Format

Nine songs competed in a semi-final which consisted of three regional groups of three songs. The winner of each group as determined exclusively by an online public vote by listeners of DR P4 qualified to the final, while a nine-member jury panel composed of members from the nine regional DR P4 stations selected two wildcards out of the remaining non-qualifying songs for the final.^[4] Ten songs consisting of the five semi-final qualifiers and five pre-qualified songs competed in the final where the winner was determined over two rounds of voting. In the first round, the top three songs based on the combination of votes from a public vote and a five-member jury panel qualified to the superfinal. In the superfinal, the winner was determined exclusively by a public vote. Viewers were able to vote via SMS or a mobile application specifically designed for the competition. Viewers using the app to cast a vote were provided with one free vote.^[5]

Competing entries

DR opened a submission period on 2 October 2019 for artists and composers to submit their entries. Entries could be submitted throughout the year, however only songs submitted by 1 November 2019 were considered for the 2020 edition of the competition.^[6][7] The broadcaster received 600 entries during the submission period. The regional DR P4 jury selected nine songs for the semi-final from the entries submitted to the broadcaster, while a selection committee of industry professionals selected the five pre-qualified songs for the final.^[8][9] The competing artists and songs in the semi-final were announced on 20 January 2020, while the five pre-qualified finalist acts were announced and officially presented on 31 January 2020. Among the competing artists was RoxorLoops who represented Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 as part of the group Witloof Bay.^[10][11]

The regional DR P4 jury was composed of:^[12]

Semi-final

Listeners of DR P4 were able to cast one vote per group on the official DR website each day between 20 and 24 January 2020.^[13] The song with the most votes in each group that advanced to the final were announced on 24 January 2020, while the two wildcards selected by the regional DR P4 jury were announced on 31 January 2020.^[11][14]

Final

The final took place on 7 March 2020 at the Royal Arena in Copenhagen, hosted by Hella Joof and Rasmus Bjerg.^[15] Due to the emerging COVID-19 pandemic, the show took place with no live audience being admitted.^[16][17][18] For the first time since 1999, a live orchestra was used in the final; the Antonelli Orchestra accompanied each performance in varying capacities.^[19] The running order was determined by DR and announced on 4 March 2020.^[20] In the first round of voting the top three advanced to the superfinal based on the votes of a five-member jury (50%) and a public vote (50%). The five-member jury panel was composed of: Pelle Peter Jencel [da] (radio host on DR P3), Mich Hedin Hansen (songwriter and music producer), Ida Corr (singer), Lasse Kramhøft [da] (music producer) and Nicolai Molbech (radio host and DJ).^[5] In the superfinal, the winner, "Yes" performed by Ben and Tan, was selected solely by a public vote.^[21] In addition to the performances of the competing entries, Wafande and Danish Eurovision 1961 entrant Dario Campeotto performed as the interval acts.

Ratings