:: Eurovision 24 :: Oslo 2010

Israel: Harel Skaat officially confirmed as 2010 representative

2010-01-01T13:23:00.002Z

It has been confirmed that Harel Skaat will represent Israel at the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest. This was announced at the Knesset committee of Culture, where it has been also confirmed that Channel 2 operator Reshet will conduct Kdam Eurovision to select the song for Harel Skaat.

Yoav Ginai, head of entertainmet at IBA and IBA CEO Mordechai Shkaler have announced this morning at the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, that Reshet operator of Channel 2 has been chosen to produce the Kdam Eurovision show, and therefore the Israeli representative for Eurovision 2010 will be Harel Skaat.

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39 countries for Oslo 2010

2010-01-01T13:12:00.000Z

The list was confirmed by the EBU earlier today, and means that any countries that withdraw from here on in will face a fine.

Absentees from last year are Montenegro, Hungary, Andorra, and the Czech Republic. Georgia returns to the contest after being disqualified over their attempted 2009-entry “We don’t wanna put in”.

From the total of 39, the “Big-4″ (France, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom) are directly qualified to the final, although with hosts Norway. That leaves 34 countries to contest two semifinals; seventeen in each, from which ten will qualify.

The Eurovision final will run with 25 entries despite fewer participants this year. The full list of participating countries & broadcasters is as follows:

Albania (RTVSH)
Armenia (AMPTV)
Azerbaijan (Ictimai TV)
Belarus (BTRC)
Belgium (VRT)
Bosnia & Herzegovina (BHRT)
Bulgaria (BNT)
Croatia (HRT)
Cyprus (CyBC)
Denmark (DR)
Estonia (ERR)
Finland (YLE)
France (FT3)
FYR Macedonia (MKRTV)
Georgia (GEGT)
Germany (NDR/ARD)
Greece (ERT)
Iceland (RÚV)
Ireland (RTÉ)
Israel (IBA)
Latvia (LTV)
Lithuania (LRT)
Malta (PBS)
Moldova (TRM)
The Netherlands (TROS)
Norway (NRK)
Poland (TVP)
Portugal (RTP)
Romania (TVR)
Russia (RTR)
Serbia (RTS)
Slovakia (STV)
Slovenia (RTVSLO)
Spain (TVE)
Sweden (SVT)
Switzerland (SRG / SSR)
Turkey (TRT)
Ukraine (NTU)
United Kingdom (BBC)

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Eurovision 2010 theme revealed

2009-12-06T20:06:00.000Z

The 2010 Eurovision Song Contest already has a theme art and a slogan: Share the moment. The theme depicts a series of spheres representing people gathering together to enjoy a unique moment that is followed by more than 100 million viewers across the continent and beyond.
The theme and slogan have been revealed today at a press conference held in Oslo, the host city for the next Eurovision Song Contest. EBU and host broadcaster NRK main officials were present to inform the press on the latest identity adopted by the Eurovision Song Contest.

Svante Stockselius, executive supervisor of the contest on behalf of the EBU, praised NRK's capability to carry out the Eurovision preparations speedily and successfully: "I never saw a host broadcaster being this well prepared at this time of the year", Stockselius stated.

"We want to share the Eurovision Song Contest, rather than just broadcast it", Hasse Lindmo, TV-producer of the contest for NRK explained. "One particular thing that makes the Eurovision Song Contest such a unique event is the fact that it's the only time of the year in Europe that some 125 million people are doing exactly the same thing, at exactly the same time. Whether you're in Iceland or in Armenia, in Portugal or in Finland. Or here in Oslo," Lindmo said.

This is why the motto for the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest is Share the moment, and this is closely connected to the visual design, based on a series of spheres that represent gathering people and the diversity of emotions surrounding the Eurovision Song Contest.

News: ESCTODAY.com
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Montenegro withdraws from Eurovision 2010

2009-11-17T18:38:00.001Z

ESC Today reports that Montenegro is the latest country to announce its withdrawal from the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest. The state television of the republic, RTCG, have claimed financial reasons for this decision.

Montenegro will miss the 2010 edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. According to their national broadcaster, in a brief announcement, the decision has been taken in order to reach financial consolidation after three years as an independent state.

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Liechtenstein rules out Eurovision participation

2009-11-06T17:35:00.000Z

Esctoday.com reports...

Peter Kölbel of Liechtenstein's broadcaster 1FL has stated that the country will not make its debut at the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest in Oslo. The station is said not to aim for EBU membership in December, when the admission window will open.

Liechtenstein has been strongly rumoured to take part next year in the Eurovision Song Contest owing to the broadcaster 1FL's intention to become a full member of the European Broadcasting Union. Now it seems that the station has decided to postpone these plans due to financial reasons, so that the principality will not make its debut until 2011 at the earliest.

Now, the broadcaster will look into all the possible options to fund the costs of the EBU membership, after ruling out an application in December.

Estonia to participate in Oslo 2010

2009-11-06T17:28:00.000Z

Finally, and after strong indications that Estonia would be very likely to withdraw from the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest due to financial reasons, the country's broadcaster ERR has confirmed that Estonia will be in Oslo next year esctoday.com reports.

This is thanks to a 1.5 million EEK (around 95,900 euro) loan from the foundation Enterprise Estonia (EAS), while the broadcaster will cover up to 300,000 EEK (19,170 euro) of the costs of the national selection process.

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Ireland: RTÉ confirms participation in Eurovision 2010

2009-11-03T20:32:00.000Z

The Irish broadcaster RTÉ has confirmed to esctoday.com that it will particpate in the forthcoming Eurovision Song Contest in 2010.

Speculation had arisen that RTÉ may withdraw from the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 given the current economic financial climate in Ireland as too other countries. With numerous countries' broadcasters having withdrawn or facing a consideration to withdraw due to financial strain, esctoday.com contacted RTÉ for an update.

RTÉ have confirmed to esctoday.com that, this week that it has just submitted its' application to the EBU for its participation in next May's contest to be held in Oslo, Norway.

With regarding a format for selecting a song, RTÉ are looking at a set of possible options and hope to reach a final decision shortly.

SOURCE: ESC TODAY

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Televoting enabled during entire 2010 shows

2009-11-03T20:29:00.000Z

ESC TODAY REPORTS

The Reference Group of the Eurovision Song Contest, the governing body of the competition, have announced moments ago that the 2010 contest will see an important novelty: viewers will be able to cast their votes from the performance of the first song. Once more, the Junior Eurovision Song Contest proves to be a testing ground for the senior competition.

This change will be introduced to both the semifinals and the grand final. Phone lines will remain open from the performance of the first entry until 15 minutes after the end of the last song. This means that televoting via phone call and SMS will be enabled for nearly one or two hours depending on the show.

Some reasons are argued from the EBU to support this change. The total amount of votes cast throughout the three shows will be higher and will not arrive in a bulk in just 15 minutes between the last song is performed and the results start to be announced. It is also intended to prevent telephone companies from getting their systems overloaded.

EBU founds this change on the experience from the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, where the extended voting window was implemented three years ago. Research by the EBU's televoting partner Digame shows that "the songs performed early in the running order, that have a longer voting exposure, will not unfairly benefit from this". The same research quoted by the EBU shows that "the tendency is that people vote while their favourite song is being performed, no matter where it is performed in the running order", EBU says.

"It is more logic to pick up the telephone and cast your vote while hearing and seeing a song, rather than at the end the performances. Experiences from several national selections also show that this extended voting window is being used with success," Svante Stockselius, Executive Supervisor of the Eurovision Song Contest, told Eurovision.tv.

Hungary withdraws from Eurovision Song Contest

2009-11-03T20:26:00.001Z

ESC TODAY REPORTS.

Hungarian public broadcaster, MTV, have announced that Hungary will not participate at the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest, to be held in Oslo. Budget limitations are said to be the reason for this decision.

Hungarian broadcaster explained that financial difficulties are behind the country's withdrawal from the competition next year. MTV’s budget is expected be cut down by more than fifty percent in 2010, therefore the company's management has already taken several radical steps, for instance, they have reduced their programs, and fired many of their employees.

Hungary was represented by Ádok Zoli this year in Moscow with the song Dance with me, not reaching the final stage of the competition.

Eurovision 2010: Juries will decide 50% of the Semifinal's votes

2009-11-03T20:20:00.000Z

The Eurovision Song Contest's Reference Group of the EBU (the governing body of the contest) has decided that the professional jury in each country will not just decide on 50% of the votes in the Final, but also in the two Semifinal's, in next year's contest in Oslo, Norway.

Last year, EBU members, journalists and fans, saw the introduction of the juries to the final in a positive way. The Reference Group, who meets four to five times a year, developes the future format of the Contest. They decided to introduce the juries in the Semifinals too, and not just in the final: The juries will decide upon 50% of the Semifinal votes and the televotes and SMS-votes will make up the other 50%. The top ten countries in the combined results, will qualify to the final, where they will meet the Big 4 countries (Spain, United Kingdom, France and Germany) and this year's host, Norway.

The two semifinals will be held in Telenor Arena in Oslo, the capital city of Norway, on 25 (Semifinal 1), 27 (Semifinal 2) and 29 (Final) of May 2010.

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Estonia out of 2010?

2009-10-02T17:35:00.000+01:00

Despite rumours on Eurolaul and grand national final, the CEO of the Estonian state television told the local press today that the broadcaster is considering the option of withdrawal from the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest. It seems that according to Margus Allikmaa (ERR) the problem is not only the cost of participation and national selection but also a potential victory in Oslo. The hosting cost is something that the broadcaster cannot handle in case Estonia wins in Norway, seems to have said in the ELU24.ee site.

