Eurovision 2020: Netflix to broadcast Eurovision 2020 in the USA

/0 Comments/in , , /by

A problem that afflicts fans on the other side of the Atlantic seems to have come to an end after EBU announced a while ago that Netflix will have the Eurovision shows available on its platform right after the end of its live broadcasting.

On Monday, July 22, all Netflix subscribers in the US will have  both the semifinals and the final of Eurovision 2019 available.

Jon Ola Sand, executive supervisor of all the EBU’s live events, stated:

« The EBU is thrilled that the world’s biggest television entertainment program will now be available to viewers in the US, one of the largest television markets. The US viewers will now enjoy all three fantastic evenings this year for the first time and the entire contest in 2020. This is a perfect timetable with plans to launch an American version of the Contest in 2021 ». 

Until recently, it was impossible to watch the contest, as well as all the videos, later on YouTube, as they were blocked, on the other side of the Atlantic.

A very important development that will bring the US closer to the Eurovision Contest, always backing plans to convey the concept in 2021 there!

This news comes as a follow-up to Netflix’s announcement that it is preparing a film about the Eurovision contest, starring Will Ferell.

Source: EBU

Eurovision 2020: Rotterdam – Maastricht: the battle of the venues

/0 Comments/in , , /by

The battle of Rotterdam and Maastricht to claim Eurovision 2020 hosting has been culminated, with the visit of the Dutch public broadcaster , the so-called ”Eurovision 2020 Committee”, in the two cities, to look closely at everything they propose for the next contest , in case ,of course, this takes place in their city.
The focus of interest for the the Eurovision 2020 Executive Producer, Sietse Bakker, was of course the venues  visit proposed to host the next event.
The questions that concern the people involved are of course the size, the location in the city center, its accessibility, the lights that can be supported by the roof, the existence of space for journalists, delegations, dressing rooms, press room etc .

MECC – Maastricht:
What do we know about the MECC in Maastricht?
* Capacity: about 11,000 – 12,000 people
* Floor area: 10.225 m2
* Ceiling height: about 16 meters

As the Maastricht’s  municipality has revealed, the city has been preparing its candidacy for hosting the contest for five years since the Netherlands came to a breath near to victory in 2014 with Common Linnets and ”Calm After The Storm”.

During the Committee’s visit to MECC, the officials had the opportunity to see in virtual reality how the venue will be set up to for the needs of the Event.

Ahoy – Rotterdam:
What do we know about Ahoy in Rotterdam?
* Capacity: about 11,000 – 12,000 people
* Floor area: 3.300 m2
* Ceiling height: about 23 meters

Ahoy of Rotterdam looks more ready for such a big event, since it hosts many important concerts each year.

The final decision on the city that will host the 65th Eurovision Song Contest will be announced in August.

Source: NOS

Australia: Diana Rouvas declares willing to compete at Eurovision

/0 Comments/in , , /by

After Sheldon Riley, Diana Rouvas, the big winner of The Voice All Star Australia ,is ready to compete on the Eurovision stage.
In a follow-up question to Instagram whether she would like to “go” to Eurovision with either Australia or Greece, she gives her answer:

”I would love to….!!! Should it be with Australia not? But I’m a piece of Greek heritage”.

35-year-old Greek, Diana Rouvas currently has Greek parents and lives in Sydney. She has already excelled in her first attempt at The Voice in 2012 when she reached the semifinals. She is a vocalist, while she also writes her own songs. She was the great winner of the final of The Voice All Star in Australia. Diana is the first woman to win the popular talent show over the past three years, giving her the first win to her mentor, Boy George.

JESC 2019: Nineteen countries to take part in the contest

/0 Comments/in , , /by

A total of 19 countries will participate in the Junior Eurovision 2019.

Kazakhstan and Wales will take part for the second time in the event, after last year’s debut, while Spain will return after 13 years of abdication! However, the number of entries has been reduced since last year as 20 countries took part. Despite the return of Spain, Israel and Azerbaijan will not participate in the 17th Eurovision Children’s Contest.

https://youtu.be/tClLS3Io7xY

In detail, the countries that will take part are:

Albania
Armenia
Australia
Northern Macedonia
France
Georgia
Ireland
Spain
Italy
Kazakhstan
Belarus
Malta
Netherlands
Wales
Ukraine
Poland
Portugal
Russia
Serbia

The Junior Eurovision 2019 will be held on November 24 in Gliwice, Poland.

Last year’s winner country was Poland with Roksana Wegiel and the song ”Anyone I Want to Be”.

https://youtu.be/PT-EzzJxySI

Source: eurovoix.com

Eurovision 2020: The Eurovision 2020 Committee also inspected Rotterdam

/0 Comments/in , , /by

Following the visit to Maastricht, yesterday it was Rotterdam’s turn to welcome the Eurovision 2020 Committee, consisting of the three responsible broadcasters for the organization of Eurovision 2020 (NPO / NOS / AVROTROS), to examine the city’s potential  to host the event, according to what it has submitted  in its candidacy bid.

The committee was welcomed by Mr. Said Kasmi (Rotterdam City Council) and Ms. Jolanda Jansen (Rotterdam Ahoy Director). And of course, their first and foremost station was Rotterdam Ahoy, the proposed venue for the event, where the members of the committee observed the excellent work done by the staff  while they are already in contact with the relevant venues of other cities which had hosted Eurovision events  in order to be prepared better.

