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 in collaboration with the Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS and held at the Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam. Three editions of the show have been held, on 15 December 2019, 17 November 2022 and 16 November 2023.[1]
The first edition of Het Grote Songfestivalfeest was broadcast in the Netherlands on 1 January 2020 as a pre-event prior to the Eurovision Song Contest 2020, which was to be held in Rotterdam prior to its cancellation.[2][3] The second edition was broadcast in the United Kingdom on 1 January 2023 as a pre-event prior to the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 in Liverpool,[4] followed by the Netherlands on 4 January[5] and Belgium on 6 May.[6]
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.[7] Former Dutch spokespersons Emma Wortelboer and Tim Douwsma, as well as Junior Eurovision Song Contest commentator Buddy Vedder [nl], also appeared as presenters during the show to introduce some of the acts. Maas and Rombley returned as hosts for the second and third editions in 2022 and 2023, respectively.[8]
Performances
2019 edition
Thirty-one Eurovision acts from seventeen countries participated in the first edition of the concert.
– 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Withdrawn artists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.[9][10]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.[11]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
Thirty-one Eurovision acts from sixteen countries participated in the second edition of the concert.
In the Netherlands, Het Grote Songfestivalfeest aired 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. The first part aired on 29 February, with the second following the next day.[17] The concert also aired in Australia on 10 May at 20:30 (AEST) on SBS Viceland. The concert was known as The Road to Eurovision 2020: The Winners and was part of an alternate Australian Eurovision broadcast that took place from 10–17 May 2020 due to the cancellation of the Eurovision Song Contest 2020.[18]
In the United Kingdom, a cut of the second edition was broadcast on BBC One as The Big Eurovision Party on 1 January 2023,[19] which also acted as a pre-event prior to the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 in Liverpool.[4] A repeat ran again on 12 May on BBC Three, the night before the contest. The British coverage was presented by Rylan Clark, who recorded additional links and short interviews backstage for the BBC One broadcast. A different cut of the show was broadcast in the Netherlands on 4 January at 21:15 (CET) on NPO 3.[5] 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.[6]
Gallery
Selection of Het Grote Songfestivalfeest2019 participants
![Tim Douwsma, Gali Atari and Buddy Vedder [nl]](/en/File:Tim_Douwsma,_Gali_Atari_%26_Buddy_Vedder_tijdens_Het_Grote_Songfestivalfeest.jpg)
