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Showing posts from April, 2008

Kosovo: RTK wants to enter Eurovision as soon as possible

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Kosovarian broadcaster RTK has shown interest in entering the Eurovision Song Contest. The broadcaster will soon apply for active EBU membership and will hope to get it in time to enter the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest. As a national selection, they will use a contest which stopped years ago, called Akordet e Kosoves . The question remains whether RTK will be able to get active EBU membership, since countries like Serbia, Russia and Greece can object, as they don't recognise the new Republic of Kosovo. Source: Oikotimes

Slovakia back in 2009?

After a ten year break from the Eurovision Song Contest, Slovakia could finally be back in the frame in time for the 2009 competition, according to ESC Today . Denisa Dzunkova, spokesperson for STV international, states that STV is currently discussing the options for including a space in their 2009 budget for a Eurovision Song Contest participation, a decision which will have to be finalised in the coming weeks. STV considered taking part in the 2008 edition around this time last year, but in the end were unable to secure a spot in the budget to cover participation fees. This year however, things seem more optimistic as STV won't have to pay for Olympic coverage in 2009. Slovakia has participated four times in the Eurovision Song Contest to date. Their last entry, Modlitbá by Katarína Hasprová, received just 8 points in 1998.

Eurovision 2008: Final opening act announced

The Dutch orchestra Metropole Orkest, one of the most famous pop and jazz orchestras in the world, together with the Serbian-Dutch band Balkanopolis led by Slobodan Trkulja, runner-up to Marija Šerifović at last year's Serbian national final Beovizija, will open the final of this year's Eurovision Song Contest on 24th May in Belgrade. The Metropole Orkest gave a concert with Slobodan and his Balkanopolis in the Sava Centre in Belgrade last November on the final evening of the European Council meeting, and Serbian national broadcaster RTS were so impressed that they invited their Dutch colleagues to perform at the Eurovision Song Contest.

France: Deputy launches complaint on language issue

According to ESC Today , French deputy François- Michel Gonnot (UMP - French president's party) officially complained about the fact that the French song is performed in English, "something that has never happened since more than half a century", he says. François- Michel Gonnothas launched an official complaint in the French Parliament concerning the choice of English in the country's entry in the Eurovision Song Contest. " This is a very bad thing for the defence of French language, which is already threatened in many ways ", Gonnot emphasises this morning, on France Inter, one of France's biggest radio stations. As for Marie-Claire Mézerette, France 3's head of entertainment, she declares that Sébastien Tellier had tried to translate Divine in French but that the artist said it was not possible, "We respect his choice", Mrs Mézerette concludes. The complaint is on the home page of Gonnot's blog , under the title "Shame on Fra

Eurovision 2009 in Malmö if Sweden wins, says SVT

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SVT has today announced that if Charlotte Perrelli wins the Eurovision Song Contest for Sweden, next years Eurovision will be hosted by Malmö. The Swedish handball league has booked the Globen arena in Stockholm at the possible dates of next years contest. Malmö Arena hosted the Eurovision final in 1992 after Carola Häggkvist won the previous year. Are Sweden getting a bit too confident? I must admit its a brilliant song and it would be great if it goes back to Sweden. They produced a great contest in 2000. Interval act of that year shown below.

Eurovision 2008 stage: Three nights, three themes

The Serbian broadcaster, host of the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest promises the biggest and most impressive stage, excellent lighting and the highest quality of sound to showcase the performances of the 43 countries participating this year. Stage construction begins on 10th of April and will last for a month to ensure the audience inside the Arena and all over the world enjoys the spectacle. According to Serbian newspaper Blic, the construction of the stage has already begun in England. Scenographist Goran Joksimovic says: " The stage dimensions are about 25 by 24 meters, but the exact size will depend on several factors. It will have everything that makes a Eurovision - and any World Festival stage- beautiful. There will be 500 square-meters of LCD display screens , behind the stage, on the floor, and I hope we will manage to get them on the ceiling as well ." He also explains that LCD screens will be the dominant element of the stage, since that is the way to create a dif