Ticket reservation via internet for Eurovision on January 13

Reservations for the Eurovision Song Contest tickets 2008 via internet will start between 13th and 20th of January, executive producer of the event, ms. Sandra Susa said to Beta agency.

Ms Suša also stated that the prices will be lower than in Helsinki, mainly because of the two semi finals format.

The exact cost is not known yet but Ms Suša said that they will be cheaper than in Helsinki as "RTS's main objective is not to make a profit from ticket sales".

Regular ticket sales will start at a later date when the agreements with the sponsors have been finalised.

sources:oikotimes.com;esctoday.com

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.