43 countries to be represented in Belgrade

A record number of 43 countries will be represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2008, the EBU confirmed today.

Two semifinals will take place.

In each semifinal, ten participants qualify for the final: nine of them through televoting, the tenth entry is the highest ranked non-qualified entry of the back-up juries.

The following 38 countries will be represented in the two semifinals of the 53rd Eurovision Song Contest:

Albania (RTVSH),

Andorra (RTVA),

Armenia (PTV),

Azerbaijan (iTV),

Belarus (BTRC),

Belgium (VRT),

Bosnia & Herzegovina

(PBSBIH),

Bulgaria (BNT),

Croatia (HRT),

Cyprus (CBC),

Czech Republic (CT),

Denmark (DR),

Estonia (ETV),

Finland (YLE),

FYR Macedonia (MKRTV),

Georgia (GEGT),

Greece (ERT),

Hungary (MTV),

Iceland (RUV),

Ireland (RTE),

Israel (IBA),

Latvia (LT),

Lithuania (LRT),

Malta (PBS),

Moldova (TRM),

Montenegro (RTCG),

The Netherlands (NPB),

Norway (NRK),

Poland (TVP),

Portugal (RTP),

Romania (TVR),

Russia (C1R),

San Marino (STV),

Slovenia (RTVSLO),

Sweden (SVT),

Switzerland (SRG SSR idée suisse),

Turkey (TRT)

Ukraine (NTU)

These 38 countries will be drawn into two semifinals, taking place on 20th and 22nd of May in Belgrade, Serbia.

The draw to determine on which night the 38 semifinalists will perform takes place on the 28th of January in Belgrade.

The official website of the Eurovision Song Contest will web-cast the event live.

The draws for the running order of the semifinals, the final and voting order takes place in mid-March. France, Germany, Serbia, Spain and the United Kingdom are automatically qualified for the final, scheduled for the 24th of May.

source:belgovision.com

ERT announces the national final participants

In an official statement the Greek national broadcaster announced the national finalists for the Greek 2008. The participants are:

Chrispa (MINOS EMI)

Kostas Martakis (SONY BMG)

Kalomira - Maria Saranti (HEAVEN MUSIC)

source:oikotimes.com

Kostas Martakis - Oneira Megala

Kostas Martakis - Oneira Megala

Strong battle for the 4th name in Greek selection

oikotimes.com reports:

Three names are decided already by ERT for the Greek national selection scheduled for late February 2008. Among the three names there are some information saying that Chrispa (representing Minos EMI) is still considering her participation, an issue which we investigate.

The big question now is the 4th participant. Information from close to ERT sources, revealed to oikotimes that the names battling for the 4th position are Onirama Group and Annet Artani.

Read full article on oikotimes.com

Moldova: Twelve songs selected for the national final

In Moldova, a professional jury of national broadcaster TRM listened to and judged the twenty seven songs submitted for the Molodvan selections for the Eurovision Song Contest 2008.

The twelve best scoring songs will take part in the Moldovan national final in January.

Olia Tira - Always Will Be

Alexa - We Are One

Edict - I Believe

Geta Burlacu - A Century Of Love

Cristina Rujitcaia - You Make Me Feel Crazy

Catrina Pislaru - Dance With Me

Jay Mon - Point Of View

Dana Marchitan - Your Name

Galina Scoda - Your Own Vision

Scroom - Jane

Elena Dermidjean - Living Creatures

Liusia Znamensky - Don't Deceive My Heart

Anonymous with a new song : Self belief

esctoday.com reports:

Anonymous the rock band, who represented Andorra in the 2007 Eurovision Song Contest, have just released their new song, Self believe, which they dedicate to their fans and everyone who has supported them so far. The new song, with its daring lyrics, is an original means to get the managers' and the record labels' attention.

N!iki , Gallego, Cristian and Alejandro sing : "..we are young and outrageous but we know what we want!" Self belief, that is what their new song is about. The band are still in the process of finding a manager and a label to represent them and they came up with this original idea to get their message out to the music industry: " This time it's not for me, this song is for you, the Mr in the suit we just want to live off what we do, we do, and we need you!"

"Well, Self belief is a song that we would like to give out to all our fans and people who have, and are helping us get our music out and loud. We wanted to use this occasion to "try" and catch the attention of any managers or labels whom we're still seeking and that is why we chose this subject as lyrics." N!ki Francesca, the band's lead singer told esctoday.com.

You can listen to Self belief here through the band's official MySpace.

Eurovision Christmas in Finland

esctoday.com reports:

YLE has prepared a treat for all Finnish Eurovision fans for Christmas as a special 1,5 hours long special on Christmas Day with the best of the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 in Helsinki will be broadcast on two different channels in two different sound systems.

The special will feature, besides backstage atmosphere and feelings, the songs from Spain, Switzerland, Denmark, Israel, Slovenia, Andorra, Hungary, Greece, Sweden, France, United Kingdom, Iceland, Germany, Georgia, Latvia, Belarus, Finland, Bulgaria, Turkey, Russia, Ukraine and Serbia.

Also the best of the interval and opening acts will be included with Lordi, Tsuumi and Apocalyptica.

YLE2 will broadcast the special Euroviisut 2007 – Thank you for the music in stereo and YLE Extra in 5.1 surround sound on December 25 at 15.30-17.00 local time.

Moldova: Listen to the 27 submitted songs for ESC 2008

For the Moldovan preselection for the next Eurovision Song Contest, TRM have have received 27 songs that comply with the standards set by the broadcaster.

You can listen to the songs HERE.

Dima Bilan: New unexpected video of the song “Gore - Zima”

The winter, the festive mood and New year are coming.

Dima Bilan is not losing his time in vain. On that occasion he decided to make his fans a pleasant gift - the video of the song “Gore-Zima” (music and lyrics by Denis Kovalsky).

The shooting took place on the 22nd – 23rd of November in Moscow.

Dima, as the creative one, thought of the shooting with a great enthusiasm. He wrote the script of the video himself and realized it. An intricate story about relationship between a man and a woman.

The final of the story is quite unexpected for one of the personages.

Director:Georgy Toidze; Script by Dima Bilan.

You can see photos HERE

Dima Bilan in New Year’s musical “The kingdom of the distorting mirrors”

Dima Bilan took part in the filming of a New Year’s musical “The kingdom of the distorting mirrors”.

The shooting of the New Year’s fairy tale is running very actively in the pavilions of the Lenekspo trade mart in St. Petersburg.

The audience will watch the musical on December 31 on Rossia TV channel.

The musical story is based on the movie of the same name made by a soviet story-teller Alexander Row.

Though the authors of the New Year’s show step aside from the plot of the famous book. According to the plot there is a contest “Krivividenie 2008” takes place.

As the author said the New Year’s “Kingdom of the distorted mirrors” is in a way of a parody to the native show business.

Dima Bilan is having one of the leading roles – the role of Gurd.

Also there are such stars of the Russian stage as Alla Pugachieva, Philipp Kirkorov, Lolita, Kristina Orbakaite, Soso Pavliashvily, Natasha Korolieva and others will take part in it.

Watch pictures from the filming here.

The director is Alexander Igudin.

Zolotoi Grammofon Awards

Dima Bilan (Russia 2006), Serebro (2007) Dmitriy Koldun (Belarus 2007), Philip Kirkorov (Russia 1995), Angelina Agurbash (Belarus 2005) and Yulia Savicheva (Russia 2004) were awarded earlier this month with the "most popular artist of Russia" Awards at the ceremony of "Zolotoi Grammofon" held annualy by C1R.

Dima Bilan: Tak ustroen jetot mir (Zolotoi Grammofon)

sources:dimabilan.ru;esctoday.com;

video:SvetlanaLoboda's youtube channel

photo:dimabilan.ru

Images of the victory of Alexey Zhigalkovich

belgovision.com reports:

Because of the victory of Alexey Zhigalkovich at Saturday's Junior Eurovision Song Contest in Rotterdam, Belarus became the very first country to win the Junior Eurovision Song Contest twice.

Belarus won the contest for the first time in 2005 with Kseniya Sitnik in Hasselt.

More pictures HERE

photo:12 Points.tv

Sarbel in the Indian press

Sarbel the latest Greek teenage sensation has made headlines in AAINA, an Indian magazine.

The Greek star is all set to conquer India and who knows Bollywood next!

There has been huge interest in the Eurovision Song Contest among Indians overseas, specially this year thanks to Sarbel.

Spanish based Indian magazine AAINA interviewed Sarbel in Finland.

Read full article on esctoday.com

Alexey Zhigalkovich wins Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2007! - VIDEO

Alexey Zhigalkovich from Belarus has won the 2007 Junior Eurovision Song Contest with his entry S druzyami.


Alexey Zhigalkovich - S Druzyami (Belarus 2007)




source:belgovision youtube channel

Belarus wins JESC 2007!

The winner of the 2007 Junior Eurovision Song Contest is Belarus.

137 pts Belarus
136 pts Armenia
120 pts Serbia
116 pts Georgia
111 pts FYR Macedonia
105 pts Russia
086 pts Bulgaria
083 pts Sweden
056 pts Ukraine054 pts
Romania039 pts Netherlands
037 pts Malta
033 pts Lithuania
029 pts Cyprus
019 pts Belgium
015 pts Portugal
014 pts Greece

CONGRATULATIONS BELARUS!

5th JUNIOR EUROVISION SONG CONTEST 2007

WEBCAST OF THE SHOW

http://www.junioreurovision.tv/addons/mediaplayer/live/juniortv/live.html

Live report by oikotimes.com in english:

http://www.oikotimes.com/v2/index.php?file=articles&id=1731

Live report by eurovision-cyprus in greek:

http://eurovision-cyprus.ueuo.com/articles/index.php?news=626

Rehearsal opening JUNIOR EUROVISION ROTTERDAM 2007

The opening of the 2007 Junior Eurovision Song Contest, this Saturday, promises to be a great show!




source: 12points

Beliy Plaschik (White Robe) -Video with english subtitles

t.A.T.u released their new video on November 29th.

The video was made for their first single Belyi plaschik (White coat) from the up-coming album, which is expected by Christmas.

