:: Eurovision 24 :: Oslo 2010

It was no surprise to us when it was announced today by the EBU that a record 43 countries will take part in the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest in Belgrade, Serbia. So with all the rumors and talks that some countries like Ireland, Netherlands and Malta were withdrawing, every country who took part last year, are taking part again, except of course Austria, who withdrew due to their disappointment with the contest at present. Azerbaijan and San Marino join the Eurovision Family. Host nation, Serbia, along with France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom will compete in the final on May 24th. The remaining 38 countries will participate in two semi finals of 19 countries to take place on May 20th and 22nd. The top ten from each will participate in the final. According to ESC Today, Svante Stockselius said: "We are delighted to see 41 of last year's participating broadcasters for 2008, and we especially would like to welcome the two new participating countries to the contest; Aze

The official Eurovision Song Contest site, eurovision.tv has announced that the proposed changes to the Eurovision Song Contest format have been confirmed by the EBU Television committee. They have also announced that the preliminary date for rehearsals to start is Sunday 11th of May and the preliminary opening date for the press centre and accreditation desk is Saturday 10th of May. The Big Four countries, along with Serbia, will broadcast one semi final and have voting rights in it. They also have the option to broadcast the semi final that they are not voting in. The semi final draw, taking place at the Head of delegation meeting in January will determine which countries vote in each show as well as which countries participate in each semi final. All participating countries will be divided into a total of six pots from which half will enter the first semi final, and the remaining countries will participate in the second semi final. The running order of the semi finals and final wil

The popular website ESC Today has received confirmation that San Marino will participate the contest in Belgrade. The Sammarinese public broadcaster SMTV has applied to take part in the forthcoming Eurovision Song Contest. More information and reaction here

Montenegro's National Broadcaster, RTCG, confirmed to esctoday.com that they will participate at the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest. The news comes just a few days after it was revealed that the broadcaster may not participate at the event next May. Montenegro took part at the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time as an independent country in 2007 with Stefan Faddy and his song Ajde kroci. The song won only 33 points in the semi final to finish 23rd out of 28 countries, missing out on a place at the Eurovision Song Contest final one of only two former Yugoslav countries not to qualify. In a bizarre twist, The Austrian broadcaster will not be sending a representative to the Eurovision Song Contest in 2008 according to a press release issued yesterday. The broadcaster seems to have trouble drumming up interest in the Song Contest amongst its viewers in recent years. However the broadcaster says political questions about the semi-final organisation of the contest are at the root of

Well, well, well, haven't the EBU been busy. The recently published rules of Eurovision 2008 state that a maximum of 45 countries can take part - meaning a maximum of 20 countries in each semi final, plus the 5 prequalified countries (Serbia, France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom). Another issue discussed at the EBU's Eurovision Song Contest Reference Group meeting in Belgrade last weekend was the Big Four and how they will fit into the new two semi-final format. It was confirmed by the EBU that the proposal put to the EBU Television Committee by the reference group includes the proposal that France, Spain, Germany and the United Kingdom, along with host country, Serbia, will all broadcast and vote in one of the semi finals. the EBU Reference Group and RTS, next year's Eurovision Song Contest host broadcaster held their second meeting in Belgrade. The topics discussed were the 2008 theme art, the launch of the official website and most importantly the dates of the t

Slovakian national broadcaster STV will not be bringing the country back to the Eurovision Song Contest next year in Belgrade, Serbia. The last time Slovakia was seen at the comeptition was in 1998. Oikotimes reports that Slovakia won’t take part at the Eurovision Song Contest next year in Belgrade, Serbia. They received an email from the Slovakian broadcaster STV in which Denisa Dzunkova stated that unfortunately the country won’t participate cause of the limited budget of the broadcaster. Nevertheless, Dzunkova promised that the broadcaster will once again look into the possiblility of returning to the competition in the future. Slovakia debuted in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1994 and participated two more times, in 1996 and 1998. They achieved their best position (18th) in 1996 with Marcel Palonder and the song Kým Nás Máš.

