Eurovision Choir 2019

2nd Eurovision Choir
date	3rd August 2019
Host country	Sweden
venue	Partille Arena , Gothenburg
Broadcasting television station
Moderation	Petroc Trelawny & Ella Petersson
Opening act	21 choirs from the Västra Götalands län region , all 10 participants sing ABBA hits: Thank You For The Music & Mamma Mia
Pause filler	Carmen Manet (winner 2017), Bohuslän Big Band
participating countries	10
winner	Denmark
First time participation	Norway Scotland Sweden Switzerland
Withdrawn participants	Estonia Austria Hungary
Voting rule	A three-person jury decides the winner.
◄ ECY 2017 • EC 2021 ►

The 2nd Eurovision Choir took place on August 3, 2019 in the Partille Arena in Gothenburg , Sweden . The Swedish broadcaster SVT was commissioned to host the competition for the first time. The event was partnered by the European Choir Games and the City of Gothenburg.

The winner of the competition was the Danish choir Vocal Line with the piece viola . The Latvian Choir Maska landed in second place, while the Slovenian choir Jazzva took third place. Latvia and Slovenia were already among the top three in 2017.

venue

On July 8, 2018, the EBU announced that Sweden would host the second edition of the Eurovision Choir. The Scandinavium in Gothenburg was selected as the first venue, but on December 18, 2018 it was announced that the competition would take place in the Partille Arena in Gothenburg.

format

On February 4, 2018, the EBU confirmed that the competition should also take place in 2019. On July 8, 2018, the EBU originally announced that the competition should run like 2017. Each choir should perform between one and a maximum of three pieces within a maximum of six minutes. At least one of them should represent the national character of a country. However, there were slight changes compared to the 2017 system. The winner was still determined by jury voting. The jury consisted of three professional members. However, since 2019 the final will contain two rounds. In the first round, all choirs present a four-minute piece. The jury then selects three choirs that reach the second round and then present another piece there. This time this can only be a maximum of three minutes. The jury then selects the winner.

In addition to the format, the EBU also presented the schedule for the competition. Interested broadcasters had the opportunity to announce their participation by September 30, 2018. All participants then had to submit their documents to the EBU by October 31, 2018. On December 18, 2018, the EBU confirmed that the competition will take place in 2019. Accordingly, the entire event was planned between December 18, 2018 and July 31, 2019. From July 31, 2019 to August 4, 2019, all participating choirs had to be in Gothenburg.

In addition, the name of the competition was changed from Eurovision Choir of the Year to Eurovision Choir in 2019 .

Moderation

On April 5, 2019, the EBU announced that Petroc Trelawny and Ella Petersson would be moderating the event. Trelawny has already hosted the Eurovision Young Musicians 2018 in Edinburgh , Scotland . Petersson is known as the presenter for the Swedish broadcaster SVT .

jury

On April 5, 2019, the EBU announced the three-person jury that would decide the winner. The following members were part of the jury:

• Katarina Henryson
• John Rutter
• Deke Sharon

John Rutter was already part of the jury in 2017, while Katarina Henryson and Deke Sharon were part of the jury for the first time.

Attendees

Countries that participated in the second round

Countries that were eliminated in the first round

Countries that have participated in the past but not in 2019

On July 8, 2018, the EBU announced that between 10 and 12 countries would participate. All EBU members had until September 30, 2018 to register for the competition.

Despite prior cancellation of a debut on August 5, 2018, SVT announced on December 17, 2018 that they will debut at the competition in 2019. In addition to Sweden, Norway, Scotland and Switzerland also made their debut in the 2019 competition. Romania was originally announced as a debutant and selected the Corul Symbol choir as a participant in the Gala Premilor Excelsior 2018 competition. Ultimately, however, Romania did not appear on the list of participants. France was also among the debutants until May 21, 2019, but the EBU announced on that day that France would no longer debut in 2019. According to the EBU, there had been logistical problems with the selected choir in France, so the country decided to stay away from the competition. However, the EBU hopes that the country will make its debut in the competition in the future.

For unknown reasons, Estonia, Austria and Hungary withdrew from the competition. Denmark was originally one of these countries. On March 20, 2019, Denmark joined the field of participants after the broadcaster had consulted with the EBU about participation. Accordingly, ten countries took part in 2019, which is a new attendance record. After all, only nine countries took part in 2017.

National preliminary decisions

As with other EBU competitions, each country was free to choose its participant. However, only the choirs could be determined at the Eurovision Choir. The pieces that were later performed in the competition were chosen by the choirs themselves.