The working title of the album is Upravlenie otbrosami (The waste management).

You can vote for the video on MTV Russia Channel by clicking here.

Beliy Plaschik - White Robe

source: t.A.T.u.'s MySpace page;
video english subtitles: christina1m

Tomorrow: Rotterdam calling!

Tuesday morning, JuniorEurovision.tv will start its live coverage from Rotterdam, the Netherlands!

The 17 participants have arrived in Rotterdam. Most of them by plane, while the Belgian delegation came by train.

The JuniorEurovision.tv team is also gathering in Rotterdam. So, what can you expect from JuniorEurovision.tv between Tuesday and Saturday?

A daily video news update on JuniorTV online

Short backstage videos on JuniorEurovision YouTube channel

Quick quotes from the 17 participants

Interviews with the people behind the scenes
Pictures from the rehearsals

All about UNICEF

source:JuniorEurovision.tv

Lordi Reveal "Dark Floors" Trailer

Dark Floors - The Lordi Motion Picture will be premiered in Finland February 8th 2008.

The Finnish Eurovision Song Contest winner Lordi will perform the theme song and star in new €4 million horror movie for Finnish producer Markus Selin of Solar Films .

credit

related:New Zealand's church protest Lordi perfomance

New Zealand's Church groups protest Lordi performance

Jenny Ling of Stuff.co.nz reports:

A crusade is looming as church groups prepare to take on heavy metal heavyweights poised to play in Wellington over Easter.

Wellington pentecostal church Lifepoint says the lineup of bands - including former bat-biter Ozzy Osbourne and Kiss - are "not appropriate" and will have "negative influences" on the city during the two-day Rock2Wgtn festival on March 22 and 23.

"It's not appropriate from our angle of things," said pastor Karen Crawshaw.

The condemnation follows confirmation that another hellish rock act, Finnish heavy metal band Lordi, has been booked to appear at the Wellington event.

The band, whose five members dress in elaborate costumes as monsters and demons, won the Eurovision song contest last year.

The winning song, Hard Rock Hallelujah, includes the lyrics "I got horns on my head, my fangs are sharp and my eyes are red" - and prompted Finland's religious leaders to warn that the band could inspire devil worship.

Read full article HERE

JESC 2007:60 dancers will perform live

On Saturday, 8th of December, 60 dancers from dance academy Lucia Marthas will perform live on the 625 square meter stage.

The 60 dancers, all children, already spent a lot of time rehearsing over the past weeks.

"We are working hard on the choreography with a lot of umbrellas! We even created a special stage element that creates rain. Tha act amtches well with the theme of the show, Make A Big Spash", Lucia Marthas said.

source:junioreurovision.

Surprise submission entry by Sony BMG Hellas to ERT

oikotimes.com reports:

Sony BGM Hellas seems to prepare asurprise entry to ERT for the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest representation.

According to secure information a female artist known for been popular in the Athens night music halls with huge success in her live appearances there, is preparing an oriental ethnic entry, in dance rhythm.

ERT is expecting the entry to be submitted by early or mid December. Sony BMG Hellas officially is not confirming the news but oikotimes.com will have a clear information and name revelation by next Tuesday.

One thing is for sure, the name revelation will cause a somewhat mini earthquake in the Greek media and press.

There is no decision yet whether officially ERT is heading towards national or internal selection.

D'NASH prepare Christmas and New Year's show!

esctoday.com reports:

December will be a busy month for the boys as they release their latest album and hence will start promoting it. Spanish fans and viewers will be treated to many appearances by the Spanish boyband during the Christmas and New Year's season both on national and regional Spanish television channels. Below you can find the schedule of the shows and channels D'NASH will be appearing in.

9th December - Mister and Miss Navarra Gala - Canal 9

12th December- La Banda - Canal Sur ( Sevilla)

13th December- Red Cross Gala - Tele Ideal ( Granada)

22nd December - Noche Sensacional - Canal 9- Tele Extramadura - TV Castilla La Mancha

24th December - Christmas Eve Special - Canal Sur

24th December- Christmas Eve Special - TV-7 Murcia

31st December- New Year's Special Gala - TVE 1

31st December- New Year Gala - TV-7 Murcia

Elitsa Todorova and Stoyan Yankulov become heroes in a comic book

Elitsa Todorova and Stoyan Yankulov, the Bulgarian duet, which ranked fifth in the Eurovision contest in 2007, became comic book heroes.
Todorova herself came up with the idea for the story of the comic book, avtora.com said.

Her character would fight against dark forces. She restored the people and animals desire for love with rhythm, songs and dances.

A giant and a skilled hero, resembling Yankulov, help Todorova’s character fight against evil.
The comic book’s message was to keep Earth clean. Todorova and Yankulov would support the cause with their new song Zemya (Earth).

Japanese publishers were already interested in the comic book and planned to release it in Tokyo, avtora.com said.

Currently, Elitsa was writing the second part of the story.

It would be sold with a set of drumsticks, carrying Todorova and Yankulov’s signatures.

source:sofiaecho.com;

photo:elitsatodorova.com

JESC 2007: The complete schedule

The schedule for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest week in Rotterdam has been finalised.