San Marino, one of the world's smallest states, may be about to make it's Eurovision Song Contest debut. The news was given to OGAE Italy by email, in which a representative from San Marino Television claims that the broadcaster is seriously considering participation in 2008. All countries planning to participate at the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest must summit an application to the European Broadcasting Union by November 15th 2007, 3 days from now. [ESC Today]

RTÉ has announced a new competition that will pick Ireland's entry to the next Eurovision Song Contest held in Belgrade, Serbia next May. Taking the continually changing nature of the contest itself together with this year's poor Irish result in Helsinki into account, RTÉ decided to take a new look at the strategy for selecting their entry. RTÉ will be selecting their entry by means of a national competition, to be called Eurosong 2008 . This approach will not be unlike the National Song Contest of previous years, but will encourage innovation not only in music but also in visual presentation, in keeping with the ESC contests we've seen in recent years. With that aim, RTÉ is inviting entries that include the song, the singer(s) and any proposed performance/staging details. In this scenario, it is expected that song entries will have singers attached when the entries are being submitted and that singers submitting entries will have agreed with the song composer that the

The Eurovision Song Contest rules are being changed from next year with a specific banning for living animals on stage. This is the European Broadcasting Union answer to all those acts intending to take part in the national finals together with their "pets". The Eurovision Song Contest is more than a mere musical competition: year by year, the Eurovision stage implements more and more elements in order to offer a complete and innovative show. To date, no-one has attempted to bring live animals on stage as part of their performance.

Yes, its true, according to reports in the Sunday Independent Newspaper in Ireland this morning, a local Sinn Fein TD, is now campaigning to have Palestine allowed into the Eurovision Song Contest. As if Ireland wasn’t finding it difficult enough in the Eurovision Song Contest, music loving Aengus O’ Snodaigh wants to make it harder. O’ Snodaigh has even asked the minister for foreign affairs parliamentary questions on what steps he is taking to help the Palestinians to join the contest. Is Palestine even an Active Member of the Eurovision Broadcasting Union? The Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs said “I have no objection on foreign policy grounds to Palestinian participation in any international event” He continued saying “But as Minister for Foreign Affairs, I have no role in relation to the Eurovision Song Contest”. [News Source: Sunday Independent Ireland]

Although earlier this month the Azerbaijan Public Television (iTV) proceeded with the national selection to decide the country's first representative in the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest it was not until Monday, the EBU made their final decision as to whether they would be allowed to take part at all, according to Azerbaijani media. Today, Ismayil Omarov, head director of iTV received the official letter which makes possible the participation of the country in the 2008 Eurovision Song Conest to be held in Belgrade.

The Eurovision Song Contest format for 2008 will change to a two semi final system. At a meeting of the TV Committee of the European Broadcasting Union in Verona today, it was decided to approve the proposal of hosting two Semi-Finals for the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest. The proposal was put together by the Reference Group of the contest. Only the Host Country, France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom are automatically qualified for the Final. All other participants will participate in one of two Semi-Finals. Executive supervisor of the Eurovision Song Contest, Svante Stockselius told eurovision.tv: "We are convinced that the introduction of a second Semi-Final contributes to a more stable future for the Eurovision Song Contest...We carefully listened to the suggestions of Members and fans and we took notice of the critical remarks in the press. After evaluating several scenarios, it was decided to introduce a second Semi-Final already in 2008. This increases the fairness o

I never knew this actually existed. This is during the break in the Eurovision Song Contest 2000. This was shown as many TV stations went to an advert break. This is taken from BBC TV. Is BBC the only TV station that doesn't take a break?

