21UTC195UTC2919pm08 MaypmMon, 19 May 2008 18:52:29 +00002008-05-19T18:52:29+00:0006 5, 2008
Hi again, welcome to Eurovision Forever. In this post, I will talk about the road to Belgrade, behind the scenes of how the stage was created, a review of the songs from Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark, the final betting odds on who will qualify from semi 1 and… EUROVISION COUNTDOWN!
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THE ROAD TO BELGRADE 2008
Marija Serifovic wins Beovizija 2007 with the ballad “Molitva”
Marija Serifovic qualifies to the final of The Eurovision Song Contest 2008
Marija Serifovic WINS The Eurovision Song Contest for Serbia with the song “Molitva” recieving 268 points
Serbia confirms they will host Eurovision in 2008 in their capital, Belgrade.
The venue will be The Belgrade Arena.
Creative details are announced: The theme is “The Confluence of Sound”
The hosts are announced
All 43 songs are picked
First rehearsals start
First dress rehearsal
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BEHIND THE SCENES – Creating the stage
First technicians built up the stage on the arena floor and light riggers worked around the clock to get hundreds of lighting devices up in the ceiling.
Then they were work shifts as the stage was being built.
The stage was completed, and Belgrade was decorated and the press centre was created.
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A REVIEW OF THE SWEDEN, NORWAY, FINLAND AND DENMARK SONGS
Sweden – Charlotte Perrelli – Hero
What a brill song! It is powerful and has great tune and melody to it. I think it has potential to do extremely well. 5/5
Norway – Maria Haukess Strong – Hold on Be Strong
It’s a great, classy song and will no doubt qualify to the final on Tuesday 20th May. For sure. I give this 4/5.
Denmark – Simon Mathew - All Night Long
Cool, happy, catchy tune from Denmark this year. Bares a resemblance to British singer Mika. Good song, but not a winner. 3 and a half/5
Finland – Terasbetoni – Missa Miehet Ratsastaa
I do not like this song AT ALL. I hate heavy metal (with an exception of Lordi). It is so boring and will struggle so much for points. 0/5
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FINAL BETTING ODDS ON WHO WILL QUALIFY FROM SEMI 1
Russia
Armenia
Greece
Ireland
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Romania
Norway
Azerbaijan
Finland
Israel
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EUROVISION COUNTDOWN
Semi Final 1: 1 day to go
Semi Final 2: 3 days to go
Final: 5 days
Interesting Fact: The current betting odds show that the Top 5 could be: Russia, Serbia, Armenia, Ukraine and Greece. Surprise, surprise – all Eastern countries!
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NEXT TIME…
To celebrate Semi Final 1 of Eurovision 2008, I give my opinion on all the songs in semi 1 and whether they will qualify.
Star Focus: We look at Armenian representative Sirusho and her life.
Eurovision 2008: Dark horses – Which countries which are expected to do badly, could actually do well? I look at the countries which could surprise everyone.
10 Years Ago: Dana International and her Eurovision 1998 win
20UTC185UTC0718pm08 MaypmSun, 18 May 2008 16:58:07 +00002008-05-18T16:58:07+00:0004 5, 2008
Hi there! Here I am again to provide some much need Euro fun. This blog includes: Exclusive ESC 2008 Quiz, behind the scenes at The Belgrade Arena, 1 video interview, a review of the 5 direct qualifiers and EUROVISION COUNTDOWN.
Here is the quiz. It is multiple-choice.
EUROVISION SONG CONTEST 2008 WORDPRESS QUIZ
1. Who is representing Latvia?
a) No Angels
) Olta Boka
c) Pirates of The Sea
2. What is the theme of this years contest?
a) True Fantasy
b) Belgrade’s Joy
c) The Confluence of Sound
3. Last years winning song was called…
a) Dancing Lusha Tumbai
b) Molitva
c) Mokita
4. What is the age of the youngest participant and where is s/he from?
a) Dima Bilan from Russia
b) Sirusho from Armenia
c) Olta Boka from Albania
5. Out of these songs, which is representing Estonia?
a) Leto Svet
b) Hero
c) Dissapear
6. The female host presents a show on RTS. What time of the day is this?
a) Mid-Day
b) Morning
c) Evening
7. Israel’s song “The Fire in Your Eyes” is written by which former Eurovision participant?
a) Dana International
b) Jonny Logan
c) Eddie Butler
8. Which country have withdrawn from this years contest?
a) Austria
b) Hungary
c) Monaco
9. Which famous Balkan star, who died in a car crash last year, will be mentioned in Eurovision 2008?
a) Tose Proeski
b) Dmitry Koldun
c) 75 cents
10. What is the name of the song representing host nation Serbia?
a) Oreo
b) Oh
c) Oro
RESULTS
1. c
2. c
3. b
4. c
5. a
6. b
7. a
8. a
9. a
10. c
If you 10, you are a complete Eurovision addict, just like mwah.
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Now it’s time for…
BEHIND THE SCENES AT…
THE BELGRADE ARENA
In today’s “Behind The Scenes”, I will give you all the lowdown of this years venue, The Belgrade Arena or The Beogradska Arena as pronounced in Serbia.
