Greek fire drama

reuters.com

Trapped villagers are airlifted to safety while protesters demonstrate against the government's handling of the forest fires.

The demonstrators say they are angry at the government's response to Greece's worst forest fires in decades and they say the arsonists being blamed for starting many of the blazes have been allowed to get away.

Beauty Queens 2nd at the Ohrid Fest International

oikotimes.com reports:

Beauty Queens come 2nd at Ohrid Fest International 2007.

The song "Ja Mogu" ended up in 2nd place behind Montenegrin singer Bojan Marovic who won the competition with "Mi Ne Mozemo Vise".

3rd place went to Adrijan Gadza from Macedonia with "Sam se Lazam".

Bulgaria selects song for JESC on 29th September

Bulgaria is one of the newcomers in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest this year.

The first Bulgarian national selections for the junior contest were presented in Sofia on Friday. Bulgarian broadcaster BNT will hold the national final on Saturday 29th September, the same night as Ukraine and Belgium.

source:belgovision.com

Line up completed for London Eurodance

oikotimes.com reports:

This is the line up for the contest as we will see it next Saturday at 21:00 CET live from London, United Kingdom:

01. Switzerland - Denise Biellmann & Sven Ninnemann

02. Russia - Mariya Sittel & Vladislav Borodinov

03. Netherlands - Alexandra Matteman & Redmond Valk

04. United Kingdom - Camilla Dallerup & Brendan Cole

05. Austria - Andy & Kelly Kainz

06. Germany - Wolke Hegenbarth & Oliver Seefeldt

07. Greece - Rannia Koliou & Spyros Pavlides

08. Lithuania - Gabriele Valiukaite & Gintaras Svistunavicius

09. Spain - Amagoya Benlloch and Abraham Martinez

10. Ireland - Mick Donegan & Nicola Byrne

11. Poland - Katarzyna Cichopek & Marcin Hakiel

12. Denmark - Mette Elkjaer & David Jorgensen

13. Portugal - Sonia Araujo & Ricardo Silva

14. Ukraine - Ilya Sidorenko & Yuliya Okropiridze

15. Sweden - Martin Lidberg & Cecilia Ehrling

16. Finland - Jussi Vaananen & Katja Koukkula

Enrique Iglesias to perform at Eurovision Dance Contest

Enrique Iglesias will be the guest performer at the inaugural Eurovision Dance Contest, taking place in London, United Kingdom next Saturday 1st September.

The international superstar is following in his father's footsteps, Julio represented Spain at the 1970 Eurovision Song Contest with the song Gwendolyne.

source:esctoday.com

Lithuania: Gabrielė Valiukaitė and Gintaras Svistunavičius

Gabrielė Valiukaitė and Gintaras Svistunavičius won on August 23rd the national selection .

TELEVOTING

5.675 votes (12 pts) for Gabrielė Valiukaitė & Gintaras Svistunavičius

2.958 votes (10 pts) for Lina Chatkevičiūtė & Donatas Vėželis

0.895 votes (08 pts) for Iveta Paurytė & Julius Šeniauskas

JURY VOTING

12 points for Lina Chatkevičiūtė & Donatas Vėželis

10 points for Gabrielė Valiukaitė & Gintaras Svistunavičius

08 points for Iveta Paurytė & Julius Šeniauskas

source:oikotimes.com

Denmark dates and format finalised

Denmark will know their 2008 Eurovision Song Contest entry on 2nd February.

DR will be using the same Melodi Grand Prix show format that was used this year to select their entry to the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest.

The show will take the same formula as in 2007, with two semi finals of eight songs. The top four will automatically qualify and two wildcards will then be brought back from elimination to participate in the final.

Songs must be submitted to DR by October 10th 2007 for selection and only entries from Danish songwriters or with strong Danish connections will be eligable.

The national final of Melodi Grand Prix will take place on 2nd February 2008 with the semi finals taking place on 18th January and 25th January.

source:esctoday.com

Greek forest fire

Foreign fire fighters join the battle to quell the worst forest blazes to hit Greece in decades.



source:reuters.com

Greek fires kill 51 and threaten Olympia

reuters.com reports:

ZACHARO, Greece (Reuters) - EU firefighters and planes joined the battle on Sunday against the fires raging in Greece for three days, killing 51 people and threatening areas near ancient Olympia, historic site of the first Olympic games.

Greece declared a state of emergency on Saturday as towering walls of flame cut a swathe of destruction through the southern Peloponnese peninsula and across other areas of the country.

The fires have bathed Athens in white ash, forced thousands to flee their villages and burned about 500 homes and thousands of acres of forest and farmland.

Read full article on reuters.com

Greece entirely in flames

NASA image

LATEST NEWS:

700 evacuated from Alivery city in Evia island
Fire reaches South Athens and close to burn houses in Kalivia area, Lagonisi

more at http://www.oikotimes.com/site/index.php?id=9684

IBA confirms Kohav Nolad for 2008 Eurovision

IBA and Channel 2 have officially announced a deal by which the talent show Kohav Nolad will be the national selection for Israel, YNET newspaper reports.

Instead of IBA, Channel 2 will air a new KDAM Eurovision show with the participants of the talent show from all five seasons and through televoting the viewers will select the entrant to represent the country in the 2008 Belgrade Eurovision.

