This morning news broke from Rotterdam as a press release revealed that the EBU would be honoring the allocation draw from the cancelled 2020 contest this upcoming May. One of the big reasons the EBU decided to keep the same allocations is because fans are also carrying their tickets over from cancelled event and into the 2021 show. Many fans will purchase tickets based on what is available and what they can get – however there are fans who purchase tickets to watch their favorite artists, countries, or native countries perform on the Eurovision stage. By honoring the previous lineup this will allow fans to see the same countries they would have seen in 2020 one year later. This of course assumes that the contest can occur with a live audience.
Commenting on the decision Martin Österdahl, Executive Supervisor of the Eurovision Song Contest said: “Under normal circumstances we would be looking forward to the Allocation Draw and Host Insignia Exchange Ceremony as an important milestone on the road to Rotterdam 2021. With the same participating countries as last year , the Reference Group decided that it made sense for both ticket holders and for participating broadcasters to keep the same Semi-Final draws as 2020. Even though we won’t have the traditional Ceremony in January we have plenty more planned to build excitement ahead of the return of the Eurovision Song Contest next year.”
This means the semi-finals will look as such:
First Semi-Final (18 May 2021)
First half
- North Macedonia
- Belarus
- Lithuania
- Sweden
- Slovenia
- Australia
- Ireland
- Russia
Second half
- Norway
- Cyprus
- Croatia
- Azerbaijan
- Malta
- Israel
- Ukraine
- Romania
- Belgium
Second Semi-Final (20 May 2021)
First half
- Austria
- Moldova
- Poland
- San Marino
- Serbia
- Iceland
- Czech Republic
- Greece
- Estonia
Second half
- Denmark
- Bulgaria
- Switzerland
- Finland
- Armenia
- Latvia
- Georgia
- Portugal
- Albania
Big 5 + Host Country the Netherlands Semi-Final Voting
Semi-Final One Appearances and Voting Countries
- The Netherlands
- Germany
- Italy
Semi-Final Two Appearances and Voting Countries
- Spain
- United Kingdom
- France
Given that the carry over of countries is exactly the same, 10 countries will advance from each semi-final leaving 7 acts behind in Semi 1 and 8 acts behind in Semi 2. Many artists from the 2020 season will be returning to take the stage in 2021, while countries like Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Albania, Portugal, Lithuania, Estonia and more will be hosting selections to pick their 2021 representative. If anything is for sure – this season is going to be an adventure!
What do #YOU think about the allocations being carried over? Did the EBU make the right call? Let us know on our social media, in the comments, or on our forum page!
The Eurovision 2021 news round-up: Part One – escYOUnited
November 20, 2020 at 17:37
[…] As reported earlier this week – the 2020 semi-final allocations will utilized during the 2021 contest. The EBU made this decision due to fans carrying their semi-final tickets over from the cancelled event, assuming that the live audience is allowed in Ahoy Arena come May time. This means that the Semi final 1 and Semi Final 2 line will be exactly the same. You can read more about this decision and the official 2021 Allocation by clicking here. […]