Eurovision 2020 & The Corona Virus

[Alaska49]

I think postponing it to November is a bad idea, for the majority of viewers it would be too much to have two Eurovisions within 6 months. Yeah I know we are crazy fans who would love that but let's look beyond that for a bit

i don't think this is an issue because of the viewers, more because of the logistics for the next host country (too little time to get things together), but also it could easily be solved by adjusting the schedule for the following two years. say october/november 2020, august 2021, june 2022. then from 2023 on it's back to regular schedule. soundd drastic but coronavirus is unlike anything we've seen before.

 

[ESC94]

Well, since the situation is really out of control in some countries I think postponing the contest to summer/fall would be the best idea.

 

[EscGeek]

I'm willing to wait a whole year as long as the line-up stays exactly the same tbh.
But i'm sure they can just adjust the schedule for a few years in advance.

 

[Vektor]

postponement would be a logistical nightmare, but cancellation would be a shot in their own pockets. they have spent too much on this to just cancel it now. and for all non-netherlands countries that host a NF, making this the 2021 contest is the same as cancelling it, i don't think they'd be happy with this. i think this is why we don't have a decision yet. no easy way out.

i think there is way too much pride involved in a contest that has never been cancelled since 1956 for the idea of a year without eurovision to truly be crossing their minds, though. people aren't all 100% pragmatic.

We are currently in the worst global/European crisis since World War II, and guess when was the last time some of the largest events, like the World Cup and the Olympics, got cancelled? World War II. In a time of crisis events like ESC get cancelled, that's just how this works.

 

[GianlucaTomoe]

Eurovision was never cancelled one time in 65 years, what does make you think it will happen this year for the very first time *ever*? It would be just hilarious if EBU had to cancel the contest because they didn't have any plan B, which they do have for every occasion. Let's just wait for an official decision.

 

[wtf]

How about they go for plan B this year (every country broadcasting from their own country) and then offer all the artist first to represent their countries again next year so they get the real experience? So unless the artist decides otherwise, all national finals will be choosing the right song for them, like Finland 2018-2019 and Romania 2020? I think that would be fair.

 

[nofuxCZ]

How about they go for plan B this year (every country broadcasting from their own country) and then offer all the artist first to represent their countries again next year so they get the real experience? So unless the artist decides otherwise, all national finals will be choosing the right song for them, like Finland 2018-2019 and Romania 2020? I think that would be fair.

And Netherlands will host again next year? What would happen for the country that would win this year?

I would be quite sad if my country won after so many years and then we wouldn't get a chance to host a proper show. And if Netherlands hosted again next year, it would suck equally for the country winning this year's contest.

Postponing to autumn seems like the best option. Less time to prepare the hosting the following year would be managable. You don't really need several months to decide which city or arena to host in.

 

[watersoup]

We can all see the is clearly no chance of it happening at the scheduled time. I guess they see no harm in delaying the announcement until they absolutely have to make it but it is pointless; with some countries not expecting a peak in the virus until June,there can be no show until Autumn at the earliest.

I don't like the idea of everyone performing in their own country or having a show with no crowd, it is counter to what makes Eurovision special to me so I would definitely postpone over choosing either of those. But to cancel altogether would be harsh on artists and broadcasters who will already have invested time, effort and money into their entry and, greedily, I want another NF season next year so in the worst case scenario, those options are preferable to cancelling altogether even if I wouldn't be excited to watch it. The winning country should be given the choice of delaying until later in 2021 (say up until September) if that helps them to arrange hosting. Honestly, I see no reason why Eurovison must be in the Spring in general. If a far North country like Iceland or even Norway or Sweden were to win, it might make more sense for them to host in the Summer anyway.

 

[andimuhammadrifki]

We can all see the is clearly no chance of it happening at the scheduled time. I guess they see no harm in delaying the announcement until they absolutely have to make it but it is pointless; with some countries not expecting a peak in the virus until June,there can be no show until Autumn at the earliest.

I don't like the idea of everyone performing in their own country or having a show with no crowd, it is counter to what makes Eurovision special to me so I would definitely postpone over choosing either of those. But to cancel altogether would be harsh on artists and broadcasters who will already have invested time, effort and money into their entry and, greedily, I want another NF season next year so in the worst case scenario, those options are preferable to cancelling altogether even if I wouldn't be excited to watch it. The winning country should be given the choice of delaying until later in 2021 (say up until September) if that helps them to arrange hosting. Honestly, I see no reason why Eurovison must be in the Spring in general. If a far North country like Iceland or even Norway or Sweden were to win, it might make more sense for them to host in the Summer anyway.

in case Eurovision next year is not in May, we can also adjust the NF schedule. let's assume it's in August (10-14 August 2021), so the deadline of song submission will possibly be on Tuesday, 15 June 2021. so the Melodifestivalen 2021 final can be readjusted to Saturday, 12 June 2021. same as other NFs, it can all be postponed in accordance with the main ESC schedule.

 

[NikolaiMoller]

I think postponing it to November is a bad idea, for the majority of viewers it would be too much to have two Eurovisions within 6 months. Yeah I know we are crazy fans who would love that but let's look beyond that for a bit

I don't think so.

In that case, there won't have been a contest for 1,5 year. I think people could watch 2 shows during half a year after that.

And if the virus last so long that EBU has to postpone it to November, we really NEED to bring Europe together again. What a better way to do that than Eurovision?

 

[Edweis]

Big sports events have already been postponed, I don't see why they can't do the same for ESC. Of course it would take more organisation, especially for the winner who would have to prepare for ESC2021 in a shorter time, but it's the best option for everyody involved.
Or if they don't have a choice but to cancel it, then we keep the same acts for next year. Changing them would be absolutely unfair to the artists.

 

[Citelis]

This year is too good to be cancelled completely. I still hope they can postpone it in August or September!

 

[Iker]

i don't think this is an issue because of the viewers, more because of the logistics for the next host country (too little time to get things together), but also it could easily be solved by adjusting the schedule for the following two years. say october/november 2020, august 2021, june 2022. then from 2023 on it's back to regular schedule. soundd drastic but coronavirus is unlike anything we've seen before.

Coronavirus is much unlike AIDS or Spanish Flu ... I was hoping this is what you meant.

 

[Zeus]

Cancelled.

 

[Citelis]

Terrible news but not a surprise at all!

 

[Teaisloveable]

 

[Swedenvision]

No!

 

[nofuxCZ]

I really hoped they would postpone it.
I am really sad... but it's understandable given the situation.

 

[Stargazer]

My hope and wish was that they could have done some sort of compromise. Each country just sends in a taping of their entry and they just air them, like music videos or something. The voting is already done remotely from home as it is. They could have put together lots of old ESC clips as an interval act. This could easily have worked, but it seems like they want an all-or-nothing approach.

Now we're left with nothing. If the entries will be used next year, then all of that "new entry charm" will be gone and the songs won't feel as special anymore. If they keep the artists, but let them perform a new song then we'd end up with a bunch of entries nobody voted for. If these entries and artists are scrapped for next year, then it'll be so unfair for all the winning artists and songwriters. I don't know which is worse. It's a lose-lose situation no matter how you look at it.

 

[NikolaiMoller]

Eurovision no.... no please don't do this noooooooo