Het Grote Songfestivalfeest (Dutch pronunciation:[ətˈxroːtəˈsɔŋfɛstivɑlˌfeːst]; English: The Big Eurovision Party) is a Dutch television concert programme starring artists of the Eurovision Song Contest, produced by PilotStudio, and held at the Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam. Originally commissioned for the occasion of the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 in Rotterdam prior to its cancellation, four editions of the show have been held, with a fifth set to be held in November 2025. Cornald Maas and Edsilia Rombley are the regular presenters of the programme. The show is broadcast in a number of European countries as supplementary Eurovision programming ahead of or during the contest weeks.
Presenters
The first edition of the show in 2019 was originally planned to be hosted by Dutch Eurovision commentators Cornald Maas and Jan Smit, however, the latter had to withdraw due to illness and was later replaced by one of his Eurovision 2020 co-hosts, Edsilia Rombley. Rombley, who represented the Netherlands in the 1998 and 2007 contests, also performed her entries during the concert.[1] Former Dutch spokespersons Emma Wortelboer and Tim Douwsma, as well as Junior Eurovision Song Contest commentator Buddy Vedder, also appeared as presenters during the show to introduce some of the acts. Maas and Rombley returned as hosts for the subsequent three editions,[2][3] and are joined by Tia Kofi in 2024.[4]
Performances
2019 edition
The first edition was held on 15 November 2019, with 31 Eurovision acts from 17 countries participating.[1]
– Performances were not shown during the broadcast
Withdrawn artists
The original list of the performers also included Willeke Alberti, the Dutch representative at the Eurovision Song Contest 1994, who missed the show due to illness.[5][6]Finland's Lordi and Russia's Dima Bilan, who won the contest in 2006 and 2008 respectively, were expected to perform, but they later withdrew their participation.[7]Helena Paparizou was also invited, but couldn't participate in person due to a scheduling clash with a live broadcast of The Voice of Greece. Instead, she sent a video message in which she sang the refrain of her 2005 winning song "My Number One".
2022 edition
The second edition was held on 17 November 2022, with 31 Eurovision acts from 16 countries participating.[8]
– Performances were not shown during the broadcast
2024 edition
The fourth edition was held on 12 December 2024, with 25 Eurovision acts from 15 countries participating.[14][15]Sakis Rouvas, who represented Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004 and 2009, was due to appear but later withdrew due to illness.[16]
The first edition of Het Grote Songfestivalfeest aired in the Netherlands on 1 January 2020 on NPO 3 at 20:25 and on BVN at 21:40 (CET). The concert was later broadcast in Greece on ERT1 in two parts on 29 February and 1 March.[17] The concert also aired in Australia on 10 May at 20:30 (AEST) on SBS Viceland; it was titled The Road to Eurovision 2020: The Winners and was part of an alternate Australian Eurovision broadcasting plan that took place from 10–17 May due to the cancellation of the Eurovision Song Contest 2020.[18]
A cut of the second edition was broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One as The Big Eurovision Party on 1 January 2023 at 00:45 (01:30 in Scotland),[19] which also acted as a pre-event prior to the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 in Liverpool.[20] A repeat ran again on 12 May on BBC Three at 20:30, the night before the contest. The British coverage was presented by Rylan Clark, who recorded additional links and short interviews backstage for the BBC broadcast. A different cut of the show was broadcast in the Netherlands on 4 January at 21:15 (CET) on NPO 3.[21] On 6 May, a 60-minute compilation of highlights from the show, featuring Lordi's "Hard Rock Hallelujah" (which was not included in the NPO broadcast) was aired in Belgium on VRT 1 with commentary by Peter Van de Veire.[22]
The third edition aired in the United Kingdom on 1 March 2024 at 22:55 on BBC One;[23] in Norway on 22 March 2024 at 22:05 CET on NRK1,[24] in Belgium on VRT 1, which aired the show in two parts on 27 April and 4 May 2024;[25] and in the Netherlands on 8 May at 20:25 CET on NPO 3.[26]
Gallery
Selection of Het Grote Songfestivalfeest2019 participants