Today at 14.00 in a ceremony held at the Belgrade Town Hall the first ever Eurovision Host City Exchange took place. Lord Mayor of Helsinki Mr Jussi Pajunen, handed over a symbolic key ring to the Deputy of the Lord of Belgrade Ms Radmila Hrustanovic. "Now, that I have met the great people in Belgrade and saw your beautiful city, I am sure that the next Eurovision Song Contest will be one to remember", said Mayor Pajunen during the ceremony. [ESC Today]

Jussi VÄÄNÄNEN & Katja KOUKKULA from Finland won the first ever Eurovision Dance Contest in London, United Kingdom last night. The couple beat 15 other countries to win the inaugural Eurovision Dance Contest. Finland only recently won the Eurovision Song Contest in 2006 and hosted the contest in Helsinki this year. Participating Countries were: Austria (ORF), Denmark (DR), Finland (YLE), Germany (ARD/WDR), Greece (ERT, did not broadcast the show), Ireland (RTE), Lithuania (LRT), The Netherlands (NPB/TROS), Poland (TVP), Portugal (RTP), Russia (RTR), Spain (TVE), Sweden (TV4), Switzerland (SRG-SSR), Ukraine (NTU), and The United Kingdom (BBC). The show was hosted by Graham Norton and Claudia Winkleman. The BBC will broadcast the show in 2008. The show received mixed reaction with many saying that the BBC produced a cheap and rushed show and others saying that Graham Norton, the co-host was rude to spokepersons from Lithuania and Switzerland. Video of the winning proformance from Fi

Following Ireland's worst ever Eurovision result in Helsinki in May, media attention was predictably negative, with both RTÉ's decision to selection Irish traditional band Dervish, and neighbourly voting by Eastern European countries gaining most column inches and airtime. Indeed in the aftermath of the result, Ireland's future participation in the Eurovision Song Contest was questioned by many journalists and fans, but it now appears that the competition's most successful country will be back in 2008, but the selection process may be different from the past couple of years. Among those most loudly critical of RTÉ was Louis Walsh (left), former manager of Eurovision winners Johnny Logan and Linda Martin who appears to believe that the national bradcaster needs to invest more money in the Eurovision selection, and believes that the recent choices have been old fashioned and outdated. How much coinsideration will be given to Walsh's opinion is unclear, but early rumou

I prefer the Original song myself, there is something missing in the English version.

Spanish broadcaster TVE has announced that it will be sticking by the Eurovision Song Contest despite changes to the format of the contest which are "not always positive". In the announcement - a reply to the Spanish member of parliament Macarena Montesinos' suggestion that the corporation withdraw from entering the contest - TVE states that it will not abandon an event which still draws in a global audience in excess of 100 million viewers across not only Europe, but the World; as such the broadcaster recognises its "obvious value as a public service: music and the peaceful discovery of other nations". Changes not always positiveDespite this, TVE also raised issues about recent changes such as televoting, which are "not always positive in choosing the best song". Despite developments such as the introduction of the semifinal in 2004 reflecting "the new reality in Europe", the EBU admits that the format undergoes a constant process of tweakin

Björn Verdoodt, press representative of Flemish broadcaster VRT, has reacted to the criticism and cynical reactions the broadcaster received after stating that Eurosong 2008 will be "a contest of state importance", just like in 2006. According to Verdoodt, Belgium most definitely means business, and the term "state importance" still applies. Since last week, Eén has been airing a trailer encouraging Flemish artists and songwriters to submit their songs for the Belgian selections for the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest. In the trailer, Eurosong host Bart Peeters used the term "a contest of state importance" to refer to the event. After the Kate Ryan disaster in 2006 when Je t'adore, a hot favourite, just failed to make the top ten of the semifinal, the statement raised the same cynicism that it did when it was used back then. "The term state importance still applies," explains Björn Verdoodt in the Flemish newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws. "No m

Monaco, the smallest Eurovision Song Contest nation, skipped the 2007 event in Helsinki due to a feeling that Monaco was at a disadvantage when compared to other nations, due to its size. However, a return in Belgrade is not entirely out of the question, as Télé Monte-Carlo have confirmed that the decision has not been taken yet. Monaco returned to the contest in 2004 after a 25-year break, but they failed to end outside the bottom 5 in the semi final with any of their 3 entries this decade. However, a change in the fortunes of Andorra which saw Anonymous reach the 12th position in Helsinki, only a few points away from qualification, may be a positive signal to the Monégasque broadcaster. Monaco won the competition in 1971 with Séverin's Un banc, un arbre, une rue, but another Séverine, Ferrer this time, could only manage 14 points and 21st place in the semi final in Athens after a rather tuneless performance of La coco danse. Austria also skipped a year before returning in 2007, m

