Rotterdam has been selected as the Host City for the 65th Eurovision Song Contest in 2020 following a tight race with the southern Dutch city of Maastricht.

The Netherlands won the right to stage next year’s event when Duncan Laurence gave his country its first win since 1975 with the song “Arcade” at this year’s Contest in May.

The Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 will take place in Rotterdam on Saturday 16 May with Semi-Finals on 12 and 14 May.

Dutch public broadcasters NPO, NOS and AVROTROS, together with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), will organize the event next year at the city’s Ahoy arena.

Rotterdam was chosen following a strong city bid process. A total of five Dutch cities and regions competed to host the world’s largest live music event, which reached over 180 million viewers worldwide in 2019.

The list was narrowed down to two cities, Rotterdam and Maastricht, before a decision was made by the host broadcasters together with the EBU and the Eurovision Song Contest Reference Group (the Contest's governing board).

Jon Ola Sand, the EBU’s Executive Supervisor for the Eurovision Song Contest, said “We'd like to thank all the Dutch cities who bid to host the 2020 Eurovision Song Contest, particularly Maastricht whose exemplary bid made the final decision extremely hard. We are also grateful to NPO, NOS and AVROTROS who worked tirelessly to ensure that we have the best overall setup for the world's largest live music event.”

“Rotterdam has shown fantastic enthusiasm and commitment and has the right facilities to welcome delegations from over 40 countries next May. We look forward to working with Rotterdam and NPO, NOS and AVROTROS on an incredible state-of-the-art Eurovision Song Contest in a great city next year.”

"It is our wish to organize a Eurovision Song Contest that is embraced throughout the Netherlands and also functions as a showcase for our country in Europe," said Shula Rijxman, Director General of NPO.

“We are happy that as a public broadcaster we can now really work together with Rotterdam and the Ahoy arena to organize a unique event that connects and inspires all inhabitants of the Netherlands and Europe."

"As an entrepreneurial and creative city, Rotterdam fits perfectly with this event," Shula added. "We would like to thank Maastricht and the province of Limburg for their energy, enthusiasm and hospitality during recent months. Maastricht has shown itself as a city with a big heart for the Eurovision Song Contest and we hope to keep the city engaged all the way to the contest in May next year.”

The Netherlands will host the Contest for a fifth time having previously staged the Eurovision Song Contest in Hilversum, Amsterdam and twice in The Hague.  

Tickets for the rehearsals, Semi-Finals and Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 will go on sale later this year; check the official website, Twitter, Facebook and the official Eurovision app for updates.