Eurovision Dance Festival 2

Semi-finals dates
 Final date
 Venue
 Presenter(s)
 Conductor
 Director
 Executive supervisor
 Host broadcaster
 Number of entries
 Debuting countries
 Voting system
 Null points
 Winning song

The Eurovision Dance Festival 2 will be the second edition of the Eurovision Dance Festival. It will take place in the Baku Crystal Hall in Baku, Azerbaijan. This will be the first time the contest will take place in Azerbaijan. The contest is expected to consist of a preliminary round on TBD June, one semi-final on TBD June and the final on TBD June 2022.

On the 30th of July 2020, the EBO confirmed that a total of 17 countries will be present in the second edition of the Eurovision Dance Festival.

## Location

All countries were allowed to submit as many cities as they wanted for hosting the contest. The broadcasters had to announce the city, the venue and the capacity for the show. In the end, only one country submitted a bid: Azerbaijan. The same day, Azerbaijan was announced as the host country of the Eurovision Dance Festival.

### **Venue**

Baku Crystal Hall was built in order to host the Eurovision Song Contest 2012. On 2 August 2011, the main agreement was signed with Alpine Bau Deutschland AG to construct the venue and preparations for construction had been started in the area. Even though the full cost of the contract was not named, the government allocated 6 million AZN for the construction of the venue. On 5 September 2011, it was announced that the venue will hold 25,000 spectators. The arena also contains VIP lounges.

According to Human Rights Watch, the government of Azerbaijan illegally evicted "dozens" of families from the area in order to construct the arena. Many of the evictions were done forcibly, often in the middle of the night and without warning. No compensation has been provided.

The construction of the arena was expected to be completed by 31 March 2012. However, there was a delay of three weeks because of weather conditions, and the building was announced to have been completed on 16 April 2012. Baku Crystal Hall was opened on 7 May 2012 by the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva.

The total area of the complex is 30,958 m2, while the area of the arena is 10,964 m2. Its height in the middle is 24 m. The arena is lit by 12,000 LED light points with a lighting rate of 850 lux at 1 m height. The corridor around the arena is divided into two symmetrical parts with 15 entrances on each side, including 30 outside entrances. Each sector has 2 transport access points (1 on each side), 10 arena entrances (5 on each side) and 16 tribune access points (8 on each side). Along the corridor, there are 10 beverage facilities (5 in each sector), 18 catering facilities (9 in each sector), 2 first aid points (1 in each sector), 36 toilets (6 for men, 6 for women and 6 for persons with physical disabilities in each sector). The hall has 12,000 seats but can accommodate 27,000 people.

The building has a crystalline shape and illuminated façade with numerous LED lights. Its shape and façade are response to Azerbaijan's special request for the creation of a widely visible and visually effective landmark as a bridge between Asia and Europe that will be noticed in an international context. The LED lights were upgraded to allow different dynamic lighting scenarios to appear in order to highlight the membrane façade and create moods appropriate for the different stages of the events.

## Participating countries

Participating countries had until 20 July 2020 to submit their applications for participation in the contest. The EBO announced on 30 July that 17 countries would participate in the contest.

Estonia, Latvia and Slovenia debuted at the contest, while Belgium and Russia withdrew.

## Results

### **Preliminary round**

Five countries participated in the preliminary round. The highlighted country qualified for the final.

### **Semi-Final**

Seventeen countries participated in the semi-final. The highlighted countries qualified for the final.

## Other countries

 Belgium: The cooperation contract between VRT and RTBF which was created to debut at the contest expired and no new contract was created.

 Russia: The Russian broadcaster was unhappy with the ambiguity regarding the contest and the unclear planning, as the contest was scheduled to take place in January 2019 originally. Eventually, the country decided against participating.