Belgium

As in 2017, Belgium chose its choir internally. Again, the Walloon broadcaster RTBF was responsible for the selection.

Germany

In contrast to 2017, the WDR selected its choir via a national preliminary decision. The WDR used the program The Best Choir in the West 2018 as a preliminary decision. The finale took place on December 14, 2018, had five participating choirs and the winner was decided by 50% of the jury voting and 50% of the televoting. The jury consisted of Natalie Horler , Jane Comerford , Rolf Schmitz-Malburg and Giovanni Zarrella . While the jury placed the Flow choir from Aachen in first place, the televoting voted BonnVoice in first place with 49.3% of the votes, which means that it emerged as the winner and thus represented Germany in Gothenburg.

Switzerland

Switzerland also held a national preliminary decision, which took place on December 1, 2018. The broadcaster RTS used the program Chorus 2018 as a preliminary decision. A total of six choirs took part in the program, with the winner being determined 50% by jury voting and 50% by televoting. The program was moderated by Jonas Schneiter, while the jury consisted of Alizé Oswald d'Aliose and Marc Aymon. In the end, the Cake O'Phonie choir won the show, while the remaining choirs took the following places:

space	Start number	Choir
1.	3	Cake O'Phonie
2.	5	One step
3.	1	The Postiche
4th	6th	Rocking chair
5.	2	Solstice
6th	4th	Chœur de Mon Cœur

Other countries

country	National preliminary decision
Denmark	internal selection
Latvia	internal selection
Norway	National preliminary decision
Scotland	internal selection
Sweden	internal selection
Slovenia	internal selection
Wales	Côr Cymru 2019

final

The final took place on August 3, 2019 in the Partille Arena in Gothenburg . Ten participants presented their selected pieces to the audience.

First round

In the first round, all countries presented a four-minute piece. After all appearances, the jury selected three countries that made it into the second round.

Start number	country	Choir	Piece (s) conductor (D)	language
01	Sweden (hosts)	Zero8	Khourmi & Hej, dunkom så length vi levom D: Rasmus Krigström	Swedish
02	Belgium	Almkalia	Made in Belgium (Medley) D: Nicolas Dorian	English , French
03	Latvia	Maska	Pērkontēvs D: Jānis Ozols	Latvian
04th	Germany	BonnVoice	O valleys wide & your thoughts are free D: Tono Wissing	German
05	Norway	Volve vowel	Ønskediktet D: Gro Espedal	Norwegian
06th	Denmark	Vocal line	True North D: Jens Johansen	English
07th	Scotland	Alba	Cumha na Cloinne , Ach a 'Mhairead & Alba D: Joy Dunlop	Gaelic
08th	Slovenia	Jazzva	Spomenčice D: Jasna Žitnik	Slovenian
09	Switzerland	Cake O'Phonie	Chante en mon cœur , La sera sper il lag , Poi , Le ranz des vaches , La ticinella , Beresinaliedet & Chanson d'ici D: Antoine Krattinger	French, Italian , German, Romansh , Patois
10	Wales	Ysgol Gerdd Ceredigion	Cúlna & Ar Lan y Môr D: Islwyn Evans	English, Welsh

Second round

In the second round, Latvia, Denmark and Slovenia performed again and presented a three-minute piece. In the end, the jury chose Denmark as the winner.

space	Start number	country	Choir	Piece conductor (D)	language
1.	2	Denmark	Vocal line	Viola D: Jens Johansen	Danish
2.	1	Latvia	Maska	Come, God! D: Jānis Ozols	Latvian with English title
3.	3	Slovenia	Jazzva	Fly, Little Bird D: Jasna Žitnik	Slovenian with English title

Cancel

country	Reason and remark	last participation
Andorra	On May 19, 2018, RTVA confirmed that Andorra would not participate in any EBU events in the future. The reason given is the high cost.	-
Bosnia and Herzegovina	On May 25, 2018, it became known that due to the high debt burden and outstanding payments from the Bosnian broadcaster BHRT to the EBU, Bosnia and Herzegovina, it would not be allowed to participate in Eurovision events. Despite these sanctions, participation in Eurovision events was not completely ruled out by the broadcaster. On August 1, 2018, BHRT finally announced that the station would not participate in 2019 due to the sanctions imposed by the EBU.	-
Estonia	On September 15, 2018, ERR announced that the broadcaster was currently discussing whether or not Estonia should participate. On November 16, 2018, the broadcaster announced its decision to withdraw from the 2019 competition. ERR did not disclose reasons for the cancellations.	2017
Austria	On December 18, 2018, the EBU published the list of participants for 2019. Austria did not appear on this and will therefore withdraw from the competition.	2017
Hungary	On December 18, 2018, the EBU published the list of participants for 2019. Hungary did not appear on this and will therefore withdraw from the competition.	2017

