Replacement programme for Eurovision 2020 after cancellation
Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light Date and venue Air date 16 May 2020 Venue Studio 21 Organisation Organiser European Broadcasting Union (EBU)Executive supervisor Jon Ola Sand Production Host broadcaster Director Marnix Kaart Executive producer Sietse Bakker[ 1] Presenters
Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light live television programme, organised by theEuropean Broadcasting Union (EBU) and produced by the Dutch broadcastersNederlandse Publieke Omroep Nederlandse Omroep Stichting AVROTROS . It replaced theEurovision Song Contest 2020 , which was planned to be held inRotterdam , Netherlands, but was cancelled due to theCOVID-19 pandemic .[ 2]
The show was broadcast live fromHilversum , Netherlands on 16 May 2020 and lasted for approximately two hours.[ 3] [ 4] Chantal Janzen ,Edsilia Rombley andJan Smit , who had been chosen to present the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 before its cancellation.[ 5]
The EBU reported that the show had an audience of 73 million viewers, based on data provided by 38 of the 45 countries that broadcast the programme.[ 6] Rockie Award in the category Comedy & Variety.[ 7]
As theEurovision Song Contest 2020 could not take place due to the outbreak ofCOVID-19 in Europe, the EBU decided to organiseEurovision: Europe Shine a Light as an alternative programme to fill the space that was initially planned for the competition. The programme's name was inspired by the song "Love Shine a Light " byKatrina and the Waves , which won theEurovision Song Contest 1997 .
This was the fourth time that the EBU organised a special show in the Eurovision format, after the shows for the25th ,50th and60th anniversaries. Like the 25th and 60th anniversary shows, this was a non-competitive show.
During the programme, all 41 songs that had been chosen to take part in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 were honoured in a non-competitive format. Participants from previous editions of the contest were invited to make an appearance.Johnny Logan , the hosts and Eurovision fans who uploaded clips for the occasion sang Logan's "What's Another Year ", which won theEurovision Song Contest 1980 .[ 8] Hooverphonic , representing Belgium) performed "Love Shine a Light " from their respective home countries.[ 9] [ 10] Rotterdam would remain as the host city for theEurovision Song Contest 2021 .[ 11]
On 1 April 2020,Hilversum was confirmed as the host city for the event, with Studio 21 in the city'sMedia Park as the venue of the show.[ 3] Eurovision Song Contest 1958 .[ 12]
Chantal Janzen ,Jan Smit andEdsilia Rombley , the presenters of the programmeThe show was hosted by three presenters: actress and television hostChantal Janzen , singer and Dutch television commentator for the contestJan Smit , and singerEdsilia Rombley , who represented theNetherlands in 1998 andin 2007 . They would have been the three hosts of the Eurovision Song Contest 2020. Beauty vloggerNikkie de Jager , also known as NikkieTutorials, presented the show's online content.[ 4] 2021 .[ 13]
The show featured performances from the following Eurovision artists:[ 14]
The show also showcased the artists and songs that would have competed at theEurovision Song Contest 2020 , by showing short excerpts of the songs' music videos or stage performances, along with video messages from the artists themselves. These were as follows:
Various landmarks in countries that were set to compete were illuminated as part of a segment titledEurope Shine a Landmark .[ 15]
The Czech Republic, Finland, and Moldova were the only countries that did not have a landmark featured.
Broadcasters and commentators [ edit ] The show took place on 16 May 2020 at 21:00CEST .[ 4]