This is the first time IBA will not host a national selection show but still the new way of thinking for such a collaboration will unite the two broadcaster to a very special collaboration.

Possible participants in such selection are: Chen Aharoni, Alissa Shparaga and Miriam Tukan, Liron Lev, Shiri Biton, Raphael Mirilla and Adi Cohen

source:oikotimes.com

Spain: No official JESC withdrawal!

esctoday.com reports:

Back on August 8th, esctoday.com reported that Spain would be withdrawing from the 2007 Junior Eurovision Song Contest after the new TVE Director, Javier Pons, claimed that the "Junior Eurovision promotes stereotypes we do not share". Today, esctoday.com has learned that there has been no official withdrawal lodged with the EBU.

esctoday.com has contacted the EBU and TVE to seek clarification on the situation. Today, we were told by Svante Stockselius that: "we have not yet received any official withdrawal from TVE Spain. We will of course talk to them, if they insist we might give the open space to someone else. Or run the show with 17 countries".

Read more om esctoday.com

EBU trying to save Junior Eurovision Song Contest

belgovision.com reports:

A little crisis surrounds the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, but the EBU doesn't let the head down. While trying to convince Spain to take part in the 2007 Junior Eurovision Song Contest after all, the EBU is talking with countries such as Denmark, Israel, Ireland, Germany and the United Kingdom with the future in mind.

At the beginning of August, Spanish broadcaster TVE announced the withdrawal of Spain from the 2007 Junior Eurovision Song Contest. The contest lost the last of its four big financial contributors. "Of course we are not happy with that," says Sipke Jan Bousema, who will host the Junior Eurovision Song Contest in Rotterdam on 8th December. "Spain is a big European country and it is very important that they take part," Bousema explains in the youth news broadcast of NOS. read more...

Verka Serduchka has withdrawn from the parlimentary elections

Second-placed star of the Eurovision Song Contest 2007, Verka Serduchka (aka Andrei Danilko) has withdrawn from the parlimentary elections in Ukraine after a brief but well-publicised foray into the world of politics.

Andrei, selected as the number one candidate for the For Our Own! party, had attracted a lot of media attention since the announcement that he would stand for election, with a hint that he would be following fellow Ukrainian Eurovision star Ruslana into a career in politics.

Aiming at those voters who have become disillusioned with the political process, Danilko was due to hand out badges to would-be deputies of the party in a light-hearted publicity stunt, but pulled out at the last minute citing that he was "not ready yet".

Ukraine’s election campaign: mired in scandal

source:esctoday.com;RusiaToday.ru

Marija Serifovic and Magdi Ruzsa in Sweden

On 13 October the winner of Eurovision Song Contest 2007, Marija Serifovic, will be performing at the "Konserthus" in Stockholm.

The concert will take place in the famous hall, where the Nobel prize ceremony takes place every year.

A special guest of the concert will be Madgi Ruzsa, the Hungarian representative at the 2007 Eurovision Song Contest.

source:marijaserifovic.net

Greece declares nationwide emergency after fires kill 46

reuters.com reports:

ZACHARO, Greece (Reuters) - The Greek government declared a nationwide state of emergency on Saturday after raging forest fires killed at least 46 people and trapped many more in villages surrounded by flames.

Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis said the rash of forest fires "can't be a coincidence". He vowed the culprits, an apparent reference to arsonists, would be found and punished.

"All regions of the country are declared in a state of emergency in order to mobilize all means and forces to face this disaster," he said in a televised address to the nation.

Full article HERE

Online poll standings for Greece & Cyprus - ESC 2008

oikotimes.com reports:

The ongoing Greece and Cyprus poll for the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest continues. The potential names listed on the poll seem to be attractive enough for the readers of oikotimes.com. More than 340 voted in the poll which will conclude on October 1st. You can post your ideas and vote for the Greek and Cyprus representation until the end of September. The current standings are:

GREECE 2008

32.1% voted for Maro Litra

20.6% voted for other

20.1% voted for Elli Kokkinou

13.2% voted for Kostas Martakis

06.3% voted for a newcomer artist

05.4% voted for Onirama Group

02.3% voted for Apostolia Zoe

CYPRUS 2008

32.8% voted for Lisa Andreas

25.9% voted for Michalis

19.4% voted for Despina Olimpiou

08.1% voted for a newcomer artist

08.1% voted for other

04.1% voted for Stavros Konstantinou

01.6% voted for Stella Georgiadou

CHECK THE SPECIAL GREECE & CYPRUS POLL

http://www.oikotimes.com/site/index.php?id=9658

Helena Paparizou - Three is a magic number

Eurovision Cyprus reports:

Helena Paparizou, the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 in Kiev, has released a new song titled "3 is a magic number".

Helena appeared on a television advertisement for a mobile phone and for this purpose she released the song 3 is a magic number. The song immediately entered the charts in Sweden and stayed in there for 5 weeks peaking at number 18.

Right now, it has dropped at number 47.

The new hit of Helena Paparizou is now online exclusive on ESCCY.

