Eurovision Song Contest 2020 / Alternative program

This article takes a closer look at the alternative programs for the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 .

Due to the omission of the two semi-finals on May 12 and 14 and the final on May 16, many countries had gaps in their programs. Therefore, many countries had decided to broadcast their own programs and votes instead of the semi-finals and the final. This article takes a closer look at each of the broadcasts and results. The program Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light served Europe-wide for the final planned for May 16 .

On April 29, 2020, the EBU announced that the 2020 contributions would also be celebrated on YouTube as part of the Eurovision Song Celebration 2020 . On May 12, 2020 at 9:00 p.m. ( CEST ), all 17 contributions from the first semi-final were presented in the starting order already worked out by the producers. The Big5 countries entitled to vote in the first semi-final (Germany, Italy) and the host country entitled to vote, the Netherlands, should also be shown. The same applied to the 18 entries in the second semi-final, which, however, were shown in their starting order on May 14th at 9:00 p.m. (CEST) including the Big5 countries entitled to vote (France, Spain, United Kingdom). In the two shows, fans should also have the opportunity to be part of the fast-forward. Therefore, fans have until May 5th to submit videos of how they move on to the songs.

Alternative program in German-speaking countries

Belgium

On April 29, 2020, the French-speaking broadcaster RTBF announced that they would be broadcasting Eurovision, Your Top 20 on May 14, 2020 . The show was moderated by Maureen Louys and Jean-Louis Lahaye. The Belgian audience could choose between 20 different songs that have taken part in the Song Contest over the years. The voting window closed on May 3, 2020 at 11:59 p.m. ( CEST ). The show also looked back on many iconic moments of the competition. The program was also broadcast on VivaCité radio and on the RTBF Auvio online service .

Germany

Free European Song Contest

On March 31, 2020, ProSieben announced that it would broadcast a Free European Song Contest as a replacement live on May 16, 2020 together with Stefan Raab . Conchita Wurst and Steven Gätjen took over the moderation . In the program, mostly German-speaking prominent singers appeared one after the other for a country to which they have a personal connection. At the end, similar to the ESC , there was a switch to each home country, where local “ #FreeESC sympathizers” announced the points according to the well-known point system (1 to 8, 10 and 12 points), which they awarded on behalf of their country at their own discretion . Only in Germany, Austria and Switzerland was the allocation of points determined by televoting. You were not allowed to vote for your own home country.

space	Start number	country	Interpreter	Song Music (M) and Text (T)	language	Translation (unofficial)	Points
01.	11	Spain	Nico Santos	Like I Love You M / T: Nico Santos , Topic , Pascal Reinhardt, Joe Walter	English , Spanish	How I love you	104
02.	01	Netherlands	Use DeLange	Changes M / T: Ilse DeLange , Joe Walter, Pascal Reinhardt, Daniel Flamm	English, Dutch	Changes	088
03.	14th	moon	Max Mutzke as an astronaut	[back to the moon] M / T: Max Mutzke , Justin Balk	English	Back to the moon	085
04th	16	Germany	Helge Schneider	forever at home M / T: Helge Schneider	German , English, French	At home forever	076
05.	15th	Israel	Gil Ofarim	All in hope M / T: Gil Ofarim , Nicholas Müller , Peter Jordan	German, Hebrew	-	075
06th	02	Turkey	Eko Fresh and Umut Timur	GÜNAYDIN M / T: Eko Fresh , Umut Timur, Joost Jellema	German, Turkish	Good Morning	071
07th	13	Switzerland	Stefanie Heinzmann	All We Need Is Love M / T: Stefanie Heinzmann , Patrick Fa, Jake Isaac, Phil Cook	English, Valais German	All we need is Love	066
08th.	05	Bulgaria	Oonagh	You are enough M / T: Senta-Sofia Delliponti , Robin Kallenberger	Bulgarian , German	-	062
09.	04th	Croatia	Vanessa Mai	Highlight (Ti si moja snaga) M: Matthias Zürkler, Christoph Cronauer, Daniel Cronauer, Nico Santos ; T: Matthias Zürkler, Christoph Cronauer, Daniel Cronauer, Nico Santos , Sera Finale	German, Croatian	Highlight (you are my strength)	055
10.	03	Ireland	Sion Hill	Speak Up M / T: TBA	English	Speak louder	053
11.	07th	Poland	Glass bead game	Always there M / T: Daniel Grunenberg , Carolin Niemczyk , Charlotte Rezbach , Martin Fliegenschmidt , David Jürgens	German, Polish	-	046
12.	08th	United Kingdom	Kelvin Jones	Friends M / T: Alexander Tidebrink, Lucas Riemenschneider	English	Friends	045
13.	12	Italy	Sarah Lombardi	Te amo mi Amor M / T: Philippe Heithier	German, Italian , Spanish	I love you my love	037
14th	09	Kazakhstan	Mike Singer	Paranoid M: Philipp Bednorz; T: Philipp Bednorz, El B, Martin Fliegenschmidt	German, Russian	-	023
15th	06th	Austria	Josh.	Where are you M / T: Tamara Olorga, Ricardo Bettiol, Johannes Sumpich	German	-	022nd
16.	10	Denmark	Kate Hall	Reset M / T: Kate Hall , Alexander Geringas , Charity Daw	English, Danish	Reset to default	020th