On Monday 3rd December, the event kicks off with an opening party at the Hilton Hotel in Rotterdam.

The first rehearsals and excursions are scheduled for Tuesday 4th December. Find the complete schedule below.

Monday 3rd December

19.30 – 22.00 . Opening party, Hilton Hotel

Tuesday 4th December

09.45 – 16.00 Excursion in Rotterdam

Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, The Netherlands, FYR Macedonia, Ukraine, Sweden, Malta, Greece, Lithuania, Belarus

13.45 – 14.30 . Georgia rehearsal, Ahoy Arena

14.30 – 15.15 . Belgium rehearsal, Ahoy Arena

15.15 – 16.00 . Armenia rehearsal , Ahoy Arena

16.30 – 17.15 . Cyprus rehearsal, Ahoy Arena

17.15 – 18.00 . Portugal rehearsal, Ahoy Arena

18.00 – 18.45 . Russia rehearsal, Ahoy Arena

19.30 – 22.00 . Dance-rehearsal joint song One World, Off-Corso

Wednesday 5th December

09.45 – 16.00 . Excursion in Rotterdam

Georgia, Belgium, Armenia, Cyprus, Portugal, Russia

08.30 – 09.15 . Romania rehearsal, Ahoy Arena

09.15 – 10.00 . Bulgaria rehearsal, Ahoy Arena

10.00 – 10.45 . Serbia rehearsal, Ahoy Arena

11.00 – 11.45 . The Netherlands rehearsal, Ahoy Arena

11.45 – 12.30 . FYR Macedonia rehearsal, Ahoy Arena

13.15 – 14.00 . Ukraine rehearsal, Ahoy Arena

14.00 – 14.45 . Sweden rehearsal, Ahoy Arena

14.45 – 15.30 . Malta rehearsal, Ahoy Arena

16.00 – 16.45 . Greece rehearsal, Ahoy Arena

16.45 – 17.30 . Lithuania rehearsal, Ahoy Arena

17.30 – 18.15 . Belarus rehearsal, Ahoy Arena

20.00 – 22.00 . Sinterklaas evening, Off-Corso

Thursday 6th December

08.30 – 11.30 . Run through, Ahoy Arena

Georgia, Belgium, Armenia, Cyprus, Portugal, Russia, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia

12.00 – 13.00 . Press conference, press centre

12.45 – 15.30 . Rehearsal opening show and joint song One World

15.45 – 18.25 . Run through, Ahoy Arena

The Netherlands, FYR Macedonia, Ukraine, Sweden, Malta, Greece, Lithuania, Belarus

20.00 – 22.00 . Euro disco in Off-Corso

Friday 7th December

15.30 – 17.45 . First dress rehearsal, Ahoy Arena

20.15 – 22.30 . Second dress rehearsal, Ahoy Arena

Saturday 8th December

14.00 – 18.00 . Make-up for all countries

20.15 – 22.30 . Live broadcast Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2007

23.00 – 02.00 . After party

source:belgovision.com

San Marino joins Eurovision

SMTV, San Marino's state broadcaster confirmed they will join the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest in Belgrade next May.

There is an official application to the European Broadcasting Union.

The attention turns into Italy now because half of the broadcaster is actually owned by RAI, the Italian national broadcaster.

source:oikotimes.com

Verka Serduchka a.k.a. Andrei Danilko in hospital

Verka Serduchka a.k.a. Andrei Danilko has been hospitalized recently with pains in his back.

Danilko was taken to one of Kyiv's private clinics where he was diagnosed with 'infringement of a back nerve and vegetative dysfunction'. That is to say, that besides the pains in a back, hypertension was added to the medical findings.

Verka's manager Igor Klinkov explains that illness of the actor is typical of fatigue. "Last year was a very difficult one for us, It is no surprise, that Andrey is overtired and got hypertension ".

Doctors tried to get Andrei back on his feet as soon as possible, because he has to be present at Phillip Kirkorov's birthday concerts and on December 1st he has to leave for London to continue shooting of the programme for one of the Ukrainian channels.

Andrey's physicians did not give any guarantees, but have treated the problem successfully for the time being.

Andrey Danilko has been dismissed from hospital.

sources:esctoday.com;unian.net

Eurovision Song Contest 2008 format

eurovision.tv reports:

SIX POTS

To determine which country will be represented in which Semi-Final, a draw will take place in late January. Based on research conducted by the EBU’s tele-voting partner Digame, analyzing the voting of the Eurovision Song Contest since 2004, the participating countries will be divided into six pots to avoid returning voting patterns.

BIG FOUR Countries

Each broadcaster will of course have to broadcast the Semi-Final they are taking part in. Broadcast of the other Semi-Final is optional. Host country Serbia and the so called Big Four-countries Spain, France, the United Kingdom and Germany, are automatically qualified for the Final. It was decided that each of the qualified Finalists will have to broadcast and vote in one of the Semi-Final, along with those countries that are taking part in it. Broadcast of the other Semi-Final is optional. By draw, also late January, it will be decided which two of the Big Four-countries will broadcast and vote in the first Semi-Final, and which two in the second Semi-Final. Finally, a draw will determine in which Semi-Final the host country will be able to vote. The draw for the running order of the two Semi-Finals and the Final will take place during the Heads of Delegation meeting in mid-March.