You can watch the video advertisment and download the song HERE

Lisa Andreas (2004) recording new album

Eurovision Cyprus reports:

After all the excitment of Eurovision 2004, Lisa Andreas is back in studio recording tracks for her new self titled album, sheduled for realese at the end of 2007.

Still only 19 years of age, Lisa has teamed up with U.K. beats for her new single "Hyptotized" realesed worldwide on Beat Factory Records.

Purchase now the new single of Lisa Andreas here!.

Dont' forget the ESCCY will hold an exclusive interview with Lisa Andreas in the next few weeks.

We are giving our members and regular readers the chance to submit a question to Lisa Andreas.

All you have to do is submit the question into the comments below and the most creative and interesting question will win!

If you are the lucky member to be selected your question will be asked and you will also win the official Eurovision Song Contest 2007 album!

So why not give it ago! Just send your question in the comments below and by clicking here!

You have until September 1st to enter! Best of Luck!

Verka Serduchka releases single and album in Belgium and enter in French Charts

Verka Serduchka, the Ukrainian drag queen who finished second in the Eurovision Song Contest this year, is about to conquer Western Europe.

Following the release of the CD single on the French market, last week, Verka's Ukrainian entry-Danzing- in the 2007 Eurovision Song Contest shot to number 6 of the official Top 100 , this week's best entrance.

Now the single Dancing Lasha Tumbai and the album Dancing Europe have also been released in Belgium.

Verka Serduchka – Dancing Europe

01. Dancing (Original Version)

02. Essen (Tim Tim Taram)

03. Vse Bydet Horosho (Everything Will Be Good)

04. Hop Hop

05. Horosho Krasavitsam (Good To Be Pretty)

06. Gorbachev (Stavropol'S Tango)

07. A Ya Smeyus (I Am Smiling)

08. Grosse Liebe

09. Dancing (Pub Version Art)

10. Poppi (Crazy Ringtone)

11. Beri Vse (Take Everything)

12. Evro Vision Queen

All songs on the album – from Dancing Lasha Tumbai to Evro Vision Queen – were written by Andrey Danilko himself.

Vse Bydet Horosho (Everything Will Be Good)



English Lyrics:
translation Svetlana Loboda

If they will tell us: "your train already left"
Than we will simply answer, we wait for another one
And to avoid being bored on the platform
We will cover a table and shal drink for love

And it will be G-O-O-D
Everything will be good
Everything will be good
I know it, know ...

G-O-O-D
Everything will be good
Oh, I have the feeling girls that i'll go on a spree
Oh, i'll go on a spree

If in the morning your head hurts
We'll tell you directly: "you cant drink"
Its not nice to cure yourself alone
Its better to drink a bit in group

It will be G-O-O-D
Everything will be good
Everything will be good
I know it, know...

G-O-O-D
Everything will be good
Oy, i have a feeling girls that i'll for shore go on a spree untill saturday

Life is such a bingo
I fell in love, but it wasnt all that
I won the jackpot in the game of love
I took a closer look - its idiot

I covered the table for all
There are pepper and brine
We shall go now
To fill our glasses and drink

sources:esctoday.com;belgovision.com

youtube.com/svetlanaloboda

picture:bbc.co.uk

Junior Eurovision ticket sales kick off on 18th September

The ticket sales for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest will officially kick off on Tuesday 18th September, but if you subscribe as a fan on AVROs website, you can already book your tickets on 10th September.

Prices, nor the way the tickets will be sold, are known yet.

To subscribe as a fan, visit www.juniorsongfestival.nl.

source:belgovision.com

Magdi Ruzsa on tour

Magdi Ruzsa, who placed ninth in this year's Eurovision Song Contest, will be touring Hungary throughout the rest of August and September. She will also be making two appearances in Slovakia and Serbia.

Magdi's full tour schedule is as follows:

19th of August - Siófok(Hungary)
20th of August - Mezőkövesd(Hungary)
25th of August - Miskolc(Hungary)
26th of August - Kisudvarnok(Slovakia)
30th of August - ARC kiállítás(Hungary)
2nd of September - Létavértes(Hungary)
8th of September - Mátészalka(Hungary)
10th of September - Zenta(Serbia)
14th of September - Orosháza(Hungary)
15th of September - Nyiregyháza(Hungary)
21st of September - Gyomaendrőd(Hungary)
29th of September - Győr(Hungary)
30th of September - Budapest(Hungary)

source: http://www.ruzsamagdi.eu/

Three idols in the running for representing Israel

belgovision.com reports:

Boaz Mauda, Marina Maximillian Blumin or Shlomi Barel will represent Israel at the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest in Belgrado. The three of them qualified for the final of Kohav Nolad on Channel Two. The Israeli version of Idols is used as first selection round for Belgrade by national broadcaster IBA.

How the Israeli selections for the Eurovision Song Contest will proceed remains unclear. Fact is that Israeli broadcaster IBA and the producers of Kohav Nolad, the Israeli version of Idols, agreed that one of the three finalists in Kohav Nolad would go on to represent Israel at the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest in Belgrade. In the Serbian capital, Boaz Mauda, Marina Maximillian Blumin or Shlomi Barel will take part in the semifinals.

Dulce Pontes in concert in Spain

esctoday.com reports:

The town of Jerez de la Frontera, situated in Andalusia (Southern Spain), is to host a concert in which Dulce Pontes will present her new album. The Portuguese representative in Eurovision 1991 will show her excellent vocal skills on August 23rd.

