Last month, Canadian broadcaster OMNI Television confirmed that they will air this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, meaning that Canadian viewers will be able to watch the contest on TV. The broadcaster previously showed the 2019 contest, held in Tel Aviv. They were also due to air last year’s contest from Rotterdam.
OutTV, which focuses on LGBTQ+ programming, also broadcast the contest in 2014 and 2015. OMNI Television took over the broadcasting of the contest for Canadian audiences in 2019. OMNI Television launched as a broadcaster in Toronto in 1979, before launching a national system in 2002.
For the first time, the semi-finals will be broadcast live on Canadian television this year. OMNI Television have confirmed that both semis will be broadcast live on its channel from 3pm ET.
It is not yet known whether the Grand Final will be shown live.
Canada’s history at the Eurovision Song Contest
Canada has a long history of Eurovision links, with many well-known Eurovision alumni hailing from the country. The first Canadian artist on the Eurovision stage was Sherisse Laurence in 1986. She represented Luxembourg with “L’amour de ma vie” earning the country a very respectable 3rd place.
However, the most well-known Canadian Eurovision artist took to the stage two years later. Céline Dion – who hadn’t yet found fame as one of the world’s most famous singers – represented Switzerland with “Ne partez pas sans moi”. Winning by just one point, she became Switzerland’s second Eurovision winner after Lys Assia in 1956.
Other artists with links to Canada have also had a spin at the contest including Lara Fabian in 1988 (who grew up in Canada), Canadian-born Annie Cotton in 1993, Natasha St-Pier in 2001 and Greece’s Katerina Duska in 2018 (who was also born in Canada). With these strong links, there were even talks in 2006 for a Eurovision spin-off in Canada!
Any Canadian fans: will you be watching? Are you happy Eurovision is opening their borders to more countries? Let us know! Be sure to stay updated by following @ESCXTRA on Twitter, @escxtra on Instagram and liking our Facebook page for the latest updates! Also, be sure to follow us on Spotify and YouTube to see our reactions to the news in the run up to Rotterdam!
Its really a fail if they dont broadcast the finals live. Ill be recording the semis off of Omni, but Ill be tuning in to the BBC for all 3 shows, where I have been for the last 5 editions