It has been announced that this year’s Eurovision Song Contest is called off due to the widespread of coronavirus. The contest was scheduled to take place at Ahoy Arena in Rotterdam, with the final broadcast live on May 16.

In the statement, executive supervisor Jon Ola Sand sadly said that the cancellation was a “difficult decision”: “We are very proud of the Eurovision Song Contest, that for 64 years has united people all around Europe. And we are deeply disappointed about this situation.” He continued, “We regret this situation very much, but I can promise you: the Eurovision Song Contest will come back stronger than ever.”

An official statement from the European Broadcasting Union on the #Eurovision Song Contest 2020. pic.twitter.com/b3h7akxvpF

— Eurovision Song Contest (@Eurovision) March 18, 2020

The decision came after the Dutch government had prohibited public gatherings in order to prevent the outbreak of the virus. The Eurovision team expressed concerned for every individual involved with this contest: “The health of artists, staff, fans and visitors, as well as the situation in the Netherlands, Europe and the world, is at the heart of this decision.”

Meanwhile, the future of Eurovision is very vague right now. The organisers told that, even though they were trying to come up with “many alternative options” in staging the contest, postponing or downsizing was not possible. Moreover, it is not clear whether all the contestants this year will come back for the competition next year.

Read the full statement from Eurovision’s official site here.

The UK’s entry this year is “My Last Breath”, a heartfelt ballad by James Newman, an emerging English singer/songwriter. The song is about perseverance through hard times, with the video featured Dutch cold water swimmer Wim Hof. Watch the video below.

Before the cancellation of Eurovision, it was reported that Glastonbury also suffered the same unfortunate fate because of the rising awareness of coronavirus. Read the story here.