BACKUP JURIES

In each Semi-Final, the top-9 from the public televoting results will qualify for the Final. The highest ranked back-up jury participant that did not qualify for the Final at the public tele-voting will also qualify for the Final. This means in each Semi-Final, 10 participants will qualify for the Final, bringing the total number of participants in the Final to 25. The voting in the Final will remain unchanged and all participating countries, including those who did not qualify for the Final, will be able to vote.

Svante Stockselius, the EBU’s Executive Supervisor of the Eurovision Song Contest, said to Eurovision.tv: "We are confident that the approved format revisions will take the Eurovision Song Contest to a higher level, by adding exciting elements and, above all, by making the competition more fair and the results more credible."

First Semifinal: Tuesday, 20.05.2008

Second Semifinal : Thursday, 22.05.2008

Final: Saturday, 24.05.2008

The preliminary date for rehearsals to start is Sunday 11th of May and the preliminary opening date for the press centre and accreditation desk is Saturday 10th of May.

D'NASH release new videoclip

D'NASH will be releasing their forthcoming album, including their latest single, on 4th December, titled Todo Va A Cambiar.
This is Spanish version of Amanda the videoclip of their latest song.

sources:esctoday.com;youtube.com

No Eurovision for Austria

Austrian broadcaster ORF will not be sending a representative to the Eurovision Song Contest in 2008. ORF say political voting and an unclear concept for the two semifinal concept are the reasons for their withdrawal. As long as politics rule the Eurovision Song Contest, ORF won't return to the competition.

ORF programme director Wolfgang Lorenz states that the Eurovision Song Contest is a clear sign of the complicated nature of a united Europe. "We have already seen in 2007 that it's not the quality of the song, but the country of origin that determines the decision," Lorenz says. "As long as the Eurovision Song Contest is a political parade and not an international entertainment programme, ORF has no desire to send more Austrian talent to a competition in which they have no chances. Should the situation change, we will be happy to take part again," Lorenz concludes.

read more on belgovision.com

ESC 2008:Two semifinals to be broadcast live

esctoday.com reports:

Svante Stockselius, Executive Supervisor for the Eurovision Song Contest, confirmed in an email to esctoday.com that the proposal put forwards for approval is for both semi finals to be broadcast live. Each country will broadcast the semi final in which they participate in and can vote in that semi final.

With both shows being broadcast live on Tuesday 20th May and Thursday 22nd May, broadcasters will be able to broadcast both shows live if they wish to do so. esctoday.com has also learned that the provisional list of countries that have applied to participate at the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest will be announced in December, although no date has yet been decided upon.

More informations on esctoday.com

Marija Serifovic meets with Azerbaijani officials

esctoday.com reports:

Marija Serifovic, the Serbian 2007 Eurovision Song Contest winner, met with Azerbaijani officials on a state visit to Serbia. Marija was presented with a traditional Azerbaijani scarf especially embroidered for her by the members of her newly-found fan club in the country.

read more on esctoday.com

Sakis Rouvas: New CD and DVD soon

Towards the end of the month, Sakis Rouvas will be releasing his live CD and DVD, called This is my Live. Both were recorded during his live concert at the Lycabetus theatre in Athens, Greece, last September. The album will also contain Sakis’ latest track Stous 31 dromous, soundtrack of the homonymous TV series filmed in Astoria, NY, USA.

Sakis Rouvas - Stous 31 Dromous


sources:esctoday.com;youtube.com

Mihai Traistariu wants to do Eurovision again

Mihai Traistariu, the artist who represented Romania in the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest given an exclusive interview to esctoday.com about his plans, about his new album and its final release date, about the trip to USA for the L.A. Awards and of course about his possible participation in a future Eurovision Song Contest.

Mihai Traistariu definitely wants to walk on Eurovision stage once more, the contest has changed his entire life and he would happily participate again but only when the right song comes along.

In his interview, exclusively for the esctoday.com readers, he spoke about Love is... his forthcoming album about to be released sometime around Christmas, and about the charity concert with Marija Serifovic in Serbia.

Mihai will soon be travelling to the USA for the LA Awards ceremony where he hopes to walk away with one of the awards and a record deal with an American label.
You can read the full interview here

Europe prepares for Belgrade

eurovision.tv reports:

With still more than five months on the count down counter towards the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest, Europe is looking ahead with the following question in mind: Who do we send to Belgrade?

In Iceland and Bulgaria, the respective national public broadcasters already kicked off with their national selections. After numerous semi-finals, national finals should then decide who will represent Iceland and Bulgaria in Belgrade.

More than 3,000 entries in Sweden

Several other countries already announced details about their selection methods for the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest.

In Sweden, more than 3,000 songs were submitted to broadcaster SVT, out of which a selection committee hand-picked the 28 songs for Melodifestivalen 2008.

After four semi-finals, a second-chance heat and a grand final at Stockholm's Globen Arena, Europe will know Sweden's representative for the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest.

