71st NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen
| 71st NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | 71st NHK Red & White Year-End Song Festival |
| 第71回NHK紅白歌合戦: 今こそ歌おう みんなでエール | |
| Genre | Music, Variety, Special |
| Created by | Tsumoru Kondo |
| Directed by | Yukinori Kida |
| Presented by | |
| Starring | |
| Judges |
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| Theme music composer | John Turner, Geoffrey Parsons |
| Opening theme | "Smile" |
| Ending theme | "Hotaru no Hikari" |
| Composers |
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| Country of origin | Japan |
| Original language | Japanese |
| Production | |
| Production location | NHK Hall |
| Running time | 265 minutes |
| Production company | NHK Enterprise Inc. |
| Original release | |
| Network | |
| Release | December 31, 2020 |
The 71st NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen (第71回NHK紅白歌合戦; The 71st NHK Red & White Song Battle) was the 2020 (Reiwa 2) edition of NHK's television special Kōhaku Uta Gassen, held on December 31, 2020, live from NHK Hall (Tokyo, Japan), and broadcast in Japan through NHK General Television and NHK Radio 1, and worldwide through TV Japan (US only) and NHK World Premium.
This was the first edition in history in which the special was broadcast without a studio audience due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The audience was replaced with off-venue voting, in which votes determined the winning team for this event. This was the last edition until 2022 to be held in the NHK Hall as the venue will close for renovations and earthquake-proofing, which is scheduled to end some time in June 2022; the next edition will take place at the Tokyo International Forum.
The Red Team won the edition for the first time since 2016, four years prior.