The Belgrade Arena is one of the biggest arenas in the whole of Europe, with a total space that covers 48,000 square metres and a total capicity of up to 23,000 seats. It cost 70 euros to build. Construction first started for the venue in 1992 and finished in 1998, due to war in Belgrade. It is also the fifth biggest arena in Europe, and has more seats than the 2007 venue, The Hartwell Arena, in Finland’s capital, Helsinki.
Recently a new Multimedia section was added, for press to use during Eurovision 2008.
NEXT TIME ON BEHIND THE SCENES – Creating the stage
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EXCLUSIVE VIDEO INTERVIEW
Pirates of the Sea – Latvian Representatives
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A REVIEW OF THE BIG 4 SONGS AND THE HOST NATION’S SONG
United Kingdom – Andy Abraham – Even If
This song is so great and really funky! I think this song is the best of all The Big 4 countries and has potential to do really well- even win! I give this 5/5.
France - Sebastien Tellier - Divine
Another great song, this time from France. Divine is a great tune which can get anyone dancing or humming to very easily! Good song, good placing, winner? 4 and a half/5
Germany – No Angels – Dissapear
This is an alright song I suppose. It’s a bit boring and the live vocals are bad. Carola Fortenbacher was so much better. Not a winner. 2 and a half/5
Spain – Rodolfo Chikilicuatre – Baila El Chiki-Chiki
It’s the worst of all The Big 4 countries. I think its quite appaling that this was selected above Coral. I hate the singer, the tune, lyrics, EVERYTHING. Nil points – 0/5
AND HOST COUNTRY OF COURSE
Serbia – Jelena Tomasevic – Oro
Lovely song that WILL do well. It’s lovely and harmonious and has help from neighbours like Croatia, Hungary, FYR Macedonia and Montenegro of course. 4 and a half/5
My Final Review Scoreboard:
1. UK
2. France
3. Serbia
4. Germany
5. Spain – I HATE IT 100000000000000000%
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EUROVISION COUNTDOWN
2 DAYS UNTIL SEMI FINAL 1
4 DAYS UNTIL SEMI FINAL 2
6 DAYS UNTIL THE GRAND FINAL
Interesting Fact: There are 2 former Eurovision Song Contest participants taking part again in this years contest in Belgrade. Charlotte Perrelli (nee Nillson) who represented Sweden and won in 1999 in Jerusalem is back with the powerful song “Hero”. Dima Bilan, is also back for
seconds, after representing Russia in 2006 in Athens and finishing second over winners Finland. He will sing “Believe” in the first semi final and the grand final… perhaps!
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NEXT TIME IN THE BLOG:
The Road To Belgrade – We look at some dates that led us to Belgrade 2008.
Behind The Scenes – We look at how this years stage was created.
A review of the songs from Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark
Final betting odds on the 10 qualifiers from Semi Final 1
20UTC175UTC0217pm08 MaypmSat, 17 May 2008 13:02:02 +00002008-05-17T13:02:02+00:0001 5, 2008
Please accept my sincere apoligies for no new posts for ages! But I’m gonna keep you entertained with all things Eurovision in the lead up to the contest on the Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday of next week.
All of the acts are now in the capital of Serbia, Belgrade rehearsing. I can promise you- its gonna be a great show.
There is one thing I haven’t got down to yet – ranking the songs. So I’m going to do that today.
Here is my rankings:
QUALIFIERS FROM SEMI FINAL 1
Israel
Belgium
Slovenia
Norway
Poland
Ireland
Andorra
Armenia
Russia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
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QUALIFIERS FROM SEMI FINAL 2
Iceland
Sweden
Turkey
Ukraine
Switzerland
Czech Republic
Latvia
Bulgaria
Malta
Portugal
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TOP 10 IN THE FINAL
1. Switzerland 282
2. Sweden 277
3. Ukraine 255
4. Iceland 253
5. Norway 249
6. Greece 201
7. Serbia 199
8. Armenia 197
9. Poland 194
10. Russia 193
BOTTOM 5
Germany
UK
Ireland
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Spain
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So there you have it, my prediction. I think the two main contenders to win are Switzerland and Sweden.
I have a feeling that if Bosnia and Herzegovina and Ireland qualify, it will be hard to do well in the final.
Dark horses: France, Turkey and Czech Republic. Watch out for them!
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I will be giving you all you need before and during Eurovision. Including:
Video interviews
Eurovision Countdown in every post (including this one)
Photo specials – (Next time we have Belgrade and Ani Lorak)
Behind The Scenes – All information from backstage
Betting Odds – I give you all the latest betting odds on who will win this year.
Exlusive Quiz – Next time I will be making an exclusive quiz on this years contest.
AND MUCH MORE!
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EUROVISION COUNTDOWN
4 DAYS TO GO
Interesting Fact: 75 cents, who is represting Croatia along with Klaljevi Ulice, is the oldest person to step on the Eurovision stage. 75 cents is 75! The youngest person in the contest is 16, Olta Boka from Albania.
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NEXT TIME:
Exclusive Eurovision Song Contest 2008 Quiz
Behind The Scenes: The Belgrade Arena
2 Video Interviews: San Miodo, representing San Marino, and Pirates of The Sea, controversially representing Latvia in Belgrade