The broadcaster needs to save 7% of its budget and a year of absence will not hard the popularity of the contest in Estonia Mr Allikmaa says. Eurolaul might take place at the end but the winner is not entering for sure in the row for Oslo. The broadcaster needs at least 224,000 Euros to enter the 2010 Eurovision edition but ERR has made no final decision whether participating or not in Oslo.

Source: Oikotimes.com

NRK estimates cost of Eurovision Song Contest at EUR 24m

2009-09-30T12:12:00.000+01:00

The Norwegian broadcaster hosting the 2010 edition of the Eurovision Song Contest has adjusted their original estimate on how much the arrangement is going to cost.

The revised sum is now estimated at 211 million Norwegian kroner (ca. €24 mill.), when the original sum quoted was closer to 150 million (€17 mill.) that NRK say it cost YLE to host the contest in Helsinki in Finland in 2007. Last year's contest in Moscow cost reportedly $40 mill. (ca €27 mill.)

More from ESC Today

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Liechtenstein: 1FLTV ready to join the EBU

2009-09-30T12:09:00.000+01:00

Liechtenstein's only television broadcaster 1FLTV has launched an apply of admission to the EBU. Being a member of the European Broadcasting Union is obligatory to be allowed to take part in the Eurovision Song Contest. The country is ready to have its debut in the competition in the near future.

1FLTV director Peter Kölbel has stated that the negotiations with the EBU are progressing. He also revealed that it might be possible for Liechtenstein to take part in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2010 already. However, this would demand a change of the regulations: the membership will not be confirmed before December although the number of participating countries in the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest has to be definite in November. Kölbel stated that the EBU is therefore considering a change of the regulations, but nothing has been confirmed yet.

Source: ESC Today

Belarus: ONT cannot take part in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010

2009-09-30T12:07:00.000+01:00

During his recent visit to Belarus, Bjorn Erichsen, Director Eurovision TV, told local press that ONT, the broadcaster announced to be taking over the country's Eurovision Song Contest participation from BTRC, do not have the right to do so as they are not officially members of the EBU yet.

ONT have applied for membership but their application will be discussed in December whereas country subscriptions for the 2010 contest must be submitted by mid November at the latest. Under the circumstances, the Belarussian call for songs by ONT seems invalid.

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Spain and Azerbaijan to face Eurovision fines?

2009-09-30T12:04:00.000+01:00

The Eurovision Song Contest Reference Group that met in Oslo on 10th September did discuss Spain's breach of Eurovision Song Contest rules by broadcasting the semi final on a time delay, rendering a televote impossible. It has also concluded it's investigation into whether Azeri broadcaster Ictimai deliberately blocked or distorted the picture to blur out the voting number for Armenia.

More from ESC Today

Poland: TVP confirms Eurovision participation

2009-09-30T12:03:00.001+01:00

Daniel Jablonski, spokesman at the Polish national broadcaster, TVP, has confirmed that the country will participate at the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest, to be held in May in Oslo (Norway).

The details regarding the procedure to select a singer and a song to represent Poland in Oslo have not been disclosed yet. They are due to be released in October.

Source: ESC Today

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Austria will not take part in 2010

2009-09-30T12:00:00.001+01:00

Although the jury has somewhat returned to the contest, it has not changed Austrias mind as it has now been officially confirmed that Austria will not return to the Eurovision Song Contest in 2010.

ORF executive Wolfgang Lorenz stated that high costs are the reason considering that the contest has been "ruined by the regulations".

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Eurovision 2010: Telenor Group becomes Presenting Partner

2009-09-30T11:54:00.000+01:00

It has been announced that the Telenor Group have officially become a Presenting Partner for the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 to be held in Oslo in May next year.

The Telenor Group is one of the leading mobile operators in the world and have been granted pan-european association, media and new media rights with the event to be held in Oslo next year. As a result of these sponsorship rights, the Telenor Group is entitled to produce and market the Official Eurovision Song Contest Mobile Phone across all its participating markets.

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United Kingdom: Terry to leave breakfast show

2009-09-07T19:20:00.003+01:00

Terry Wogan has announced he is to step down as presenter of BBC Radio 2's breakfast show.

The 71-year-old told his listeners shortly after Monday's 0800 news bulletin, calling his decision to go "the hardest thing I have ever done".

"It touches me deeply that I've played a part in your lives for, it seems, like generations," Terry said.

Terry left his job as commentator for the BBC for the Eurovision Song Contest last year.

Luxembourg: Country considers return to the Eurovision Song Contest

2009-09-07T18:51:00.003+01:00

In somewhat surprising news, according to media reports, Steve Schmit, manager of RTL Télé Lëtzebuerg, considers Luxembourg's return to the Eurovision Song Contest in 2010.

The country has not been taking part in the competition since 1993. Smitt told the website wort.lu that after a very long time, they had a meeting with the EBU and the broadcaster considers submitting an entry in 2010, although any decision has yet to be made. The biggest issue appear to be the expenses considering the small budget of the broadcaster. The final decision has to be taken until December.

Luxembourg was one of the seven countries to take part in the first Eurovision Song Contest in 1956. Over the years, the small country won the contest on five occassions and produced international hit songs like Poupée de cire, poupée de son by France Gall (1965) and Après toi by Vicky Leandros (1972), Parlez-vous français by Baccara (1978) and L'amour est bleu (1967). Based on victories, Luxembourg is the second most successful country in the contest following Ireland and sharing its position with France and the United Kingdom (although the latter both had to share one of their victories). After a series of low results, Luxembourg did not return to the contest after the 1993 edition.

Source: ESC TODAY NL.

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United Kingdom: Could Wogan Return??

2009-09-01T19:52:00.001+01:00

It has been reported that Graham Norton is to leave the BBC later this year to return to former broadcasting home, Channel Four. The entertainment front man commentated for the British public at the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest, replacing veteran Terry Wogan. He also hosted the selection show, Your country needs you in January.

Graham Norton is set to quit the BBC to return to Channel Four later this year. His lucrative contract ends and he is set to reject a new deal to take over the Paul O'Grady talk show at his former stomping ground. Should he remain at the BBC, he is set to move his talk show from BBC2 to BBC1.

Norton is said to be unhappy at the BBC after his latest Saturday Night show Totally Saturday flopped and was later pulled by the BBC. He also hosts the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical reality shows that select lead artists for his stage shows, but with the Lord, who wrote this year's British Eurovision Song Contest entry, now in a battle to end his BBC contract and take the show to rival channel, ITV, Norton could be set to lose another of his headline shows.

Graham Stuart, managing director and co-founder of Norton’s independent production company, So Television, told Broadcast magazine “None of this rings true. I understand that everybody wants Graham but as far as So is concerned, we have worked long and hard to get where we are, which is beginning a new chat show on BBC1. That is our plan.”

Source: ESC TODAY and the Sun Newspaper UK.

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EBU: "Breach of voting privacy is unacceptable"

2009-08-28T22:29:00.001+01:00

From ESC TODAY....

The Director General of the European Broadcasting Union has issued an official statement regarding the investigation of whether Azeri citizens were questioned by the Ministry of the Interior in Azerbaijan over their decision to vote for Armenia at the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest. Azeri broadcaster Ictimai has also responded to the EBU investigation.

The official statement on the EBU website tonight says:

The European Broadcasting Union has received responses from Azerbaijan regarding allegations that telephone voters in Azerbaijan who voted for the Armenian song in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest were interrogated by security police.

Ictimai, the EBU’s Azeri Member which broadcast this year’s Song Contest from Moscow in May, has confirmed its commitment to free and fair voting. While two individuals had been invited to the Ministry of National Security, Ictimai said, the Ministry of National Security had given assurances that nobody had been questioned, either officially or unofficially, on voting in the competition itself. [this is an official statement by Public Television and Radio Broadcasting Company of Azerbaijan on the controversial issue related to the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest].

The EBU’s Director General, Jean Réveillon, said he took note of the statements. However, he stressed that the freedom to vote for any song except the one of the country where you are watching is one of the cornerstones of the contest. “Any breach of privacy regarding voting, or interrogation of individuals, is totally unacceptable,” he added.

The EBU committee responsible for running the Song Contest will examine the matter at a meeting in Oslo on 11 September 2009.

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Eurovision 1996: Morten Harket - Heaven's Not For Saints

2009-08-21T10:28:00.002+01:00

Someone has these on Facebook, had to put them here. What an opening to opening to the Eurovision Song Contest of 1996 in Oslo, Norway on May 18th when Morten Harket performed his song "Heaven's Not For Saints".

Also included is Eimear Quinn, winner Ireland 1996 singing "Norwegian Wood".

Turkey: TRT denies Tarkan's participation

2009-08-21T10:02:00.002+01:00

The Turkish broadcaster responsible for the events in relation to the European Broadcasting Union namely TRT have denied the participation of the Turkish superstar Tarkan at the Eurovision Song Contest.

The news comes just days after his participation was "confirmed" by several Turkish newspapers who reported that some sort of pre-agreement which was said to have been formalised after the return of Hadise from Moscow where she reached a credible fourth place.

Source: oikotimes.com
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Azerbaijan: EBU launches investigation

2009-08-19T20:05:00.001+01:00

The European Broadcasting Union have said that an investigation is underway regarding the questioning of Azerbaijan residents that voted for Armenia at the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest by the Ministry of the Interior.

Media reports claim that the 43 members of the Azeri public that voted for neighbouring Armenia were traced and taken for questioning about their actions. tensions between the two countries remain high after a war fifteen years ago.

"The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) is aware of the rumours and accusations made in the media and started last week to investigate the matter. The investigation will involve our technical partners and also gives our Member Broadcasters the chance to respond. Until this investigation is completed we cannot comment further on these rumours and accusations," said Svante Stockselius, Executive Supervisor of the Eurovision Song Contest on behalf of the EBU.

