Eurovision locks on Rotterdam for 2020

The Eurovision Song Contest 2020 will be held at the Rotterdam Ahoy arena.

The European Broadcasting Union confirmed the news overnight, choosing the Netherlands city following a tight race with the southern city of Maastricht. 5 cities competed for the right to host.

The Contest will be held on Tuesday 12, Thursday 14 (semi-finals) and final on Saturday 16 May 2020 (May 17 Australia). This will be the fifth time the Netherlands has hosted the Contest.

Jon Ola Sand, the EBU’s Executive Supervisor, said, “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 NPO, NOS and AVROTROS on an incredible state-of-the-art Eurovision Song Contest in a great city next year.”

Rotterdam is home to 634,660 people and Rotterdam Ahoy, the convention centre and arena where Eurovision 2020 will take place. Built in 1970, the arena’s design, which took inspiration from Rotterdam’s port and shipping industry, won various national and international awards.

Ahoy Arena, which previously held Junior Eurovision, has capacity for 16,400 patrons.

But the dates also coincide with the Invictus Games at The Hague, a 40 minute drive away, from May 9 -16 which will put a great strain on hotels, crew, communications and technical suppliers.