NPO, the 2020 Eurovision host broadcaster and the EBU have set a date for the 2020 Eurovision Song Contest Semi-final Allocation Draw.

The Netherlands is gearing up in full swing for the forthcoming 2020 Eurovision Song Contest in Rotterdam.

Semi-final Allocation Draw

The 2020 Eurovision Semi-final Allocation Draw is scheduled to take place on Tuesday 28 January in Rotterdam. The venue is yet to be officially confirmed.

A total of 41 countries will partake at the forthcoming 2020 Eurovision Song Contest in Rotterdam. 35 countries will compete in the semi-finals whilst a total of 26 countries will compete in the Grand Final on 16 May.

How many countries will compete in each semi-final?

A total of 35 countries will fight for the golden ticket to the Grand Final in one of the two semi-finals on 12 and 14 May. Thus 18 countries will compete in one semi-final and 17 countries in the other, whist the Big 5 ( Spain, United Kingdom, Italy, France and Germany) and the host country The Netherlands are pre-qualified and have an automatic ticket to the Grand Final on 16 May.

The 35 semi-finalist countries will be divided into several pots and distributed equally into each of the 2 semi-finals by a draw. The distribution of the countries in the pots will be based on the voting pattern in each country in the past years.

This mechanism is used in order to avoid neighbourly voting and countries that tend to vote for each another ending up competing in the same semi-final.

The first draw will determine which country will compete in which semi-final.

The exact running order of the 35 countries competing in the 2 semi-finals on 12 and 14 May will be determined by the producers of the show by late March. The draw will be supervised by EBU’s Executive Supervisor Mr. Jon Ola Sand.

Semi-finalist countries

1. Albania
2. Armenia
3. Australia
4. Austria
5. Azerbaijan
6. Belarus
7. Belgium
8. Bulgaria
9. Croatia
10. Cyprus
11. Czech Republic
12. Denmark
13. Estonia
14. Finland
15. FYR Macedonia
16. Georgia
17. Greece
18. Iceland
19. Ireland
20. Israel
21. Latvia
22. Lithuania
23. Malta
24. Moldova
    
25. Norway
26. Poland
27. Portugal
28. Romania
29. Russia
30. San Marino
31. Serbia
32. Slovenia
33. Sweden
34. Switzerland
35. Ukraine
    

Big 5 + Host Country

1. France
2. Germany
3. Italy
4. Spain
5. The Netherlands
6. United Kingdom

First/second half of Semi-final Allocation Draw

Another draw will determine the appearance of the country in its respective semi-final (1st half or 2nd half of the semi-final).

Big 5 and The Netherlands voting in semi-finals

The Big 5 (Italy, France, UK, Spain and Germany) countries and host country the Nethelrlands will vote in the semi-finals too. A draw will also determine which country will vote in which semi-final.

The 2020 Eurovision Song Contest will be a co-production by three Dutch national broadcasters NPO, NOS and AVROTROS.

The 2020 Eurovision Song Contest is scheduled to be held on 12, 14 and 16 May at the Rotterdam Ahoy in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.