70th NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen

This is the last year using the theme "Let's Sing a Dream" (夢を歌おう), which remained unchanged since the 67th edition (2016), in support of the upcoming 2020 Summer Olympics and 2020 Summer Paralympics.^[1]

First details about this year's event were revealed on October 3. The event ran from 19:15 to 23:45 JST, with a 5-minute break for the latest news. NHK chairman Ryoichi Ueda declared: "First in Reiwa Period, 70th overall. I hope that the 70th Kōhaku Uta Gassen will remain in the hearts of many people, worthly of commemorative event".^[2]

On October 18, actress Haruka Ayase and Arashi member Sho Sakurai were announced as captains from Red and White Team. Teruyoshi Uchimura served as mediator for the third time in a row.

On November 11, Hinatazaka46 is announced as the first artist confirmed for this edition. The full lineup was revealed on November 14. Eight artists debuted in this edition: Official Hige Dandism, Generations from Exile Tribe, Masaki Suda, King Gnu, Kis-My-Ft2, Foorin, Hinatazaka46 and the anisong singer LiSA. Hibari Misora was revived using AI technology to perform a brand new song, "Arekara", written by Yasushi Akimoto, most notably for producing idol groups such as AKB48.

On November 22, Mariya Takeuchi was announced as a performer to celebrate the 40th anniversary of her career and perform "Inochi no Uta".

On November 25, Radwimps was announced as a performer due to great success of the animated feature Tenki no Ko.

On November 27, the Kōhaku Uratalk Channel were announced.

On December 18, the judges were announced with the voting system from last year still unchanged.

On December 20, the full song list was revealed. The performance order was revealed on December 27, with Foorin opening the show and Arashi serving as "Ootori". Rehearsals for the performances began on December 29.

• Red Team: Haruka Ayase
• White Team: Sho Sakurai
• Moderators: Teruyoshi Uchimura & Mayuko Wakuda

Other program staff

• Kōhaku Uratalk Channel: Ryota Yamasato, Yuki Sugiura, Naomi Watanabe

• Naoya Inoue (Boxer)
• Emiko Kaminuma (Red Team captain on 45th and 46th Kōhaku)
• Sandwichman (Mikio Date, Takeshi Tomizawa)
• Hinako Shibuno (Golfer, won the 2019 Women's British Open)
• Daiya Seto (Swimmer)
• Kei Tanaka (Actor)
• Erika Toda (Main star from the 101st Asadora Scarlet)
• Maya Nakanishi (Paralympic athlete)
• Hiroki Hasegawa (Main star from Kirin ga Kuru)
• Suzu Hirose (Red Team captain on 69th Kōhaku, and Main star from the 100th Asadora Natsuzora)
• Akira Yoshino (Chemist, won the 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry)

• Oshiri Tantei
• Magus (Illusion act for Kaori Mizumori's collaboration performance)
• DJ Koo
• Akira Ishida
• Tōko Miura (Guest vocals on Radwimps performance)
• Shunichi Tokura (Conductor for the show's finale "Hotaru no Hikari")
• Hibari Misora (Special posthumous performance)
• Mizuki Nakamoto (performs "Into the Unknown", from Frozen 2)
• Diamond Yukai (performs "You've Got a Friend in Me", from Toy Story 4)
• Tomoya Nakamura & Haruka Kinoshita (performs "A Whole New World", from Aladdin)
• Kiss (Foreign act, hard rock band from US currently in their last world tour)
• AKB48 Group World Selections: BNK48, CGM48, SGO48, JKT48, DEL48, MNL48, Team SH & Team TP
• Shinya Kiyozuka (Piano on Aya Shimazu performance)
• Matt (Piano on Yoshimi Tendo performance)
• Mayu Kishima (Violin on Keisuke Yamauchi performance)
• Shinji Takeda (Sax on Hiroshi Itsuki performance)
• Takashi Okamura (Sax on Hiroshi Itsuki performance)
• Chico-chan (Special appearance; Drums on Hiroshi Itsuki performance)
• Chocolate Planet (Comedy team)
• Kosuke Kitajima (Assistant navigator for NHK's covearage of 2020 Olympics)
• Masako Nozawa (Voice role for Goku, Gohan & Gotenks in Dragon Ball Super)

Additional crew

• Yasushi Akimoto (Lyrics from "Arekara"; AKB48/46GROUP producer)
• Yamaha Corporation (Vocaloid:AI System & Equipments for Hibari Misora performance)
• Tsunaki Mihara & The New Breed (Additional backing track)