transmission

Television broadcast

In 2019, all participating countries broadcast the competition live. It should be noted, however, that the competition began at 8:00 p.m. ( CEST ), but the recording was only broadcast from 8:30 p.m. (CEST). The reason given by the EBU was that the jury should be given enough time to deliberate and that 30 minutes were cut out of the broadcast. Germany broadcast the competition live for the first time in 2019 on WDR with commentary from Peter Urban .

country	Channel	time	Moderation / comment
participating countries
Belgium	La Trois	live	Patrick Leterme
Denmark	DR1		Ole Tøpholm & Philip Faber
Germany	WDR television		Peter Urban
Latvia	LTV1		Kristīne Komarovska & Jānis Holšteins-Upmanis
Norway	NRK1		Arild Erikstad
Scotland	BBC Alba		Tony Kearney
Sweden	SVT2		No comment
Switzerland	RTS Un		Jean-Marc Richard & Philippe Savoy
Slovenia	RTV SLO2		No comment
Wales	S4C		Morgan Jones

Radio broadcast

country	Channel	time	Moderation / comment
participating countries
Belgium	Musiq'3	live	Patrick Leterme
Norway	NRK Klassisk		Arild Erikstad

Web links

• Official website of the Eurovision Choir (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Anthony Granger: Eurovision Choir of the Year 2019 Hosts & Internal Selections Revealed. In: eurovoix.com. April 5, 2019, accessed April 5, 2019 . 
2. ↑ Anthony Granger: Euro Vision Choir'19: Twenty One Choirs To form The Opening Act. In: eurovoix.com. June 4, 2019, accessed June 5, 2019 . 
3. ↑ Anthony Granger: Eurovision Choir'19: ABBA's Hits To Open and Close The Contest. In: eurovoix.com. July 15, 2019, accessed on July 18, 2019 . 
4. ↑ Anthony Granger: Eurovision Choir'19: Carmen Manet Winners Of Eurovision Choir 2017 Set to Perform. In: eurovoix.com. July 3, 2019, accessed on July 3, 2019 . 
5. ↑ ^{a b c d} EBU: EUROVISION CHOIR. In: ebu.ch. March 20, 2019, accessed April 10, 2019 . 
6. ↑ ^{a b c} Anthony Granger: Denmark's Vocal Line Win Eurovision Choir 2019. In: eurovoix.com. August 3, 2019, accessed on August 4, 2019 . 
7. ↑ ^{a b c} Anthony Granger: Eurovision Choir of the Year 2019 to Be Held in Gothenburg. In: eurovoix.com. July 8, 2018, accessed July 16, 2018 . 
8. ↑ Anthony Granger: Eurovision Choir of the Year to Return in 2019. In: eurovoix.com. February 4, 2018, accessed July 16, 2018 . 
9. ^ Anthony Granger: Sweden: SVT Will Not Participate in Eurovision Choir of the Year 2019. In: eurovoix.com. August 5, 2018, accessed August 25, 2018 . 
10. ^ Anthony Granger: Sweden: SVT Confirms Participation in Eurovision Choir of the Year 2019. In: eurovoix.com. December 17, 2018, accessed December 17, 2018 . 
11. ^ Anthony Granger: Romania: Corul Symbol to Eurovision Choir of the Year. In: eurovoix.com. December 17, 2017, accessed on July 16, 2018 . 
12. ↑ Emily Herbert: France Withdraw from Eurovision Choir 2019. In: eurovoix.com. May 21, 2019, accessed on May 21, 2019 . 
13. ↑ Emily Herbert: Denmark: Eurovision Choir of The Year 2019 Participation Confirmed. In: eurovoix.com. March 20, 2019, accessed March 20, 2019 . 
14. ^ Anthony Granger: Belgium: RTBF To Internally Select Eurovision Choir of the Year 2019 Participant. In: eurovoix.com. January 12, 2019, accessed January 12, 2019 . 
15. ^ Anthony Granger: Germany: BonnVoice to Eurovision Choir of the Year 2019. In: eurovoix.com. December 15, 2018, accessed June 30, 2019 . 
16. ↑ Anthony Granger: Switzerland: Cake O'Phonie to Eurovision Choir of the Year 2019. In: eurovoix.com. December 1, 2018, accessed December 2, 2018 . 
