As we all know by now, the 2020 Eurovision Song Contest is cancelled. Countries like Spain and the Netherlands have already confirmed that their chosen acts for 2020 are going to represent their respective countries in 2021, whilst the vast majority hasn’t yet made any announcements of the kind. Sweden’s Christer Björkman made a statement on the cancellation of Eurovision, as well as next year’s Melodifestivalen, meaning that The Mamas, who won this year’s edition, may easily not be the Swedish entrants in 2021.

As Aftonbladet reports, Mr. Christer Björkman, who was supposed to be the Swedish Head of Delegation at this year’s Contest, spoke about this year’s cancellation as well as next year’s Melodifestivalen:

There will be a new winner next year, because the songs competing in Eurovision may not be released or published before the 1st September of the previous year. This makes these songs that are out now, ineligible. At the same time, it is very sad for all the artists who now do not get the chance to compete, and of course I feel very much for The Mamas who will not stand on the Eurovision stage.

The Mamas also reacted to today’s news with the following statement:

Of course, we respect this decision that is now being made and during the current emergency crisis situation that we are all in, the problem is greater than the fact that we cannot go to Rotterdam. Of course, we are incredibly sorry on the personal level that we and our song are now not allowed to compete in the world’s largest music competition after winning the Swedish competition. We looked so much forward to being able to represent Sweden with “Move”. We hope that people continue to listen to our song with the message that we can move mountains together, something that feels extra relevant today when everyone has to take responsibility and do the right thing. Because if we are helped in this difficult time, it will also result in something good in the end. Our thoughts also go to the organizer of ESC who worked hard in the headwind. Take care!

We spoke to The Mamas briefly, moments after they won Melodifestivalen, and you can check that out right here:

Give a listen to their entry “Move” here: