Dimitris Kouimtsidis
THE Eurovision Song Contest that was due to take place on May 16, has been cancelled due to coronavirus.
This year’s annual international music contest was due to be held in Rotterdam, following the Netherland’s win last year in Tel Aviv.
However, after 64 straight years of the contest bringing all of Europe together to pick the continent’s best song, Covid-19 has now ended that streak.
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has released a statement detailing the cancellation of the event.
The statement read: “The health of artists, staff, fans and visitors, as well as the situation in the Netherlands, Europe and the world, is at the heart of this decision.”
Jon Ola Sand, Executive Supervisor of the EBU said: “The EBU, together with the Host Broadcaster NPO, NOS, AVROTROS and the City of Rotterdam will continue to talk to see if it’s possible to stage the Eurovision Song Contest in Rotterdam in 2021.”
Both Spain and the UK are part of the so-called ‘Big Five’, the five countries who make the biggest financial contributions to the EBU and get an automatic place in the Grand Final.
The last time Spain won the contest was in 1969 when it was involved in a four way tie with the UK, France and the Netherlands.
