The mayor of Rotterdam, Ahmed Aboutaleb, has announced that the decision whether the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 in his city can be held according to schedule, will be made in the first week of April. He has said that after a city council meeting on Thursday on the spread of the coronavirus in The Netherlands.
“The EBU en AVROTROS are allowed to take a decision before April, but I have the legal authority. It is too soon to say anything about Eurovision at this moment,” Aboutaleb says to press agency ANP. The decision will be made 4 weeks before the event should take place, based on the advice of the Dutch government and the Dutch National Institute for Public Health.
The Netherlands takes action against spread of the coronavirus
Like many other European nations, the Dutch government has issued a (partially) lockdown of the country. All residents have been asked to limit physical contact with others (social distancing). This concerns people who may have become infected with the coronavirus. This means that they are not allowed to go to work or school. However, they may be able to work from home. They are allowed to go outside to do some shopping, for example, but have to make sure that they stay at a distance from others and do not make physical contact.
As of now, the preparations for the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 will continue in full swing. Though Lithuania and Israel already have stated that they will not travel to The Netherlands for the recording of their postcard. Eurovision 2020 is planned to take place on the 12th, 14th and 16th of May at Ahoy Rotterdam.