The host city for the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 has been announced
Duncan Laurence, representing The Netherlands, wins the Grand Final of the 64th annual Eurovision Song Contest held at Tel Aviv Fairgrounds on May 18, 2019 in Tel Aviv, Israel. (Michael Campanella/Getty)
The 2020 Eurovision Song Contest will be held in the Dutch port city of Rotterdam, it has been revealed.
The city will host the next edition of the contest in May 2020, after bisexual Dutch singer Duncan Laurence claimed the trophy with hit song ‘Arcade’.
When and where is the Eurovision Song Contest 2020?
Rotterdam was awarded the right to host the contest on Friday, August 30, following a battle with Maastricht, after the capital city of Amsterdam ruled itself out of contention.
The event will be held at the Ahoy Rotterdam arena, which has a capacity of 16,000.
The city of Rotterdam will host the event (Tom Mrazek/Creative Commons license)
The week-long Eurovision spectacle will kick off with semi-finals on May 12 and 14, followed by the grand final on May 16.
Unlike last year’s host city Tel Aviv, Rotterdam is not renowned for its large LGBT+ scene, though it does have a number of queer venues and an annual Pride event.
How to buy tickets for Eurovision Song Contest 2020.
Organisers are yet to announce details of ticket prices for the event, but the first wave of tickets are expected to be released to the public towards the end of 2019.
Tickets will be available for nine shows in total – the two semi-finals and the grand final, plus two rehearsals for each show.
The event will be held at the Ahoy Rotterdam arena
A release said: “Tickets for the rehearsals, semi-finals and grand final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 will go on sale later this year.
“Check the official website, Twitter, Facebook and the official Eurovision app for updates.”
Rotterdam will host ‘unique’ Eurovision in Dutch port city.
Shula Rijxman, director general of Dutch broadcaster NPO, said: “It is our wish to organise a Eurovision Song Contest that is embraced throughout the Netherlands and also functions as a showcase for our country in Europe.
“We are happy that as a public broadcaster we can now really work together with Rotterdam and the Ahoy arena to organise a unique event that connects and inspires all inhabitants of the Netherlands and Europe.”
“As an entrepreneurial and creative city, Rotterdam fits perfectly with this event.”
The Netherlands’ Duncan Laurence celebrates after winning the 64th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 at Expo Tel Aviv on May 19, 2019, (JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty)
Jon Ola Sand, the EBU’s executive supervisor for the Eurovision Song Contest, said: “We’d like to thank all the Dutch cities who bid to host the 2020 Eurovision Song Contest, particularly Maastricht whose exemplary bid made the final decision extremely hard.
“We are also grateful to NPO, NOS and AVROTROS, who worked tirelessly to ensure that we have the best overall setup for the world’s largest live music event.”
“Rotterdam has shown fantastic enthusiasm and commitment and has the right facilities to welcome delegations from over 40 countries next May.
“We look forward to working with Rotterdam and [public broadcasters] NPO, NOS and AVROTROS on an incredible state-of-the-art Eurovision Song Contest in a great city next year.”
