In memory of Scooch. May they rest in peace.

*This is the Moonlight Mix of 'Flying The Flag.' This is not my video so please ignore the tosh about Scooch being robbed of victory.

Palestine aims to enter ESC 2008

Palestine is looking to enter the Eurovision Song Contest next year with the help of Denmark. The main hurdle they have to overcome is whether they can compete as Palestine, considering it is not yet a fully-fledged state

Eurovision 2007 Intro

Lordi's introductory video/performance was so good it nearly overshadowed the other performers. I think it's worth having another look.

Ireland - 24th this year but still the number 1 in Eurovision

After finishing last this year I thought it might boost the spirits of the Irish people to remind them of their glory days. Ireland has won more times than any other country (albeit not since 1996) and is therefore still the most successful country in the history of the contest.

1980 - Johnny Logan - What's Another Year

1987 - Johnny Logan - Hold Me Now


1992 - Linda Martin - Why Me



1993 - Niamh Kavanagh - In Your Eyes



1994 - Paul Harrington with Charlie McGetti - Rock'n'Roll Kids



1996 - Eimear Quinn - The Voice

Serbia wins

Once again I managed to predict 8 out of the top 10 countries (albeit in the wrong order). I told you Armenia would be in there ;-)

Serbia and Ukraine were quite a predictable top 2 but there were some shockers in there. One of the favourites Sweden limped into 18th place and Ireland finished bottom of the pile for the first time in the history of Eurovision. UK only missed out on nil points with a friendly 7 points from Ireland and a shocking 12 points from Malta, finishing 24th out of 25. All the big 4 countries finished in the bottom 6.

Here are the results:

1. Serbia - 268
2. Ukraine - 235
3. Russia - 207
4. Turkey - 163
5. Bulgaria - 157
6. Belarus - 145
7. Greece - 139
8. Armenia - 138
9. Hungary - 128
10. Moldova - 109
    

Report from the 2nd dress rehearsal

If the reaction of the crowd is anything to go by Ukraine will walk it this year. Then again Sweden and Finland also brought raptuous applause but I don't think either of these has a chance.

My tips are (in order this time):

1. Serbia
2. Ukraine
3. Slovenia
4. Belarus
5. Bulgaria
6. Armenia (need a shock one in there somewhere)
7. Russia
8. Turkey
9. Greece
10. Sweden

Something like that anyway.

Eurovision Military Tattoo featuring Johnny Logan

Senate Square was again packed this afternoon for the Eurovision Military Tattoo. It was hilarious to see Finland's finest military marching around to 'Waterloo,' Ding Ding A Dong and River Dance. Johnny Logan made an appearance and sang his two winners; 'What's Another Year' and 'Hold Me Now.' For the finale they played last year's winner, Lordi's 'Hard Rock, Hallelujah.'

Hard Rock Hallelujah


Johnny Logan - What's Another Year


Johnny Logan - Hold Me Now

Helsinki turns out for Eurovision (after the ice hockey)

Senate Square was a little poorly attended as the Eurovision semi-final kicked off. It was soon apparent that this was due to a certain ice hockey match taking place between the USA and Finland. Once Finland's victory had been announced a slow trickle of people started filling the square. It still wasn't quite packed but I'm sure it will be for the final on Saturday. Senate Square is where Finland's results will be announced from.

Large cheers followed every mention of Finland or Helsinki and for every Scandanavian country that performed. Andorra was another crowd favourite.

As always the semi-final threw up some surprises; Switzerland, one of the long-running favourites failed to qualify, becoming this year's Kate Ryan, whilst Hungary sailed through to Saturday's final. Other hotly tipped songs that failed to qualify included Malta (who won the popjustice.com Eurovision poll), Andorra, Norway, Denmark and Cyprus.

The countries that qualified for Saturday's final (in random order) were:

• Serbia
• Slovenia
• Bulgaria
• Belarus
• Moldova
• Georgia
• Latvia
• Turkey
• FYR Macedonia
• Hungary

Semi-final dress rehearsal

An event like the Eurovision Song Contest is a logistical nightmare to sort out and with 28 countries performing in quick succession they need a lot of practice to get it right on the night. So it's a good job they have 3 dress rehearsals beforehand. We went to the Wednesday evening dress rehearsal.

Watching Eurovision live in the arena is a completely different experience. The sound is amazing and you get to see all the little stagehands who rush out and move props and sweep the stage manically during those 30 second 'postcards' between songs. With the number of props this year (mannequins, podiums, a bus stop, a giant crown, a giant fluffy aids ribbon and giant moving doors) it's amazing that they manage it.

