Alexander Rybak - Roll with the wind - new videoclip

Alexander Rybak, this year's Eurovision Song Contest winner has released his latest videoclip Roll with the wind.

The videoclip has been filmed on the Norwegian island of Giske.

Alexander Rybak's official videoclip for "Fairytale"

Alexander Rybak won the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 with "Fairytale" that he wrote and composed himself.

Turkey: Hadise - Evlenmeliyiz -videoclip

This is the first Single "Evlenmeliyiz" from Turkish Album (Kahraman).

Evlenmeliyiz means "We Should Get Married ".

The split jury- and televoting results of the Final of the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest!

"After two independent audits, and in the spirit of transparancy and openess, the European Broadcasting Union is now fulfilling its promise and releases what you've been waiting for; the split jury- and televoting results of the Final of the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest!"

READ MORE HERE

Jade Ewen's new videoclip - My Man

My man is the latest single released by Jade Ewen, the singer who successfully represented the United Kingdom this year in Moscow, ending up 5th with the song "It's my time".

Sakis Rouvas - DURESS - Official Trailer

Richard is mourning the recent suicide of his wife while trying to re-establish his relationship with his daughter. But he becomes a witness to an inhuman murder commited by Abner Solvie (aka Sakis Rouvas) and is left at the mercy of the killer ... He becomes his protege in order to remain alive and to protect those he loves, and is forced to complete the murders initiated by Solvie.

His concience weights heavy on him due to his involvement in the murders of the local community and while he is trying to decide whether he is willing to continue the murders to save his daughter's life he slowly realises that Abner is not the only threat he has to face.

Patricia Kaas - Final Eurovision Moscow 2009

Patricia Kaas with the song "S'il Fallait Le Faire" representing France in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009.

Place: 8th
Score: 107 points

Alexander Rybak - Fairytale

Alexander Rybak's performance of Fairytale after having won the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest, held in Moscow.

News about Greece and Sakis Rouvas

According to oikotimes.com ERT is about to announce this week the date for the Eurovision 2009 press conference.

For 10 weeks, Sakis Rouvas song "Kai Se Thelo" has been in the top of the Greek National Airplay charts this year.

On October 24, Sakis will appear for the first time as the host of the Greek X-Faxtor show on Antenna TV.

Read more about at oikotimes.com

3440 songs entered for Sweden National Final

SVT, the Swedish national broadcaster,has announced that 3440 songs have been entered for the national final Melodifestivalen which serves as the country's selection for the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest.

Melodifestivalen is the most watched show on Swedish television every year with approximately 4 million Swedes watching the exciting final which usually takes place in Stockholm's Globen Arena.
Lots of the 32 songs that reached the semi-finals in the previous years have become big hits in the Swedish charts and this year's compilation CD was awarded 6 times platinum.



source:eurovision.tv

The Toppers will represent the Netherlands at the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest

Dutch broadcaster NOS officially confirmed that The Toppers will represent the Netherlands at the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest.




The Toppers consists of Gerard Joling (48), Gordon (40) and René Froger (47).



A national selection will take place on the 1st of February.
TV viewers will get the opportunity to pick the song that will represent the Netherlands in Moscow.

Songwriters and composer are invited to send in their songs, contributions are welcome until the 23rd of November.



source:eurovision.tv

Bulgaria: 45 songs, nine heats

On Thursday 2nd October, the first heat of "Be a star in Bulgaria" will open the national finals and preselections season for Eurovision Song Contest 2009.

Every month (October, November and December) will have 4 shows. In the first 3, 5 of the participating songs will be presented, and in the 4th one the televoting results will be presented. The top three songs from each month will qualify for the semifinal.

In the semifinal, to be held in January, 18 songs will take part - nine that qualified from the heats, and another nine that will be chosen by a committee. Nine of those songs will be sent to the final by a jury where they will be joined by three wildcards, commissioned by BNT.

read more on esctoday.com

Slovakia back to the Eurovision Song Contest

Slovakian public broadcaster STV announced that it will bring Slovakia back to the Eurovision Song Contest in Moscow next year. It will be the first time that the country participates in eleven years.

Slovakia has entered the competition three times in the past, with poor results on each occasion.
They entered for the first time in 1994 with Martin Durinda and Tublatanka singing Nekonečná pieseň, winning just 15 points. In total, they have picked up only 42 points.




source:esctoday.com

Estonia decided to participate in ESC 2009

ETV, Estonian national broadcaster, decided to take part in the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest.
The country won’t boycott the festival. The decision was based on a poll organized by the national broadcasting association, where 66% of the public voted YES to the Estonian participation.

Margus Allikmaa, ERR Chairman of the board, is still not convinced Estonia should participate in the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest.

"Eurovision was never free of politics", every country has used the contest for political reasons and so will Russia!. It is very naive to believe that singing and politics can be kept apart. But as our poll showed that the majority of Estonians wish our country to participate, I have to respect that", said M.Allikmaa.



sources:esctoday.com;oikotimes.com

The jury is back for ESC 2009 Final

eurovision.tv reports:

During a meeting in Moscow, the EBU Reference Group of the Eurovision Song Contest decided to introduce a voting model of a mix between televoting and jury votes in the 2009 Final.

