Spain in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020

Spain originally planned to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 with the song "Universo", performed by Blas Cantó. The entry, written by Dan Hammond, Dangelo Ortega, Mikolaj Trybulec, Ashley Hicklin and Cantó, was selected internally. The singer was also internally selected by the Spanish broadcaster Televisión Española (TVE). However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the contest was cancelled.

Eurovision Song Contest 2020
Country Spain
National selection
Selection processInternal Selection
Selection date(s)Artist: 5 October 2019
Song: 30 January 2020
Selected entrantBlas Cantó
Selected song"Universo"
Selected songwriter(s)Blas Cantó
Dan Hammond
Dangelo Ortega
Mikolaj Trybulec
Ashley Hicklin
Finals performance
Final resultCancelled
Spain in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2019 • 2020 • 2021►

As a member of the "Big 5", Spain automatically qualifies to compete in the final of the Eurovision Song Contest.

Background
Main article: Spain in the Eurovision Song Contest

Prior to the 2020 contest, Spain had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest fifty-nine times since its first entry in 1961.[1] The nation has won the contest on two occasions: in 1968 with the song "La, la, la" performed by Massiel and in 1969 with the song "Vivo cantando" performed by Salomé, the latter having won in a four-way tie with France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Spain has also finished second four times, with Karina in 1971, Mocedades in 1973, Betty Missiego in 1979 and Anabel Conde in 1995. In 2019, Spain placed twenty-second out of twenty-six countries with the song "La venda" performed by Miki.

The Spanish national broadcaster, Televisión Española (TVE), broadcasts the event within Spain and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. The Spanish broadcaster had used both national finals and internal selection to choose the Spanish entry in the past. For 2018 and 2019, TVE used the reality television singing competition Operación Triunfo (the Spanish version of Star Academy) to select the artist and song to represent Spain in the contest, as they had previously done from 2002 to 2004. Despite the fact that TVE renewed Operación Triunfo for a further series, TVE announced on 18 September 2019 that they would opt to select the Spanish entry for the 2020 contest through an internal selection.[2]

Before Eurovision

Internal selection

TVE confirmed their intentions to participate at the 2020 Eurovision Song Contest on 4 June 2019. On 5 October 2019, the broadcaster announced during the news broadcast Telediario that they had internally selected singer Blas Cantó to represent Spain in Rotterdam.[3] On 30 January 2020, his song "Universo", written by Cantó, Dan Hammond, Dangelo Ortega, Mikolaj Trybulec and Ashley Hicklin, was premiered on TVE's official website.[4][5]

At Eurovision

The Eurovision Song Contest 2020 was expected to take place at Rotterdam Ahoy in Rotterdam, Netherlands and would have consisted of two semi-finals on 12 and 14 May and the final on 16 May 2020.[6] According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big 5" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) were required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. As a member of the "Big 5", Spain automatically qualified to compete in the final. In addition to their participation in the final, Spain was also required to broadcast and vote in one of the two semi-finals. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the contest was cancelled.

See also

References
  1. "Spain Country Profile". EBU. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  2. Pedra, Jordi (18 September 2019). "Spain: RTVE confirms internal selection for Eurovision 2020…and says "well-known artist" will be announced soon". wiwibloggs.com. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  3. Granger, Anthony (5 October 2019). "Spain: Blas Cantó Selected For Eurovision 2020". eurovoix.com. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  4. Granger, Anthony (22 January 2020). ""Universo" Reveal on January 30". eurovoix.com. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  5. "Mira ya el videoclip de Blas Cantó, "Universo", la canción con la que representará a España en Eurovisión 2020". RTVE (in Spanish). 2020-01-30. Retrieved 2020-01-30.
  6. "Rotterdam to host Eurovision 2020!". eurovision.tv. Retrieved 2020-01-23.
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