“ RTS is giving Eurovision fans the chance to design the 2008 logo, the stage and also host the Eurovision Song Contest.” RTS (Radiotelevizija Srbije), the host broadcaster for the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest in Belgrade has announced that it will be running a competition that will lead to the creation of the next Eurovision Song Contest's branding and logo, the stage, and most surprisingly, the hosts of the event. NEW LOGO This will graph and symbolisethe pictorial identity of the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest. It should associate with Serbia, music, youth and Europe. It will also provide the graphic symbol for medias, press and the competition's identity.Bidding is opened for 30 days and it is opened for all native and foreign persons. Bidding is anonymus. Prizes will be arwarded for the top three designs of €5000, €3000 and €2000 respectively. THE STAGE A competition to determine the ideal solution for stage for next year's Eurovision Song Contest at the Beogradska Arena

The EBU has announced that during the Debriefing Meeting of the Reference Group earlier this summer it was proposed and discussed that the two semi final format could be ntroduced in 2008 and not in 2009 as originally discussed at the HoD meeting in Helsinki last March. The proposal includes that all participating countries apart from the winner and the Big Four will have to go through the two semi finals starting from the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest. This means that the result of the 2007 contest will not influence the 2008 contest. The final decision though will be taken by the TV committee during its scheduled meeting in Verona, Italy on September 28. The Reference Group intends to propose this format after receiving feedback from the participating members. The 2008 contest will be held in the Belgrade Arena (Beogradska Arena) and it will seat about 14.000 fans. MORE INFORMATION: http://admin.esctoday.com/news/read/9027 Source: ESC Today

Amen-Ra of the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 winners group Lordi performs in Auburn, Wash, USA kicking off Ozzfest 2007 on July, 12. (AP/Andrei Pungovschi)

Although more famous for its Formula 1 grand prix race track, San Marino is one of the last European countries never to have participated in the Eurovision Song Contest. However, it seems that this could change in the next few years - Sammarinese broadcaster SMRTV has confirmed to esctoday.com that they are watching the Eurovision project with a possible participation in mind. SMRTV considered joining in 2007, but its stockholders, many of whom are related to Italian broadcaster RAI, decided not to support the idea. Whether they will have changed their minds in a year seems unlikely, but SMRTV is aiming to participate at some point over the next few years, according to a spokesperson for the broadcaster. San Marino is a tiny country surrounded entirely by Italy, and is often reported as being the world's oldest republic. Success for microstates has happened in the past - Monaco won in 1971, for example, and Malta has had 4 top 3 placings to date, the most recent coming in 2005 when

Svante Stockselius, the executive supervisor of the Eurovision Song Contest, visited Belgrade to meet with RTS officials with regards to the preparations for the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest that will be held in the Serbian capital. Svante visited Belgrade to meet with RTS officials and inspect the possible venues for the contest. He visited the Belgrade Arena, home of the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest, the Sava Centar (where Serbian national finals are held) and the Expo Center, likely to host the Press Center and the Fan Center respectively in 2008. Mr Stockselius stated that he is satisfied with the size of the Arena "It is the perfect size, not to large, not too small, we need a certain amount of intimacy", he said. He also said that he is satisfied with the way preparations have begun. "Serbia is on the right track" Svante told the press " you have a good team of people working on the project. But there is a lot of work to be done until May". [ESC Toda

After we mentioned yesterday the uncertainty over continued Czech participation, the Czech broadcaster, CT, wrote on its site eurosong.cz that the Czech Republic will be present at the Eurovision Song Contest in Belgrade, despite a last place on their debut in the 2007 semi final. The Czech Republic will send its second entry to the Contest in 2008, where they will have to start in the semi again due to a non-qualification this year with Kabát, one of the country's top bands. Whether Kabát's 1 point will put off other famous Czech artists for next year remains to be seen. As yet, there is no news over how the Czech entry will be chosen for 2008.