O Coração Tem Três Portas is the name of the brand new album of Dulce Pontes. The Portuguese artist returns to fado and traditional folklore in her latest CD, after having explored other musical genres in the meantime.

The current betting odds for EDC

In about ten days London will host the first ever Dance Eurovision Contest. Until the night of September 1st several booking offices predict the winners of the first EDC edition.

Here are the current standings of the betting offices despite the fact there is no material to compare the countries :

BET365.COM

05.50 for Austria

05.50 for Lithuania

05.50 for United Kingdom

08.00 for Spain

09.00 for Netherlands

GAMEBOOKERS.COM

05.00 for Austria

05.00 for Lithuania

05.00 for United

08.00 for Spain

09.00 for Netherlands

....more on oikotimes.com

D'NASH to release new album by November!

esctoday.com reports:

D'NASH, the boyband that represented Spain in the 2007 Eurovision Song Contest with the song ' I Love You Mi Vida', are planning to release a new album in November.

Currently they are riding high on success touring the Spanish peninsula promoting their latest release Mision Eurovision- Capaz De Todo.

read more here

YLE starts the quest for the 2008 entry

oikotimes.com reports:

YLE has released the rules of Finnish pre-selections for Eurovision Song Contest 2008.

Like in 2006 and 2007 YLE invites 12 artists to the competition, but this year they all will perform only one song.

The Finnish Final will take place in Saturday 1.3.2008.

You can read more on oikotimes.com

Koldun on International Radio

esctoday.com reports:

This week Radio International, who broadcast for the international community(EXPATS) in the Netherlands, will air and webcast the interview with Dimitry Koldun who successfully qualified Belarus for the big Final and then also reached number 6 in the 52nd Eurovision Song Contest.

more on esctoday.com

Brendan Cole "dancing alone"

The People.co.uk reports:

Strictly Come Dancing star Brendan Cole has told how dirty-dancing with Natasha Kaplinsky cost him his fiancee.

Former dance partner Camilla Dallerup, 33, broke off their engagement after seeing him getting close to the newsreader.

Now sad Brendan, 31, is trying to win her back. He said: "We started fighting. I enjoy partying, but it's not as exciting as our relationship. I'd rather have that than parties."

Danish-born Camilla said: "It was painful to watch him dancing with Natasha. We began to fight.
"Ours was a beautiful story but it ended in a mess."

Brendan reunites with Natasha for the Eurovision Dance Contest to be shown on BBC1 on September 1.

source:people.co.uk

Belgium:On 8 September 15 candidates for Junior Eurovision

belgovision.com reports:

Junior Eurosong 2007 kicks off on Saturday 8th September. Next Tuesday, Eén will elaborate on the new format of Junior Eurosong 2007 during the press presentation of the autumn programmation of Eén and launch a website on which you will be able to follow the Belgian Junior Eurovision Song Contest selections.

Fifteen candidates will appear at the start of Junior Eurosong 2007. 895 kids between 10 and 15 years old innitialy subscribed for the contest. Eighty of them were invited for an audition.

Five coaches, representing five channels of Flemish broadcaster VRT, selected the final fifteen participants. Each of them will coach three of the candidates and play an important role in the Flemish selections for the Junior Eurovision Song Cotest 2007...read more....

EDC Portugal: Sónia Araújo's life and hopes

Sónia Araújo and Ricardo Silva are the dancers chosen by the Portuguese public broadcaster to represent RTP in London at the first Eurovision Dance Contest.

Sónia spoke to esctoday.com and talked about her background as a dancer, her work as a TV-host and the preparations for EDC. Due to agenda issues, Ricardo Silva couldn't be present. He is at the moment competing at the German Open Championship.

You can read Sónia's full interview here




source:esctoday.com

Anna Vissi: New album and more concerts

The following months will be very busy ones for Anna Vissi. A new best of album is expected to be released in September 10th.

The collection "The Essential Anna Vissi" contains some of her very best hits, from her early years in Sony, like "Dodeka" and "Den thelo na kseris", until her Eurovision ballad "Everything" and "Who cares about love", which came third in the Greek Finals 2006. Other songs include "Call me" (the song that topped the Billboard Charts in 2005) and "Is it safe".

Anna's fans in Europe will have the chance to see her live, starting from next October, while an Australian tour is also in the plans for the next year, with shows in Melbourne and Sydney.

Anna will also be the special guest in this year's Oinoussian Gala, which will take place at London's famous Covent Garden Hall, London, UK. Anna will be accompanied by the London Philharmonic Orchestra. The prince of Wales, Charles, who's also invited, might attend the event.

Her upcoming shows are:

October 5th, 2007 08:00 PM - The Max (Melkweg) -Amsterdam

October 7th, 2007 08:30 PM - Cirque Royal - Brussels

October 8th, 2007 08:00 PM - Le Grand Rex - Paris

November 11th, 2007 - Royal Opera House, Covent Garden Hall

2008 - Gammabar, Melbourne, Australia

sources:oikotimes.com; eurovision-cyprus.ueuo.com

63 songs submitted for the Junior Song for Europe 2007

OGAE Malta reports:

The Malta Song Board announced that 63 songs were submitted for the 2007 Junior Song for Europe Festival.

