Eurovision 2020: Monuments around Europe light up in solidarity during lockdown

‘I’m a mess,’ said one viewer

Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light has moved viewers to tears with footage of monuments around the continent lighting up in solidarity during lockdown.

Presented by Graham Norton, the show honoured all 41 songs that would have competed in the 2020 contest.

It also featured a performance of "Love Shine A Light" by the Rotterdam Philarmonic Orchestra.

As the music played, monuments around Europe – from the London Eye to the Eiffel Tower in Paris – could be seen illuminated on-screen.

Many viewers took to Twitter to praise the emotional sequence.

“You see, the lockdown has definitely made me more emotional,” wrote one user. “I started welling up as a series of national monuments lit up, as a zoom meeting with an orchestra took place.”

“Ok, the Kiev Symphonic with the lights at monuments around the world had me sobbing,” wrote another. “I’m a mess.”

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Earlier in the evening, ABBA were crowned as the UK’s favourite ever Eurovision act in Come Together, a TV special that saw the British public vote on performances from previous years.

The 2020 Eurovision Song Contest was cancelled in March amid the coronavirus pandemic.

It was originally due to take place at Rotterdam's 16,000 capacity Ahoy Arena.