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EUROVISION 2020

Guide: Alternative Eurovision 2020 shows

Many of the EBU members that were originally set to participate in Eurovision 2020 are paying homage to the show in their own ways. Here's a list of what each broadcaster will do

Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light

The Dutch broadcasters who should have produced Eurovision 2020 (NPO, NOS and AVROTROS), will produce the show: "Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light"

The show will air in place of the Grand Final on Saturday 16 May 2020 at 21:00 CEST online on Eurovision's YouTube, and all over Europe. The show is expected to last 2 hours.

Albania

Albanian broadcaster RTSH will preview every entry on the 12 and 14 May – The audience will not get to vote on their favourites.

Australia

SBS will find their own winner in "Eurovision 2020: Big Night In!" amongst other plans already announced. The broadcaster held an online voting where fans could vote for their favourite three 2020 acts.

  • Saturday 16 May, 11:30: Eurovision 2020: Big Night In!

The winner of Big Night In! is Iceland's Daði og Gagnamagnið with Think About Things.

Austria

Through three shows "Der Kleine Song Contest", Austria will select their winner of Eurovision 2020.

Austrian broadcaster (ORF) will also air another Eurovision program that will go on air before Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light. The program will remember some of Austria's Eurovision entries.

  • Tuesday 14 April, 20:15: Der Kleine Song Contest – Show 1
  • Thursday 16 April, 20:15: Der Kleine Song Contest – Show 2
  • Saturday 18 April, 20:15: Der Kleine Song Contest – Show 3
  • Saturday 16 May, 20:15: Österreich 12 Punkte - die Song Contest Erfolgsgeschichte

The winner of Der Kleine Song Contest is Iceland's Daði og Gagnamagnið with Think About Things.

Belgium

RTBF broadcaster will host an Eurovision countdown – voted by the Belgian audience – in order to determine the best Eurovision song of all time, among 20 shortlisted entries. The voting was done online through

  • Thursday 14 May, 20:35: Eurovision, votre top 20

The winner of Belgium's "Votre Top 20" is Sweden 1974: ABBA – Waterloo

Bosnia & Herzegovina

Bosnia & Herzegovina wasn't coming back to the Eurovision Song Contest in 2020 but is set to broadcast Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light.

On top of that, the country's broadcaster (BHRT) will also air a special Eurovision show before the big event that will remember some of Bosnia & Herzegovina's latest entries in the contest.

  • Saturday 16 May, 20:15: BH izvođači na Eurosongu

Bulgaria

BNT will broadcast Bulgaria's best Eurovision participations and choose their winner through the BNT1 App.

Croatia

HRT1 is airing a daily TV show – "Kod Nas Doma (At Our Home)" – to introduce all of the 41 artists. The final episode runs on 14 May.

Cyprus

CyBC will remember all of the Cypriot entries and present the Eurovision 2020 acts on 9 May and 10 May.

  • Saturday 9 May, 20:10
  • Sunday 10 May, 20:15

Denmark

The Danish broadcaster will not be hosting an alternative Eurovision 2020 show but will be allowing its public to vote for their winner through an online voting.

The winner of the Danish online voting is Daði & Gagnamagnið from Iceland. It was revealed during the special Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light.

Estonia

ETV will broadcast "12 punkti! Eurovisiooni hitid" that will bring memories from the 65 years of the contest. Before the show "Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light", a 30-minute programm about Uku Suviste will be aired.

  • Friday 15 May, 19:00: 12 punkti! Eurovisiooni hitid
  • Saturday 16 May, 20:30: Created on stage. Uku Suviste

Finland

YLE started by reviewing the Eurovision 2020 entries with "De Eurovisa" and will soon let the Finnish audience pick their favorite Eurovision 2020 songs and more through "Viisukevät 2020":

  • Friday 8 May, 21:00: De Eurovisa
  • Thursday 14 May, 18:00: Viisukevät 2020, Show 1
  • Friday 15 May, 18:00: Viisukevät 2020, Show 2
  • Saturday 16 May, 17:05: Euroviisustudio 2020

The winner of Viisukevät 2020 is Iceland's Daði og Gagnamagnið with Think About Things.

Germany

NRD will be broadcasting two shows – a semi-final and a final – to find Germany's Eurovision 2020 winner.

  • Saturday 9 May, 20:15: Semi (World Wide Wohnzimmer)
  • Saturday 16 May, 20:15: Final (Das Deutsche Finale)

Lithuania won Das Deutsche Finale (The Roop – On Fire)

An alternative show – "Free European Song Contest" – will also be held on the private channel ProSieben on Saturday 16 May at 20:15.

Iceland

RÙV will broadcast five pre-Eurovision shows, Alla leið (English: All The Way), and a final show Okkar 12 stig (English: Our 12 Points) to determine who gets Iceland's 12 points.

From 2 May, the Icelandic public could vote for their favourite songs, and on 12 May the 15 top voted songs will be revealed, and a new voting will open. The winner will be revealed on 14 May in Okkar 12 stig.

  • Saturday 18 April, 22:20: Alla leið – show 1
  • Saturday 25 April, 22:20: Alla leið – show 2
  • Saturday 2 May, 22:20: Alla leið – show 3
  • Saturday 9 May, 22:45: Alla leið – show 4
  • Tuesday 12 May, 21:40: Alla leið – Top 15
  • Thursday 14 May, 21:40: Okkar 12 stig

The winner of Okkar 12 stig is Italy: Diodato – Fai Rumore

Israel

Besides a documentary about last year's Eurovision in Tel Aviv, KAN will find their winner through their website and on Facebook.

Italy

Italian's broadcaster will not be having its alternative Eurovision 2020 but will continue to pay homage to show by airing the four past editions.

After "Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light", RAI will also broadcast a special show that will highlight past winners.

  • Sunday 10 May, 22:50: Eurovision Song Contest 2016
  • Monday 11 May, 22:50: Eurovision Song Contest 2017
  • Thursday 14 May, 23:55: Eurovision Song Contest 2018
  • Friday 15 May, 23.35: Eurovision Song Contest 2019
  • Saturday 16 May, 23:35: Techetechetè - Note d'Europa

Latvia

LTV1 will be broadcasting a special program with Samanta Tina (Latvia 2020) a few minutes before the transmission of Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light.

  • Saturday 16 May, 20:25: Eirovīzija 2020. Studijā Samanta Tīna

Lithuania

The Lithuanian broadcaster will air an exclusive The Roop's (Lithuania 2020) concert before the "Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light" and on the semi-finals days - 12 and 14 May - a special program "Eurovizija. Istorijos, kurių negirdėjote" will remember several historical moments of Eurovision.

  • Tuesday 12 May, 20:30: Eurovizija. Istorijos, kurių negirdėjote
  • Thursday 14 May, 20:30: Eurovizija. Istorijos, kurių negirdėjote
  • Satuday 16 May, 20:00: EuROOPvision

Malta

The Maltese broadcaster will be hosting the Eurovision Song Contest 2020: Special Edition, on the 12 and 14 of May, that aims to remember the 32 entries Malta has sent to Eurovision. The Eurovision 2020 acts will be also part of the show.

Norway

NRK will broadcast four shows "Adresse Europa" where a panel will determine the most memorable song in Eurovision history.

NRK will also decide their Eurovision 2020 winner via an online voting through the MGP website. The songs that will get the most votes will progress to the live show on 15 May where the public can vote for their 2020 winner making Norway finding their alternative winner for the year.

  • Saturday 18 April, 21:20: Adresse Europa – Show 1
  • Saturday 25 April, 21:20: Adresse Europa – Show 2
  • Saturday 2 May, 21:20: Adresse Europa – Show 3
  • Saturday 9 May, 21:20: Adresse Europa – Show 4
  • Friday 15 May, 21:05: Norge Bestemmer

The winner of "Norge Bestemmer" is Iceland's Daði og Gagnamagnið – Think About Things

Poland

A short documentary on Alicja (Poland 2020) road to Eurovision will be aired just before the Eurovision 2020 celebration.

  • Saturday 16 May, 20:30: Alicja Szemplińska - droga do Eurowizji – TVP 1

Portugal

RTP will broadcast the "Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light" and a special ABBA documentary, "ABBA Forever: The Winner Takes It All".

San Marino

San Marino will finds its own winner through a special night. The Eurovision 2020: Una Serata In Musica will broadcast all of the 41 songs and, in the end, reveal the winner chosen by the online voting on their website.

  • Friday 15 May, 20:00: Eurovision 2020: Una Serata In Musica

The public of San Marino selected Diodato from Italy as their winner with Fai Rumore

Slovenia

RTVSLO will remember all of the 25 Slovenian Eurovision entries and allow the public to rank them on their . The results will be revealed in the programme "Pesem Evrovizije: Najboljših 25".

  • Saturday 16 May, 20:00: Pesem Evrovizije: Najboljših 25

Maja Keuc with No One from 2011 was voted as Slovenia's best Eurovision song.

Spain

RTVE was one of the first broadcasters to announce a full Eurovision schedule for the month of May. All the Eurovision Finals from 2004 to 2019 will be aired.

Sweden

On Saturday 9 May, the show "Eurovision: Inför ESC" will present all 41 songs from Eurovision 2020, and viewers can vote on the songs via the Melodifestivalen app. The 25 most voted songs will proceed to Thursday's Swedish final.

On Thursday 14 May, Sweden will find their winner of Eurovision 2020 in "Sveriges 12:a" (English: Sweden's 12 points), where both juries and the Swedish public can vote.

  • Saturday 9 May, 21:00: Eurovision: Inför ESC
  • Thursday 14 May, 21:00: Sveriges 12:a

The winner of Sveriges 12:a is Iceland's Daði og Gagnamagnið with Think About Things

Switzerland

Besides "Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light", the Swiss broadcaster is airing an Eurovision special, "Switzerland at the ESC – dramas, victories, emotions".

  • Saturday 16 May, 20:10: Switzerland at the ESC - dramas, victories, emotions

Ukraine

UA:PBC will not be hosting a competition. Instead, "Pro scho spivaye Yevropa" will honor the 41 artists and songs to the Ukrainian viewers in three shows.

  • Monday 4 May: Pro scho spivaye Yevropa – show 1
  • Thursday 7 May: Pro scho spivaye Yevropa – show 2
  • Sunday 10 May: Pro scho spivaye Yevropa – show 3

United Kingdom

BBC was one of the last broadcaster to announce its plans but surely made the fans' desires by putting on a full Eurovision schedule with multiple shows.

About the author: Pedro Santos (Portugal)

authorPedro comes from Lisbon, Portugal. He's 31 years old and graduated in journalism. He has attended Eurovision Song Contest three times live - 2018, 2019 and 2022 - and covered the show three times more (2021, 2023, 2024) but his first Eurovision memory takes him back to 2007 when Sarbel delivered his catchy "Yassou Maria" performance. Pedro's favorite Eurovision song is Albania's 2015 "I'm Alive" by Elhaida Dani which is also his favorite Eurovision edition.



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