Chantal Janzen, Edsilia Rombley, and Jan Smit will host the two semi-finals and the final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2020. This was announced today by NPO, NOS, and AVROTROS.
The three presenters will open the three live shows from Rotterdam Ahoy for an audience of around 180 million viewers, interview the artists in the green room, and announce the scores. "With this trio of presenters, we have chosen three people with enormous presenting talent, all of whom also started their careers as artists," says Sietse Bakker, Executive Producer of the Eurovision Song Contest 2020.
Chantal Janzen (1979) was born in Tegelen and studied at the Amsterdam School of the Arts in Amsterdam. She became known to the general public as a musical actress, appearing in Tarzan, Petticoat, and Hij gelooft in mij, among others. She also played roles in the films De dominee, Volle maan, Alles is liefde, and Het verlangen. Chantal presented the Gouden Televizier-Ring Gala for AVRO from 2008 to 2010. In 2011, she made the switch to RTL, where she presents programs such as Holland's Got Talent, Chantals Pyjama Party, and The Voice of Holland. Chantal recently won her fifth Televizier-Ster for best presenter.
"Chantal Janzen is one of the most talented presenters in the Netherlands, with extensive experience in major live entertainment shows at home and abroad," says Sietse Bakker. "We have made a conscious decision to also open ourselves up to talent from outside the public broadcaster. Because no matter how closely the Eurovision Song Contest is linked to the public broadcaster, our ambition is to show Europe the best of the Netherlands," he adds.
Edsilia Rombley (1978), born in Amsterdam, became known to the general public in 1996 as the winner of the Soundmixshow. The following year, she also won the European Soundmixshow. In 1998, she represented the Netherlands at the Eurovision Song Contest with Hemel & aarde, finishing in fourth place. In 2007, she participated for a second time with On Top of the World. She also gave the points on behalf of the Netherlands twice. In 2009, Edsilia presented the first season of Beste Zangers van AVROTROS. Since 2005, the singer has completed seven theater tours and, since 2014, she has also performed annually with the Ladies of Soul. In 2019, she played the role of Mary in The Passion and presented Eurovision in Concert, which she will also do in 2020.
"Two times Eurovision Song Contest, two times the scoring, two times Eurovision in Concert, and she is also one of the most authentic and unique artists our country has to offer. The Eurovision fan community has taken Edsilia to their hearts, so the choice of Edsilia as one of our three presenters needs little explanation," says Sietse Bakker.
Jan Smit (1985) grew up in Volendam and scored his first hit at the age of ten. In 2005, he won the Golden Televizier Ring with his reality show Gewoon Jan Smit. Jan Smit is part of De Toppers and the German-language group KLUBBB3. Since 2012, he has presented the AVROTROS program Beste Zangers, which was nominated for a Golden Televizier Ring in 2017 and 2019, preventing him from presenting the gala twice in five years. As a singer, he is not only famous in the Netherlands but also extremely popular in Belgium, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. In Germany, he is even the most successful Dutch artist. He also presents Schlagerchampions, Die Hüttenparty, and Schlagerboom across the border, which attracts around 10 to 12 million viewers in German-speaking countries.
Sietse Bakker: "In choosing Jan Smit, we are selecting an internationally experienced artist and presenter who, over the past nine years as a regular Eurovision commentator alongside Cornald Maas, has proven himself to be a great ambassador for the festival. Jan is also a member of the AVROTROS selection committee, which decides on the Dutch entry for the Eurovision Song Contest each year. Jan is approachable, authentic, and keeps his cool during big live shows—exactly the qualities we need to make the presentation of the Eurovision Song Contest more personal."
The semi-finals of the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 will be held on Tuesday, May 12, and Thursday, May 14, with the final on Saturday, May 16, live from Rotterdam Ahoy. The organization of the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 in the Netherlands is a collaboration between NPO, NOS, and AVROTROS, in co-production with the EBU.
