The Free European Song Contest was created by Stefan Raab (with the collaboration of the private channel ProSieben and the production company Brainpool TV) after the cancelation of the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 by the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe. The first contest took place at the ProSieben Studios, Cologne, Germany on 16 May 2020 at 20:15 CEST on the television channel ProSieben and the second contest took place at the Lanxess Arena, Cologne, Germany. 