The 2020 Eurovision host nation, The Netherlands, has kicked off its search for its Eurovision act and entry for ESC 2020! A new selection committee has been formed in order to select the 2020 Dutch Eurovision entry. The Dutch will be opting yet again for an internal selection in order to determine their ESC entry for Rotterdam.
The Dutch have qualified to the ESC Grand Final six times in the last seven years, with Duncan Laurence‘s epic victory in Tel Aviv this year. Since the success of the mechanism the Dutch entry has been selected by a committee consisting of specialists in the music and entertainment industry. AVROTROS will be yet again selecting the Dutch Eurovision entry via an internal selection.
AVROTROS has formed a new selection committee with a mix of former and new members, hence consisting of six experts.
Eric van Stade (AVROTROS General Director), Cornald Maas ( ESC Commentator/Expert) and Jan Smit ( ESC Commentator/Singer) will remain part of the committee in 2020. Their years of experience within the Eurovision Song Contest and the network they have built up are of great value in the selection of the Dutch entry.
AVROTROS has invited three new members to join the selection committee:
- Coen Swijnenberg (Radio DJ)
- Sander Lantinga (Radio DJ)
- Joyce Hoedelmans
Radio DJs Coen Swijnenberg and Sander Lantinga have a great passion for music and have great experience in the music scene. Both know the music industry from the inside and have received practically every Dutch artist in their radio studio.
Joyce Hoedelmans has been involved with the Dutch delegation since 2014 and, with her experience as Head of Online Eurovision Song Contest, knows well what is expected from a participating artist.
Last week Dutch Mr. Eurovision Daniël Dekker announced his decision to retire from the selection committee after the country’s epic entry.
The new selection committee aims to continue the current course in which the Netherlands values and embraces the Eurovision Song Contest again and to select successful entries for the Netherlands again in the coming years.
The Netherlands in Eurovision
The Netherlands debuted at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1956 in Lugano, and was one of the founder members of Europe’s favorite television show. The Dutch have won the competition five times: 1957, 1959, 1969 ,1975 and 2019.
The country has had the honor of hosting the event on four occasions: 1958, 1970, 1976, 1980 and is set to welcome the Eurovision bandwagon next year in Rotterdam.
In 2019 the Dutch selected Duncan Laurence via an internal selection in order to fly the Dutch flag at the Eurovision Song Contest in Tel Aviv, with his epic entry Arcade. Duncan walked away with the coveted ESC Grand Prix, giving The Netherlands its 5th Eurovision victory.