| Eurovision: Come Together | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Date and venue | |
| Final |
|
| Venue | Television Centre London, United Kingdom |
| Production | |
| Broadcaster | British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) |
| Director | Stephen Neal |
| Executive producer |
|
| Presenters | Graham Norton |
| Participants | |
| Number of entries | 19 |
| Vote | |
| Voting system | 100% online voting |
| Winning song | "Waterloo" byABBA |
Eurovision: Come Together was a one-offtelevision programme, organised and broadcast by theBritish Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), to determine the most popular song in the history of theEurovision Song Contest, as voted for by the British public. Hosted byGraham Norton, the show was broadcast fromTelevision Centre, London on 16 May 2020, and served as a local alternative for theEurovision Song Contest 2020, which was cancelled due to theCOVID-19 pandemic. Nineteen past Eurovision entries, chosen by an assembled jury, took part in the event, with the winner determined by online voting. The competition was won by "Waterloo", originally performed byABBA, who won Eurovision forSweden in 1974.
TheEurovision Song Contest 2020, which was planned to be held inRotterdam, Netherlands on 12, 14, and 16 May 2020, was cancelled on 18 March 2020 by the contest organisers, theEuropean Broadcasting Union (EBU) and the Dutch host broadcastersNPO,NOS, andAVROTROS, following theoutbreak of COVID-19 in Europe.[1][2]
As part of a wide range of new programming commissioned following the cancellation of several arts and entertainment events as a result of the pandemic, the BBC announced on 24 March 2020 that it would commission a special Eurovision broadcast, titledEurovision: Come Together.[3][4][5] The special would be produced byBBC Studios forBBC One, and feature past Eurovision performances from throughout the years, interviews, and a display of what had been anticipated for the 2020 contest.[3]
The EBU, NPO, NOS and AVROTROS later confirmed that they would organise an official replacement programme to the 2020 contest, entitledEurovision: Europe Shine a Light and broadcast live fromHilversum on 16 May 2020, the day on which the final would have taken place.[1][6][7] Initial reports suggested that the BBC would airEurovision: Come Together on BBC One at the same time, withEurope Shine a Light being offered to UK viewers instead throughBBC iPlayer.[8] The BBC programming schedule for Eurovision, released on 1 May 2020, confirmed thatEurope Shine a Light would be broadcast live on BBC One, withGraham Norton providing commentary, and thatEurovision: Come Together would be shown immediately before.[9][10] This press release also confirmed thatEurovision: Come Together would give viewers the opportunity to take part in a live vote.[9]
The shortlist of competing entries for the competitive aspect of the programme was determined by a group of assembled individuals with a connection to Eurovision. The membership of the panel included British broadcasters and journalists, former UK Eurovision contestants, as well as members of the Eurovisionfandom and contributors to Eurovisionfansites.[11][12][13][14]
Panelists were asked to select ten Eurovision songs from the history of the Eurovision Song Contest, including all songs that had taken part in the contest before 2020. Any entries which were to have competed at the 2020 contest were ineligible. The criteria against which the panelists were asked to rate the entries outlined that the songs selected should be "modern day classics" that "have stood the test of time", taking into account the performance, including live vocals and staging, and song composition. Any entry in which an individual panelist was involved in its original performance, either directly as singer or songwriter, or in a behind-the-scenes role, such as vocal coach or publicist, was ineligible for selection by that panelist.[14][15]
The selection panel consisted of the following 18 members:[15]
The list of participating entries was revealed by the BBC on 15 May 2020.[11][12] Footage of the original performances for each entry from their original contests was shown. Voting took place via theBBC website; a BBC account was required to vote, and each account holder was able to cast up to three votes.[15] The winner was revealed at the end of the live show, and the top ten were announced on the BBC website following the event's completion.[16][17][18][19]
Additional content was produced and broadcast following the performances of the competing acts and during the voting period. A pre-recorded interview conducted by Graham Norton withJames Newman, the UK representative for the 2020 contest was shown, along with a pre-recorded acoustic performance of his intended Eurovision entry "My Last Breath".[3][9][19] Music videos for a number of the entries which were set to compete at the 2020 contest were also featured.[19]
As part of an open call for submissions by the BBC, footage was shown of Eurovision fans and former Eurovision entrants recreating moments from Eurovision history. Applicants could record themselves performing to one of the specified former Eurovision entries and could submit their footage to the BBC for inclusion in the show. The featured songs which applicants could recreate were:[13][20][21]
"Run Away" bySunStroke Project andOlia Tira – representedMoldova in 2010, notable for launching the "Epic Sax Guy"meme.
"Boom Bang-a-Bang" byLulu – won Eurovision for theUnited Kingdom in 1969
"Party for Everybody" byBuranovskiye Babushki – representedRussia in 2012
"Waterline" byJedward – representedIreland in 2012 "Flying the Flag (For You)" byScooch – represented theUnited Kingdom in 2007
"Spirit in the Sky" byKeiino – representedNorway in 2019
"Alcohol Is Free" byKoza Mostra andAgathonas Iakovidis – representedGreece in 2013 "Congratulations" byCliff Richard – represented theUnited Kingdom in 1968| Contests | |||||||||||
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