meetings, stated:

« The MECC is a good, fantastic location with many options. You could host a great Eurovision here.
I am pleasantly surprised by the enthusiasm in Maastricht. It’s really amazing! »

while, regarding the stage, he said:

« In terms of height, width and depth, the MECC hall is reminiscent of the venues in Kiev and Tel Aviv. This makes it challenging! They really want to have the contest here in Maastricht.
In both cities we look at the suitability of the location, what the city itself contributes and which accommodations are available. Rotterdam and Maastricht both meet these three points ».

Finally, Mr. Van de Wiel, MECC Director,said:

« They wanted us to move the stage a little, because the logistics around the stage are much bigger. So we have to go back to the drawing table ».

We are expecting tomorrow the Committee’s impressions from its meetings in Rotterdam!

Source: esctoday.com, 1 Limburg, Limburger.nl

Eurovision 2020: NPO to visit the two candidate cities

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Just yesterday, following a thorough examination of the candidates’ bids for the organization of the next Eurovision contest, as we had mentioned in our previous article, the responsible  committee of the Dutch broadcaster NPO announced officially that only two cities of five candidates meet the EBU’s criteria for hosting the next Eurovision: Maastricht and Rotterdam.
As expected, and without losing time, NPO executives have begun today the  visits to the two cities to see and discuss in detail everything that each city has in its  bid as well as to look closely at the structures that will host the music contest.
Their first stop is Maastricht, where they will mainly inspect the Maastricht MESC, with a capacity of 20,000 spectators proposed by the city to host the contest, as well as the other necessary structures such as accommodation and easy transfer of delegation  and fans. Significant weight is also given to the other venues and location  of the side events such as Euroclub, Eurovision Village, Opening Ceremony, Red Carpet, Press Center, Delegation Bubble etc.
Tomorrow,  NPO travels to Rotterdam, heading mainly to Rotterdam Ahoy, the venue proposed for the contest, and the other locations proposed for all the side events.
In both cases, NPO  will also have meetings with officials from the two cities involved in organizing the event to gain a fuller picture of the potential of cities based on the files they have submitted and to inform EBU afterwards.

It is worth mentioning that Rotterdam strongly wants to host  the event, which is apparent from the intention of the Southern Holland province to boost the city with an extra 1 million euros if it takes over the organization. At the same time,Rotterdam claims  as its strong point a very good network as well as its excellent connection with most European cities through two airports (Schiphol International Airport and Rotterdam-The Hague Airport), a point that is lagging behind Maastricht.
Whatever the case, the on-the-spot review is in progress and we expect any information from these inspects.

Eurovision 2020: Rotterdam and Maastricht to be the official finalists for ESC 2020 hosting

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EBU,through its official website for the contest, announced a while ago what the Dutch media, but also what we had written a few days ago.  Rotterdam and Maastricht are the two remaining cities to claim Eurovision 2020 hosting.

This two cities had the most completed nomination bid and thus continue the fight for claiming Eurovision 2020. Next month, a team of the Dutch public broadcaster as well as EBU experts will visit the two cities in order to see and get up-to-date  , everything suggested by Maastricht and Rotterdam to organize the next contest.

« All cities and venues have made a great effort in their candidacies.  They impressed us with all their suggestions and I would like to thank all those involved so far for their positive contribution and commitment.  We are convinced that Maastricht and Rotterdam offer everything that a host city requires.  We hope the other cities will keep their enthusiasm for the song contest.  We would like to discuss the coming months how we can engage them in next year’s Eurovision. »

(Sietse Beker, executive producer of Eurovision 2020).

The cities that were considered inappropriate and had submitted a candidacy bid were Arnhem, Den Bos and Utrecht.

The final decision on the city that will host Eurovision 2020 will be announced at the end of August.

5 Dutch cities trying to become Eurovision 2020 host city!

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The “Host City” contest has officially stared! 5 Dutch cities have submitted their bid book to Dutch national broadcast in order to host Eurovision 2020. The 10th of July was the deadline and despite the fact that 9 cities had expressed their desire to host the contest, finally only 5 of them officially submitted for their nomination. These are Rotterdam, Maastricht, Arnhem, Utrecht and Den Bosh. We can already say that Rotterdam and Maastricht are the favorites to earn the title of the “Host City”, but let’s see precisely what each city had to present!

 

 Rotterdam

Wethouder Kasmi, the Deputy Mayor of the city brought a suitcase, obviously referring to tourism, while the whole delegation showed its enthusiasm by wearing tourist scarfs! According to Dutch media, Rotterdam has a full-package nomination. Today it was also released the promo video and the slogan of the city: “Rotterdam for real. Rotterdam make it happen!”

The venue that city proposes is the “Ahoy Rotterdam”, which has a capacity of 16.500 people. This city has to offer not only a big budget for the show, but also a good number of hotels to host whoever comes for the Contest! It seems like a good combination for a host city!

 

Councilor of culture Said Kasmi presented the bid book: “The Eurovision Song Contest is about being yourself, diversity, inclusivity and those are words which describe our city as well with our inhabitants of 175 different nationalities. The Eurovision Song Contest also stands for talent, development and giving that talent a stage. We do the same in Rotterdam. We want to give the viewers an unforgettable memory.”

Maastricht

The Mayor of the city, Annemarie Penn-te Strake, presented the bid book accompanied by a Limburgian band showing their great desire to bring the Contest to the north of this country. Maastricht proposes as venue the “MESC Maastricht” with a capacity of 20.000 people and their slogan is: “Come closer”. Furthermore it is planned more cultural events to be held at the same time in the 44 neighborhoods of the city during the Eurovision. It’s about a very important city due to its significance and its history, not to mention the rumors of Maastricht being EBU’s favorite!