This is a remarkable drop from last year's 114 submissions. As a result the Malta Song Board decided that all submitted songs will be heard on a demo cd on Friday 24th August and live on the following day 25th August.
The jury will then choose the 16 finalists for the JSF to be held on the 7th September.

146 entries were submitted in 2005, while 118 entries were submitted in 2004.

Listen to X!nk's Junior Eurosong 2007 theme song

belgovision.com reports:

Give Us A Future, the new single of X!nk, will also be the theme song of Junior Eurong 2007, the Flemish selections for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest taking place next month.

Click this link to hear a preview of Give Us A Future, a song that is partly performed in Dutch, in spite of its English title.

Eurosong is of 'national importance', but for whom?

belgovision.com reports:

For whom is Eurosong of national importance? "For VRT without a doubt," affirms journalist Marc Coenegracht in the newspaper Het Laatse Nieuws. "The public broadcaster is throwing loads of money at the weekly shows and builds up a huge hype in order to then be able to look contentedly at the outstanding viewing figures."

But is Eurosong also of national importance to the image of Flanders and to the Flemish winners, asks Marc, who in a distant past took his place in the professional jury of Eurosong several times. read more...

Why Malta is not taking part in the Eurovision Dance Contest?

OGAE Malta reports:

OGAE Malta, the official Eurovision fan club, which is affiliated to OGAE International, has asked the Maltasong board and the administration of the Public Broadcasting Services to explain why Malta did not apply to take part in the first Eurovision dance contest, which will be held on 1 September this year.

OGAE Malta believes that this could have been a golden opportunity for professional Maltese dancers to compete against other professionals from around Europe and show their talents in this dance competition.

OGAE Malta also believes that the exercise could help the Maltasong board team, as the local delegation for the Eurovision Song Contest, to build stronger ties with other European members of the European Broadcasting Union.

Malta would eventually benefit from such ties in all the competitions held by EBU – the Eurovision Song Contest, the Junior Eurovision and now the Eurovision Dance Contest.

So far, no reaction was received from neither the Maltasong Board nor the PBS Administration.

source:OGAE Malta.com

Johnny Logan - First ever No1 album

Eurovision king Johnny Logan is experiencing a career high across Europe at the moment -- even enjoying his first ever number one album!

"I'm really over the moon. While I have had several number one singles, I've never in my entire career had a number one album. It's fantastic. I'm really chuffed. I'm going to be presented with gold and platinum discs for sales in Denmark and Norway, and it's being released in Sweden in October," he stated.

His new album The Irish Connection has been number one in the charts in Denmark for the past four weeks -- and has also been in the Top 10 in Norway and Germany, where himself and his band are based.

The album features Johnny covering such Irish classics as Dirty Old Town and Whiskey In The Jar, and was recorded with his own band in a studio in just two days.

Three-times Eurovision winner Logan has always been popular on continental Europe, but his success is now bigger than ever.

Read more here....

source:independent.ie

Zdob and Zdub News

zdob-si-zdub.com reports:

Upcoming events

17.08.2007
Stufstock Greenfest, Marina Park, Vama Veche, Romania, 22:00

17.08.2007
Bora-Bora Beach, Costinesti, Romania, 20:00

18.08.2007
City Day, Central Square, Targoviste, Romania, 21:00

19.08.2007
City Day, Central Square, Comrat, Moldova

24.08.2007
Independence Day, Lvov, Ukraine

26.08.2007
Miner Day, Pershotravensk, Ukraine

8.09.2007
Kronopol Festival, Park Miejski, Żary, Poland, 18:00

20.09.2007
City Day, Bucharest, Romania

"Yes, what ever you may say, but July and the beginning of August were very “juicy” for us! Now we managed to squeeze in a week of rest in our program, then we return on “the battle field”: Independence Day, City Day, Miner Day… We should invent a holiday for us – the Ethno-Rock’n’Roll Day! But we’ll say about this later… we have grandiose plans and we would like to hope that they will come true!"

Read more.....

Finalists of 'A Star is Born' to represent Israel in 2008?

After Teapacks' fiasco in the last Eurovision competition, the Israeli broadcasting authority will decide whether to send one of the finalists of 'A Star is Born' to represent Israel in 2008.

Beyond the car, the recording contract and the fame, another prize will be added to the list the top-three finalists of "A Star is Born": a chance to represent Israel in the 2008 Eurovision competition. Although we question the decision, there's no doubt these guys are talented enough to sweep the European crowd.

Full article here

Three idols in running for representing Israel

TVE continues supporting Eurovision Song Contest

oikotimes.com reports:

After announcing that Spain will struck out at Junior Eurovision Song Contest, saying it “encourages stereotypes that we do not share”, TVE’s president, Luis Fernández, has announced that the broadcaster continues supporting the “adult” contest. In the announcement - a reply to the Spanish Deputy Macarena Montesinos - TVE guaranties that the country will not abandon an event which still draws in a global audience in excess of 3 million viewers across Spain and a share of 28%, according to last edition.

read more...