For those who can't wait to find out, we have disappointing news; The Swedish final takes place on 15th March, which leaves plenty of time to speculate about the performers of the songs and the potential finalists.

On the 14th and 15th of December, the national semi-finals in Albania take place. On the 16th, we will know who will succeed Frederik NDOCI and his wife Aida. They represented Albania at the 2007 Eurovision Song Contest in Helsinki, Finland.

Selections underway across Europe

Several other broadcasters announced how and when they will pick their country's representative for Belgrade. From Finland to Malta and from Estonia to Denmark, preparations for the national selections are underway. The Dutch-speaking part of Belgium, Flanders, is looking forward to the Eurosong 2008 semi-finals, while Dutch broadcaster NOS has announced that the artist representing the Netherlands will be picked internally.

What to expect

Eurovision.tv will keep you posted about the national selections on a regular basis.

In January, Eurovision.tv will unveil the website for Belgrade 2008. Between January and mid-March, we will extensively cover the national heats and the preparations in Belgrade. The second half of March and April are completely dedicated to the upcoming contest and the preparations of the participating singers.

Maximum 45 countries at Eurovision Song Contest 2008

belgovision.com reports:

Maximum 45 countries will be allowed to take part in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 in Belgrade. That means that no more than 20 countries will compete in each of the two semifinals.

Five countries are directly qualified for the final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2008: host country Serbia and the Big Four countries Germany, France, Spain and the United Kingdom.

Since the maximum number of countries allowed to take part in next year's festival is 45, maximum 40 countries will be allowed to compete in the heats, consisting of two semifinals.

Until 15th November, all interested broadcasters can subscribe for participation. Until 14th December tey can withdraw without any cost. At the end of 2007, the participant list for the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 can be expected.

Elitsa and Stoyan win the Crystal Lyre Award 2007

An annual award ceremony "The Crystal Lyre 2007" held earlier this month brought a victory to Elitsa & Stoyan, who represented Bulgaria in the 2007 Eurovision Song Contest in Helsinki.

The duet won in the category "Pop & Rock". This award is one of many received throughout the year by the duet, but many consider it the most important .

A week ago, Elitsa and Stoyan returned from their tour in Japan where they successfully presented their new single Earth together with a comic book entitled "The Elements", written by Daniel Atanasov. Both the the song and the comic book are part of the duo's environmental project which aims to raise awareness for the preservation of the planet.

You can download the song here

Elitsa & Stoyan EARTH

sources:esctoday.com;elitsatodorova.com;stoyankoulov.com
photo:elitsatodorova.com

JESC 2007:AVRO provides Sinterklaas, ice ring and museum visit

Like at the Eurovision Song Contest, the Junior Eurovision Song Contest is joined by a varied social programme, however on a child's level. Dutch broadcaster AVRO and the city of Rotterdam joined forces to offer the candidates of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2007 a splendid time in Rotterdam.

To start with, the seventeen delegations taking part in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2007 will be welcomed by Ivo Opstelten, the Mayor of Rotterdam, and a special junior mayor of the city.

Furthermore the kids will visit the Maritime Museum of Rotterdam, make a boat trip and go ice skating on an ice skating ring in the centre of the city.

On Wednesday 5th December, the European kids will be introduced to Sinterklaas, the friend of all children who is world famous in the Netherlands and Flanders for bringing sweets and toys.

On Thursday, a party is scheduled in a local disco.

On Friday 7th and Saturday 8th, the serious jobs have to be done: the dress rehearsals and the live broadcast of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2007.

source:belgovision.com

ESCTODAY.COM AWARDS 2007

Last year, esctoday.com launched the annual esctoday.com awards. The scheme captured the hearts and minds of the Eurovision Song Contest community, international media, singers and record companies. Almost 18,000 people cast their votes. The 2007 Awards nominations are now being prepared and next week, the nominees will be announced.

Voting will begin on 23rd November and will remain open until December 23rd. The polls for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest awards will open the day after the event. To vote, you must be a registered esctoday.com member. Membership is free and allows you to vote in our online polls, react to articles and enter all competitions on the website.

Read more and register on esctoday.com

The full list of esctoday.com award categories:

EUROVISION SONG CONTEST 2007:

SONG OF THE YEAR

PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR

COMPOSER OF THE YEAR

LYRICIST OF THE YEAR

COMMENTATOR OF THE YEAR

VIDEO OF THE YEAR

BEST MALE PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR

BEST FEMALE PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR

BEST BAND PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR

BEST ENTRY NOT TO QUALIFY FROM THE SEMI FINAL

BEST DRESSED PERFORMER(S) OF THE YEAR

WORST DRESSED PERFORMER(S) OF THE YEAR

NATIONAL FINALS 2007:

BEST NATIONAL FINAL 2007

BEST NATIONAL FINAL PERFORMANCE (EXCLUDING WINNER) OF THE YEAR

BEST MALE PERFORMANCE NOT TO QUALIFY FOR EUROVISION

BEST FEMALE PERFORMANCE NOT TO QUALIFY FOR EUROVISION

BEST BAND PERFORMANCE NOT TO QUALIFY FOR EUROVISION

JUNIOR EUROVISION SONG CONTEST 2007:

BEST SONG

BEST SINGER(S)

BEST PERFORMANCE

EUROVISION DANCE CONTEST 2007:

BEST PERFORMANCE

BEST COSTUMES

ESCTODAY.COM TEAM AWARDS:

BEST ARTICLE

EDITOR OF THE YEAR

BEST NEWCOMER

BEST REGIONAL PARTNER WEBSITE OF THE YEAR

OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO EUROVISION AWARD:This award will be given based on services to the Eurovision Song Contest, whether it be by broadcaster, artist, individual or fan.