NDR

On April 26, 2020, the NDR published its alternative program for the Eurovision Song Contest.

World Wide Living Room - the ESC semifinals 2020

On May 9, 2020 at 8:15 pm on ONE the program World Wide Living Room - the ESC semi-final 2020 with Dennis & Benjamin "Benni" Wolter , Freshtorge and Peter Urban took place. All 41 music videos from the participating countries were shown in the program. Before and during the broadcast, there was then a vote in which viewers could vote online or by telephone to choose their favorites. They received support from the 100-strong Eurovision jury from Germany, which had already selected the German participant Ben Dolic with his song Violent Thing in the winter . However, it was not possible to vote for Germany itself. The following ten countries qualified for the German final on the following Saturday:

Start number country 01  Israel 02  Moldova 03  Austria 04th  Slovenia 05  Netherlands 06th  Iceland 07th  Estonia 08th  Serbia 09  Finland 10  Greece

Start number country 11  Denmark 12  San Marino 13  Poland 14th  Ukraine 15th  United Kingdom 16  Spain 17th  Latvia 18th  Portugal 19th  Belgium 20th  Bulgaria

Start number country 21st  Lithuania 22nd  Belarus 23  Italy 24  Cyprus 25th  Croatia 26th  Armenia 27  Ireland 28  France 29  Norway 30th  Malta

Start number country 31  Russia 32  Romania 33  Switzerland 34  Azerbaijan 35  Australia 36  Georgia 37  Czech Republic 38  North Macedonia 39  Albania 40  Sweden

Eurovision Song Contest 2020 - the German final live from the Elbphilharmonie

On May 16, 2020 at 8:15 p.m. on Das Erste , the program Eurovision Song Contest 2020 - the German final, took place live from the Elbphilharmonie . Barbara Schöneberger presented live from the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg . On the show itself, the ten songs that received the most votes from the May 9th vote were performed. In addition, there were recordings of the most beautiful, touching and horrific performances of these countries from the past 64 years of ESC history. Peter Urban and Michael Schulte commented on the program. Some of these ten finalists also performed live on the Elbphilharmonie stage: the Danish duet Ben & Tan , the Lithuanian band The Roop and the Icelandic singer Daði Freyr including his band Gagnamagnið performed live. In addition, Ben Dolic, who actually would have performed this year at the ESC in Rotterdam for Germany, sang his song Violent Thing . His appearance was based as closely as possible on the staging, as it should have looked in the ESC finale in Rotterdam. In the classic voting, 50% of the audience and 50% of the 100-person Eurovision jury decided who was the German winner at the ESC 2020. Again, there was no vote for Germany. Michael Schulte , among others, appeared during the vote . The following countries were represented in the final:

space	Start number	country	Interpreter	Song Music (M) and Text (T)	language	Translation (unofficial)	jury		spectator		total
							be right	Points	Votes (televoting & SMS)	Points
01.	04th	Lithuania	The Roop	On Fire M: Vaidotas Valiukevičius , Robertas Baranauskas , Mantas Banišauskas ; T: Vaidotas Valiukevičius	English	Burning		10		12	22nd
02	07th	Iceland	Daði and Gagnamagnið	Think About Things M / T: Daði Freyr	English	Think about things		12		7th	19th
03.	10	Russia	Little Big	Uno M / T: Little Big	English, Spanish	one		7th		10	17th
04th	06th	Malta	Destiny	All of My Love M: Bernarda Brunovic, Borislaw Milanow , Sebastian Arman , Dag Lundberg, Joacim Persson, Cesar Sampson ; T: Bernarda Brunovic, Borislaw Milanow , Sebastian Arman , Dag Lundberg, Joacim Persson	English	All my love		8th		2	10
05.	01	Denmark	Ben & Tan	Yes M / T: Emil Adler Lei, Jimmy Jansson, Linnea Deb	English	Yes		1		8th	9
06th	03	Sweden	The mamas	Move M / T: Herman Gardarfve, Melanie Wehbe, Patrik Jean	English	Move		5		4th	9
07th	05	Switzerland	Gjon's Tears	Répondez-moi M / T: Gjon Muharremaj , Xavier Michel, Alizé Oswald, Jeroen Swinnen	French	Answer me		6th		3	9
08th.	08th	Italy	Diodato	Fai rumore M: Antonio Diodato , Edwyn Roberts; T: Antonio Diodato	Italian	You are loud		2		6th	8th
09.	09	Bulgaria	Victoria Виктория	Tears Getting Sober M: Victoria Georgiewa , Borislaw Milanow , Lukas Oscar Janisch, Cornelia Wiebols; T: Victoria Georgiewa , Borislaw Milanow , Lukas Oscar Janisch	English	Tears become sober		3		5	8th
10	02	Azerbaijan	Efendi Əfəndiyeva	Cleopatra M / T: Luuk van Beers, Alan Roy Scott, Sarah Lake	English with mantra in Japanese	-		4th		1	5

The program was followed by Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light . After this broadcast, the first broadcast of the finals of the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 to celebrate the tenth anniversary of Lena Meyer-Landrut's victory.

Broadcasts on German television

date	broadcast	Time	TV channel	Moderation / comment	spectator		Market share
					total	14 to 49 years	total	14 to 49 years
0May 9, 2020	World Wide Living Room - the ESC semifinals 2020	8:15 pm		Moderation: Dennis & Benjamin "Benni" Wolter , Peter Urban	0.190 million		0.8%	1.2%
May 16, 2020	Free European Song Contest			Moderation: Conchita Wurst , Steven Gätjen	2.57 million	1.54 million	9.6%	19.2%
	Eurovision Song Contest 2020 - the German final live from the Elbphilharmonie			Moderation: Barbara Schöneberger	2.98 million	1.27 million	9.6%	14.3%
17th May 2020	ESC Final - Eurovision Song Contest 2010	00:00 o'clock		Comment: Peter Urban

Austria

The Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF) hosted the program Der kleine Song Contest on April 14th, 16th and 18th . After these three semi-final rounds, in which only a jury evaluated the entries, the three winners reached the final televoting round. There, only the Austrian audience decided their 2020 ESC winner. In the end, Iceland won the small song contest, while Austria and Malta took second and third place.

Switzerland

On April 26, 2020, SRF announced that before the Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light program on May 16, a documentary on the history of Switzerland would be shown at the ESC. This ran under the title Switzerland on ESC - Dramen, Siege, Emotionen at 8:10 p.m. on SRF 1 .