Many rumours have been circulating on the Internet about the possible withdrawal of several countries for 2008, one of the most popular ones being Malta. However, the Maltese broadcaster has confirmed today that Malta will be present in Belgrade, despite having to start in the semi final of the Eurovision Song Contest for the second consecutive year. Estonia, who have so far failed to qualify on every single occasion since the semi final was introduced, will also be playing in Belgrade, although ETV are considering their options for Eurolaul, the national final. Montenegro, who failed to qualify in 2007 on their first attempt as an independent state, have also confirmed their presence in Serbia. The continued participation of the Czech Republic, however, is more of a confusing matter. After coming last with only one point on their first ever participation, with one of the country's most successful bands, it is as yet unknown whether Czech broadcaster CT will be willing to finance a

The charm free zone that is Eurovision winner Marija Serifovic has upset the Finnish press by having a pop at her Helsinki hosts. a recent ill-judged press conference, the singer whined about the food during her stay in the country, claiming she survived on biscuits and fruit. Closet hopping Marija went on to say that she hated her time in Helsinki surrounded by blondes and people with what she called 'transparent skin'. It repulsed her physically she added. was however grateful for the twelve points awarded her Balkan production line ballad 'Molvita'. Journalists sat open-mouthed at her tirade which she later tried to pass off as an attempt at a joke.

RTE, the Irish broadcaster, has decided to go ahead as planned with an one-hour special on Dervish, the group that represented the country in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest ending up last with 5 points from Albania. decision has triggered off more criticism from the local press that complains now both about the choice of Dervish as well as the production of the forthcoming show. This is a hard time for Dervish. The group’s performance on the night of the final is considered to have been “disastrous” and demands are being made by fans for RTE to change the way their Eurovision entries are selected. Caroline Crawford of the Irish Independent reports that the Irish public: “demands to know why TV bosses thought a traditional band singing about the former Czechoslovakia was likely to win a pop competition.” RTE also faces criticism on their decision to go on with the pre-commisioned TV special on Dervish. The show had been obviously agreed upon prior to the contest, the same as last

Israeli newspaper reports today that IBA's general manager, Moti Sh'klar, has summoned a meeting of IBA's board to approve his decision for a final withdrawal of the broadcaster from future Eurovision Song Contests, as from 2008. It has already been known for a while that IBA's new general manager does not see IBA's participation in the Eurovision Song Contest as appropriate and adequate for his vision of how the national broadcaster should look in the future. In continuation to previous occasions, when he expressed his will to withdraw from the contest, IBA's general manager called for a meeting of the board to approve his decision, according to which the 2007 Eurovision Song Contest was IBA's last contest, ever. If this decision is approved, IBA will not send an entry to the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest in Serbia and will not even broadcast the contest anymore in the future. It should be mentioned that there are voices within the IBA's board who oppose

According to ESCToday, the EBU has confirmed two of this year's 42 participating countries at the Eurovision Song Contest gave their points awarded by back-up jury. Andorra and Albania did not use the televote results because they did not meet the EBU's sight security level of calls. The two juries did effect the result of the Eurovision Song Contest to some extent. The most notable difference was at the bottom of the scoreboard, where Ireland, although finishing in last place for the first time in their Eurovision history, were spared the shame of the dreaded 'nul points' by the Albanian jury. France, who finished in 22nd place along with the United Kingdom on 19 points, received 12 of their points (two thirds) from the two juries alone: 4 points from Albania and 8 points from Andorra. The remaining French points came from Armenia (2), Estonia (2) and Lithuania (3). Of the two back-up juries used, Eurovision Song Contest winners, Serbia, only received one point (from A

One of the best songs of the Eurovision Song Contest 1996. Singer: Elisabeth Andreassen Song: I evighet (For eternity)