Dima Bilan's new single Gore-Zima. Watch the video!

According to the official website of the singer,Dima Bilan released a new single called Gore-Zima.The song was heard for the first time on "Russkoe Radio"on 3 november. But the same song was uploaded on youtube 4 weeks ago. Is this the new song?

Dima Bilan won MTV Best Russian Act

Dima Bilan won the MTV European Music Award (EMA) for the Best Russian Act, was announced last evening live from Munich, Germany. The other Eurovision Song Contest stars included in the Regional Best acts looses the prizes: In Turkey Sertab Erener and Kenan Dogulu, and in Sweden The Ark.

Avril Lavigne was elected artist of the year during the EMA. The female pop star defeated her US rival, Justin Timberlake. Linkin Park won Best Band Award. The Canadian/Portuguese artist Nelly Furtado won “Best Album” to her last hit "Loose".

You can see the complete list on oikotimes.com

source:oikotimes.com

European Songfestival for people with disabilities

12 countries in European Songfestival for people with disabilities.

Portugal is the host country of the 7th “European Songfestival for People with Mental Disabilities”, held next November 9.

Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Great Britain, Holland, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Serbia and Portugal are the European selected entrants, in a contest unfortunately little spread in the media.

The last edition, held in Austria in 2005, was win by Portugal with the duo Rita Joana and Márcio Reis.

Since its first edition in 1994, six editions was already held. The organiser is EAPH - European Association for People with a Handicap. The main sponsor of each country is the Ministry of Social Affairs. The European Songfestival for People with Mental Disabilities shows the solidarity that gathers all the participants and supporters within the same goal.

READ MORE ON OIKOTIMES.COM

Nana Mouskouri performed in London

To mark 45 years on stage the internationally-acclaimed star had initiated a four-year World Fairwell tour.

Her next stop was London where the star had performed to a sold-out crowd at the Royal Albert Hall on Monday 29 October.

The other dates:

01/11 Glasgow / Royal Concert Hall
03/11 Birmingham / Symphony Hall
15/11 Saarbrücken / Saarlandhalle (Germany)
17/11 Liège / Le forum (Belgium)
18/11 Esch / Rockhal (Luxembourg)
20/11 Geneva / Arena (Switzerland)
24/11 Paris / Opera Garnier (France)

Nana Mouskouri has sold more than 300 million records internationally, recording about 1,500 songs in 15 languages on 450 albums.

source:lgr.co.uk

Serebro - Dyshi - VIDEO

D'NASH new album out on December 4th!

D'NASH , the Spanish boyband that represented Spain in the 2007 Eurovision Song Contest, will be releasing their latest album Todo Va A Cambiar on the 4th of December.

The new album will be featuriing the song Amanda which will be released as a single.

D'NASH will be presenting their latest single Amanda on the 3rd of November in a concert in Palma De Mallorca.

The boys shot to fame last February when they won the Spanish Eurovision heats of Mision Eurovision and got the chance to represent Spain with their song I Love You Mi Vida.

read more on esctoday.com

Anna Vissi in London charity concert on Saturday 3 November

Cypriot pop goddess will visit London on Saturday 3 November for a sold-out performance at the Covent Garden Hall.

Anna Vissi is set to perform at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden at the invitation of the Oinoussian Association and the Life Action.

The Cyprus diva is to be accompanied by the London Philarmonic Orchestra - the 35-piece orchestra will perform with Anna Vissi in the first segment of the show. The final segment will see the solo section - Anna Vissi performing her greatest hits to date.

The singer had visited Amsterdam (October 5), Brussels (October 7), and in Johannesburg at the Emperors Palace (October 13) where she guided the audience through her greatest hits to date.

She surprised the audience by singing John Elton's 'Sorry seems to be the hardest word' - "a song I love singing from when I was a child - well actually not a child" in a jibe to the crowd.

Anna had spoken of Greek communities abroad as an extension of "the other Greece" and wanted her tour to "seduce the non-Greeks with the Greek sound and make them feel Greek during the concert" .

The fans were whipped into a veritable frenzy as a result of Anna's charismatic fervour. Her concerts in Belgium and Netherlands saw people come from England, Germany, Greece and Cyprus - with at least half of those non-Greeks. Those performances were intended to honour the victims which followed Greece's wild fires.

Anna will conclude her tour in March with further visits to Germany, Switzerland, Sweden and many other European destinations.

The long-awaited album is set for release prior to the advent of Christmas.

source:London Greek Radio

JESC 2007: The full running order

The final running order for this year's Junior Eurovision Song Contest has been decided by the EBU Steering Group.