Source: ESCTODAY

Turkey: Tarkan to represent Turkey at Eurovision 2010

2009-08-19T16:24:00.001+01:00

According to Sabah newspaper, Tarkan has agreed with Turkish Radio Televison (TRT) to participate forTurkey in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010. He is reported to have agreed to sign a contract of intention with the national broadcaster this week.

According to several leading newspapers in Turkey, today, Tarkan will represent Turkey in 2010 Eurovision Song Contest. Tarkan said that he agreed with TRT last Thursday but still negotiations are ongoing. He added that the contract will be signed this week and next week there will be an official briefing for the media. The Turkish super star also stated that an agreement has been reached withTRT about a music program in the new music channel of TRT.

ESCTODAY.COM
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Eurovision 2009: 10,680,682 televotes!

2009-08-03T21:26:00.000+01:00

Over ten million televotes were received during the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest in Moscow, the European Broadcasting Union and its voting partner Digame reveal today. With 8,825,527 calls and text messages received in 2008, this year's Eurovision Song Contest saw an increase of over 20 percent.

During the two Semi-Finals and the Final, 6,162,749 text messages came in and 4,517,933 calls were made to cast a vote.

During this year's Final alone, over 1,5 million more calls and text messages came in compared to last year. Over the past years, the number of incoming calls has been relatively stable, while the amount of incoming text messages has significantly increased year after year. In just five years, the number of text messages sent out to cast a vote has nearly tripled.

Televoting revenues are being distributed back to the participating EBU Member Broadcasters, thereby partly compensating participation fees.

Source: EBU.

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Campaign for return for Eurovision orchestra

2009-08-03T20:52:00.002+01:00

A campaign to bring back a live orchestra to the Eurovision Song Contest has been launched through social media website, facebook. More than 3,750 people have already signed up in support of the move.

The Eurovision Song Contest has not used an orchestra since the 1998 contest in the United Kingdom. It did use an orchestra for the 50th anniversary show in Denmark in October 2005. With the rapid development of music technology, producers, writers and production methods make backing tracks a better alternative. It also means more space for the stage and audience in the Eurovision Song Contest arena during the shows.

With the rapid growth in the number of countries participating at the Eurovision Song Contest, orchestras would need to learn more than 40 songs, as opposed to around 20-25 the last time an orchestra was used at the competition. This makes a return to the use of an orchestra unlikely.

Despite this, Jan Fredrik Heyerdahl of the Norwegian Radio Orchestra (KORK), said that they are interested in participations for the Eurovision Song Contest next year - if EBU, NRK and the board of the Eurovision approves it.

There are some songs, however, that may benefit from the sound of a live orchestra. Recent songs by Germany (2007, 2009), Hungary and Estonia may have faired better with live music rather than backing track accompanyment. Earlier this year, Andrew Lloyd Webber also went on record to say that he had hoped his entry for the United Kingdom could be performed by a live band rather than a backing track.

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Source: ESC Today

allkindsofeverything.ie re-launched for 2010 contest

2009-08-01T21:57:00.006+01:00

The popular Irish website was re-launched today at www.allkindsofeverything.ie ready for the Eurovision 2010 contest.

They have also launched a Twitter feed aswell

Eurovison 2009: Full results

2009-07-31T18:31:00.005+01:00

ESC Today reports...

The European Broadcasting Union have today announced the full breakdown of the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest result. This has been delayed in order for two independent audits to confirm the result and cross check. For the first time, the exact votes of the international juries and televote have been declared.

In 2009, the Eurovision Song Contest voting system was modified for the final to include the votes of an international jury from each country comprising of five musical experts. The jury vote and televote were added together to create the result for each participating country.

The initial results show that the biggest changes with the introduction of the international jury were the results of France, the United Kingdom, Israel Albania, Denmark and Sweden.

France would have finished in a lowly 17th place despite recruiting the internationally acclaimed artist, Patricia Kaas. The multi-million cd selling star however took fourth place from the interntional juries, taking France to eighth place overall.

New discovery Jade Ewen represented the United Kingdom and took fifth place. On the televote, she would have finished 10th, still reaching the country's best result since 2002, but her third place from the international juries lifted the United Kingdom to fifth. Israel's entry by Mira and Noa finished last in the televote but due to the jury vote (9th), the country finished nine places higher than it would have under the previous system, taking 16th place.

Albania's entry finished in 17th place, but would have been 11th under the previous voting system. Whilst finishing six places lower, Denmark moved up six places. Despite only finishing 19th on the televote, Brink took sixth place on the jury to lift Denmark to 13th. Sweden were another country hurt by the voting change, finishing 21st overall despite finishing 15th under the televote.

You can see the full breakdown of the result here:

Country	Result	Jury	Televote
Norway	1	1	1
Iceland	2	2	4
Azerbaijan	3	8	2
Turkey	4	7	3
United Kingdom	5	3	10
Estonia	6	5	6
Greece	7	11	5
France	8	4	17
Bosnia & Herzegovina	9	12	7
Armenia	10	15	9
Russia	11	17	8
Ukraine	12	16	12
Denmark	13	6	19
Moldova	14	10	13
Portugal	15	18	18
Israel	16	9	25
Albania	17	23	11
Croatia	18	19	16
Romania	19	21	14
Germany	20	14	23
Sweden	21	22	15
Malta	22	13	24
Lithuania	23	20	20
Spain	24	25	21
Finland	25	24	22

A lookback at 1996, the last time Norway hosted the final

2009-07-30T21:18:00.002+01:00

As Norway look forward to hosting the next Eurovision Song Contest, oikotimes.com look back at the last time they hosted the contest. The year was 1996 and the location Oslo.

It was the last time Ireland won the contest.

Read more

United Kingdom: BBC will have to re-think selection process

2009-07-29T19:12:00.004+01:00

After the UK got their best result since 2002 this year, it looks like their is No More Lloyd Webber for Eurovision.

According to the British Media, Andrew Lloyd Webber is close to joining the BBC's main rival, ITV. Lord Webber has worked with the BBC for the last few years with his search for the latest theatre star for smash-hit West-end shows such as Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat, Oliver! and The Sound of Music. In 2008, the BBC offered Lloyd Webber another reality project to stop him defecting to ITV. Instead of the usual theatre based shows, the BBC in an audacious move put Lord Webber solely in charge of reversing the U.K's ailing Eurovision fortunes by making him write the song and chose the final 6 finalists, in which the British public would eventually chose the act to perform Webber's song.

Despite one failed attempt by the head of ITV, Peter Fincham to lure Lloyd Webber, it seems like this time he has his man. The BBC are worried about impartiality and commercial problems and so decided not to commission a new search for the Wizard of Oz. The BBC do not want to lose Lloyd Webber especially after the turnaround he delivered in U.K Eurovision fortunes and they were hoping he could do the same next year with a similar Eurovision format, however he is reportedly very upset and annoyed at the BBC's decision not to commission a search for the new dorothy in the Wizard of Oz and is now tempted by a lucrative move to ITV and the deal could be finalised in a few weeks.

Source: ESCTIME

Eurovision 2009: Split voting results to be revealed on 31st July

2009-07-28T14:56:00.001+01:00

The split jury and televoting results of the Final of the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest will be revealed this Friday, the 31st of July 2009.

Eurovision.tv have announced that on Friday July 31st, the official split jury and televoting results of the final of this years Eurovision Song Contest final will be announced. This gives Eurovision fans the chance to analyse the full results and decide for themselves whether they are happy with the new voting system.

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United Kingdom: Wogan praises Norton for Eurovision

2009-07-28T10:28:00.003+01:00

Terry Wogan has given the thumbs-up to his 'Eurovision Song Contest' successor Graham Norton and described this year's show as flawless.

Norton took over commentating duties for this year's show in May, when the UK came fifth in the music spectacular in Moscow, reversing the UK's recent poor record.

Speaking to the Radio Times, Wogan said he was able to sit down and watch the programme for the first time in 35 years "and I thought it was wonderful. A spectacular show without a flaw in it".

He stepped down from hosting the BBC coverage of the event after growing tired of countries bloc voting. He told the magazine: "Contrary to what is often believed I love Eurovision, or I couldn't have presented it for as long as I did.

"This year they sorted the voting out, and I thought Graham Norton was excellent. People have said his approach was rather like mine, and all I can say is I take that as a compliment!"

Source: RTE

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Czech Republic: withdraws from Eurovision 2010

2009-07-22T21:59:00.003+01:00

According to ESC Today, Mrs. Kateřina Fričová, program director of the Czech public television CT, has declared today that the central European nation will leave the Eurovision Song Contest after a three-year stay.

The main reason to stop the country's participation that Mrs. Kateřina Fričová mentioned was the lack of interest from the Czech public after three failed attempts.

The Czech republic debuted in the 2007 Eurovision Song Contest, being represented by Kabát and Malá dama. The year after, Tereza Kerndlová took the Belgrade stage with the song Have some fun, followed this year by Gypsy.cz and Aven romale.

None of them reached the qualification from the semifinals.

The Withdrawal has not been confirmed by the European Broadcasting Union.

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Eurovision 2010: NRK releases budget plans

2009-07-21T20:38:00.001+01:00

Oikotimes reports...

The Norwegian broadcaster NRK who earned the right to host after a record breaking victory with Alexander Rybak's brilliant performance of his entry "Fairytale" has just revealed it's budget plans for next years' Eurovision Song Contest. The amount of 17 million euros which was speculated earlier on has now been confirmed by both the broadcaster and the Ministry for Culture.

The budget itself is quite lower than the one used in Moscow which reached a maximum of 30 million euro. This means that the proposed budget for next years' Eurovision Song Contest is 13 million lower than than in 2009 yet it is an increase on the budget used in the Helsinki edition which reached a total of 9 million putting in a margin of 4 million in difference. NRK will be doing it's best to make a profit out of the sponsorship, ticket sales, advertising and televoting so that a loss will not be apparent.