Fringe show celebrates Eurovision kitsch

Eurobeat - almost Eurovision mercilessly sends up the kitsch contest every night at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival where flag-waving, wolf-whistling fans take audience participation to new heights of surreal lunacy.

Eurovision is mocked for its mishmash of power ballads, ethnic rhythms and bubblegum pop with critics complaining that tactical voting by East Europeans is skewing the results.

Full article here

source:stuff.co.nz

Nana's long goodbye

author:Martin Hutchinson /Manchester Evening News

BESPECTACLED star Nana Mouskouri is instantly recognisable, and has been for more than 40 years.

In fact, She made her first record 50 years ago, and has been touring pretty much constantly since 1960. However, as she approaches her mid-seventies, she has decided to retire from touring – but not before she has thanked her loyal fans with a Farewell World Tour. (...)

She explains: “I’m not actually retiring from singing, just from touring. If people still want me to sing I will, but I just won’t be touring.

"I wanted to quit while I was still healthy.”

Speaking about her final tour she said: "It started in 2005 and will end next year in 2008. You have to take time to do the whole world and I want to take the opportunity to thank fans for listening to me for so many years.”

There’s will be a variety of songs, from my beginnings with classical music and through my pop and jazz songs. There’s ’ll be a real diversity of cultures.”

Read full article here

source:Manchester Evening News

photo:google.com

Eurovision not rigged, says broadcasting union

Following the widespread criticism and in a general climate of increasing mistrust of anything to do with television and voting, the organisers of the Eurovision song contest have held an inquiry into the allegations.

Members of the European Broadcasting Union discussed the allegations following this year’s contest but “found no evidence of irregularities”.

As a further check they engaged PriceWaterhouseCoopers to conduct an audit of the voting system, which again turned up nothing untoward.

Worries about the possibility of vote rigging extend beyond the UK, where the matter was even discussed in an early day motion in the House of Commons.

Malta led calls for the voting system to be overhauled, along with the removal of phone votes in the former Soviet Bloc countries, and Ireland and Andorra also expressed concern over this year’s scoring.

But the head of the contest, Svante Stockselius, insisted block voting could not occur: “We have looked into it and we have had auditors look at it, but it is not possible to manipulate the voting,” he said, adding, “I wouldn’t say 100 per cent because that would be impossible but there is no way you can manipulate the televoting.”It’s just that they have similar tastes in music (another explanation Mr Stockselius was keen to offer).

source: The Malta Independent Online

Icelandic TV Plans Early Start for 2008 Eurovision

doteurovision.com reports:

Icelandic TV looks set to be the first to kick off the search for its 2008 Eurovision Song Contest entry.After several disappointing results, state broadcaster RUV plans to begin airing a series of TV shows aimed at picking a song for Belgrade as early as 29 September.

Although the Eurovision rule book usually insists that songs must have been released after 1 October to take part in the following year's contest, the EBU often will grant special permission to broadcasters where they wish to bend the rule slightly.

Iceland's biggest circulation daily, Frettabladid revealed this weekend that thirty songs will be in the running to represent the country next year.

From late September onwards RUV will preview three potential entries each week with one song going through to a national final to take place either later this year or early in January 2008.

Nine writers have been contacted and asked to submit three songs each to the competition, alongside this, there will be a special wildcard show featuring songs submitted to a public competition.

Songwriters linked with the contest include Gudmundur Jonsson úr Sálinni, Dr. Gunni, Barði í Bang Gang, Magnús Þór Sigmundsson, Magnús Eiríksson, Hafdís Huld Þrastardóttir, Svala Björgvinsdóttir, Fabúla and Andrea Gylfadóttir.

Spice Girls' Mel C says 'Eurovision is a joke in the UK'

oikotimes.com reports:

The first thought when Spice Girls announced their return to the music scene was that the girl band would be an ideal solution for United Kingdom to make a good revamped come back to the contest and ultimately to the scoreboard after many years of plunge. A video interview is uploaded online with Melanie C saying some interesting things about the Eurovision Song Contest.

At first she was surprised that Eurovision Song Contest is popular across Europe (where does she live anyway). She backed up the opinion that the contest is not popular in the UK.

Mel C said that she wouldn't try to participate in a national selection since she considers a joke that Scooch got the ticket to Helsinki this year. She 'offers' though herself to Europe if BBC give her internally the ticket to Belgrade. Her favourite Eurovision entry is 1981 UK win entry Making Your Mind Up.





sources:belgovision.com;oikotimes.com

Nez claims she can bring ESC to Istanbul again

eurovision- turkey.com reports:

Nez is hiding all her energy for Eurovision.So many music authorities (who give the biggest support to Nez) want to see Nez at ESC Platform,but also she pointed that the trick of right job is the right time.

She also says that the waiting time in 2008 is MAY.On the other hand,Nez says that she had supported Sertab in 2003 too much and she knows ESC soul and feeling.

We asked her 'What style will be your prepared song?' and she answers 'A song that includes turkish flavour,modern but not too much west and that can be my song.'Also Nez thinks that only song is not enough to win,she adds that she will complete her stage show with Turkish culture and its elements so this proves her claims.

As we understood, Nez follows Eurovision for years.Thus, she claims that the song that she likes most is Dinle of Şebnem Paker(the song that turkey reached 3. place in ESC 1997).

