Terminal 3.... The Eurovision Blog

Well, it might be for some countries in the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest. I wonder whether the 2 semi final system will bring a better class of song and singer to the contest...........I certainly hope so. I think 2 semi finals will change the face of the contest! I think that the diaspora voting wont change and I don't think the block voting will stop either! I think that the block voting is a part of the Eurovision and has been for years now. We all know that Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, FYR of Macedonia, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Montenegro will swap points with each other. We know that Greece and Cyprus will give each other 12 if they get the chance and we know that Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Norway and Iceland will swap marks. Even the former Soviet republics still swap votes and there are so many of them - Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus, Russia, Georgia and Armenia. So you can guarantee that some of them will meet in the semi finals. What will hap

Cyprus will be holding their National Final on January 12th. Cyprus as Colin added on a previous blog will be going back to the National Final format following their disappointing placing in Helsinki. Evridiki one of my favourites to qualify to the final in Helsinki finished 15th

My god I am so happy I booked my hotel for next years Eurovision Song Contest in Belgrade as it is going to turn into one hell of a party. The EBU have confirmed today that there will indeed be 2 semi finals in Belgrade and the top 10 from each will qualify..........well I say top 10 very loosely because word has it that in fact the top 9 from each will definately qualify and then the 10th place in each semi final will be decided by the results of the back up juries. It is not known yet whether the countries allowed to vote in the semi will only be those competing in semi 1 or semi 2but further news will be reaching my ears very soon.........hopefully. The EBU have confirmed that the only countries who are directly qualified to the final now will be Serbia(as the hosts, France, Germany, Spain and United Kingdom. I am assuming that it has been decided that without the Big 4 the Eurovision Song Contest will not be financially viable so they have once again been given their automatic f

Well we finally have our first bit of news from one of the "BIG 4". German TV Broadcaster NDR have announced today some of their plans which will decide who will represent them in the Eurovision Song Contest in Belgrade. It seems that NDR have decided that they are going to choose from 5 songs this time rather than 3 which is the number of songs performed in their last 2 National Finals. Germany have over the years have sent some absolute classics (in my opinion. More recently however German entries have not received the positions in the final which they have deserved. Texas Lightning finished 14th in Athens with "No No Never" and Roger Cicero finished 19th in Helsinki with "Frauen regier'n die Welt". Hopefully German fortunes along with those of the other members of the "BIG 4" UK, France and Spain changes for the better in Belgrade.

Following the disappointment of Guri Schankes 18th place in the semi final of this years contest in Helsinki, Norway will once again start in the 2008 semi final. However they have now joined the race to be the next country to win the Eurovision Crown. Norway have well and truly started their search for their 2008 Eurovision entrant by announcing today that 600+ songs have been submitted to the Melodi Grand Prix which is the selection process to choose the 2008 Norwegian Eurovision Entry. NRK the Norwegian broadcaster has opened the competition once again to song writers from other parts of the world.

The Andorran national broadcaster seem to have not to have the best view on the Eurovision Song Contest. After their 12th place in Helsinki is seems that that there are people within the broadcaster asking why the ATV management spend the amount of money that they do when really it is for nothing. The general impression in Andorra was after Helsinki, that if Anonymous couldn't manage to qualify then it will be hard for the country to do something in the contest. It is believed at this time that Andorra will be in Belgrade in May 2008. Mind you 12th place is better than their previous attempts and sorry but I have to say it as much as I love the precious Andorran Entries a far more superior entry. GOOD LUCK ANDORRA IN 2008

Well it looks like the race is well and truly on now for the hunt for the winner of the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest:- Sweden, Estonia, Denmark, Switzerland and Iceland so far have started the hunt for their songs and singers to represent them in Belgrade. Today they are joined by Bulgaria who are starting their search on October 7th and Malta who have announced their rules for the next edition of Maltasong. It is interesting to note that really the only finalist to give any details at the moment are the Bulgarians..............could they be mounting a major assault to keep the contest in Eastern Europe.