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Liechtenstein: set to debut in Eurovision 2010 ?

2009-07-21T19:11:00.003+01:00

Esctime.com has announced that the Liechtenstein broadcaster 1FL have confirmed that they will be applying for EBU membership before the end of this month on the 31st July 2009.

This leads to the suspicion that the may well be appearing the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest in Oslo, should their application be approved.

1FLTV, the television station for Liechtenstein, began broadcasting on the 15th August 2008. It is the world's first ever television station based in Liechtenstein.

It is stated clearly in the rules that any country wishing to enter the Eurovision Song Contest must have a national broadcaster that is an active member of the European Broadcasting Union. For Liechtenstein, a tiny Alpine microstate nestled between Austria & Switzerland, this has prevented them from entering in the past, until last year.

News on Liechtenstein

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France: Johnny Logan to write 2010 entry?

2009-07-20T21:07:00.002+01:00

It seems Johnny Logan wants to keep far away from Ireland as possible as it has been reported that France will be represented in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 in Oslo with a song written by Mr Eurovision Johnny Logan, according to the German magazine Bunte.

Johnny Logan, who won the Eurovision Song Contest three times in 1980, 1987 and as a writer in 1992, would have been asked by the French public broadcaster to write the French entry.

Johnny Logan told in an interview with the German magazine Bunte that "I was asked if I wanted to write a song and I said yes." The australian born Irish singer won the Eurovision Song Contest twice with What's Another Year and Hold Me Now and as composer of the song Why Me? performed by Linda Martin.

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Eurovision 2010: Georgia returns!

2009-07-20T20:42:00.001+01:00

Georgian broadcaster GPB has confirmed today to esctime.com that the Caucasian country is intending to return to the Eurovision competition next year in Oslo. Georgia was excluded in 2009 because their song was in breach of the contest rules, according to the EBU.

This year's Georgian entry, We don't wanna put in, was found ineligible to participate because of its political message. This was the last episode of a story that began one year ago, when Georgia decided to quit because of political reasons.

Then, after winning the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, GPB decided to apply for the 2009 Eurovision, but the entry they submitted was rejected by the EBU.

Norway will then see the Georgian flag fly in May 2010.

Source: ESC Today

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Telenor Arena to host Eurovision 2010

2009-07-12T15:45:00.000+01:00

The 2010 Eurovision Song Contest will take place at the Telenor Arena, now known as Fornbu Arena in Oslo. NRK, the host broadcaster of the 55th Eurovision Song Contest, announced that the arena, located in the greater metropolitan of Oslo, will be used for the final on May 29th 2010 along with the semi finals on 25th and 27th May. The Arena is more commonly known as the Telenor Arena.

The Fornebu Arena is located in Bærum which is placed in the south of Oslo. The two Semifinals and the Grand Final, along with all rehearsals and press conferences will take place exactly there. It was selected ahead of the Spektrum, home of the Melodi Grand Prix final and previous Eurovision Song Contest host arena in 1996.

The Spektrum has a smaller capacity and lacks the size to cope with the media circus that accompanies the competition. The Telenor/Fornebu Arena is the largest indoor arena in northern Europe and opened in February 2009 and can host 15,000 spectators for football matches, and 23,000 for concerts.

Source: ESC Today.

Ireland: RTE left singing the blues with €182,000 Eurovision price tag

2009-06-26T20:37:00.006+01:00

INDEPENDENT.IE REPORTS
CASH-strapped RTE, faced with a €68m funding deficit, spent €182,000 on our disastrous 2009 Eurovision entry. The massive sum was splurged on selecting and sending an entourage to Russia during May for the 54th annual song contest. Despite being touted as a decent bet for glory, Sinead Mulvey and Black Daisy failed to even make it to the final. The €182,630 bill covered the cost of selecting the band, entry fees, hotel bills, flights, entertainment and visas. The hotel bill for the 15 member delegation amounted to €24,710, flights €6,761, food and entertainment €9,540, visas €1,400 and airport transfers €978.

The information was provided to the Irish Independent under a Freedom of Information request. The bill was more than last year's tab for dispatching Dustin the Turkey, to Serbia, which cost €170,000. This year, the cost of staging a national competition on RTE's own 'Late Late Show' cost €83,879, while the Eurovision participation fee was more than €55,000. RTE chiefs have been implementing a range of cuts in a bid to plug the broadcaster's €68m budget deficit by the end of the year. An RTE spokesman defended the Eurovision bill and said the cash had provided seven hours of entertainment.

"All these programmes attracted substantial audiences. All costs in Moscow were carefully controlled," he said. "In all cases, the cheapest possible flights were booked. The hotel costs reflect the going rate in Moscow." Labour's Liz McManus said RTE needed to carefully gauge its spending as they were in "terrible difficulties". However, she pointed out that many people enjoy Eurovision and it would be difficult to take part in the competition without "considerable outlay".

Simon Coveney, Fine Gael's communications spokesman, said an "honest review" of the entire Eurovision process was needed, but added: "To be fair to RTE, they get lumbered with the costs. There would be a lot of disappointed people if RTE decided not to enter."

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Eurovision 2010: NRK and EBU organisers meet

2009-06-13T13:03:00.001+01:00

Last month, Norway won the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 in which NRK has become the host broadcaster for the Eurovision Song Contest 2010. Key positions have been filled by the host broadcaster in the running of the event next year.

Jon Ola Sand (48), has been recently appointed as NRK's Executive Producer for the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest. Hasse Lindmo (36) will be the Television Producer, while Stian Malme (39) the current NRK Head of Delgation for the Eurovision Song Contest is to become the Venue Manager. Evy Hauffen (56) was appointed Line Producer, she was involved in the Eurovision Song Contest 1996 in Oslo as Production Manager.

On Wednesday and Thursday last, the newly appointed production team met with organisers of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) to be briefed about the task that's ahead. Discussions on various topics such as the technical aspects of the contest, the content of the three live shows, infrastructure, marketing, branding, new media, press facilities and communication took place.

Svante Stockselius, Executive Supervisor of the Eurovision Song Contest at the EBU, spoke to eurovision.tv and was impressed by NRK's approach, "They already filled their key positions, did in-depth research to what it takes to organise this enormous event and they are eager to lay the foundations of the production before summer holidays."

NRK is currently in the process of selecting the venue where the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest will take place, which may be revealed in a couple of weeks.

In September, the EBU Reference Group (the governing body) for the Eurovision Song Contest will visit the preferred venue to officially approve it.

Source: ESC Today & eurovision.tv

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Ireland: Low TV ratings for RTE

2009-06-07T14:00:00.003+01:00

The Eurovision Semi Final 2 on Thursday 14th May featuring Ireland's entry Et Cetera performed by Sinead Mulvey & Black Daisy, was the most watched programme on RTE Two that week with over 438,000 viewers watching Ireland failing to qualify for the final. This is down from 691,000 who watched Dustin the Turkey with his entry last year in Belgrade.

The Semi Final 1 on Tuesday 12th May was watched by 208,000.

The figures released by RTE, show that the Eurovision Final on Saturday was watched by 438,000, a low fugure compared to other years, due to Ireland not competing that night, but up from 377,000 watching last year.

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Evolution of the Eurovision Song Contest Logo 1956-2010

2009-06-06T10:48:00.003+01:00

The following Link below is a roundup showing the evolution of the Eurovision Song Contest logo from 1956 (when the first contest was held) until now.

Some logo's (especially in the early days) are nothing more than simple text. Later on, the logo became more complex, while some find their beauty in simplicity.

I love the old days when things where simple!! look at the early 60's, nothing but text in different fonts.

See Logos.

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United Kingdom: Jury and Public vote revealed

2009-06-05T18:57:00.001+01:00

This is how the UK jury voted in the final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2009:

UK JURY VOTE

12 Points - Germany
10 Points - Iceland
8 Points - Norway
7 Points - Malta
6 Points - Turkey
5 Points - Ukraine
4 Points - France
3 Points - Bosnia & Herzegovina
2 Points - Armenia
1 Point - Azerbaijan

And now here's how the UK public cast their votes by telephone:

UK PUBLIC TELEVOTE

12 Points - Turkey
10 Points - Greece
8 Points - Lithuania
7 Points - Norway
6 Points - Malta
5 Points - Iceland
4 Points - Azerbaijan
3 Points - Denmark
2 Points - Germany
1 Point - Portugal

COMBINED JURY AND TELEVOTE

18 Points - Turkey
15 Points - Norway*
15 Points - Iceland
14 Points - Germany
13 Points - Malta
10 Points - Greece
8 Points - Lithuania
5 Points - Azerbaijan*
5 Points - Ukraine
4 Points - France
3 Points - Denmark
3 Points - Bosnia & Herzegovina
2 Points - Armenia
1 Point - Portugal

*Where there were two countries on the same score, the act with the higher public phone vote is judged to have been the winner.

FINAL VOTES FROM THE UNITED KINGDOM

Turkey - 12 Points
Norway - 10 Points
Iceland - 8 Points
Germany - 7 Points
Malta - 6 Points
Greece - 5 Points
Lithuania - 4 Points
Azerbaijan - 3 Points
Ukraine - 2 Points
France - 1 Point

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Eurovision Dance Contest Baku 2010 Postponed

2009-05-29T00:14:00.001+01:00

The European Broadcasting Union postponed the third Eurovision Dance Contest. The number of broadcasters that signed up for participation did not reach the desired level.

The European Broadcasting Union aim to organise a new format to make a more attractive and financially more sustainable production next year, planning to reach larger number of broadcasters. The Eurovision Dance Contest is planned to be organised in Azerbaijan in the autumn of 2010.

