Following the announcement of the cancellation of the 65th Eurovision Song Contest in Rotterdam, the EBU has responded to many questions relating to this decision.
The cancellation of the Eurovision Song Contest has left thousands of Eurovision sad and perplexed, but this decision was taken due to a Force Majeur: the Coronavirus pandemic has forced many countries to cancel or postpone events, concerts and large scale gatherings due to lock downs, drastic measures and restrictions implemented in order to combat the virus.
In the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak throughout the world the EBU, the ESC Reference Group and host broadcasters NPO, NOS and AVROTROS have been forced to take this hard decision.
Many Eurovision are anxious to know what will happen now and are asking many questions regarding this issue. Hence the EBU has decided to shed more light on the cancellation of the event.
The EBU answers
Why did the EBU decide to cancel Eurovision 2020?
The EBU says:
With the escalating spread of COVID-19 throughout Europe – and the restrictions put in place by the governments of participating broadcasters and the Dutch authorities – it is impossible to continue with the live event as planned.
Why wasn’t the contest postponed?
The EBU says:
The current situation across Europe is likely to remain uncertain for the coming months and at this stage we cannot guarantee we would be able to stage an event of this size with this many stakeholders later this year. A Contest later in the year would also reduce the amount of time the winning broadcaster would have to prepare for the following year’s competition.
Why wasn’t the contest held without an audience?
The EBU says:
We are carefully following the advice of the relevant authorities to protect the health and wellbeing of all citizens. Dutch restrictions on gatherings of large numbers of people and international travel restrictions mean that holding the event, even without an audience, is impossible at this time.
Why wasn’t the event held remotely?
The EBU says:
It’s in the DNA of the Eurovision Song Contest to bring delegations, artists and fans together in one place and provide an equal platform for all artists to compete together on the same stage and the same opportunity to shine. We felt that under the extreme circumstances we face this year, organizing the Eurovision Song Contest in another way would not be in keeping with our values and the tradition of the event.
The unique format of the Song Contest as an international live event means that it is not possible to identify any realistic alternative. We therefore have no choice other than to cancel the show.
Will the 2020 Eurovision acts be able to sing their entries next year?
The EBU says:
This is to be discussed with the Reference Group and the participating broadcasters and a decision will be communicated later.
What will happen with your ticket?
The EBU says:
You will be informed about this as soon as possible. Among other things, we will look at whether the buyers will get their money back or whether the tickets will remain valid until next year. As soon as there is more clarity, ticket buyers will receive an email with their various options at the email address from which they purchased their tickets.
Can you get a refund?
The EBU says:
At the moment we are looking into the various options. As soon as we have more information, this will be communicated on songfestival.nl.
What happens to your tickets purchased via OGAE International/Ticketswap/AVROTROS?
The EBU says:
The same applies here as for “regular” ticket buyers. As soon as we have more information, this will be communicated on songfestival.nl and you will receive an email at the email address from which you booked the tickets.
Will Rotterdam host Eurovision 2021? Do we know the dates?
The EBU says:
The EBU, NPO, NOS, AVROTROS and the City of Rotterdam are continuing their conversation regarding the potential hosting of the Contest in 2021. It is currently too early to discuss any specifics regarding the event next year.
More details regarding the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest will be unveiled in due course.
