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Eurovision 2020: Rotterdam or Maastricht?

Two cities are vying for the chance to host Europe's annual songfest next May.

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Two Dutch cities are left in the running to host Eurovision 2020.

Last week, five cities presented their bids to Dutch Host Broadcaster NPO but the European Broadcasting Union ruled out 3: Arnhem,’s-Hertogenbosch and Utrecht.

Amsterdam did not present with the Netherlands Tourist Board keen to promote regions other than the capital, while The Hague already has the Invictus Games next May.

Maastricht and Rotterdam (pictured) were deemed to have provided the strongest bids, offering the right mix of television facilities as well as the side-events like the Eurovision Village, EuroClub and the Opening Ceremony. Both cities can also provide an appropriate number of hotel rooms and are willing to substantially contribute financially.

Executive Producer Sietse Bakker said, “All the cities and venues have put a lot of effort into their bids. We were impressed with all the proposals and would like to thank everyone involved so far for their positive input and commitment. We are convinced Maastricht and Rotterdam offer everything that a Host City requires.

“We are hoping the other cities will maintain their enthusiasm for the Song Contest. We’d love to discuss in the coming months how we can involve them in the event next year.”

Organisers will now visit the potential Host Cities with the final choice to be announced in mid-August.

5 Responses

    1. I refer to Trip Hop, as in bands like Portishead, Tricky etc. I’m not a fan of Grunge myself either, it’s an example of a genre that originated in a particular city.

  2. According to some of the fan sites, the EBU are super keen on Maastricht. It’s where the treaty was signed to officially create the European Union and has some other significance to attempts to unify the continent as well.

  3. I’d pick Rotterdam. It has more cultural significance for music as the Gabber genre originated from there. Not many cities can claim to be the birthplace and origin of a genre of music. Kind of like how Trip Hop originated from Bristol, UK and how Grunge originated from Seattle, USA, for example. Any city in where a musical genre is spawned must have an extraordinary music and cultural scene.

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