Broadcasters and commentators in participating countries Country Broadcaster Channel(s) Commentator(s) Ref. RTSH RTSH 1 ,RTSH Muzikë Andri Xhahu [ 16] [ 17] AMPTV (1TV)David Tserunyan and Emma Hakobyan [ 17] [ 18] SBS SBS [ g] Joel Creasey andMyf Warhurst [ 17] ORF ORF 1 Andi Knoll İctimai Television (İTV)Murad Arif [ 18] BTRC Belarus 1 ,Belarus 24 Evgeny Perlin [ 19] RTBF La Une Jean-Louis Lahaye andMaureen Louys [ 20] VRT Eén Peter Van de Veire [ 21] BNT BNT 1 ,BNT 4 Elena Rosberg and Petko Kralev [ 17] HRT HRT 1 Duško Čurlić CyBC RIK 1 ,RIK Sat Andreas Iakovidis [ 22] ČT ČT art Jan Maxián [ 23] [ 24] DR DR1 Ole Tøpholm [ 25] [ h] ERR ETV Marko Reikop [ 27] [ 26] ETV+ Yuliya Kalenda and Aleksandr Khobotov Yle Yle TV2 [ 28] France Télévisions France 2 Stéphane Bern [ 29] [ 30] GPB 1TV Demetre Ergemlidze [ 31] ARD /NDR Das Erste [ i] Michael Schulte andPeter Urban [ 32] [ 33] ERT ERT1 Maria Kozakou [ 34] [ 35] RÚV RÚV 1 Felix Bergsson [ 18] RTÉ RTÉ One Marty Whelan IPBC (Kan)Kan 11 No commentary [ 36] [ j] RAI Rai 1 (adapted and delayed) Flavio Insinna andFederico Russo [ 38] [ 39] Rai 4 ,Rai Radio 2 (live) Gino Castaldo and Ema Stokholma LTV LTV1 Toms Grēviņš [ 40] LRT LRT televizija Ramūnas Zilnys [ 41] PBS TVM No commentary [ 18] TRM Moldova 1 Daniela Crudu AVROTROS NPO 1 Cornald Maas [ 42] MRT MRT 1 Aleksandra Jovanovska [ 43] NRK NRK1 No commentary [ 17] [ k] TVP TVP1 ,TVP Polonia Artur Orzech [ 44] [ 45] RTP RTP1 ,RTP Internacional Nuno Galopim [ 46] TVR TVR1 ,TVRi Bogdan Stănescu [ 47] Channel One (C1R)Yuriy Aksyuta andYana Churikova [ 18] [ 48] [ l] SMRTV San Marino RTV Flavio Insinna andFederico Russo [ 50] RTS RTS1 ,RTS Svet Duška Vučinić [ 51] [ 52] RTVSLO TV Slovenija 1 Andrej Hofer [ 53] [ m] RTVE La 1 ,TVE Internacional Tony Aguilar , Eva Mora and Víctor Escudero[ 55] [ 56] SVT SVT1 No commentary [ 57] SRG SSR SRF 1 Sven Epiney [ 58] RTS 1 Yoann Provenzano andJean-Marc Richard [ 59] [ 60] RSI La 2 Clarissa Tami andSebalter STB Timur Miroshnychenko [ 61] UA:PBC UA:First [ 62] [ 63] UA:Radio Promin Oleksandra Franko and Les Myrnyi [ 64] [ 65] BBC BBC One Graham Norton [ 66]
^ Mannes Bakker, 6Times, Remix, Max & Anne, Moves, Kiya van Rossum, Matheu Hinzen and Anna Grigorian. ^ ExceptBelgium . ^ Contains phrases in Hebrew andArabic . ^ Contains phrases in Italian, Spanish, German and French. ^ Contains the Japanese mantra "Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō ". ^ Contains one repeated phrase in Spanish and two words in English. ^ The show was broadcast on a deferred basis, on 17 May 2020 at 20:30AEST . ^ ERR broadcast the programme under the nameEurovisioon 2020. Särav muusika! [ 26] ^ The show was broadcast with a one-hour delay, starting at 22:00CEST , due to an overlap with the broadcast ofEurovision 2020 – das deutsche Finale [ 17] ^ RAI broadcast the programme under the nameEurope Shine a Light –Accendiamo la musica [ 37] ^ TVP broadcast the programme under the nameŚwiatło dla Europy [ 44] ^ SMRTV simulcast Rai 1's coverage of the programme.[ 49] ^ RTVE broadcast the programme under the nameEuropa enciende una luz [ 54] ^ "Geen Songfestival, maar wel een alternatief: Europe Shine a Light" .NPO Radio 2 . Retrieved10 April 2020 .^ "Europe shined its light" .Eurovision.tv .European Broadcasting Union (EBU). 16 May 2020. Retrieved25 May 2020 .^a b Granger, Anthony (1 April 2020)."Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light To Be Broadcast Live From Hilversum" .Eurovoix . Retrieved1 April 2020 . ^a b c "Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light will bring audiences together on 16 May" .Eurovision.tv . 31 March 2020. Retrieved31 March 2020 .^ "European Broadcasting Union Announces 'Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light' .Eurovoix . 31 March 2020. Retrieved31 March 2020 .^ "Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light reaches over 70 million viewers" .Eurovision.tv . EBU. 26 May 2020. Retrieved6 January 2023 .^ "2021 Nominees" . Rockie Awards.Archived from the original on 2021-04-14.^ "Oproep: Eurovision sing-a-long met Johnny Logan's 'What's Another Year' .Songfestival.nl (in Dutch). 8 April 2020. Retrieved10 April 2020 .^ Muldoon, Padraig (7 April 2020)."2020 Acts To Sing "Love Shine A Light" At Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light" .Wiwibloggs . Retrieved10 April 2020 . ^ "Alex Callier explains why Hooverphonic sat out of the "Love Shine a Light" segment" .wiwibloggs . 2020-05-17. Retrieved2020-05-25 .^ "Rotterdam returns as Eurovision Song Contest Host City in 2021" . European Broadcasting Union. 16 May 2020.Archived from the original on 17 May 2020. Retrieved16 May 2020 .^ "Hilversum 1958" .Eurovision.tv .^ "The 4 ways to make Eurovision 2021 happen" . European Broadcasting Union. 18 September 2020.Archived from the original on 19 January 2021. Retrieved18 September 2020 .^ "Guest performers announced for "Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light" . May 6, 2020.^ Granger, Anthony (26 April 2020)."Landmarks To Be Illuminated For Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light" .Eurovoix . Retrieved26 April 2020 . ^ " .RTSH (in Albanian). April 18, 2020. RetrievedApril 25, 2020 .[permanent dead link ^a b c d e f "Eurovision 2020 special public broadcasting plans" .Eurovision.tv . 5 May 2020. Retrieved8 May 2020 .^a b c d e f g "Here's where to watch Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light" .Eurovision.tv . 16 April 2020. Retrieved16 April 2020 .^ "Евровидение: Europe Shine a Light" .BTRC (in Belarusian). 13 April 2020. Archived fromthe original on 12 February 2021. Retrieved21 April 2020 .^ Bertinchamps, Pierre (16 April 2020)."La RTBF diffusera aussi "Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light" le 16 mai" .Télépro . Retrieved16 April 2020 . ^ Boon, Katrien (3 April 2020)."Blokken-kandidaten spelen vanuit "hun kot": Eén past programmatie aan door corona" .VRT (in Dutch). Retrieved3 April 2020 . ^ Farren, Neil (5 May 2020)."Cyprus: CyBC Reveals Eurovision 2020 Week Broadcast Plans" .Eurovoix . Retrieved5 May 2020 . ^ Kobilík, Petr (3 April 2020)."Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light na ČT art" .eurocontest.cz (in Czech). Retrieved3 April 2020 . ^ Granger, Anthony (3 May 2020)."Czech Republic: Jan Maxián to Commentate on Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light" .Eurovoix . Retrieved3 May 2020 . ^ Madsbøll Christensen Kasper, Mejdahl Christian (3 April 2020)."Først blev Eurovision aflyst. Nu kommer der alligevel et show" .DR (in Danish). Retrieved3 April 2020 . ^a b Granger, Anthony (5 May 2020)."Estonia: Eurovision Stars To Recollect Their Experiences in 12 punkti! Eurovisiooni hitid" .Eurovoix . Retrieved5 May 2020 . ^ Maripuu, Victoria (2 April 2020)."Eurovisiooni finaali asendav erisaade jõuab ka ETV ekraanile" .ERR (in Estonian). Retrieved2 April 2020 . ^ Vedenpää, Ville (1 April 2020)."Euroviisuille korvaava tv-show – myös muuta viisusisältöä luvassa pitkin kevättä" .Yle Uutiset (in Finnish). Retrieved1 April 2020 . ^ Granger, Anthony (1 April 2020)."France: France Télévisions Confirms Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light Broadcast" .Eurovoix . Retrieved1 April 2020 . ^ Guadalupe, Florian (26 April 2020)."Confinement: Stéphane Bern détaille la soirée qui remplacera l'Eurovision sur France 2" .PureMédias . Retrieved26 April 2020 . ^ "2020 წლის ევროვიზიის ნაცვლად დაგეგმილი შოუ - "ევროპა აანთე შუქი" - პირველი არხის ეთერში 16 მაისს, 23:00 საათზე დაიწყება" .GPB . Retrieved10 July 2020 .^ Lückerath, Thomas (31 March 2020)."Thomas Schreiber übt scharfe Kritik an ESC-Entscheidungen" .DWDL.de (in German). Retrieved1 April 2020 . ^ Granger, Anthony (26 April 2020)."Germany: Organises Two Shows To Determine The Nations Eurovision 2020 Winner" .Eurovoix . Retrieved26 April 2020 . ^ Pappas, Konstantinos (16 April 2020)."ΕΛΛΑΔΑ: Η ΕΡΤ θα μεταδώσει το "Europe shine a light"!" .OGAE Greece (in Greek). Retrieved16 April 2020 . ^ Pappas, Konstantinos (7 May 2020)."EUROVISION 2020: Το "Europe Shine a Light" στην ΕΡΤ στις 16 Μαΐου!" .OGAE Greece (in Greek). Retrieved7 May 2020 . ^ "Israel: KAN unveils its Eurovision schedule for May" .esctoday . 7 May 2020. Retrieved7 May 2020 .^ "Rai:Europe Shine a Light - Accendiamo la musica con Diodato" .RAI Ufficio Stampa . 16 May 2020. Retrieved30 June 2020 .^ Scarpone, Cristian (10 April 2020)."Eurovision, Europe Shine a Light: il 16 maggio alle 20.35 su Rai1, Radio2 e RaiPlay" .Eurofestival News (in Italian). Retrieved10 April 2020 . ^ Trasatti, Ruben (4 May 2020)."Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light, anche su Rai 4 con il commento di Ema Stokholma e Gino Castaldo" .Eurofestival News (in Italian). Retrieved4 May 2020 . ^ "Eurovision songs will still be heard in Latvia" .lsm.lv . 6 May 2020. Retrieved7 May 2020 .^ Granger, Anthony (5 May 2020)."Lithuania: LRT Reveals Eurovision Broadcast Plans Including The Roop Concert" .Eurovoix . Retrieved5 May 2020 . ^ Tomas, Irma (1 April 2020)."AVROTROS presenteert compleet Songfestivalprogramma in mei" .Televizier (in Dutch). Retrieved1 April 2020 . ^ Granger, Anthony (12 May 2020)."North Macedonia: Vasil Reveals How "You" Would Have Been Presented in Rotterdam" .Eurovoix . Retrieved12 May 2020 . ^a b Granger, Anthony (15 April 2020)."Poland: TVP Confirms Broadcast of Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light" .Eurovoix . Retrieved15 April 2020 . ^ Rozrywka, Tele (16 April 2020)."TVP1 wyemituje koncert "Eurowizja: Światło dla Europy" .TELE Rozrywka (in Polish). Retrieved25 April 2020 . ^ Kanas, André (13 April 2020)."RTP confirma transmissão de "Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light" .Quinto Canal (in European Portuguese). Retrieved19 April 2020 . ^ "Program TV" (in Romanian). 16 May 2020. Archived fromthe original on 4 May 2020. Retrieved4 May 2020 .^ Arefyev, Egor (14 May 2020)."Финал "Евровидения-2020" пройдет онлайн и в сжатом формате" .Kp.ru - (in Russian). Retrieved15 May 2020 . ^ "San Marino: San Marino RTV To Broadcast Rai 1's Coverage of Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light" .Eurovoix . May 15, 2020. Retrieved2 March 2021 .^ Scarpone, Cristian (14 May 2020)."Eurovision, Europe Shine a Light: San Marino RTV trasmetterà lo show di Rai1" .Eurofestival News (in Italian). Retrieved14 May 2020 . ^ "Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light" .Radio-televizija Srbije (in Serbian). Retrieved11 May 2020 .^ "RTS Svet: Programska šema - subota, 16. maj 2020" .Radio-televizija Srbije (in Serbian). Retrieved24 June 2025 .^ Granger, Anthony (11 April 2020)."Slovenia: RTVSLO Reveals Alternative Eurovision Broadcast Plans" .Eurovoix . Retrieved11 April 2020 . ^ "Europa enciende una luz" .elmundo.es (in European Spanish). 16 May 2020. Retrieved17 May 2020 .^ "Blas Cantó participará en el homenaje a Eurovisión 2020: "Eurovisión: Europa Shine a Light" .RTVE.es (in European Spanish). 1 April 2020. Retrieved1 April 2020 .^ "Tony Aguilar y Eva Mora comentarán el programa especial de Eurovisión, 'Europe shine a light' .RTVE.es (in European Spanish). 8 May 2020. Retrieved8 May 2020 .^ Dahlander, Gustav (3 April 2020)."Klart för Eurovision-vecka i SVT" .Melodifestivalen: Expertbloggen (in Swedish). SVT. Retrieved3 April 2020 . ^ "Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light" .medien.srf.ch (in German). Retrieved25 April 2020 .^ "TV-Programm 16.5.2020" .Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (in Swiss High German). Retrieved25 April 2020 .^ Granger, Anthony (3 May 2020)."Switzerland: Jean-Marc Richard & Yoann Provenzano to Commentate on Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light" .Eurovoix . Retrieved3 May 2020 . ^ "Як Go_A готуються до онлайн-концерту Євробачення" .stb.ua (in Ukrainian). 4 May 2020.^ Granger, Anthony (1 April 2020)."Ukraine: UA:Pershyi To Broadcast Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light" .Eurovoix . Retrieved1 April 2020 . ^ "Онлайн-концерт Євробачення покажуть ще більше країн" .Suspilne (in Ukrainian). 17 April 2020. Retrieved5 May 2020 .^ "Суспільне планує трансляцію концерту Євробачення" .Suspilne (in Ukrainian). 7 April 2020. Retrieved13 April 2020 .^ "Трансляція" .Українське радіо (in Ukrainian).UA:PBC . Retrieved15 May 2020 .^ "May means Eurovision on the BBC" .bbc.co.uk . 1 May 2020. Retrieved5 May 2020 .^ "Europe Shine a Light, show program: Uživo" . BHT1. Retrieved2023-06-17 .^ "Europe: Shine a light" .Radio i televizija Crne Gore . Retrieved24 June 2025 .
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