01. Georgia :Mariam Romelashvili- Odelia ranuni

02. Belgium :Trust- Anders

03. Armenia: Arevik- Erazanq

04. Cyprus: Yiorgos Ioannides -I mousiki dinei ftera

05. Portugal: Jorge Leiria- So quero e cantar

06. Russia: Alexandra Golovchenko- Otlichnitsa

07. Romania: 4 Kids -Sha la la

08. Bulgaria: Bon bon- Bonboladiya

09. Serbia: Nevena Bozovic Pisi mi

10. The Netherlands: Lisa, Amy and Shelley- Adem in, adem uit

11. FYR Macedonia: Rosica Kulakova and Dimitar Stojmenovski -Ding ding dong

12. Ukraine: Ilona Galytska -Uroki glamourou

13. Sweden: Frida Sanden -Nu eller aldrig

14. Malta: Cute- Music

15. Greece: Stephanie, Suzan, Anna, Sophia, Andromachi -Kapou mberdeftika

16. Lithuania: Lina Jurevičiute- Kai miestas snaudžia

17. Belarus: Alexei Zhigalkovich- S druzyami

source:junioreurovision.tv

The stage for the 2007 JESC edition

The stage is 625 square meters large and it contains 50 000 liters of water.

15 cameras will be used to show you the 2007 Junior Eurovision Song Contest and 14 000 meters of cable are needed to connect all technical equipment used for the show.

140 journalists already told that they will come to Rotterdam for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest.

7,500 meals will be served during the week of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest.

source and photo: junioreurovision.tv

JESC 2007 - Make a big splash!

esctoday.com reports:

The theme of the forthcoming Junior Eurovision Song Contest in Rotterdam, Netherlands, on 8th of December will be “Water” and the motto of the event is “Make a big splash!”.

Kim-Lian van der Meij will be the female host of the show.

27 years old musical actress, presenter and a singer-songwriter, Kim-Lian van der Meij will be the female host of the 5th Junior Eurovision Song Contest. From 2003 to 2006 Kim-Lian hosted the Kids top 20 for the children network Jetix. She is famous for her hit single Teenage superstar and for her cover of Kim Wilde's hit Kids in america.

The theme of the forthcoming Junior Eurovision Song Contest will be Water and the motto is Make a big splash!

5 Water curtains will decorate the show, 50,000 litres of water flow, drops and many wet elements, designed by Ronald van Bersselaar, explain this year’s logo of the singing girl in boots.
Special guest stars of the show will be the band Ch!pz.

The show will open with all 17 participants performing the song One World, written by Jeroen Rietbergen and Ronald Molendijk, on stage of Ahoy’ indoor sporting arena. During the opening act 70 dancers of Dance Academy Lucia Marthas will perform.

This year the EBU have contracted a cooperation with UNICEF. They become officially coproduction partner of the AVRO broadcaster for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest.

source:esctoday.com

Marija Serifovic and Mihai Traistariu together at Love aid concert

esctoday.com reports:

The winner of this year's Eurovision Song Contest, Marija Serifovic, will give a concert this winter under the title Love aid and Mihai Traistariu will be her special guest. The concert will take place around Christmas in Belgrade or Novi Sad. The show will start with an anthem dedicated to love which will be sung by all the participants of the 2007 Eurovision Song Contest.

The song will be titled Keep it on your mind and it will accompanied by a video clip in “all stars” style. This special song will also be performed during the opening of the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 in Belgrade next year.

Marija’s decision to invite Mihai to this show was taken due to the success that Tornerò had in Serbia. The song stayed four months at the at the top of the Radio Ogostar Top50, five weeks in on top of the of Radio Fm Top40 and three weeks at the top of the Radio Belgrade airplay charts. Besides this success, National Radio PTC had Tornerò on it’s playlist for almost one year.

ESC 2008: Preparations are underway

RTS, the Serbian broadcaster who will host the forthcoming Eurovision Song Contest, continues working intensively to achieve a successful result for next May in Belgrade.

The stage design and the sublogo have already been decided, Evropsko Lice- the competition for the selection of the hosts is in progress, and the technical and logistical preparations necessary are already underway as well.

Two out of the 24 couples who are competing in the final round of Evropsko Lice (European Face) will have the chance of hosting both the semifinal and the final of the Serbian National Final (Beovizija). One of the two lucky couples will have the honour of presenting the Eurovision Song Contest itself, a choice to be made by the RTS viewers. Read more on esctoday.com

source:esctoday.com

Datalied stage image of the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest

esctoday.com reports:

The stage design symbolises the two Serbian rivers, the Sava and the Danube and their meeting point, Kalegmedan Park, in the center.

The stage has three circular island stages around its main body. The main one is connected by a bridge to the body of the stage. On the far left and right, behind the other two island stages, there are two vertical transparent video panels which symbolise the two Serbian rivers Sava and Danube.

The main body of the stage symbolises the bridge that connects them. The central piece, comprising a four-piece flying sculpture and two long wavy steel ones, symbolises the Karamegdan Park in Belgrade. The park overlooks the point where the Sava and the Danube meet.

sources:esctoday.com ; evrovizija.com

photo:evrovizija.com