Other countries

Australia

In Australia, the broadcaster SBS decided to hold a Eurovision Week (German: Eurovision Week ). In the show Eurovision 2020: Big Night In! , which was broadcast before Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light, the Australian audience was able to determine their winner of the 2020 Song Contest. Iceland came in first, followed by Russia (second) and Lithuania (third). Ben Dolic came 9th for Germany, Gjon's Tears 4th for Switzerland.

broadcasts	Channel	date	poll	winner
Road to Eurovision 2020	SBS VICELAND	May 10, 2020	No	-
Grand Final Eurovision Song Contest 2015	SBS	May 11, 2020	No	-
Grand Final Eurovision Song Contest 2016		May 12, 2020	No	-
Grand Final Eurovision Song Contest 2017		May 13, 2020	No	-
Grand Final Eurovision Song Contest 2018		May 14, 2020	No	-
Grand Final Eurovision Song Contest 2019		May 15, 2020	No	-
Eurovision 2020: Big Night In!		May 16, 2020	Yes	Iceland
Eurovision Top 40 Controversies			No	-
Secrets of Eurovision			No	-

Finland

In Finland, in addition to the annual program De Eurovisa , in which the contributions to the annual Song Contest edition are examined and evaluated, there were many other programs relating to the Song Contest. Yleisradio also organized its own vote on the Finnish winner of the ESC 2020, in the course of which Iceland came first, Lithuania came second and Russia came third. Ben Dolic took 8th place for Germany, Gjon's Tears 4th place for Switzerland.

broadcasts	Channel	date	poll	winner
Eurovision Diaries	Yle TV2 , YLE Areena	April 6, 2020	No	-
Viisukevät 2020: Top 10		May 14, 2020	Yes	Iceland
Eurovision laulukilpailu: Kööpenhamina 2014		May 14, 2020	No	-
Viisukevät 2020: Viisutoiveet		May 15, 2020	No	-
Eurovision laulukilpailu: Ateena 2006		May 15, 2020	No	-
Euroviisustudio 2020: Etkot		May 16, 2020	No	-
Eurovision laulukilpailu: Helsinki 2007		May 16, 2020	No	-

France

In France, France 2 decided to broadcast a documentary about the history of the ESC after the show Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light.

broadcasts	Channel	date	poll	winner
La Grande Histoire d'Eurovision	France 2	May 16, 2020	No	-

Iceland

Despite the cancellation, Iceland also broadcast many programs relating to the Eurovision Song Contest. In addition to the program Alla leið , in which all contributions from 2020 were examined and rated, Ríkisútvarpið also had its own program produced in order to find the Icelandic winner of the ESC 2020. Italy was chosen as the Icelandic winner, Russia took 2nd place, Lithuania 3rd place. Austria and Switzerland came in 8th and 9th.

broadcasts	Channel	date	poll	winner
Alla leið	RÚV	April 18, 2020	Yes	Italy
		April 25, 2020	Yes	Ukraine
		May 2, 2020	Yes	Iceland
		May 9, 2020	Yes	Switzerland
Eurovision pre-party show		May 12, 2020	No	-
Okkar 12 stig		May 14, 2020	Yes	Italy

Netherlands

The Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS broadcast a special edition of De Beste Zangers and a documentary about the 2019 victory on May 14, 2020 . Before the show Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light , the show Het beste van het songfestival should look back on the history of the ESC.

broadcasts	Channel	date	poll	winner
De Beste Zangers Eurovision special	NPO 1	May 14, 2020	No	-
De weg naar de winst			No	-
Het best van het song festival		May 16, 2020	No	-

Norway

Norway also had its own vote and then broadcast it on May 15, 2020. Iceland took 1st place followed by Russia (2nd place) and Lithuania (3rd place). Ben Dolic for Germany came in 9th place, Gjon's Tears for Switzerland on 7th place.

broadcasts	Channel	date	poll	winner
Alternatively, Eurovision competitors	NRK1	May 15, 2020	Yes	Iceland

Sweden

Sweden was the first country to announce its own vote. Iceland was announced as the Swedish winner of the ESC 2020 on May 14, 2020. In the final, both the audience and the jury were able to unite with the maximum number of 12 points. Malta took second place with 20 points and Switzerland took third place with 10 points. Germany achieved 10th place with 4 points from the audience.

broadcasts	Channel	date	poll	winner
Info ESC	SVT1	May 9, 2020	Yes	Determination of the 25 finalists
Eurovision: Sveriges 12: a		May 14, 2020	Yes	Iceland

Ukraine

There was no vote in Ukraine, but the 2020 contributions were presented to the Ukrainian audience in the program Pro shcho spivaye Yevropa .