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Eurovision Song Contest 2010: Its Oslo!!

2009-05-27T17:56:00.006+01:00

No surprises about the Host city but the dates announced are a shocker!

The host city as well as the dates for the 55th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest have now been confirmed by the EBU and NRK although the exact venue remains still to be decided.

As announced today by the EBU and host broadcaster NRK, the final dates for the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest will be Tuesday 25 May and Thursday 27 May for the semi finals, the Grand Final will take place on Saturday 29 May, 2010 in Oslo. The date for the final was earlier set to the 22nd May but this clashed on the same day with the Champions League Final which is being held on a Saturday for the first time next year. Greece (ERT) and Spain (TVE) were two broadcasters who officially complained about the date.

The last time the contest was held on the 29th May was when Israel (IBA Television) held the 1999 Eurovision Song Contest on that date.

The Venue for 2010 is still to be decided. According to NRK two options are being considered for the venue of the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest: the Telenor Arena in Fornebu which can host up to 23,000 spectators and the Oslo Spektrum, the home of the MGP final, which is much smaller with a capacity of 9,000 spectators. But as the Eurovision gets bigger, it is highly likely that the Telenor Arena will be the host arena. 86% of people agree on he NRK website.

The Oslo Spektrum hosted the 1996 Eurovision Song Contest.

Oslo Spektrum: Link
Telenor Arena: Link

Eurovision 2010: Dates to change?

2009-05-26T20:44:00.001+01:00

Norwegian broadcaster along with several other national broadcasters are surprised with the selection of the provisional dates as the Eurovision 2010 final is set for May 22, the same day with the Champions League Final. It would be a bad day for Greece and Spain as those two broadcasters officially complained about the date.

There seems to be two choices. Either a final on May 15 or on May 29 as NRK would like to have the thousands of Eurofans to celebrate the Constitution Day. After all this is what happened back in 1996.

Source: Oikotimes.

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Eurovision 2009: Over 122 million tuned in

2009-05-26T20:40:00.001+01:00

This year's Eurovision Song Contest will be memorable not only for being one of the most magnificent shows produced to date, but also because of its very remarkable viewership rates, reaching over 122 million people across the 45 countries broadcasting the event. These figures show an increase of 17 million over Belgrade 2008.

17 million more viewers mean, in relative terms, an increase of 16%. The Eurovision Song Contest viewing figures peaked especially in several countries, such as France, the Netherlands and Estonia, and in many more there was also significant growth in terms of audience. In general, viewing figures for the Eurovision final on May 16 were double the average rates for a Saturday prime time.

Source: ESC Today

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Eurovision 2009: Norway was the winner with the jury!

2009-05-20T20:08:00.003+01:00

The results of the jury vote from all the 42 countries taking part in the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest are known.

These are the results from the 210 European music professionals:

1. Norway (312 points)
2. Iceland (260 points)
3. United Kingdom (223 points)
4. France (164 points)
5. Estonia (124 points)
6. Denmark (120 points)
7. Turkey (114 points)
8. Azerbaijan (112 points)
9. Israel (107 points)
10. Greece (93 points)
11. Moldova (93 points)
12. Bosnia & Herzegovina (90 points)
13. Malta (87 points)
14. Germany (73 points)
15. Armenia (71 points)
16. Ukraine (68 points)
17. Russia (67 points)
18. Portugal (64 points)
19. Croatia (58 points)
20. Lithuania (31 points)
21. Romania (31 points)
22. Sweden (27 points)
23. Albania (26 points)
24. Finland (12 points)
25. Spain (9 points)

Notice how Azerbaijan and Turkey are a bit down the order compared to their result of 3rd and 4th in the final results.

If the results were based on the juries alone, we can see how several countries would have done much better. This is the case of United Kingdom, France, Estonia, Malta or Germany, to name a few.

It has to be admitted that the 50/50 voting is a huge success and it was seen that bloc voting is reduced but not disappeared just yet. Lets take for example Ireland. In recent years Ireland has voted for countries where a large diaspora live in Ireland, such as Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. In 2008 Ireland gave 8 points to the UK, 10 to Poland and 12 to Latvia. This year however, Ireland gave 8 to Norway, 10 to the United Kingdom and 12 points to Iceland. It is to be noted though that Latvia and Poland were not in the final, but Lithuania were, and got 7 points from Ireland. Its a sign of the advantage of the jury, but perhaps, its due to the economic downturn in Ireland, where unfortunately, many of our European friends have gone home.

But there are still issues, Azerbaijan gave 12 to Turkey while Turkey paid them back with a 12. Cyprus gave 12 to Greece. Germany is still giving high points to Turkey due to many Turks living in the country.

The Executive Supervisor of the EBU, Svante Stockselius, made a statement regarding the new voting system and its final outcome: "We believe it was the right time to introduce this new voting system, and it is fantastic to see that both televoters as well as professional juries massively backed the same contestant. Some finished higher because of support from the juries, others finished higher because of support from the televoters across Europe. It also made the presentation of the points less predictable, despite the overwhelming support for Alexander Rybak's entry."

The final scoreboard is available here.
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Ireland: Johnny Logan comments on Eurovision

2009-05-19T19:19:00.001+01:00

Three times winner of the Eurovision Song Contest in 1980, 1987 and writer in 1992, Johnny Logan appeared on early morning television on commercial broadcaster TV3 Ireland's flagship morning show Ireland:AM.

Johnny speaks of his reasons why he doesn't watch the Eurovision Song Contest anymore, why Ireland hasn't had much success in the past ten years, how the Eurovision Song Contest has changed and his new album.

You can watch the interview here.

Armenia: Country accuses Azerbaijan of voting manipulation

2009-05-18T22:48:00.001+01:00

ESC Today reports that Armenian broadcaster APT accuses the broadcaster of the neighbouring country Azerbaijan to have manipulated the voting during the final of the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest by obscuring the screen when the Armenian televoting number was shown. Political relations between the two countries have been tense for more than 20 years.

APT launched an official complaint to the EBU claiming a severe violation of the Eurovision Song Contest rules. Like in 2008, Azerbaijan gave no points to Armenia. However, even if Azerbaijan had given 12 points to Armenia, the country would have still finished in tenth place behind Bosnia & Herzegovina. Armenia gave one single point to the representatives from Azerbaijan, AySel & Arash, who finished third.

The EBU has stated that they cannot comment on the story yet as they have no proof of the accusations so far. However, they are investigating and will report about the outcome in the next two days.

Armenia took part in the Eurovision Song Contest for the fourth time in 2008 and achieved its fourth top ten placing in a row, although the tenth place for Inga & Anush with Nor par is still the lowest result to date.

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Australia: SBS improves ratings

2009-05-18T22:43:00.000+01:00

According to Oikotimes, The final of the Eurovision Song Contest in Australia was watched by 482.000 people, making it the 25th most watched programme of the night. This comparision is to 427.000 people that watched the Eurovision final last year. This is a good result for SBS, the Australian broadcaster, especially since the show is not aired live.

Interest for Eurovision in Australia is beginning to increase with many newspaper and television stations reporting about Norway’s win. SBS sent its own commentators this year after many years. Until now it has been broadcasting the BBC coverage. SBS has hinted that it will air the contest live next year which would mean it would air at 5.00AM.

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Austria: ORF sees viewing figures drop by almost 10%

2009-05-17T22:34:00.000+01:00

Austrian broadcaster ORF may not be returning to Eurovision anytime soon, as last night's viewing figures were down by some 10% on last year's final. It should be remembered, however, that this year they only showed the voting instead of the full contest. Last year they recorded at 31% audience share, whilst this year only 22% of the Austrian television audience tuned in.

ORF quit Eurovision in 2007 citing political voting, and Eurovision no longer being a song contest. However, with generally positive reactions to last night's results, perhaps they will be re-considering.

Source: Oikotimes

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Eurovision 2010: Oslo expected to host 2010 edition in Telenor Arena

2009-05-17T22:02:00.003+01:00

13 years ago, the Eurovision Song Contest was held in the Oslo Spektrum Arena, but it looks like now that the 2010 contest may be going to a different arena. It is expected that the 2010 edition will be held in the Telenor Arena in Oslo.

The new arena in Oslo, Telenor is about to open this year, it costed 550 million Kronar and it can hold up 23,000 auditors.
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NORWAY WINS THE 54TH EUROVISION SONG CONTEST

2009-05-17T00:33:00.004+01:00

FINAL RESULT
1. Norway 387
2. Iceland 218
3. Azerbaijan 207
4. Turkey 177
5. UK 173
6. Estonia 129
7. Greece 120
8. France 107
9. Bosnia-Herzegovina 106
10. Armenia 92
11. Russia 91
12. Ukraine 76
13. Denmark 74
14. Moldova 69
15. Portugal 57
16. Israel 53
17. Albania 48
18. Croatia 45
19. Romania 40
20. Germany 35
21. Sweden 33
22. Malta 31
23. Lithuania 23
24. Spain 23
25. Finland 22

Semi Final 1
http://www.eurovision.tv/event/scoreboard?event=1480

Semi Final 2
http://www.eurovision.tv/event/scoreboard?event=1481

Final
http://www.eurovision.tv/event/scoreboard?event=1482

Spain: Countries chosen by back-up jury revealed

2009-05-15T17:20:00.002+01:00

ESCTODAY.COM reports that the list of the 10 countries voted by the Spanish jury last night has been revealed today. After RTVE delayed the broadcast of the Eurovision Song Contest semi final, the back-up juries vote was required because the television broadcast missed the international voting window. The jury's vote was then published earlier today by the president of the Spanish professional jury, Mauro Canut, on the RTVE website.