At 52-years-old Eurovision is as much of a continental institution as frogs legs or sangria. It is one of the few occasions where European identity is celebrated without mention of the war. Read report at: http://www.totallyjewish.com/news/world/?content_id=6301

Eurovision Song Contest 2006 winners Lordi are making their first film, an English-language horror movie called Dark Floors. Announcing the film in Cannes, frontman Mr Lordi described it as a "traditional modern horror", and promised monsters, plot twists and "horrific scenes". "Lordi goes to the twilight zone is what you can say," said the singer, whose real name is Tomi Putaansuu. The Finnish band are famous for wearing gruesome latex masks on stage. "All of the influences of this image comes from the horror films and the horror genre, so it is kind of natural for this band to have our own horror film," said Putaansuu. Shooting began earlier this month, and the group expect to release the fright feature in Finland by the end of 2007. But the movie venture is not the first extra-curricular activity for the hard rock band. Following their Eurovision success last year they opened a Lordi-themed restaurant, Rocktaurant, in their hometown of Rovani

For the first time in recent years, there are three Eurovision Song Contest entry in the official UK Chart top100 . Scooch successfully held onto 8th spot that they occupied on the midweek chart as reported by esctoday.com. Verka Serduchka dropped from 20th on Wednesday to 28th on the final chart, and Serebro, who finished third for Russia just scraped into the top 100 at 99. Contest winner, Marija Serifovic dropped out of the top 100 but was still placed 112 in the chart, which officially lists the top 200 purchased songs including hard copy and download sales. In total, 10 Eurovision Song Contest entries can be found on the list, including the 2006 winners, Lordi as Hard Rock Hallelujah made a re-entry at number 164. Scooch were at number one on the midweek chart based solely on hard copy CD sales, and tomorrow, there will be confirmation as to whether they were the highest selling cd single of the week. All other eight songs from the 2007 Eurovision Song Contest have charted based o

Voting for the Eurovision Song Contest is set for an overhaul after the man responsible for organising it admitted the current system is failing. After complaints from western European countries that their rivals are working together to prevent them taking the title, the voting procedure is set for a revamp, with the introduction of a second semi-final under consideration. Bjorn Erichsen, the director of Eurovision television, the international broadcasting body responsible for the contest, said: "It is likely that we will have new procedures in place by 2009."

Turkish Eurovision Song Contest entry in 1997. they came 3rd. one of the best esc songs. You can hear Turkish musical elements like ney, saz, darbuka, zil.

Dervish returned home still stunned by the unexpected last place in this year's Eurovision Song Contest. After Bryan Kennedy's 10th place in Athens, the group certainly hoped to better the result for Ireland. Unfortunately, they ended up last, receiving just five points from Albania. Nevertheless, they feel they have given their best and they claim they will remember this as a great week for Dervish. Cathy Jordan, Dervish lead singer, told the press that this is a partcularly emotional time for them. "We know why we started to play music. We play music for music's sake. It's about heart and soul, it's not about votes." and she continued "For those three minutes on stage, we gave it everything and we are proud of how the whole week went for us." Cathy went on to join the pan european discussion on east/west voting by saying : "At the end of the day, the eastern block vote was obvious and if our song was not what they wanted, then so be it. We

Taken from the internet, ESC big mouth is no responisble for the content of the image below. Click on the image to see it in full!!

Have they nothing better to do! All the talk over the voting at Eurovision just won’t go away….! In the United Kingdom, where people are still discussing Scooch’s disappointing result, Eurovision has now made it into the Houses of Parliament! Liberal Democrat MP Richard Younger-Ross has tabled a motion, and signed by three other MPs, describing the voting as a “joke” and calling on the BBC to insist on changes or withdraw from the contest! The full text of the motion is as follows… “That this House believes that voting in the Eurovision Song Contest has become a joke as countries vote largely on narrow nationalistic grounds or for neighbour countries rather than the quality of the song; and that such narrow voting is harmful to the relationship between the peoples of Europe; and calls for the BBC to insist on changes to the voting system or to withdraw from the contest.”

