Tonight is the night! Under normal circumstances, tonight the eyes of all of us would be on Rotterdam, where the final of Eurovision 2020 was going to take place. However, after the recent developments, we will watch an alternative programme, which was produced to honor this year’s contestants, who didn’t manage to reach the stage of the competition. Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light, live from Hilversum!

A show full of music and surprises

The show is expected to last circa 2 hours and will feature all 41 chosen artists for Eurovision 2020. Each participating act will perform a short part of their song and all together, from afar, but always united, will sing Love shine a light, the 1997 winning song from Katrina and The Waves, from which the show’s title was inspired.

Beyond the 2020 participating artists, we’ll also have the opportunity to be entertained by some of our beloved past participants, giving their own note of optimism in this dark period. As already announced by the EBU, some of them are Måns Zelmerlöw (2015 winner for Sweden), Marija Šerifović (2007 winner for Serbia) and Netta (2018 winner for Israel).

Last year’s winner, Duncan Laurence, could not be absent from the show. He will perform his brand new single, Someone else, which premiered on YouTube last Wednesday.

Michael Schulte, who came 4th in 2018 for Germany, will join forces with Ilse DeLange (2014 runner-up as part of The Common Linnets) in performing the 1982 winning entry, Nicole‘s Ein bisschen Frieden.

The ultimate Eurovision legend, Johnny Logan, will also have a significant and memorable role in the show. The Irish singer will a unique choir together with Eurovision fans from around the world and will perform his first winning entry, What’s another year?

Gali Atari, the winner of Eurovision 1979 who performed last year in Tel Aviv too, will sing her hit Hallelujah with a special choir that will feature past participants of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest.

Sietse Bakker’s words about the show

The Executive Producer Event of the canceled 65th Eurovision Song Contest, Sietse Bakker states:

We want to make a show that puts a spotlight not only on the 41 artists that were due to appear in Rotterdam but also inspire those at home and connect people from across Europe and beyond in these difficult times. Of course, we will also honour those who are affected by the coronavirus crisis and those who work so hard to fight it. Let’s make this an unforgettable moment in Eurovision history!

Our show has even more surprises in store, such as the appearance of the British presenter Graham Norton, as well as YouTuber Nikkie Tutorials, which is currently hosting her Eurovisioncalls, interviewing this year’s participants.

The 3 presenters of Eurovision 2020, Edsilia Rombley, Chantal Janzen, and Jan Smit have been chosen to take over hosting duties tonight too. Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light will be broadcast live at 21:00 CEST by your country’s public broadcasters, as well as on YouTube.