Although the blog on the official broadcaster's website earlier published the scores awarded, that was quickly removed. The list of countries that received points from Spain is however now widely available on the Internet. This is the list of the 10 countries voted by the Spanish back-up jury last night (in alphabetical order):

Azerbaijan
Denmark
Estonia
Greece
Hungary
Lithuania
Moldova
Norway
Serbia
Ukraine

One question. why Serbia?

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Are we off to Oslo in 2010?

2009-05-15T16:19:00.007+01:00

I am a little depressed today after my country, Ireland, failed to qualify for the final. I was confident they would as it was a pretty catchy song, but the voters didn't agree although of course, people are talking "Bloc voting" all the time now, but I feel the best 10 got through last night.

Anyway I have to say the 2 semi finals this year were quite enjoyable. The presenters were however a complete joke. It was clear they were not picked for their brains or presenting abilities! Their french made no sense aswell. They are for sure the worst presenters in living memory. Thank god they are not there on Saturday for the final. Also I also want to say that camera views for the contest are quite messy. Why can't they just do the basic things!!

I have to say I was quite happy with the 20 songs that got through to the Final. Notice that silly entries like Serbia and Czech Republic did not go through, makes a welcome change. Its great to see ballads winning the hearts of the public. Brilliant songs from Iceland, Estonia and Croatia. I know there is many more. Rumours are suggesting that Sweden and Croatia were saved by the jury in Semi Final 1 and 2. Something that I am not surprised about.

So who is going to win?
Unless your head was stuck in the ground, Norway is hot favourite to win, although I am unsure. Last year I was right when I said Russia, but this year I am unsure. I would love a Big 4 country to win or Iceland. Bosnia - Herzegovina would also be a country I would love to win.

If Norway do win, it will break up the 8 years of wins from countries who won the contest for the first time - Estonia (2001), Latvia (2002), Turkey (2003), Ukraine (2004), Greece (2005), Finland (2006), Serbia (2007) and Russia (2008).

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Participants for the 54th Eurovision Song Contest 2009

2009-05-14T22:36:00.010+01:00

1 Lithuania
2 Israel
3 France
4 Sweden
5 Croatia
6 Portugal
7 Iceland
8 Greece
9 Armenia
10 Russia
11 Azerbaijan
12 Bosnia-Herzegovina
13 Moldova
14 Malta
15 Estonia
16 Denmark
17 Germany
18 Turkey
19 Albania
20 Norway
21 Ukraine
22 Romania
23 United Kingdom
24 Finland
25 Spain

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Ireland: Sinead promises “shocking” contest outfit

2009-05-06T13:20:00.000+01:00

Irelands 2009 hopeful Sinead Mulvey is planning to shock millions of fans with her outfit for the contest next week. Sinead and the band flew out from Dublin on Monday with a whopping five cases of clothes for the show.

But when asked about what costume she will wear for the semi-final next week, she was keeping tight-lipped about the details saying “I can’t tell you because it is a surprise, really, it is WOW!. All of our outfits, everyone is going to be shocked. Its going to be like ‘Oh My God’ - you will never expect it.” She continued “Trying to pack my cases was a nightmare! I’ve about 5 cases and are going over to Moscow for 2 weeks. I want to have 2 outfits a day to get the image going and look out best.”

Sinead and the band wore pink coloured costumes when they won the Irish National Final in February. They wore black and white costumes last week when they sang on the Late Late Show on RTE One.

She is confident that their act will be able to compete with the ‘over the top’ performances that have won in recent years.She revealed “There will be a little bit of dance. Modern, kind of like Avril Lavigne and Pink kind of shows. With the two girls on guitar and the girl on drums as well, an all girl band will stand out.”

Sinead was also delighted when 1992 ESC winner Linda Martin rang to give her advice on the contest. Sinead said that “she has been such a good help. she is so nice. She won for Ireland and to have someone like that giving you advice is a great help”.

Ireland will sing in the 2nd Semi Final On Thursday 14th May.

Spain: TVE will show 1st semi-final

2009-05-06T13:15:00.001+01:00

It has been reported that TVE, the Spanish broadcaster have decided to broadcast live the first semifinal of the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest, despite having moved Spain’s voting rights to the second semi-final on Thursday.

Spanish Eurovision fans will have the chance of enjoying both semifinals live. The first semifinal will be aired on RTVE’s Eurovision website. Joaquin Guzman, the official commentator TVE Eurovision 2009, will be the commentator of the two semifinals to be broadcast.

Also, TVE2 will offer a re-run of the show once the Debate on the State of the Nation concludes.

Eurovision 2009: News Miss World 'becomes' Eurovision nations

2009-04-16T22:57:00.003+01:00

The billboards of this year's Eurovision Song Contest will be mounted on the streets of Moscow tonight. More than a thousand of them will promote the 42 countries taking part in the Contest.

Each with a national flag and depiction of a beautiful girl looking typical for every country. All the images images feature Miss World 2008, the Russian beauty Ksenia Sukhinova.

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Eurovision 2009: Australia sends two commentators to Moscow

2009-04-15T19:17:00.000+01:00

Just as Terry Wogan closes the door, another opens. Australia has stepped up their Eurovision coverage and this year they will send two commentators to Moscow!!! Last year’s host of the show, Julia Zemiro will be accompanied by Triple R radio personality Sam Pang for coverage of all three shows.

Source: ESC Time.

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Portugal: RTP confirms participation to Eurovision Dance Contest

2009-04-15T19:07:00.001+01:00

Portugal will participate in the forthcoming Eurovision Dance Contest, in Azerbaijan in September – RTP has confirmed.

Portugal took part in the two editions of the Eurovision Dance Contest – in 2007 and 2008.

In 2007 representing the country were Sónia Araújo, a TV host, and Ricardo Silva, a ballroom dancer. Portugal came fifth after receiving 74 points from 12 countries. In 2008, the singer Raquel Tavares and the professional dancer João Tiago represented the country, finishing 8th with 61 points.

Source: Oikotimes

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Eurovision 2009: Contest to be broadcast in New Zealand

2009-04-12T12:44:00.001+01:00

The Eurovision Song Contest will be making a return to New Zealand’s entertainment scene and it will be the first time in thirty years that the Eurovision Song Contest has been broadcast on Kiwi television.

The 2009 edition will be broadcast on Triangle Television’s satellite channel, Stratos on 17th May.

Australian broadcaster SBS have confirmed that they’ll broadcast all three shows, Triangle Television will only broadcast the final.

Source: ESC Time.

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Eurovision 2009: Stage animation available online

2009-04-11T22:10:00.001+01:00

The European Broadcasting Union has released a video animation of what would be the Eurovision 2009 stage in Moscow. The stage, designed by John Casey, will feature a series of mobile elements and LED screens which will create the impression of a glittering cascade.

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Eurovision 2009: EBU will publish the final jury results

2009-04-11T18:34:00.001+01:00

The European Broadcasting Union will publish the results of the juries that are voting in the final this year, according to their latest press release.

A detailed PDF document sets out the rules and guidelines for the juries, and includes the following, that: ''The results of the national juries will be published by the EBU’s Executive Supervisor of the Eurovision Song Contest through www.eurovision.tv''.

In summary of the rules, five jurors will judge the entries for the final during the second dress rehearsal, which takes place on Friday May 15. Each national jury will be monitored by an independent auditor, and must consist of a variety of members in terms of age, gender and background.

The jurors must also be citizens of the country in which they are sitting. Further to concerns about the impartiallity, the EBU has ruled that ''None of the jury members must be connected with any of the participating songs/artists in such a way that they cannot vote independently. The participating broadcasters must send a letter of compliance with the voting instructions together with signed declarations by each jury member stating that they will vote independently''.

The names of the jurors must be revealed by the broadcasters either before, or during, the Eurovision Final. Each juror will award points 12, 10, and 8-1 to their favourite songs. These will then be collated. In the event of a tie, the higher set of points will be awarded based on a show of hands within the jury. The points from the just (in the 12, 10, 8-1 format) will then be merged with the televoting results (where the country that scored the most votes from the public gets 12 points, etc). In the event of a tie here, the higher set of points will be awarded to the country which received the most public votes.

Source: Eurovision.tv and Oikotomes.

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Austria: ORF to broadcast both semi finals

2009-04-11T17:50:00.001+01:00

The Austrian national broadcaster,ORF, has decided to issue the next edition of the Eurovision and therefore the two semi-finals, but will deferred.

According to the reports of our fellow-austria.com eurovision, the public channel sent to a Moscow commentator, Benny Hörtnagl and only plans to show live coverage of the final votes.

This is the time of issuance of the Eurovision ORF:

May 13th: 1st Semifinal at 00:40 pm.
May 15th: Semifinal 2nd at 00:20 pm.
May 16th: Issue of video clips of the songs at 20:15 pm.
May 16th: Connecting directly with the votes at 23:00
May 17th: Emission of the entire end to 00:20 pm.

The director of the Austrian chain criticized the voting system and demanded changes to the EBU to strengthen the festival and make it more credible. Despite the change that the EBU had made in the voting process with the return of the juries, Austria decided not to participate in this edition. As the head of the delegation of this country in Eurovision, Edgar Boehm, the ORF will follow closely what happens in Moscow, and that once completed this year decide to return or not to Eurovision.

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Eurovision 2009: EBU not to fund a winners tour in 2009

2009-04-11T17:47:00.000+01:00

According to Belgovision.com, the European Broadcasting Union have decided that they will drop the tour this year as they cannot organise or fund the tour in 2009. This conclusion was made as the tour was found to be not beneficial to the contest and the costs outweighted the benefits.

Therefore this years winner will have to fund their own tour if they plan to do so.

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Ireland: Eurovision Extravaganza in Dublin

2009-03-28T14:04:00.002Z

Ahead of the 54th Eurovision Song Contest on May 16th in Moscow, Russia, the RTÉ Concert Orchestra are pleased to present an evening of celebration of Ireland's Eurovision Song Contest hits and others.