Arnhem

Mayor Ahmed Marcouch presented the bid book, which was wrapped in the same fabric as Duncan Laurence’s clothes which he wore during the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest. The big delegation arrived in a bus advertising city’s nomination. Arnhem has to offer concerts in various roofs and the Vitesse’s stadium “GelreDome”, contemporary stadium which is about to host many games for the “Euro 2020”. The football team claimed that is willing to give the stadium in order Eurovision to be held.

https://twitter.com/luudsz/status/1148883340759621634

Utrecht

This city may not have many possibilities to host the contest, but they surely found the most impressive way to show their bid book: by a bicycle-courrier! The proposed venue is “Jaarbeurs”, whose capacity is only 11.000 people.

“Utrecht wanted to be playful and different, two words which describe Utrecht perfectly. But also because it is healthy, quirky and sustainable. It suits the city,” said Karen Poot who cycled over 20 kilometers from Utrecht to Hilversum.

 

 

Den Bosh

The delegation of this city presented their bid book while offering some traditional treats. The expo centre “Brabanthallen” (capacity 11.000 people) is proposed to host the event, but since city’s budget is only 3 million euros, the lowest of all, it seems like Den Bosh has the least chances for winning over all!

Ms. Shula Rijxman (CEO NPO) says:

“It is fantastic to see the enthusiasm and attention these five cities have put on their bid books. A huge job that shows how the Netherlands is embracing the Eurovision Song Contest. This is fantastic because we hope that the whole of the Netherlands will experience the Eurovision Song Contest. Regardless of which city will be ultimately chosen: I thank all the cities for the work they have done and I look forward to all the wonderful proposals that are already here for this wonderful event.”

 

What’s next?

The Eurovision 2020 Core Team, composed by members of the EBU and the Dutch national broadcaster, will evaluate the bid books each city has submitted. During August, this team will visit the five cities in order to see closely what they have to offer. In the end of August is expected to be announced the host city of the Eurovision Song Contest 2020.

 

Which city is your favorite?

Eurovision 2020: “Come closer” the Maastricht slogan for the event. Watch the promo trailer

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After the Dutch publication, which wants Maastricht to be the city that the EBU prefers to host Eurovision 2020, the European Union’s city -symbol now shows that it has the most dynamic and full-fledged candidacy than the remaining ones.The city presented,in social networks,the slogan, as well as the promotional video of its candidacy.

“Come closer” the proposed slogan of Maastricht
With a barrage of post on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, Maastricht is the first city to unveil part of the dossier, which will be deposited by Wednesday, July 10, on the country’s public television.

In the pictures and videos released by the Municipality of Maastricht, it is clear, of course, not only the city’s attractions, but also teenagers  wearing t-shirts with the distinctive “Come closer” slogan.

The Mayor of Maastricht, Annemarie Penn-te Strake, who has already come out strongly in favor of her city’s candidacy, in her statements characterizes the city as the ideal venue for the next Eurovision Song Contest.

“An internationally recognized city at the crossroads of Europe. A city that has everything and is still forgotten, full of character and atmosphere. The capital of an area that embraces all its visitors, where you can go as you are!”

Watch the promo video of Maastricht’s candidacy below:

Maastricht proposes MECC Maastricht to host the Eurovision 2020 with a capacity of 20,000 spectators. The  Maastricht’s candidacy is also supported by the region of Limburg.

Why is Maastricht the symbol of Europe?
Maastricht is a municipality and capital of the province of Limburg. The city is located on both sides of the river Meuse in the southeastern part of the Netherlands between Belgium and Germany.

In the Middle Ages, the city was the pinnacle of the dispute between the Netherlands and France, which, because of its highly strategic position, had been coveted by both. SO, it was changing possession throughout the 15th, 16th, 17th and 18th centuries.

After the Napoleonic era, Maastricht became part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1815. When the southern provinces claimed independence from the north to form Belgium in 1830, the Maastricht guard remained loyal to the Dutch king, and in 1839 the city and eastern part of Limburg, although geographically closer to Belgium, were permanently added to the Netherlands.

Because of its subsequent eccentric position, Maastricht often focused more on Belgium and Germany than on the rest of the Netherlands, which contributed to the distinct non-Dutch character of the city.

On September 14, 1944, Maastricht was the first Dutch city to be liberated by Allied forces during the Second World War where the 9th US Army Headquarters was stationed for some time.

On 7 February 1992, the Treaty of Maastricht, which led to the creation of the European Union,was signed here, and which Toto Cutugno sang for in 1990 at Eurovision,winning first place for Italy with “Insieme”.

Rotterdam is fighting back
Rotterdam, considered by many to be the favorite of Eurovision 2020, is worried about Maastricht’s increasingly dynamic bid, and has made its counterattack. As it is written today in the domestic media, the event, if will be held in Rotterdam, will be boosted by 15 million Euros more from the municipality’s funds.

In addition, according to what is reffered in the Rotterdam candidacy bid, 3,000 rooms in hotels in the city have already been reserved so that they can be assigned to the delegations and accredited journalists who will come to Rotterdam for the contest.

The venue proposed by Rotterdam for Eurovision 2020 is Rotterdam Ahoy, with a capacity of 16,500 seats.

The five remaining cities claiming Eurovision 2020 are:

1.Arnhem
2.Maastricht-Limburg
3.Den Bos
4.Utrecht
5.Rotterdam

Dutch public broadcaster and EBU will announce the city that will host Eurovision 2020 in August.

source: BD.nl