And her slogan is from one of the most striking moments.it is: 'TRT,Are you ready for The 2009 ESC Final in Istanbul?''.

She also shares one of her dreams with us: ''I saw myself as a winner of Eurovision.I have a comic and strange side.My dreams come true!''

We are not releasing the rest of the interview with Nez.But we also learnt the name of the song that Nez prepared for ESC.:)Let me give u a clue that the name of the song reflects Turkish culture part of Nez.:)

Nez believes that she has an advantage of deaming,believing,being genuine and she thinks to bring Eurovision back in 2009 to Turkey. She also wants us to be near her from the moment that she recieved a call from TRT. We promise that we will be near her while she is getting prepared all.Nez who says that all of her works are ready says and adds ''I am only waiting for a telephone call...''

Molitva video clip versions online

Marija Serifovic shot the video clip of Molitva in Serbian and English few weeks ago. The outcome is now available on oikotimes.com thanks to Milan Marijanac.


You can watch the two videos either on http://www.oikotimes.tv/ or on www.youtube.com/oikotimes.

Marija Serifovic denies rumours about 2008 entry

oikotimes.com reports:

The winner of this year's Eurovision Song Contest, Marija Serifovic, has denied rumours written elsewhere that she will be entering for Switzerland next year.

In an interview with our partner-site Eurosong.be, the first ever Serbian victor said that it would be a 'stupid' idea.

''We had some calls and mails, but at this moment I'm not thinking about that, especially not for next year. I don't think anyone who wins Eurovision should go again, it's a stupid thing- imagine if you win and then five years later you don’t.''

When asked about the voting in this year's contest, Marija said that it didn't worry her at all.

''Some Western countries need to make better songs'' she explained.

And finally, when asked if she was worried that her winning song, ''Molitva'', hadn't had any success in Western Europe (and has failed to find a record label in many countries), Marija revealed that she is set to release an 'all-English album for the whole of Europe, so I’m not worried yet.''

Molitva video clip versions online

New X!nk single called Give Us A Future

belgovision.com reports:

X!nk, the Belgian representatives of the 2003 Junior Eurovision Song Contest, are back! Next Tuesday Jonas, Thomas, Niels and Philip will present their new single Give Us A Future during the recordings of the television show Tien Om Te Zien. Later this month, they'll launch the theme song of Junior Eurosong 2007.

read more.....

Fatals Picards continues to give concerts all around France

esctoday.com reports:

Their (bad) Eurovision experience has not affected the Fatals Picards' career at all, and the group continues to give concerts all around France.

According to their website, the group already have 37 concerts to give by May 2008, the biggest of them all being "La Fête de l'Humanité" on 14th September, near Paris. On 15th August, they will perform in Luxey (on the Atlantic coast) and will meet the group MAP there, one of this year's French contenders. They will also meet les Wampas on 19th August at the Festival Euryth'mix, in Brussels, Belgium.

Proud to share placing with UK

On the news page of their site, Les Fatals state clearly that they "nearly got the last place" in Finland. They also write : "we did what can be done, we were not first... but not last either, and proud to share that placing with the British representatives".

They also thank their supporters.

The band's fourth CD album, "Pamplemousse mécanique", which was released last February, had a second pressing including the Eurovision entry, "L'amour à la Française", and a special sticker on the case. Regarding its sales, "Pamplemousse" is still placed at number 114 (out of 200, in the official French sales list), its best place being 24th.

Tour schedule here

Videos with Les Fatals Picards here

sources:esctoday.com; lesfatalspicards.com

Bilan, Kirkorov and Pugacheva on Forbes Rich List

This month, Forbes magazine published its list of the 50 richest Russians in showbusiness and sport.

Alla Pugachyova, the queen of Russian pop, made $3.5 million, putting her at 14th place, but she made it the hard way, performing in provincial cities all over the country. She even sang in Vorkuta, a coal-mining town beyond the Arctic Circle best known for its Gulag camp -- in February.

Pugachyova recently said she will only retire when she can't wear a mini-skirt anymore (she's 58).

This year has certainly been good to Bilan, who is at 12th place among the top earners with an income of $4.1 million. That might put Pugachyova's nose out of joint, not to mention Filipp Kirkorov's. Like Dima, he was a Eurovision contestant and has kept himself in the public eye pretty solidly since marrying and then divorcing Pugachyova, but his earnings only put him at 17th place.

read more .....

source:The Moscow Times

photos.novonews.lv

Israel will join the JESC and EDC in 2008

esctoday.com reports:

Israeli news website, NRG.co.il reported this week that there is a serious initiative within the IBA to join Eurovision's Junior and Dance Contests in 2008. As part of this move, IBA plans to broadcast live the 2007 editions.

According to this report, the head of entertainment at IBA and head of delegation to Eurovision, Yoav Ginay, has already started promoting the necessary formal measures needed for Israel to join the 2008 editions of the Junior and Dance contests.

In order to guarantee Israel's right to participate in these two contests next year, IBA is said to have already paid for the rights to broadcast the upcoming Dance Contest, live from London and the Junior Contest, from the Netherlands.

EDC: Running order announced

The European Broadcasting Union announced the running order for the 16 participants of the 2007 Eurovision Dance Contest, to be held in London on 1 September 2007.