The programme will include, "What's Another Year?" winner Eurovision Song Contest 1980, "In Your Eyes" winner Eurovision Song Contest 1993, "Volare" from Eurovision Song Contest 1958, "Rock'n'Roll Kids" winner Eurovision Song Contest 1994 and more.

You can relive Ireland's successes, watch Paul Harrington and Charlie McGettigan perform in Eurovision Song Contest 1994 and Niamh Kavanagh in Eurovision Song Contest 1993.

The show will be presented by Maxi, who represented Ireland at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1973, and in 1981 with Sheeba. There will also be a guest appearance by Dustin the Turkey who represented Ireland at the Eurovision Song Contest 2008.

The show will be held at the National Concert Hall, Dublin, Ireland on Wednesday 15th April 2009 and will start at 20:00 local time (21:00 CET). Tickets range from €11 to €38.

More information including booking tickets can be found here.

Source: ESC Today & The National Concert Hall.
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Ireland: Pat Kenny to leave Late Late Show

2009-03-28T00:13:00.003Z

TV & radio Broadcaster Pat Kenny, who co-hosted the Eurovision Song Contest 1988 has tonight announced that he will resign as host of The Late Late Show at the end of the season.

The 61 year-old veteran TV host made the announcement live during tonight's show. He said he had come to the decision in consultation with his family and said that 'all good things must come to an end'.

He hosted the Eurosong 2009 show this year to select Irelands entry for Moscow.

He said it had been a joy to present the show for almost ten years and he was stepping down at a time when the viewing figures were at an all-time high.

He said he would be moving to present another TV show in the autumn, but gave no further details of this.

He thanked his audience for their support and wished the best of luck to his successor.

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Austria: Eurovision Dance 2009 - ORF quits participation

2009-03-21T18:16:00.001Z

Oikotimes reports that Austrian national broadcaster ORF announced its withdrawal from the Eurovision Dance Contest. Austria won't take part in the third edition of the contest, which is held in Baku later this year.

Austrian broadcaster have not given any reasons about its withdrawal, but it's very likely that massive economize of money and the bad place last year in Glasgow are guilty.

So from now on, Austria is not taking part in Eurovision events anymore. Since 2007 when Eric Papilaya came 27th in the semi final in Helsinki, Austria hasn't sent any participants to the Eurovision Song Contest.

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Eurovision 2009: First tickets are sold out

2009-03-17T18:43:00.002Z

Russia Today reports that the first set of tickets for Eurovision 2009 were sold out on the day sales were launched.

Massive queues began forming on Sunday night outside the ticket offices of the Olympiisky Arena in Moscow, despite the fact that nothing would be sold until the morning. By 11.30am on Monday, more than 500 people were waiting in line. The cheapest tickets were sold out by midday.

Soon after, movement in the queues stopped. Because of the organisers’ policy to sell no more than 8 tickets per person, touts blocked the entrance to try and make quick deals with those in line to buy their tickets from them. Upset people in the crowd had to call the police to get them cleared away.

The situation proved concerns that limiting the number of tickets sold to one person would fail to stop the touts.

The release date for when the next batch of tickets goes on sale is being kept under wraps – and organisers are afraid of the touts resurfacing.

Many of those planning to attend the Eurovision concerts will have not yet even thought of buying their tickets. Most of them will think of that in May. But by then, no one can guarantee that any tickets will be left available from official distributors.

In order to avoid fakes, tickets are being extra-protected. Their authenticity will be checked by special electronic reading devices at the entrance. Organisers are advising people not to buy tickets privately and to be careful of counterfeits.

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Eurovision 2009: Alsou and Andrey Malahov to host semi finals

2009-03-17T18:33:00.001Z

According to ESC Today, Russian TV presenter Andrey Malahov and Alsou, the runnerup of the 2000 Eurovision Song Contest will be the hosts of the 2009 contest semi finals.

The host of the final has not been confirmed yet but it is being heavily tipped that Holywood superstar Milla Jovovich has been approached by Channel One and is close to an agreement.

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Happy St. Patricks Day

2009-03-17T18:18:00.001Z

Eurovision 2009: Details of the opening of the three shows

2009-03-16T18:05:00.002Z

Today at the Heads of Delegations meeting, it has been announced Postcards between each song will feature Miss Russia, who won the title of Miss World 2008.

For semi final 1, the opening act will feature the winners of Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2006, the Tolmachevy Sisters. The interval act will feature Russian choirs, that will finish with t.A.T.u's song Never Gonna Get Us. However it is still undecided if t.A.T.u. will perform.

In semi final 2, the opening act will feature matrioshka-grafiti painted on stage, carnival elements and folk orchestra performing pop music. The interval act will see Russian ballet in a "surprising form".

The Final of the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest will feature a performance of Cirque du Soleil, and Dima Bilan featuring ice skater Evgeni Pluchenko, who also accompanied last year's Eurovision Song Contest winner on stage. Channel One doesn't reveal much about the interval act of the Final, just that the arena will most likely be turned into winter wonderland!

As revealed last year, The contest will feature a 50% Jury and 50% televoting scheme.

Source: ESC Today.
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Eurovision Song Contest Running Order 2009

2009-03-16T17:02:00.004Z

Webcast: The show can be watched here

The pots look like this:
Semi final 1: Andorra, Armenia, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Finland, Iceland, Israel, FYR Macedonia, Malta, Montenegro, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey.

Semi Final 2: Albania, Azerbaijan, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ukraine.

Final: France, Germany, Russia, Spain, United Kingdom

Semifinal 1
Wildcards:

First semi final:
Malta receives first wild card and decides their position and that will be to perform 17th.
Bulgaria received the second and decides to perform eleventh.
Portugal gets the 3rd wild card and will perform 16th.

Running Order
01 - Montenegro
02 - Czech Republic
03 - Belgium
04 - Belarus
05 - Sweden
06 - Armenia
07 - Andorra
08 - Switzerland
09 - Turkey
10 - Israel
11 - Bulgaria
12 - Iceland
13 - FYR Macedonia
14 - Romania
15 - Finland
16 - Portugal
17 - Malta
18 - Bosnia & Herzegovina

As they are not included in the list, therefore Georgia will not participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009.

Semifinal 2
Wildcards:

Second semi final:
Netherlands receives first wild card and decides their position and that will be to perform 19th.
Ukraine will be the second wildcard and has picked to perform at position seventeen.
Estonia was lucky number three and has chosen number 18!

Running Order
01 - Croatia
02 - Ireland
03 - Latvia
04 - Serbia
05 - Poland
06 - Norway
07 - Cyprus
08 - Slovakia
09 - Denmark
10 - Slovenia
11 - Hungary
12 - Azerbaijan
13 - Greece
14 - Lithuania
15 - Moldova
16 - Albania
17 - Ukraine
18 - Estonia
19 - Netherlands

Final
Wildcard:
Spain was the lucky wildcard and has chosen to perform at number 25!

Running Order
01 - TBD
02 - TBD
03 - France
04 - TBD
05 - TBD
06 - TBD
07 - TBD
08 - TBD
09 - TBD
10 - Russia
11 - TBD
12 - TBD
13 - TBD
14 - TBD
15 - TBD
16 - TBD
17 - Germany
18 - TBD
19 - TBD
20 - TBD
21 - TBD
22 - TBD
23 - United Kingdom
24 - TBD
25 - Spain

TBD (To be decided): Slot will be decided in May.

Voting Order
01 - Spain
02 - Belgium
03 - Belarus
04 - Malta
05 - Germany
06 - Czech Republic
07 - Sweden
08 - Iceland
09 - France
10 - Israel
11 - Russia
12 - Latvia
13 - Montenegro
14 - Andorra
15 - Finland
16 - Switzerland
17 - Norway
18 - Bulgaria
19 - Lithuania
20 - United Kingdom
21 - FYR Macedonia
22 - Slovakia
23 - Greece
24 - Bosnia & Herzegovina
25 - Ukraine
26 - Turkey
27 - Albania
28 - Serbia
29 - Cyprus
30 - Poland
31 - Netherlands
32 - Estonia
33 - Croatia
34 - Portugal
35 - Romania
36 - Ireland
37 - Denmark
38 - Moldova
39 - Slovenia
40 - Armenia
41 - Hungary
42 - Azerbaijan

As they are not included in the list, therefore Georgia will not be entitled to vote in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009.

Source: ESC Time
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Eurovision 2009: Delegation heads meet in Moscow

2009-03-16T00:20:00.003Z

Just as we were getting comfortable with the 2009 song entries as the last song was choosen on Saturday, The delegation heads from the participating countries arrived this weekend in Moscow for the annual Heads of Delegation Meeting.

During this two-day meeting, EBU and Channel 1 will inform the broadcaster representatives what to expect, how the preparations progress and everything else they need to know. For the broadcasters, it also marks the official deadline to send in their nationally selected song for the international competition.

BU/UER will verify if the songs comply with the Eurovision regulations. It’s uncertain the future of Georgia in this year’s contest; tomorrow, we'll know if the first semi-final includes 18 or 19 entries and how many will proceed to the final (if Georgia withdraws definitely).

It’s expected that the tickets sale for the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest will start this Monday. While the Russian Channel 1 announced 8:00 CET as the hour scheduled to begin selling the tickets, Eurovision.tv refers 12:00 CET.

At 16:00 CET, the draw for the running order will be broadcast live online here. During the show, it will be decided in which order the participants in the first and second Semi-Final and the Final will take part.

News source: Oikotimes

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CZECH REPUBLIC 2009

2009-03-15T13:15:00.000Z

The last song of the 2009 season was announced in Prague. On the 14th March, during the Andel Awards on Ceska TV the verdict of the Czech public was announced.

