EuropeVision Song Contest 2019

The EuropeVision Song Contest 2019 was the first edition of annual EuropeVision Song Contest, organised by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and the European Vision Broadcasting Union (EVBU). It took place in the United Kingdom's capital city, London on 27 July 2019 at The O2 Arena.

Nineteen countries participated in the first edition, all of them being debutants as it was the first edition.

The winner was Of Monster and Men, who represented Iceland with the song "Human", while second and third places went to the United Kingdom and Italy respectively.

Location
Further information on the host city: London

London is the capital and largest city of both the United Kingdom and England, it is also the largest city in Western Europe. City is often considered as the world's leading global city and has been termed as the world's most powerful, most desirable, most influential, most visited, most expensive, innovative, sustainable, most investment friendly, most popular for work, and the most vegetarian friendly city in the world. London exerts a considerable impact upon the arts, commerce, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, professional services, research and development, tourism and transportation

Bidding phase
On 3 November 2018, the EVBU announced that six countries with a total of seventeen cities and eighteen venues had applied: Denmark, Greece, Romania, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

On 20 November 2018, it was announced, that the contest would be hosted by United Kingdom. On the same date, EVBU confirmed that the contest is scheduled to be held at The O2 Arena.

Key Host venue

Presenters
On 24 April 2019, BBC announced that Adele and Idris Elba will host the show.

Adele is a Grammy Award-winning artist whose throwback, soulful sound has made her an international success with hits like "Rolling in the Deep", "Hello" and "Someone Like You". In 2011, 2012, and 2016, Adele was named Artist of the Year by Billboard. Also the singer was named Songwriter of the Year by the 'British Academy of Songwriters, Composers, and Authors. In 2012, she was listed at number five on VH1's 100 Greatest Women in Music. Time magazine named her one of the most influential people in the world in 2012 and 2016. With sales of more than 100 million records, Adele is one of the world's best-selling music artists.

Idris Elba is an award-winning British actor known for roles in screen projects like 'The Wire', 'Luther', 'Thor', 'Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom', and 'The Dark Tower'. In addition to his acting work, Elba performs as a DJ under the moniker DJ Big Driis (or Big Driis the Londoner) and as an R&amp;B musician. In 2016, he was named in the Time 100 list of the Most Influential People in the World.

Opening and interval acts
On 14 July 2019, the EVBU released information regarding the opening and interval acts. The show will be opened by Elton John, who will perform his 1973 hit "Crocodile Rock". It was announced that in the honor of Amy Winehouse, we will be hearing her song "Rehab". Also, contest's host Adele will perform "Send My Love (To Your New Lover)".

Participating countries
The EVBU announced on 10 March 2019 that twenty-three countries would participate in the contest.

On 13 June 2019, Austria, Poland, Greece and Spain announced their withdrawal from the contest. This reduced the number of participating countries to 19.