Well, we suppose it was only a matter of time before someone decided to make a Eurovision movie - and now it’s about to happen. According to reports, Borat screenwriter Dan Mazer and History Boys producer Damian Jones have struck a deal with UK giants Working Title (the people behind Notting Hill, Bridget Jones’ Diary and countless other hits) to make a movie based on the contest. There’s no word yet on when the project, provisionally titled Eurovision: The Movie, will hit cinemas, or even who’s likely to star. So given that Team Eurovision has been saying for ages that a Eurovision-themed film would be a really good idea (which is another way of saying ‘we had that idea years ago but we never got to make it because we’re not big shot film producers who hang out with celebrities’) we thought it would be nice to offer them a little help.

Netherlands and Austria, will participate in the 2008 contest depite rumours of withdrawal. NOS boss Gerard Dielessen recently confirmed to Eurovision site Belgovision.com that the Netherlands will never withdraw from the Eurovision, despite recent disappointing results culminating in another failure to qualify from the semi final by Edsilia Rombley in Helsinki. Austrian broadcaster ORF have also confirmed that Austria will be present in Belgrade, despite a 27th place in the 2007 semi final with Eric Papilaya. After selecting their participant internally in 2007, they are reviewing the different possibilities for choosing their song in 2008. Rumours also exist over a possible Andorran withdrawal, however the Andorran head of delegation recently said that the contest was "too important to promote Andorran music", so at the time it seems unlikely that they will leave either.

Ireland, winner of the Eurovision Song Contest for a record seven times, is reflecting on its Eurovision flop, finishing last place with only 5 points, last Saturday. The Irish media have reacted in unease saying although that the eastern block voting played a major part in our failure, the song, 'They can't stop the spring,' was too folk and traditional for a song contest that contained boom-bang-a-bang! With the press in general denouncing Ireland's performance this year, one solution kept appearing all the time: pull-out of the competition. However, RTÉ remain reserved on the matter, saying that the Irish need to "reappraise our approach", giving light that Ireland may still enter next year. Dervish are naturally disappointed but are looking forward to accompanying Irish President Mary McAleese on her state visits to Latvia and Lithuania next week. Out of all the major press articles in Ireland, one article stood out, the article written by John Waters, who

A PICTURE SPEAKS A THOUSAND WORDS. Take from You tube:

A Dutch politican has put forward an idea for a brand new, Eurovision-style song contest for member countries of the European Union. Toine Manders, a member of the European parliament for the Netherlands, has suggested a new show comprising only the member states of the European Union. The aim of the EU contest would be to increase the sense of belonging for each country, but would promote individuality through an official language rule, as the Eurovision Song Contest did for many of its years. Former participant for the Netherlands, Sandra Reemer (1972, 1976 and 1979) has already expressed her support for the plan, as has prominent journalist Henk Krol. The new format would address several issues raised in recent editions of the Eurovision Song Contest, such as neighbourly voting. Safeguards would be put in place under Manders' suggestions, including a split between televotes and a jury vote to determine the winner. Several media companies are said to have already shown interest i

Although it may pain a lot of people to watch it, but you can watch the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 Final again: go to: http://www.rte.ie/tv/eurovision/av_20070512.html

As Olivia Lewis returned to Malta from Helsinki on Sunday, amid allegations of political and block voting during the semifinal and final shows of the Eurovision Song Contest, the United Kingdom (UK) voiced its concern and anger over the festival's voting system. Although neighbouring countries backing each other during the contest is no novelty, Saturday's voting was compared "to the musical equivalent of the Warsaw Pact" by Scotsman.com, as 14 out of the top 16 places were taken by eastern European states, elbowing out western European countries, including the UK's entry "Flying the Flag (for You)" by Scooch. Nick Weinberg, from UK betting Ladbrokes said he doubted whether even Elton John could win Eurovision for the UK, given the political nature of the voting. The UK is one of its biggest financial contributors of the contest. Radio phone-ins and internet message boards in the UK were on Sunday inundated with calls denouncing the current voting system

