Free European Song Contest

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Free European Song Contest
Free European Song Contest FreeESC.svg
Also known as
  • FreeESC
GenreSong contest
Created byStefan Raab
Based onEurovision Song Contest
Country of originGermany
Original languageGerman
No. of episodes
  • 2 contest
Production
Executive producerStefan Raab
Running time
  • ~4 hours (finals)
Production companyBrainpool TV
DistributorProSieben
Release
Original networkProSieben
Picture format
Original release15 May 2020; 19 months ago (2020-05-15)
External links
Website

The Free European Song Contest is an international song competition, organised by the German television network ProSieben and the production company Brainpool TV, with participants representing primarily European countries. The contest is similar in format to the long-running Eurovision Song Contest: each participating country submits an original song to be performed on live television, then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the winner.

The overall winner of the contest is the entry that has received the most points after the scores from every country have been collected and totalled.

History[]

As the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 could not take place due to the outbreak of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Europe, German TV station ProSieben and German entertainer Stefan Raab decided to organise Free European Song Contest as an alternative.[1] After the success of the first edition, ProSieben has decided to plan the event also for 2021.[2]

The first contest was held in the city of Cologne, Germany, on 16 May 2020. Sixteen countries participated: each participating country submitted an entry. The contest was won by Nico Santos, representing Spain, with the song "Like I Love You".

Participation[]

Year Country making its début entry
2020  Austria,  Bulgaria,  Croatia,  Denmark,  Germany,  Ireland,  Israel,  Italy,  Kazakhstan,  Netherlands,  Poland,  Spain,   Switzerland, The Moon The Moon,  Turkey,  United Kingdom
2021[3]  Belgium,  England[a],  France,  Greece,  Scotland[a],  Slovenia

The following countries have all participated in the Eurovision Song Contest, or are eligible to compete by the standards of the Free European Song Contest, but have not had either public or private broadcasters indicate interest in participating (as of yet):

Competition history[]

Edition Date of final Year Host broadcaster(s) Host city Countries Winner(s) Performer Song Points Margin Runner up 3rd place Ref.
1st 16 May 2020 ProSieben West Germany Cologne 16  Spain Nico Santos "Like I Love You" 104 16  Netherlands The Moon The Moon [4]
2nd 15 May 2021  Ireland Rea Garvey "The One" 116 22  Belgium[b] [5][6]

Medal table[]

The table below shows the top-three placings from each contest, along with the years that a country won the contest.

Country 1st place, gold medalist(s) 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Total Years won
 Ireland 1 0 0 1 2021
 Spain 1 0 0 1 2020
 Netherlands 0 2 0 2 N/A
 Belgium 0 0 1 1 N/A
The Moon The Moon 0 0 1 1 N/A

Presenters[]

Year Presenter(s)
2020 Steven Gätjen and Conchita Wurst
2021

See also[]

Notes[]

  1. ^ a b In 2020, England and Scotland participated as separate home nations of the United Kingdom.
  2. ^ Both Belgium and Scotland finished with 77 points; however, the official ranking and Eurovision tiebreak rules would put Belgium ahead of Scotland.

References[]

  1. ^ "Free European Song Contest - Stefan Raab und ProSieben rufen freien europäischen Songwettbewerb aus!". www.prosieben.de (in German). 15 May 2020. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  2. ^ Granger, Anthony (17 May 2020). "ProSieben Confirms Free European Song Contest to Return in 2021". Eurovoix World. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  3. ^ Granger, Anthony (29 April 2021). "Countries competing in the Free European Song Contest 2021 Revealed". Eurovoix World. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  4. ^ Granger, Anthony (31 March 2020). "Germany: ProSieben Announces Free European Song Contest". Eurovoix World. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  5. ^ Granger, Anthony (17 May 2020). "ProSieben Confirms Free European Song Contest to Return in 2021". Eurovoix World. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  6. ^ Granger, Anthony (16 May 2021). "Rea Garvey Wins The Free European Song Contest 2021". Eurovoix World. Retrieved 16 May 2021.

External links[]

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