Gipsy.cz will perform Aven Romale in the first semi final of the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest to be held in Moscow.

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SWEDEN 2009

2009-03-15T13:01:00.002Z

The Swedish national final for the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest was held on Saturday 14th March. Eleven acts competed and in the end, it was decided that Malena Ernman will go to Moscow with her song La voix written by Fredrik Kempe (music and lyrics) and Malena Ernman (lyrics).

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Eurovision 2009: LRT offers mediation to save Georgia

2009-03-12T18:54:00.000Z

According to Oikotimes, The head of LRT Audrius Siaurusevičius is going to request EBU for more information about Georgian disqualification.

'In Lithuanian folk songs word putinas (a kind of bush called viburnum) is very popular and let's say we send a song with that word in it... Would we also be disqualified? Are the words following each other and sounding similar to any famous person also counted as insulting? I really do not understand this decision by EBU. The play of words, especially in the cultural context, cannot be an excuse for this kind of behavious', says the head of LRT.

He also adds that this decision makes Eurovision even more political.

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Eurovision 2009: Tickets sales to start on Monday 16th March

2009-03-12T14:05:00.005Z

Russian Channel One confirmed that tickets for the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest will be available Monday, March 16 – 8:00 – 21:00 CET. There will be tickets for twelve shows (that would be nine rehearsals, two semifinals and the final).

Tickets for the dress rehearsals will cost between 450 and 1.500 roubles (EUR 10 - 33); Tickets for the semifinals will cost between 800 and 20.000 roubles (EUR 17,50 - 435); Tickets for the final will cost between 1.000 and 30.000 roubles (EUR 21 - 655).

Only to OGAE members the tickets costs 53 Euros (each semifinal) and 100 Euros (final).

Tickets sales through Channel One website, or by telephone: +74953636060.

Eurovision shows schedule:

May 11

First Rehearsal of First Semifinal (12:00 CET)
Second Rehearsal of First Semifinal (18:00 CET)

May 12
Dress Rehearsal of First Semifinal (15:00 CET)
Eurovision Song Contest: First Semifinal (21:00 CET)

May 13
First Rehearsal of Second Semifinal (12:00 CET)
Second Rehearsal of Second Semifinal (18:00 CET)

May 14
Dress Rehearsal of Second Semifinal (15:00 CET)
Eurovision Song Contest: Second Semifinal (21:00 CET)

May 15
First Rehearsal of Final (12:00 CET)
Second Rehearsal of Final (18:00 CET)

May 16
Dress Rehearsal Final (14:00 CET)
Eurovision Song Contest: Final (21:00 CET)

Georgia: GPB to withdraw from Eurovision 2009

2009-03-11T18:40:00.003Z

It has been announced that Georgia is to withdraw from the 54th Eurovision Song Contest 2009 in Moscow after the EBU rejected a Georgian entry that poked fun at Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

"We have decided not to change the lyrics or choose a different song. We will not go to Moscow and will not take part in Eurovision 2009," said Natia Uznadze, a producer with Georgian public television responsible for the Caucasus nation's Eurovision entry.

"It's still not clear to us why Eurovision took this decision. We have not received a concrete explanation," she told AFP.

The song titled "We don't wanna put in," performed by the group Stephane and 3G with its play on the prime minister's surname, was rejected by Eurovision organisers on Tuesday for the May 14-16 event, which Russia is hosting.

Georgia and Russia remain deeply at odds after a brief war between the two countries over the rebel region of South Ossetia last August.

Georgia chose the song after initially considering boycotting the contest.

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Georgia: EBU rejects Eurovision 2009 entry

2009-03-10T18:47:00.002Z

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has officially informed Georgian public broadcaster GPB that the lyrics of their song for the 54th Eurovision Song Contest.

We Don't Wanna Put In do not comply with the rules of the competition. The EBU Reference Group of the Eurovision Song Contest has now offered GPB the opportunity to either re-write the lyrics of the song, or to select another song for the contest.

Today, the Reference Group of the Eurovision Song Contest announced that the title and lyrics of the selected Georgian entry for this year's Contest do not comply with Section 4 Rule 9 of the Rules of the 54th Eurovision Song Contest, and cannot take part in the competition as such.

4.9 The lyrics and/or performance of the songs shall not bring the Shows or the Eurovision Song Contest as such into disrepute. No lyrics, speeches, gestures of a political or similar nature shall be permitted during the Eurovision Song Contest. No swearing or other unacceptable language shall be allowed in the lyrics or in the performances of the songs. No commercial messages of any kind shall be allowed. A breach of this rule may result in disqualification.

The EBU Reference Group has officially offered GPB the opportunity to select another song, or to change the lyrics of the selected song in such a way that it complies with the Rules. The deadline is the 16th of March, when all represented countries will officially hand in their selected entry to the European Broadcasting Union.

The entry Stephane and 3G will not sing in Moscow:

Source: Eurovision.tv

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BELGIUM 2009

2009-03-10T18:33:00.003Z

On the 10th March, RTBF held a press conference to present the song and release the video for the song that will represent Belgium in Eurovision this year.

Elvis impersonator Patrick Ouchène will represent Belgium with the song ‘Copycat’.

The press conference took place in Brussels.

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SERBIA 2009

2009-03-09T23:11:00.001Z

The 2008 Hosts, Serbia choose their participant for Moscow.

The Winner was Marko Kon and Milan Nikolić with “Cipela” (Shoe).

After the SMS voting mix up, a eventual finalist Ana Nikolić, decided not to participate.

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SLOVAKIA 2009

2009-03-09T22:58:00.004Z

Kamil Mikulčík & Nela Pocisková with the song Leť tmou will represent Slovakia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009!

Slovakia makes a welcome return to the contest after 11 years.

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UKRAINE 2009

2009-03-09T22:45:00.002Z

On the 8th March, the national final for the Ukraine was held. 14 acts fought for the ticket to Moscow, and it was decided at the end of the night that Svetlana Loboda would go to Eurovision with her song "Be My Valentine".

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RUSSIA 2009

2009-03-07T22:57:00.004Z

The Russian national final for the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest was held on Saturday 7th March.

16 acts competed and in the end, it was decided that Anastasiya Prikhodko will represent the host country with the song Mama.

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Eurovision 2009: tickets to be released soon

2009-03-07T22:21:00.003Z

UPDATE: CLICK HERE.

Although originally scheduled for the 12th March, ticket release for the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest will probably be postponed for the 16th March 2009 according to ESC Today. Unlike in recent years, there will be no packages but tickets can be purchased individually. Prices, for those who have been following the contest these past years, are back to Helsinki levels. This year's contest will be held at the Olympiinski Arena in Moscow, which after the modifications for the stage will be able to accommodate about 15.000 spectators per show.

There will be ten different pricing categories for the tickets of the 2009 according to the location of the seats. Prices will range from about €20 for the semi final dress rehearsals to up about €650 for the VIP tickets to the final. An average price for the semi final dress rehearsals will be about €15, the final dress rehearsal €25, €95 for each of the semi finals and €150 for the final.

Tickets will be sold online through www.eurovision.1tv.ru and Eventim International. Interested fans should be warned that already at least one other website, different to the ones mentioned above, has come to our attention claiming to be selling Eurovision Song Contest 2009 tickets but it is not legal nor authorised to do so.

The exact date for the release of the tickets will be soon confirmed.

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ESTONIA 2009

2009-03-07T21:59:00.003Z

Urban Symphony with the song “Rändajad” (”Travelers”) will represent Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009.

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Belgium: Teaser for March 10th

2009-03-07T19:45:00.002Z

AZERBAIJAN 2009

2009-03-07T19:30:00.003Z

The Azerbaijani entry for the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest was released by Warner Music.

Always was composed by Arash and will be performed by the composer and newcomer AySel in Moscow.

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Eurovision 2009: Tickets sales to start in mid-March

2009-03-05T00:55:00.000Z

Russian Channel One confirmed that tickets for the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest will be available this month. There will be tickets for twelve shows (that would be nine dress rehearsals, two semifinals and the final).

Tickets for the dress rehearsals will cost between 450 and 1.500 roubles. (EUR 10 - 33)
Tickets for the semifinals will cost between 800 and 20.000 roubles. (EUR 17,50 - 435)
Tickets for the final will cost between 1.000 and 30.000 roubles. (EUR 21 - 655)

Soon, more information will be provided by Channel One and Eurovision.tv.

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ISRAEL 2009

2009-03-02T23:25:00.003Z

Mira and Noa will represent Israel with the song There must be another way on the stage in the first semifinal of ESC 2009, on 12th May.

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BOSNIA - HERZEGOVINA 2009

2009-03-02T11:34:00.004Z

The song presentation show for Bosnia & Herzegovina's entry in the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest was held on the 1st March.

The band Regina will perform the song Bistra voda in Moscow.

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CROATIA 2009

2009-03-01T12:54:00.001Z

On the 28th February, Dora 2009, the Croatian national final for the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest was held.

16 acts competed and at the end of the voting it was decided that Igor Cukrov will represent in Croatia with the song Lijepa Tena composed by Tonci Huljic.

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LATVIA 2009

2009-03-01T12:52:00.002Z

Eirodziesma 2009 was held on the 28th February and the Latvian verdict is to send Intars Busulis to the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest with Sastregums.

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PORTUGAL 2009

2009-03-01T12:42:00.002Z

On the 28th February, the Portuguese national final for the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest was held. Twelve acts competed and it was decided that Flor-de-Lis will go to Moscow with the song Todas as ruas do amor written by Pedro Marquesand Paulo Pereira.

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SPAIN 2009

2009-03-01T12:37:00.001Z

After a long evening show comprising the third semifinal and the national final, Spanish viewers have decided their representative: Soraya will represent Spain in Moscow with the song La noche es para mi.

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