Eurovision Song Contest - Fans Club Game - 2020 Tribute Edition

The special 2020 Tribute Edition of Eurovision Song Contest - Fans Club Game was organised in the exactly same venue planned for the contest - Rotterdam Ahoy, Rotterdam, Netherlands.

It was the very first show held by the Dutch broadcaster in this contest, and would have been the fifth time for the Netherlands to host the actual Eurovision Song Contest since 1956. All of the ceremonies were hosted by the originally chosen four of hosts - Chantal Janzen, Edsilia Rombley, Jan Smit and Nikkie de Jager.

The winner of the tribute was Italy with the song "Fai Rumore" by Diodato, awarded with 504 points in total.

Venue Choice
The five cities of Arnhem, 's-Hertogenbosch, Maastricht, Rotterdam, and Utrecht - delivered their finished bid books to a ceremonial event held in Hilversum on 10 July 2019. The hosting broadcasters reviewed the bids presented and on 16 July 2019 announced that it eliminated those for Arnhem, 's-Hertogenbosch and Utrecht, shortlisting only Maastricht and Rotterdam. Utrecht was specifically eliminated because its proposal to span a tent over its Jaarbeurs offered limited possibilities for testing on location and had a questionable suitability for events like the Eurovision Song Contest, while 's-Hertogenbosch was dropped due to an insufficient ceiling height in its Brabanthallen and too few hotel rooms blocked for potential visitors of the contest.

To review and discuss the location, venue and surrounding events for the remaining bids, Nederlandse Publieke Omroep (NPO) visited Maastricht on 17 July 2019 and Rotterdam on the following day. By late July, additional visits to the two shortlisted cities were deemed necessary to review production logistics. The EBU did not pay visits to either city. Maastricht and Rotterdam were to hand in revised versions of their bid books by 9 August 2019 to add details involving the cities' social programmes, side-events and programme licensing. A "concept agreement" was put before the organisers in both Maastricht and Rotterdam in August 2019. While Rotterdam signed this agreement, the city council of Maastricht discussed and rejected it. Within the same council session, it was also clarified that the MECC would not receive additional renovations. On 30 August, Rotterdam was announced as the host city during a special broadcast on NPO 1 and NPO 2.

Visual design
The contest's slogan, "Open Up", was unveiled on 24 October 2019. The official logo and branding was unveiled on 28 November 2019. Designed by CLEVER°FRANKE, it is "an abstract representation of the flag colours of the 41 countries participating in 2020 by first appearance to the contest".

Stage design
The EBU revealed the stage design for the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 in December 2019. The design is inspired by the slogan "Open Up" and the typical Dutch flat landscape. The Eurovision stage was designed by German stage designer Florian Wieder, who also designed the stages for the contests in 2011–12, 2015, and 2017–19. Unlike the previous contest, the green room was placed inside to the main performance venue.

Postcards
The concept of the 2020 postcards was based on the "Open Up" theme of the contest. Each artist would have visited a different part of the Netherlands and connect with locals by participating in a Dutch activity, tradition or hobby.

Opening and interval acts
The second semi-final would have opened with a performance by breakdancer Redo. The final would have been opened with a flag parade, introducing all twenty-six finalists, accompanied by music produced by 15-year-old DJ Pieter Gabriel. A symphony orchestra of sixty-five young musicians from across Netherlands, specifically formed for this occasion, was scheduled to perform in the final, together with DJ Afrojack and singer Glennis Grace, the latter who had represented the Netherlands in the 2005 contest. This interval act would have also featured forty dancers and a twenty-five-piece gospel choir.

Furthermore, the final was scheduled to include performances from eight former Eurovision winners: Gigliola Cinquetti would have performed "Non ho l'età", Lenny Kuhr would have performed "De troubadour", Getty Kaspers (of Teach-In) would have performed "Ding-a-dong", Sandra Kim would have performed "J'aime la vie", Paul Harrington and Charlie McGettigan would have performed "Rock 'n' Roll Kids", Alexander Rybak would have performed "Fairytale", and Duncan Laurence would have performed "Arcade" once again.

Semi-final 1
Just like originally anticipated, 17 countries participated in the first semi-final, with Germany, Italy and the Netherlands eligible to vote, as well. Ten countries have been chosen to join the Big 5 and the host country in the Grand Final.

Semi-final 2
Just like originally anticipated, 18 countries participated in the second semi-final, with France, Spain and the United Kingdom eligible to vote, as well. Ten countries have been chosen to join the Big 5 and the host country in the Grand Final.

The Grand Final
26 countries participated in the final, with all 41 participating countries eligible to cast their votes.