17. ↑ LSM.lv kultūras redakcija: Latviju starptautiskajā konkursā «Eirovīzijas koris» pārstāvēs koris «Maska». In: lsm.lv. March 15, 2019, accessed March 20, 2019 . 
18. ↑ Anthony Granger: Norway: Volve Vokal To Eurovision Choir of the Year 2019. In: eurovoix.com. April 7, 2019, accessed April 10, 2019 . 
19. ^ Anthony Granger: Slovenia: Jazzva Selected for Eurovision Choir of the Year 2019. In: eurovoix.com. February 5, 2019, accessed March 20, 2019 . 
20. ↑ Anthony Granger: Wales: Ysgol Gerdd Ceredigion Selected For Eurovision Choir of the Year 2019. In: eurovoix.com. April 7, 2019, accessed April 10, 2019 . 
21. ↑ Anthony Granger: Euro Vision Choir'19: Running Order For Grand Final Revealed. In: eurovoix.com. July 17, 2019, accessed on July 18, 2019 . 
22. ↑ Anthony Granger: Eurovision Choir 2019 Songs Revealed. In: eurovoix.com. August 2, 2019, accessed on August 2, 2019 . 
23. ^ Neil Farren: Andorra: No Participation in Eurovision Events for the Foreseeable Future. In: eurovoix.com. May 19, 2018, accessed on July 16, 2018 . 
24. ^ Anthony Granger: Bosnia & Herzegovina: BHRT Barred From Competing in Eurovision Contests. In: Eurovoix. May 25, 2018, accessed May 26, 2018 . 
25. ↑ Elvir Pelešević: Bosnia and Herzegovina not definitely out of 2019 Eurovision Song Contest. In: eurovisionary.com. May 29, 2018, accessed May 31, 2018 . 
26. ↑ Sanjay (Sergio) Jiandani: Bosnia & Herzegovina: BHRT Confirms non participation in Euro Vision 2019. In: esctoday.com. August 1, 2018, accessed August 5, 2018 . 
27. ↑ Anthony Granger: Estonia: ERR Discussing Eurovision Choir of the Year 2019 Participation. In: eurovoix.com. September 15, 2018, accessed November 15, 2018 . 
28. ^ Anthony Granger: Estonia: Withdraws From Eurovision Choir of the Year. In: eurovoix.com. November 16, 2018, accessed November 16, 2018 . 
29. ↑ EBU : Eurovision Choir 2019 Press Handbook. In: ebu.ch. July 25, 2019, accessed on July 25, 2019 . 
30. ^ ^{A b} Anthony Granger: Belgium: Patrick Leterme to Commentate on Eurovision Choir 2019. In: eurovoix.com. July 20, 2019, accessed July 20, 2019 . 
31. ↑ Anthony Granger: Denmark: Eurovision Choir gets moved to DR1. In: eurovoix.com. July 9, 2019, accessed on July 18, 2019 . 
32. ^ Anthony Granger: Germany: Peter Urban to Commentate on Eurovision Choir 2019. In: eurovoix.com. June 30, 2019, accessed June 30, 2019 . 
33. ↑ Anthony Granger: Latvia: Kristīne Komarovska and Jānis Holšteins-Upmanis to Commentate on Eurovision Choir 2019. In: eurovoix.com. August 1, 2019, accessed on August 2, 2019 . 
34. ↑ Anthony Granger: Norway: NRK To Broadcast Eurovision Choir 2019 on Time Delay. In: eurovoix.com. July 14, 2019, accessed on July 18, 2019 . 
35. ^ Anthony Granger: Scotland: Tony Kearney to Commentate at Eurovision Choir. In: eurovoix.com. July 7, 2019, accessed on July 7, 2019 . 
36. ↑ Anthony Granger: Sweden: SVT2 To Broadcast Eurovision Choir 2019. In: eurovoix.com. July 22, 2019, accessed on July 22, 2019 . 
37. ^ Anthony Granger: Switzerland: RTS to Air Documentary on Cake O'Phonie. In: eurovoix.com. July 22, 2019, accessed on July 23, 2019 . 
38. ^ Anthony Granger: Switzerland: Jean-Marc Richard & Philippe Savoy to commentate on Eurovision Choir. In: eurovoix.com. August 3, 2019, accessed on August 3, 2019 . 
39. ^ Anthony Granger: Wales: Morgan Jones To Commentate on Eurovision Choir 2019. In: eurovoix.com. August 1, 2019, accessed on August 2, 2019 .