Eurosound 1

## Voting

### System

Each country awards one set of 12, 10, 8–1 points to their top ten favourite songs.
An additional descending score according to the number of participants is calculated using each country's weighted exponential average score, based on the full ranked ballots of all voters, and added to the final score.

### Winner

 Ukraine
"Siren Song"

**Eurosound 1**, stylized as **Eurosound Gala 1**, was the first edition of the Eurosound. It took place in Rotterdam, Netherlands; the city was selected because it would have hosted the Eurovision Song Contest 2020, which was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was held in Rotterdam Ahoy, the original venue of the Eurovision Song Contest 2020, and consisted of a single show; it is still the only Eurosound edition to date to not have at least one Qualifying Round.

The show was presented by YouTube personality, make-up artist, and scheduled online host of the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 (eventually hosting the Eurovision Song Contest 2021) Nikkie de Jager, actor Marwan Kenzari, and Eurovision Song Contest 2019 winner Duncan Laurence.

Twenty-four countries participated in the contest, with Slovakia barely missing the deadline; the country was reduced to solely voting as a twenty-fifth jury in this edition, eventually making its debut in the next edition. Catalonia decided to field a separate entry from Spain, in an agreement between the two delegations, which lasts to this day.

The winner was Ukraine, with the song "Siren Song", performed by Maruv, and co-written by Maruv and Mikhail Busin. The song was supposed to represent Ukraine in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019, but after a dispute between the artist and the country's broadcaster, it was withdrawn. In the Eurosound, however, it scored 155 points, 22 points more than the runner-up, Kosovo. The top five was rounded out by Greece, England, and Denmark; Greece's song was the only one out of the Top 5 to be performed in a language other than English.

The host country, Netherlands, placed 14th, while Russia placed last, with 17 points - despite Iceland's surprising *douze points*, in what became an identifiable voting pattern in future contests.

## Location

### **Host City**

The host city for the first edition of the Eurosound was selected internally by the Organising Committee of the Eurosound, and it was announced on August 31, 2020. **Rotterdam** was selected because it would have hosted the Eurovision Song Contest 2020, which was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, the Netherlands were the first country to perform in the Eurosound, since, according to the rules, the host nation always performs first.

Rotterdam is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is located in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. Rotterdam's history goes back to 1270, when a dam was constructed in the Rotte. In 1340, Rotterdam was granted city rights by William IV, Count of Holland.

The Rotterdam–The Hague metropolitan area, with a population of approximately 2.7 million, is the 10th-largest in the European Union, and the most populous in the country. A major logistic and economic centre, Rotterdam is Europe's largest seaport. Known for its university, riverside setting, lively cultural life, maritime heritage and modern architecture, Rotterdam, as of 2022, had a population of 655,468, and was home to over 180 different nationalities.

*For further information, see Rotterdam.*

### **Venue**

     The selected venue was the **Rotterdam Ahoy** (formerly known as **Ahoy Rotterdam**, or simply as **Ahoy**), a convention centre and multi-purpose indoor arena located on Ahoyweg. With a capacity of over 16,400, it has served as a venue for many events, including concerts, exhibitions, trade fairs, and conferences. Rotterdam Ahoy had previously hosted the MTV Europe Music Awards in 1997 and 2016, as well as the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2007. It was set to host the Eurovision Song Contest 2020, which was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, while the arena was later utilised as a field hospital. Eventually, the venue and the city hosted the following year's Eurovision Song Contest.

## Participating Countries

Twenty-four countries participated in the first edition of the Eurosound. The submissions opened on the last week of August, 2020, with the deadline set on September 2nd, 2020. Slovakia was reportedly interested in participating, but missed the deadline. The country would eventually make its debut in the next edition, and it was granted voter status in this edition - raising the total number of voters to 25.

## Contest Overview

### **Dates & Presenters**

     The running order was drawn on September 2, 2020, after the list of participating countries was approved and certified by the Organising Committee. The show was hosted by YouTube personality and make-up artist Nikkie de Jager, actor Marwan Kenzari, and Eurovision Song Contest 2019 winner, Duncan Laurence. de Jager had been announced as the online host of the Eurovision Song Contest 2020, before its cancellation. She would eventually get to host the Eurovision Song Contest in 2021. The results of the Eurosound 1 were released on September 9, 2020.

## Detailed Voting Results

### **12 Points**

Below is a summary of the countries who received the maximum set of twelve points from another country. The country with the  symbol won the maximum amount of **bonus** points.

## External Links

* Recap
* Spotify
* Youtube

1. ↑ The intro of the song contains a phrase in German.