EDITORIAL – Last night EBU aired the show EUROVISION: EUROPE SHINE A LIGHT to replace the cancelled EUROVISION 2020 edition due to the pandemic outbreak. The show statistics (TV ratings) and the reactions in the social media, easily prove that this show was not adequate to fulfil the needs of the fans.
This totally personal estimation based on what really experienced last night and here are my thoughts about it.
First, let me start with the “live” status of the show. the fans invited to attend their TV screens at home and see a live show which was full of videos.
Second, the show was supposed to be a tribute to the 2020 participants and also the heroes across Europe in this pandemic crisis. The 2020 participants only presented in-group like a heard of sheep, with a presentation of their songs curated 30secons!
The 2020 participants gave all the same message with wishes keep repeating themselves giving at the end no meaning in their saying.
Third, although we all felt the sensitivity of Eurostars singing in the empty streets of their cities, there was nothing new on what we have seen or heard, expect Netta’s brand new song, which helped most of us fall asleep!
Yes, her song was delivering a message, but where was EBU’s message? Either EBU is trying to make us believe that Europe is together in this crisis, or EBU is truly living n the ideal bubble world we live in, believing still (and we wonder why) that hope, solidarity and the idea of Umanité are ruling. Because the truth is that Europe (especially through the European Union) has proven all but that!
We all know that the project “Europe”, is not working once again (after the Economic Crisis of 2008) with this pandemic with the host country The Netherlands playing also a key role in it. But let’s not go into the politics surrounding this show.
Now let’s not be negative in total. EBU did their best (and actually that show was the best they could do). But the figures prove them wrong. TV ratings across Europe proved that skipping any kind of competition sent viewers away.
Some can say that the viewership would have been low anyway and we all knew that. But on the one side, the viewership seems to have been already devastating and on the other hand competitive shows last night, or the preview shows aired (and included voting formats).
In Germany 2.9 million viewers watched the show FREE EUROPEAN SONG CONTEST while almost 1.7 watched the EBU show. In the UK 2.9 million viewers watched the show COM TOGETHER while 2.4 million watched the EBU show.
Greece and Cyprus complete ignored the show with TV ratings 6.2% and 7%, respectively. Despite big promo to the Italian entry, RAI had only 11.05% viewership. Same low numbers recorded in France (7.5), Spain (7.2) while host country, The Netherlands, recorded 14% TV ratings.
OK, EBU managed to surprise us all with the rare TV appearance of Bjorn Ulvaeus from ABBA and they gave us JESC and ESC news. But those weren’t news. We know that life moves on, we know that ESC 2021 will take place. It would have been news if the show was cancelled again.
EUROVISION: EUROPE SHINE A LIGHT 🇳🇱 COMMENTATORS
| COUNTRY | MONUMENTS | COMMENTATOR(S) | TV RATINGS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🇦🇹 | Wiener Riesenrad | 0.2 million | |
| 🇦🇺 | Sydney Opera | 0.01 million | |
| 🇧🇪 | The Atomium | Jean-Louis Lahaye & Maureen Louys | 0.5 million |
| 🇨🇭 | Monte Cervino | Jean-Marc Richard & Yoann Provenzano | 0.2 million |
| 🇨🇾 | Presidential Palace | Andreas Iakovides | 0.05 million |
| 🇨🇿 | Jan Maxián | ||
| 🇩🇪 | Elbphilharmonie | 1.6 million | |
| 🇩🇰 | Little Mermaid | 0.6 million | |
| 🇪🇪 | Tallinn Song Festival Grounds | 0.1 million | |
| 🇪🇸 | Teatro Real | Tony Aguilar & Eva Mora | 1.3 million |
| 🇫🇮 | 0.1 million | ||
| 🇫🇷 | Eiffel Tower | Stéphane Bern | 1.2 million |
| 🇬🇧 | London Eye | 2.4 million | |
| 🇬🇷 | The Acropolis | Maria Kozakou | 0.3 million |
| 🇮🇸 | Harpa | 0.1 million | |
| 🇮🇹 | Arena di Verona | Ema Stokholma and Gino Castaldo | 2.8 million |
| 🇱🇹 | National Opera & Ballet Theatre | ||
| 🇳🇱 | Ponte Erasmus | 2.4 million | |
| 🇵🇱 | Castelo Real | Artur Orzech | 0.7 million |
| 🇵🇹 | Torre de Belém | Nuno Galopim | 0.5 million |
| 🇷🇺 | Moscow Cathedral St Vassil | 2.5 million | |
| 🇸🇪 | Globen Arena | 0.9 million |
Now in terms of the show itself. The hosts were dull. The appearance of Nikkie for one minute was useless and the big call for fans to sing-s-long with Johnny Logan proved to be 5 seconds appearance in the entire performance of WHAT’S ANOTHER YEAR. Dreadful.
Overall it was not a good farewell show for Jon Ola Sand himself, who unfairly will loose most of the credit for the 2020 Eurovision preparations as the new EBU Executive Supervisor, officially stepped in.
The big question though, was there anything better made and prepared to replace Eurovision 2020? Yes, they could easily just make a show of an unofficial online contest asking the Europan viewers to declare the best video of ESC 2020.
In sum, the lack of competition plundered the show. Yes, the show was a failure but it gave a chance to get around (at least the hardcore fandom) and give us a chance to moan once again.