Irish broadcaster, RTE, will review the country's position in the Eurovision Song Contest after finishing in last place for the first time in their history on Saturday night. An RTE spokeswoman confirmed to newspaper, The Irish Examiner yesterday. “We will definitely be having a sit-down and looking at our geographical position and going through the whole process...Without doubt that’s going to happen. It was a long night.” Lead singer of Irish representative, Dervish, Cathy Jordan is quoted as saying “We were really proud of them. They performed really well on the night and we were happy with the song but it just wasn’t our night...I enjoyed the experience. The performance felt really good and the feedback from home was great but it’s not what the masses, particularly in eastern Europe, want to hear.” Ireland hold the record for the most victories in the Eurovision Song Contest, having taken the crown seven times. Johnny Logan remains the only singer to win the competition twice a

Congratulations to Serbia, the 2007 Eurovision Song Contest winners. In a close run race with Ukraine, they won the contest with one jury to spare, with the 12 points from neighbours, FYR Macedonia confirming the victory. They finished with 268 points. Serbia is the first country since Israel won in 1998, to win the Song Contest with a non-English Language song.

Half an hour into the show, the offical Eurovision Song Contest webcast suffered from minor technical problems. These problems were solved within moments, and the stream is once again available to everybody.

Show begins with a fantastic video incorporating Lordi. Hosts are then announced and come onstage. They talk about it being the biggest Eurovision ever and show the list of countries in the final including the telephone number. They then announced that "the final of the 2007 Eurovision Song Contest starts now!" Bosnia and Herzegovina - Each countries flag appears briefly on stage. Stage is green, stage turns red´fter instrumental break. Nice opener, good vocals, dreadful dress. Spain - Stage Blue, vocals a little ropey at the start. stage changes to red with 'i luv u mi vida' for chorus. Vocals improving (a bit of an echo though).high part bad though. Dodgy camera work just at the end. Belarus - Dark set, flowing stars. Great camera work here and vocals good. Very bad final note though but a strong performance overall Ireland - Irish flag flows up catwork, flower in backdrop. Cathy's hair is styled (that's new). She's looking at the cameras!!! Now play

Best of luck to all the 24 countries tonight. Watch Live Coverage: http://www.eurovision.tv/addons/mediaplayer/live/esctv.html Enjoy.

The Maltese had undeniably high hopes of this year’s Eurovision Song Contest and the fact that Olivia did not make it to the final has caused an upheaval of reactions all over the Mediterranean island. An effort is being made by various sides to persuade the Maltese voters to boycott tonight’s televote and the Maltese delegation will be pressuring EBU to look into changes in the voting system. Escmalta.com reports, appeals are heard by, various sides all over the island in the form of chain emails and petitions encouraging viewers to boycott the televote. They feel that the fact 9 out of the 10 semi final qualifiers came from the Balcans and ex USSR countries is unfair. Robert Abela, Maltese Head of Delegation, told escmalta.com that they plan to put pressure on the EBU to do something about the voting system. [ESC Today]

Montenegro Belarus Armenia Andorra Austria France Denmark Greece Spain Serbia Finland Turkey Bosnia-Herzegovina Belgium Portugal Albania Romania Cyprus Croatia Slovenia Israel Germany Lithuania Norway Switzerland Czech Republic The Netherlands Ireland Malta Estonia Georgia Bulgaria Sweden Ukraine Russia Latvia Iceland Poland Moldova United Kingdom F.Y.R Macedonia Hungary

McLaren's Mika Hakkinen, the Finnish Formula 1 World Champion racing driver, is rumoured to be the famous guest who will start the voting for the Eurovision Song Contest tonight. Viewers will have 15 minutes to vote for their favourite song. (thanks Jawn for correcting the error).

Funny witty interviews with Eurovision commentators from Norway, Cyprus, Ireland, Germany, Slovenia and Belgium ahead of the contest tonight. Read the interviews>>>