More about Jan Smit
Chantal Janzen, Edsilia Rombley, and Jan Smit will host the two semi-finals and the final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2020. This was announced today by NPO, NOS, and AVROTROS.
The three presenters will open the three live shows from Rotterdam Ahoy for an audience of around 180 million viewers, interview the artists in the green room, and announce the scores. "With this trio of presenters, we have chosen three people with enormous presenting talent, all of whom also started their careers as artists," says Sietse Bakker, Executive Producer of the Eurovision Song Contest 2020.
Chantal Janzen (1979) was born in Tegelen and studied at the Amsterdam School of the Arts in Amsterdam. She became known to the general public as a musical actress, appearing in Tarzan, Petticoat, and Hij gelooft in mij, among others. She also played roles in the films De dominee, Volle maan, Alles is liefde, and Het verlangen. Chantal presented the Gouden Televizier-Ring Gala for AVRO from 2008 to 2010. In 2011, she made the switch to RTL, where she presents programs such as Holland's Got Talent, Chantals Pyjama Party, and The Voice of Holland. Chantal recently won her fifth Televizier-Ster for best presenter.
"Chantal Janzen is one of the most talented presenters in the Netherlands, with extensive experience in major live entertainment shows at home and abroad," says Sietse Bakker. "We have made a conscious decision to also open ourselves up to talent from outside the public broadcaster. Because no matter how closely the Eurovision Song Contest is linked to the public broadcaster, our ambition is to show Europe the best of the Netherlands," he adds.
Edsilia Rombley (1978), born in Amsterdam, became known to the general public in 1996 as the winner of the Soundmixshow. The following year, she also won the European Soundmixshow. In 1998, she represented the Netherlands at the Eurovision Song Contest with Hemel & aarde, finishing in fourth place. In 2007, she participated for a second time with On Top of the World. She also gave the points on behalf of the Netherlands twice. In 2009, Edsilia presented the first season of Beste Zangers van AVROTROS. Since 2005, the singer has completed seven theater tours and, since 2014, she has also performed annually with the Ladies of Soul. In 2019, she played the role of Mary in The Passion and presented Eurovision in Concert, which she will also do in 2020.
"Two times Eurovision Song Contest, two times the scoring, two times Eurovision in Concert, and she is also one of the most authentic and unique artists our country has to offer. The Eurovision fan community has taken Edsilia to their hearts, so the choice of Edsilia as one of our three presenters needs little explanation," says Sietse Bakker.
Jan Smit (1985) grew up in Volendam and scored his first hit at the age of ten. In 2005, he won the Golden Televizier Ring with his reality show Gewoon Jan Smit. Jan Smit is part of De Toppers and the German-language group KLUBBB3. Since 2012, he has presented the AVROTROS program Beste Zangers, which was nominated for a Golden Televizier Ring in 2017 and 2019, preventing him from presenting the gala twice in five years. As a singer, he is not only famous in the Netherlands but also extremely popular in Belgium, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. In Germany, he is even the most successful Dutch artist. He also presents Schlagerchampions, Die Hüttenparty, and Schlagerboom across the border, which attracts around 10 to 12 million viewers in German-speaking countries.
Sietse Bakker: "In choosing Jan Smit, we are selecting an internationally experienced artist and presenter who, over the past nine years as a regular Eurovision commentator alongside Cornald Maas, has proven himself to be a great ambassador for the festival. Jan is also a member of the AVROTROS selection committee, which decides on the Dutch entry for the Eurovision Song Contest each year. Jan is approachable, authentic, and keeps his cool during big live shows—exactly the qualities we need to make the presentation of the Eurovision Song Contest more personal."
The semi-finals of the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 will be held on Tuesday, May 12, and Thursday, May 14, with the final on Saturday, May 16, live from Rotterdam Ahoy. The organization of the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 in the Netherlands is a collaboration between NPO, NOS, and AVROTROS, in co-production with the EBU.