Bearforce1 - the four man disco-inspired singing group that erupted onto the internet following their performance at the Amsterdam Gay Pride celebration in August 2007 have said that they are interested in representing The Netherlands at the next Eurovision Song Contest. Whilst reading songfestival.web-log.nl I read with interest that the group's management has told them that the group is interested in serving The Netherlands in Belgrade next May. This could be an interesting development for The Netherlands who have not qualified for the final in recent years with what are in my opinion some fantastic song:- 2005 - Glennis Grace - My Impossible Dream 2006 - Treble - Amanbanda 2007 - Edsilia Rombley - On Top of The World Will Bearforce1 be able to put the Netherlands back where they belong.........in a Eurovision Final???

It would appear that Bodies Without Organs BWO) have changed their minds and are now contemplating another attempt to represent Sweden at the Eurovision Song Contest in Belgrade 2008. It had been said previously that they would not beinterested in taking part again for Sweden, but would think about a possibility to represent Poland which is the home country of lead singer Martin. Following the recent release of their latest album "Fabricator" they have admitted to looking for the right song to enter the 2008 Melodifestivalen. Temple of Love was a pre contest favourite in 2006 but was pushed into 3rd place when Carola won and took Sweden to 5th place in that years Eurovision Song Contest in Athens.

Unconfirmed reports that I have read today would indicate that several famous former Melodifestivalen contestants will again be entering in 2008 to represent Sweden in Belgrade. Included in the list so far are Magnus Backlund, Jessica Pilnäs, Shirley Clamp and Sonja Alden. I wonder who else will throw their name into the arena to represent Sweden next year?! Could we see Carola, Linda Bentzing, Helena Paparizou or even the reformed Alcazar???? We should find out around Christmas time.

Rumours are surfacing from Cyprus that they will switch to a national selection rather than choosing internally. It appears that two artists have turned them down, so they have decided to open the selection up. Hopefully, we will see a good selection of songs entering and a strong Cypriot entry in 2008.

It appears that the EBU are impressed so far with Belgrade. They visited Belgrade Hall last week whilst handing over the big keyring and were really impressed. So will the fears over an Eastern Europe country hosting the contest be wrong again? Well they were when Estonia, Latvia and Ukraine hosted, so why not Serbia? Lets hope the news coming out of Belgrade stays as positive as this!

Svante has started a new tradion this week where a huge keyring is passed from host city to host city of the Eurovision Song Contest. This week in Belgrade the keyring was presented to the Deputy of the Mayor of Belgrade Radmila Hrustanovic by the Mayor of Helsinki Jussi Pajunen. It's a huge keyring and carries on it details of the previous host cities and then all the future hosts can add details to it. It will be interesting to see how they will incorporate Svantes large ring into the Eurovision Song Contest in Belgrade.

Talk about Malta to any Eurovision fan and most will say that they are the most passionate country in the song contest. Runners-up twice, placed third twice, but in recent years their results have surprised us all..... 25 th in 2003, 24 th in 2006 and failing to qualify in 2007. Add to this, the well publicised protest 12 points to the UK in 2007 after failing to qualify. Are the Maltese people falling out of love with the Eurovision ? The Maltese government seem to have done so, slashing the budget for the 2007 entry. But still, Malta has it in them to become the bride instead of always the bridesmaid! Malta, please stop licking your wounds. Forget about the threats to pull out and give us another great song like Desire, 7 th Wonder and Angel! Last year, some new names hit the scene of the national final. Is it time for the older names to step aside and let the new names have a go at bringing the contest to Malta for the first time? I'm sure the trusted creative might o

It looks like Iceland are joining the early throng of nations planning their assault on the Eurovision Crown in Belgrade. Iceland another of the countries who have sent some really good songs to the Contest in the past but have only ever reached the top 10 on 4 occasions the last being with Birgitta in 2003 and the song "Open Your Heart". Unfortunately Iceland have never made it past the semi final stage since their relegation when Jonsi finished in 19th place in the 2004 contest in Istanbul Disappointing was what I described the Icelandic songs 13th place in the semi final.........this was in my opinion was another dead cert for qualification. Good luck Iceland.