You also get a completely different impression of the songs live in the arena. Czech Republic, Moldova and Estonia sounded better whilst Switzerland is likely to work better on screen than it does in the arena.

My predictions for the semi-final based on last night's performances are:

1. Serbia
2. Switzerland
3. Slovenia
4. Belarus
5. Bulgaria
6. Georgia
7. Moldova
8. Turkey
   
9. Latvia
10. Andorra

How to get round the 6 people on stage rule

Eurovision has a few rules; the songs must be under 3 minutes in duration and only 6 performers are allowed on stage. How do you get round this 2nd rule? Well Switzerland have by performing with mannequins on the stage:



Switzerland is my favourite to win :-)

Serbia - simple but effective?

For me it's looking more and more likely that Serbia will win this year. The betting odds are reflecting this with Serbia's odds tightening all the time whilst the rest lengthen. It's a very powerful song which doesn't need any gimmicks like pyrotechnics and magic doors but I can't help thinking their outfits are a bit odd, don't you think?

12points.tv

12points.tv is really good for keeping up with the rehearsals. They're posting videos of most of them. Here's Belarus' 2nd rehearsal. It's been one of the favourites but if he sings that off-key on the night then it might struggle.



http://www.12points.tv

Forgotten 2006 already? (Semi-final)

...then here's a quick re-cap of the performances in the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest semi-final. I particularly like song number 10 from Monaco ;-)



And for those of you who are still crying at Kate Ryan not getting through (she came 11th) here's her performance:



I myself was disappointed Estonia didn't get through.

Jordan - a weapon of mass destruction?

Lots of people have told me they missed Jordan's entry in Making Your Mind Up last year so here it is. Would she have done any better than Daz Sampson or would those huge boobs have dragged her down to the very bottom of the scoreboard?

Is Eurovision ready for Busted?

The rehearsals have started and you can already practically watch the whole contest of Youtube. It may be a bit unfair to compare this band to Busted but you have to admit there are similarities. This entry is really growing on me, I just hope Andorra can grab enough votes to scrape through to the final.

2007 Semi-final Preview

Here's a preview of all the songs in the semi-final.

More Eurovision controversy

Some poor woman has actually come out and accused Scooch of stealing her song. If they were going to plagiarise they could at least steal something a bit better. Personally I think it's just coincidence but just for yourself.

Scooch Vs Pandora

Tony isn't the only one celebrating a 10 year anniversary

Ah remember the spring of 1997? Cool Britannia was at it's ridiculous peak, Labour won a landslide general election, and Katrina & The Waves won their own landslide victory at Eurovision. Just like Labour's fortunes, it's all gone a bit downhill for us in Eurovision since.

That's so 1995

...that's how a friend of mine described Scooch's UK Eurovision entry this year, which reminded me that we nearly sent something quite similar back in 1995, 'Deuce - I Need You.'



In hindsight it probably would have done better than Love City Groove. Eurovision really wasn't ready for rap in 1995, it probably still isn't.

Eurovision controversy

This year's Eurovision entries seem to be causing lots of controversy. First there was the Israeli entry with supposed references to Iran's nuclear programme, then 49,000 people in Switzerland signed a petition against their 'satanic' entry 'Vampires Are Alive,' and now Ukranian nationalists have been protesting all over the country about their entry:

Angry Ukrainian nationalists have held protests against the selection of a controversial drag queen to represent Ukraine in the Eurovision Song Contest. The demonstrations are part of a campaign to pressure the former Soviet republic to withdraw from the contest. Verka Serdyuchka, who pokes fun at middle-aged women, is loved by many people and is a cult icon in Ukraine. She was chosen as Ukraine's entry by an overwhelming majority in a public vote, but some find her vulgar and offensive. Many opponents are outraged at her selection to represent Ukraine. 'Grotesque' Ukrainian nationalists held demonstrations across the country on Sunday. They put on theatrical shows and collected signatures for a petition. They claim that Serdyuchka is a grotesque stereotype of a stupid Ukrainian villager.
The protesters want the country to pull out of the Eurovision Song Contest this year.
They say that the drag act will damage Ukraine's international reputation when Verka Serdyuchka takes part in the competition next month. But they are unlikely to get their way. Many believe this drag queen has a real chance of winning. Serdyuchka is one of the most popular entertainers, not just in Ukraine, but also in many parts of the former Soviet Union.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6516927.stm

This is what all the fuss is about. I personally think it's genius: