Eurovision Song Contest The Netherlands 2020

The Eurovision Song Contest 2020 was planned to be the 65th contest. It would have been held in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, after the country’s victory in the 2019 contest with Arcade by Duncan Laurence. 41 countries had confirmed their entries.

On 18 March 2020 the EBU cancelled the contest because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was the first time the contest was cancelled. The EBU and its Dutch members produced a non-competitive replacement show, “Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light”, to honour the 41 songs. The contest returned to Rotterdam in 2021. The 2020 songs could not compete in 2021, but 26 countries chose to send the same artist with a new song.

Sources: EBU: Eurovision Song Contest 2020 cancelled; EBU: Eurovision Song Contest returns to Rotterdam in 2021; Wikipedia: Eurovision Song Contest 2021 (the 26 returning artists).