Switzerland will open the show. The couple dancing for Finland is the last couple to take the dance floor.

The running order has been determined in two steps. In the first round, the participating countries were drawn into groups, under supervision of an auditor. In the second round, the producers of the Eurovision Dance Contest determined the final running order within the drawn groups to assure variety in the live show.

"We are looking forward to an exciting event in London," explained Tal Barnea, Executive Supervisor of the Eurovision Dance Contest on behalf of the EBU.

Eurovision Dance Contest 2007

01. Switzerland

02. Russia

03. The Netherlands

04. United Kingdom

05. Austria06. Germany

07. Greece

08. Lithuania

09. Spain

10. Ireland

11. Poland

12. Denmark

13. Portugal

14. Ukraine

15. Sweden

16. Finland

source: EDC Official Website

TVE withdraws from Junior Eurovision!

oikotimes.com reports:

Spanish national broadcaster TVE has sensationally announced that it is withdrawing from the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, making it the last of the 'Big 4' countries to cease participating in the show.

In a press release that is now all over the Spanish media, TVE's Director Jorgi Pons explained why the decision has been taking to withdraw: ''(Junior Eurovision) produces stereotypes that we don't share''. ''It spreads dangerous 'rays' '', he continued, ''that form stereotypes. TVE is now looking for other formats that spread different values''. The broadcaster has had good results in the contest, and said that the withdrawal was definitely nothing to do with these, but because of the format and ideals of the show.

TVE said they they'll be making their feelings known to the EBU in the search for other formats.

For the moment, they broadcaster also said that they won't be drawn into a debate about the Eurovision Song Contest itself, but finished by saying that they'll ''also be reflecting'' over their pariticpation in this event too.

Marija Serifovic announce amateur singer competition

marijaserifovic.net reports:

On the 01 September 2007, production team Beoton and Marija Serifovic are announcing competition for the best amateur singer. Winner of this competition will participate on the festival Beovizija 2008 with the song who’s author will be Marija Serifovic.

Greece: Kostas Martakis - photos

New Wave 2007, Jurmala, Latvia

photos:novonews.lv

Marija's back up singers :The Beauty Queens

Sanja Bogosavljevic, Ana Milenkovic, Suzana Dinic, Ivana Selakov and Ksenija Milosevic, aka The Beauty Queens, who backed up Marija Serifovic on the Helsinki stage during the 2007 Eurovision Song Contest have embarked on their new career.

Most of the band's members are no strangers to the Eurovision Song Contest. Ksenija is a popular violin player and was a member of the Bosnia and Herzegovina Eurovision Song Contest team in 2006, performing on stage with Hari Mata Hari.

Suzana Dinic participated in the 2007 Serbian national semi final Beovizija with Nudim Ti Srce Svoje but she didn't manage to get to the final. Ivana Selakov was a Serbian final participant in 2006 and Ana Milenkovic, tried her luck back in 2004 when she participated in the national final as well.

The five Serbian ladies, having taken part in the Budva festival, are currently preparing for a festival in Ohrid towards the end of the month when they will perform Ne mogu da te ne volim (I can't help loving you).

Ana Milenkovic managed to place third, winning a prize of 2.000 dollars, at the recent Slavjanski bazar in Belarus singing Rano je za tugu by Haris Dzinovic and Nocas mi srce pati by Silvana Armenulic

Blic, the Serbian newspaper asked the Beauty Queens whether they would perform with Marija Serifovic again : "If she invites us to her concert in Belgrade, we will accept an invitation. However, we have too many obligations right now, so it would be extremely difficult to coordinate our engagements."

Ana Milenkovic - Rano je za tugu (Vitebsk 2007)

sources:esctoday.com;youtube.com

photo:TV Novosti

Marija Serifovic's interview to esctoday.com

Marija Serifovic, the Serbian 2007 Eurovision Song Contest winner spoke to esctoday.com during her visit to Sweden where she was headlining the SchlagerPride event . She was pleased to meet up with us to put straight a few rumours and talk about her experiences since winning the Eurovision Song Contest.

In a full and frank interview, Marija talks about the pressure of the Winner's Tour, the rumoured participation at the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest for Switzerland, her plans for a new album, sexuality and Serbian politics and what we can expect from the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest in Serbia.

read more and watch the video interview at esctoday.com

Dima Bilan - Time to party -photos

New Wave 2007, Jurmala, Latvia

source:novonews.lv;partylive.lv

Anna Vissi in legal debate

esctoday.com reports:

Anna Vissi, the Greek star who has represented both Cyprus and Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest, is going through a very rough time as she saw her possessions being taken by bailiffs and her assets frozen as a result of a 2.3 million euro compensation she has to pay to the Polyvideo Production company.

Clothes, accessories, furniture, paintings and electronic gadgets were taken from Anna Vissi's home last Friday as a result of the popular singer's debate with the Polyvideo Production company who have been adjucated the astronomical sum of 2,3 million euros as compensation for a TV project that did not go through. Anna Vissi's belongings will be auctioned on October 31st at very low starting prices.

Read more HERE

Read Espresso article (in greek) HERE

source:esctoday.com;espresso.gr