No change will be made in the voting during the Semi-Finals of the Eurovision Song Contest.

Details on the balance between jury and televoting outcome are still to be determined in the months to come.

A survey amongst delegation heads from represented countries revealed that a majority is in favor of such mixed model.
A mixed voting system also has great support amongst the fans of the Eurovision Song Contest.

Svante Stockselius, Executive Supervisor of the Eurovision Song Contest said:

"Nothing is more democratic than the vote of the public. But a jury takes the opportunity to listen to the songs several times, before they make up their minds. In Belgrade, we saw a difference in judgment of the public and the back-up juries, and we believe a combination will make the show more interesting."

In its next meeting, later this year, the Reference Group will decide upon the exact way the jury has to be composed, and to discuss rules to assure a fair jury vote.

The Semi-Finals will not see any changes in the voting procedure. As at the 2008 contest, televoters will again decide upon the nine songs that qualify in each of the two Semi-Finals, while the highest ranked entry of the back-up juries that didn't qualify yet through televoting will also qualify.


read also: Eurovision 'Big Four' final spots confirmed

Moscow officialy accepted as Host City for the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest

The Reference Group of the Eurovision Song Contest has officially approved the Russian capital as the Host City of the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest, as proposed by Channel One.

The governing body of the song contest also approved the Olympiski Arena as the venue of the event in May 2009.

Svante Stockselius, EBU's Executive Supervisor of the Eurovision Song Contest, said to Eurovision.tv:

"Moscow is an impressive city and the proposed venue gives us the fantastic possibility to put everything under one roof. We are confident that Channel One Russia will organize a fantastic 54th Eurovision Song Contest."

The green light of the Reference Group gives the Host Broadcaster the opportunity to go full speed ahead with their preparations for the upcoming contest.

In the months ahead, Channel One organizers are to make numerous important decisions, from the creative concept of the event to the practical details of the cooperation with the city of Moscow and many, many others.



source:eurovision.tv
credit photo

Eurovision 2009 under threat after Russian invasion of Georgia

Next year's Eurovision Song Contest is under threat after ex-Soviet states called for a boycott after Russia invaded Georgia.

Russia's Dima Bilan won the 2008 contest thanks to ex-pats in former Soviet-bloc states banding together to vote for him.

As a result, the 2009 contest will take place in Moscow.

But Baltic nations Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia may pull out of the annual TV show.

A poll in Estonia has already backed the boycott, while pressure is also rising for a Polish withdrawal.

Estonia's culture minister Laine Janes, said: "Solidarity must exist with Lithuania and Latvia to show consolidated support for Georgia."

The European Broadcasting Union, who run Eurovision, have said the Georgian conflict cannot be allowed to wreck the contest.

Spokesman Svante Stockselius said: "These issues should not be linked. We are organising a non-political event and if the hosting country is able to ensure the safety of participants there is no reason why it should not be allowed to host the finals."

The potential eastern boycott is another problem for Eurovision, who are already struggling to allay the fears of the western countries that they now no longer have a chance in the contest.

Sir Terry Wogan confirmed last month he would be stepping down as the BBC's Eurovision host after 37 years. The 70-year-old presenter has tired of the "political voting" that determined the outcome.

source

Belgium plans internal selection for ESC 2009

Belgian broadcaster RTBF will again internally select the Belgian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 in Moscow.

"I can already confirm that there won't be an open national selection," Jean-Michel Germys, RTBF's Director of Entertainment,told Belgovision.com.

Whether RTBF will go for a pure internal selection or a variation of it, will become clear later. French-speaking Belgian artists who have the ambition to represent Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest, will be disappointed. In no way an open national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 will be organized.

source

Alexander Zhukov to head ESC 2009 organising committee

First Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Zhukov will head the organising committee for the Eurovision Song Contest 2009.

"The composition of the organising committee will be approved this or, at the latest, next week," Zhukov said on Wednesday.

He said not even tentative cost estimates for the event had been made yet.
"There are no estimates yet. We have to create the organising committee first," Zhukov said.

On Monday, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said the Eurovision Song Contest would be held in Moscow, taking into account the level of its preparedness, the development of infrastructure and the possibility of minimising the costs.[...]

Moscow authorities said they are ready to organise and hold the Eurovision-2009 song contest in the Russian capital.

Moscow will do it “at the highest level”, an official in the city administration said.

"We have big experience of holding such events. We can do it. We will receive the guests and provide them with transportation and accommodation," he said.[...]

read more...

Putin settles it:Moscow will host Eurovision Song Contest 2009

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Monday chose Moscow as the host city for next year's Eurovision Song Contest.

Vladimir Putin made the announcement at a meeting of the Russian inner Cabinet.

Several Russian cities had applied to host the event. Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Zhukov said the strongest rival bid had come from St. Petersburg.

Zhukov, charged with overseeing preparations for the event, said Moscow's Olimpiysky sports complex would be the likely venue.

Vladimir Putin, a St. Petersburg native, pointed to Moscow's developed infrastructure and the possibility of reducing costs as reasons for the choice.

source