broadcasts	Channel	date	poll	winner
Pro shcho spivaye Yevropa	WP: Perschyj	4th May 2020	No	-
		May 7, 2020	No	-
		May 10, 2020	No	-

United Kingdom

The BBC aired its own program on May 16 ahead of Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light to honor 2020 contributions.

broadcasts	Channel	date	poll	winner
Eurovision: Come Together	BBC One	May 16, 2020	No	-

Web links

• Official website of the Eurovision Song Contest (English)
• ARD website for the Eurovision Song Contest

Individual evidence

1. ↑ EBU : Get ready for the Eurovision Song Celebration 2020! In: eurovision.tv. April 29, 2020, accessed April 30, 2020 . 
2. ^ Valentinos Gilbert: Belgium: Broadcaster RTBF reveals its Eurovision plans for May. In: esctoday.com. April 29, 2020, accessed April 30, 2020 . 
3. ↑ Benjamin Hertlein: German ESC Final 2020: Daði Freyr and Ben & Tan also perform live. In: esc-kompakt.de. May 14, 2020, accessed May 14, 2020 . 
4. ↑ NDR : German ESC shows: Stars and a winner of hearts. In: eurovision.de. April 26, 2020, accessed May 12, 2020 . 
5. ↑ Uwe Mantel: Restrained interest in "ESC semifinals" at One. In: DWDL . May 15, 2019, accessed May 10, 2020 . 
6. ↑ ^{a b} Daniel Sallhoff: In the target group: ProSieben's “Free ESC” prevails . May 17, 2020, accessed on May 17, 2020 (German). 
7. ^ Anthony Granger: Switzerland: SRF To Broadcast Eurovision Special Looking Nack At Nations History In The Contest. In: eurovoix.com. April 26, 2020, accessed on April 26, 2020 (English). 
8. ↑ SBS : SBS is uniting music fans with Eurovision 2020: Big Night In! In: sbs.com.au. April 17, 2020, accessed April 26, 2020 (Australian English). 
9. ↑ Australia's Eurovision 2020 winner revealed! In: SBS. May 16, 2020, accessed on May 17, 2020 . 
10. ↑ Yleisradio : Tänä keväänä Lordi voittaa jälleen Euroviisut! Ylen viisukeväässä takavuosien finaaleja, Europe Shine A Light ja muuta viisuohjelmaa. In: yle.fi. April 3, 2020, accessed April 3, 2020 (Finnish). 
11. ↑ Steven Spiteri: The top 10 of Finland's alternative Eurovision 2020 revealed. In: Eurovisionworld.com. May 14, 2020, accessed on May 17, 2020 . 
12. ↑ Sanjay (Sergio) Jiandani: France: France 2 unveils Euro Vision schedule for May! In: esctoday.com. April 28, 2020, accessed April 30, 2020 . 
13. ↑ Steinunn Björk: Alla leið! Iceland's RÚV announces alternative Eurovision 2020 show. In: wiwibloggs.com. April 18, 2020, accessed April 26, 2020 (English). 
14. ↑ Kristin Kristjans: celand crowns Italy its Eurovision 2020 winner in “Okkar 12 stig”. In: wiwibloggs. May 15, 2020, accessed on May 17, 2020 . 
15. ↑ Iceland: Diodato Wins Alla leið Show One
16. ↑ Iceland: Go-A Win Win Alla leið Show Two
17. ↑ ^{a b} [1]
18. ↑ Iceland: Gjon's Tears Win Wins Alla leið Show Four
19. ^ Camilla Sand: Marte Stokstad blir ny commentator for Eurovision Song Contest. In: nrk.no. April 17, 2020, accessed April 30, 2020 (Norwegian). 
20. ↑ Tobias Engelin Edvinsson: Eurovision Week! Sweden's SVT announces its alternative song contest programming. In: wiwibloggs.com. April 3, 2020, accessed on April 26, 2020 . 
21. ↑ Anthony Granger: Ukraine: Eurovision 2020 Songs To Be Broadcast As Part Of "Pro shcho spivaye Yevropa". In: eurovoix.com. April 30, 2020, accessed April 30, 2020 (English). 
22. ↑ Eurovision: Come Together