Finally tonight the news I have waited for for days...........my hotel is booked. I have spoken to Colin and he is booked in as well. Spoken to Colin thats an understatement every night this week we have spoken whether it be about this site or booking for Belgrade. We have managed to get in to the same hotel, but I am going a few days earlier and intend to have some fun at the welcome party which will hopefully be after I get there. I learnt my lesson after Helsinki when I arrived on the Tuesday and all the parties were the night before. Well I dont intend to make the same mistake this year. Anyone else booked? It would be great to meet up and make new friends whilst in Belgrade and Im sure I dont just speak for myself do I Colin. Next step tickets.........but will we buying 2 semi finals or just 1? Hopefully by the end of this month we shall have the answer to that one and maybe some dates for tickets sales.

Well after reading ESCToday it seems that the Portuguese broadcaster RTP are taking the trip to next years Eurovision Song Contest in Belgrade very seriously indeed. Could they be planning a winning formula to take the contest to Lisbon for the very first time in the history of the contest. I have to say it would be nice. Sabrina and her song "Danca Comigo" for me was one of the better songs and performances whilst I was in Helsinki and I was so sad to see that they only missed out a place in the final by 3 points and even pushing the well fancied Andorran song down to 12th place in the semi. Sabrina's song was (in my opinion) far and away more superior to Guri Schankes own Latin number "Van A Bailar Conmigo" and I said so when it was named as the Portuguese entry this year. Lets hope that in 2008 Portugal do actually qualify for the final and even get their first ever top 5 placing.

As this year's Eurovision fades in the distance and people start turning their attention to next year, one task that many fans will have on their calendar is to book accomodation in Belgrade. For the last two years this will have been a simple task if done in enough time. Athens, post Olympics, had many hotel beds awaiting the Eurovision invasion. Helsinki again was well suited, but what about Belgrade? Online reservations? Overseas bookings? Enough high class hotels? Many asked questions, can Belgrade answer them and satisfy the Eurovision? From the start, the question of whether Belgrade had enough high class or starred hotels for organisers and official delegations has been raised. So far, has there been a satisfactory response to this question? But what about the ordinary Eurovision fan who wants to attend the contest? Both Paul and I have been trying to find accomodation in Belgrade for May 2008, but so far we have been frustrated by a totally inadequate system! Many enq

Well it really is getting close now to all countries giving us the fans the news we have been waiting for.....................................Who is going to Belgrade!!!! The news now that Sweden have announced the dates for their Melodifestivalen is exciting enough for me, one of my most favourite Eurovision countries is yet again getting ready to fill us all with a "schlagertastic" event with songs that put most countries entrants to shame (and thats the ones that have qualified). What will they send this year.................My bet is that they are gonna pull all the stops out and send an absolutely fantastic high energy schlagertastic number. Who will they send.................now thats another question..........Its seems that Carola might throw her hat into the ring for another attempt, there is talk that Helena Paparizou may have a go again but this time for the Swedes rather than Greece. I wonder whether the likes of Mans Zelmerlow, Nanne, Shirley, Sonya, Linda Bentzin

Nikki from Big Brother 7 is rumoured to be entering the UK national pre selection. I hope to god that this is just a vicious rumour. I mean "who is she..........where is she from............what is she doing here" Maybe there is a chance for me to represent UK next year after all....................anyone wanna write me an entry that can be sent to the Beeb?

With the new Eurovision Season fast approaching it would be great to hear your views and opinions. Who do you want to represent your country in 2008? Tell us about your favourite Eurovision song, your favourite winner, your favourite country. Tell us about your Eurovision experiences. We want to read your views and opinions as well as ours.

Hello and welcome to the new Eurovision Blog. First off, let us introduce ourselves...... Hi, I'm Colin from Wrexham, North Wales. I've been a Eurovision fan for a number of years now. My interest started through Eurovision being a family event every year. On moving in with my now wife and connecting to the internet, my interest has grown. My first visit to a Eurovision was in 2006, when I went to Athens. I am also the webmaster for Maltese song writer Gerard James Borg. Hi I'm Paul living in Leicestershire and have been a massive Eurovision fan since Cheryl and Jay ripped theirs skirts off in Dublin, Ireland. I love everything about Eurovision, "The Songs,The Singers, The Camp, The Kitsch" absolutely everything. My favourite countries in Eurovision are Malta, Sweden and The Netherlands. My favourite winner is Motliva which would coincide with my first visit to a real live Eurovision Song Contest! We hope you enjoy reading this blog and feel free to leave