Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light watched by 70 million spectators

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Over 70 million viewers across Europe and Australia watched the alternate ESC special- Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light on Saturday 16 May.

The 2020 Eurovision Song Contest which was scheduled to be held in Rotterdam was cancelled due to the COVID-19 global pandemic. Dutch public broadcasters (NPO/NOS/AVROTROS) came up with a special show to replace the cancelled contest. The show paid tribute to the 2020 Eurovision hopefuls.

The show was hosted by Edsilia Rombley, Chantal Janzen and Jan Smit.

Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light was watched by over 70 million viewers across the continent and beyond.

In Italy circa 3 million viewers tuned in to see the show on RAI, whilst 2.4 million viewers tuned in the Netherlands and the UK on NPO 1 and BBC One respectively. In Russia 2.1 million viewers tuned in on Channel One.

Mr. Noel Curran (EBU General Director) says:

I really want to congratulate the whole team at NPO, NOS and AVROTROS who produced an incredibly creative and very emotional show under challenging circumstances.

I’m proud that with Europe Shine A Light we united a continent in true Eurovision spirit. These fantastic figures really highlight the power of public service media to bring audiences together, not just in their own countries but across the world too.

Mr. Jon Ola Sand (Outgoing Eurovision Song Contest Executive Supervisor) says:

Even in the absence of a song contest, our show this year proves that the light that Eurovision shines into millions of hearts remains undimmed. I’d like to thank the incredible team in the Netherlands for all their hard work and our digital team who also worked intensively to provide new, original content which engaged millions online as well.

The past 10 years have been amazing and I will always be a proud part of the Eurovision family. I wish everyone, and in particular my successor Martin Österdahl, all the very best as they begin preparations for the return of the Eurovision Song Contest next year.

The 2021 Eurovision Song Contest is scheduled to be held in Rotterdam next year, the dates of the competition are yet to be confirmed.