Accordingly, the event should take place with two semifinals on May 18th and 20th and the grand finale on May 22nd. After the corona-related cancellation of the previous year, the EBU, as the organizer, made it clear early on that the ESC will take place in 2021 – in one of four variants. Option 1 would have been a familiar ESC with three live shows in the Rotterdam Ahoy Arena, but is now off the table. Variant 2, on the other hand, should come into play – i.e. a live event, but with hygiene measures and corona distance between the spectators. Since there is less space in the hall with this variant, all tickets purchased will be refunded.
The other two options are still to be kept at the table, it was said on Wednesday: Scenario 3 would be an event with travel restrictions for some participating countries, in which the respective candidates from your own country would then be included. And even in the event of a complete lockdown, the song contest should take place. Then a TV show with the connection of all participants and without accompanying activities would be planned in Rotterdam.
It has been certain for some time that all 41 countries that should have competed in the Eurovision Song Contest in Rotterdam last year, which was ultimately canceled, will also be there this year. Austria will once again send Vincent Bueno, who was thwarted in 2020, into the race.