The officials, of course, Committee do not forget that Rotterdam and Rotterdam Ahoy specifically have hosted the 2007 Junior Eurovision , which will be taken into serious  account for the final decision  in mid-August.

Ms. Jolanda Jansen (Rotterdam Ahoy Director) said:
“The meeting was incredibly substantive. First we went through the bidbook in great detail, we presented ourselves as a city and toured the premises. We spent a few hours discussing various ideas about the different spaces and halls.We have been doing a lot of homework lately, for example we have been in touch with some of the former Eurovision venues and host cities that have organized the contest in recent years, such as Stockholm, Vienna and Lisbon.
It was very good to discuss all these things with each other. A very important lesson is that all of this is greater than anything I’ve ever experienced. ”

Mr. Said Kasmi (Rotterdam Councilor for Culture) stated:
“We could soon host the biggest music competition, I suppose there will be 246 million viewers worldwide watching the show. All eyes will be focused on Rotterdam and we will have lots of visitors landing in the city. We are working hard so that everything falls into place ».
Finally, Mr. Sietse Bakker (Eurovision 2020 Executive Producer) concluded:
“The EBU has had a very good experience with the 2007 Junior Song Contest here. I think that certainly counts. Ahoy is a very nice location for three very spectacular TV shows. There are many spaces and halls in close proximity to the main hall that can house the press, delegations, production and technical teams etc ».

Eurovision 2020: What did the Eurovision 2020 Committee see in Maastricht?

/0 Comments/in , /by

The Eurovision 2020 Committee  (NPO / NOS / AVROTROS) completed yesterday  its first visit to Maastricht,the first is the two candidate cities for hosting ESC 2020.

The committee, as we wrote in our previous article, had technical meetings with the responsible parts  as well as visits to the proposed venues for the contest.

The Eurovision Committee 2020 was welcomed  by the Director of MECC MAASTRICHT, Mr. Van de Wiel and ESC Maastricht Project Leader, Ms. Inge Dovermann.

The meeting began with a virtual trip to the MECC, emphasized of course, on the stage created to host the great musical event.

The journalists did not have access to the meetings of the two parties but were given the opportunity to meet the city’s  officers  and the Eurovision 2020 Committee afterwards.

Sietse Bakker, Executive Producer ESC 2020, at the end of the meetings, stated:

« The MECC is a good, fantastic location with many options. You could host a great Eurovision here.
I am pleasantly surprised by the enthusiasm in Maastricht. It’s really amazing! »

while, regarding the stage, he said:

« In terms of height, width and depth, the MECC hall is reminiscent of the venues in Kiev and Tel Aviv. This makes it challenging! They really want to have the contest here in Maastricht.
In both cities we look at the suitability of the location, what the city itself contributes and which accommodations are available. Rotterdam and Maastricht both meet these three points ».

Finally, Mr. Van de Wiel, MECC Director,said:

« They wanted us to move the stage a little, because the logistics around the stage are much bigger. So we have to go back to the drawing table ».

We are expecting tomorrow the Committee’s impressions from its meetings in Rotterdam!

Source: esctoday.com, 1 Limburg, Limburger.nl

Eurovision 2020: NPO to visit the two candidate cities

/0 Comments/in , /by

Just yesterday, following a thorough examination of the candidates’ bids for the organization of the next Eurovision contest, as we had mentioned in our previous article, the responsible  committee of the Dutch broadcaster NPO announced officially that only two cities of five candidates meet the EBU’s criteria for hosting the next Eurovision: Maastricht and Rotterdam.
As expected, and without losing time, NPO executives have begun today the  visits to the two cities to see and discuss in detail everything that each city has in its  bid as well as to look closely at the structures that will host the music contest.
Their first stop is Maastricht, where they will mainly inspect the Maastricht MESC, with a capacity of 20,000 spectators proposed by the city to host the contest, as well as the other necessary structures such as accommodation and easy transfer of delegation  and fans. Significant weight is also given to the other venues and location  of the side events such as Euroclub, Eurovision Village, Opening Ceremony, Red Carpet, Press Center, Delegation Bubble etc.
Tomorrow,  NPO travels to Rotterdam, heading mainly to Rotterdam Ahoy, the venue proposed for the contest, and the other locations proposed for all the side events.
In both cases, NPO  will also have meetings with officials from the two cities involved in organizing the event to gain a fuller picture of the potential of cities based on the files they have submitted and to inform EBU afterwards.

It is worth mentioning that Rotterdam strongly wants to host  the event, which is apparent from the intention of the Southern Holland province to boost the city with an extra 1 million euros if it takes over the organization. At the same time,Rotterdam claims  as its strong point a very good network as well as its excellent connection with most European cities through two airports (Schiphol International Airport and Rotterdam-The Hague Airport), a point that is lagging behind Maastricht.
Whatever the case, the on-the-spot review is in progress and we expect any information from these inspects.

Albania: Arilena Ara the first name for Festivali i Këngës 2019?

/1 Comment/in , , /by

Since May, RTSH, Albanian public broadcaster, had announced that the subscriptions for « Festivali i Këngës 2019 » begin but without confirming the country’s participation in the upcoming ESC.

« Festivali i Këngës » is used as the Albania’s selection method, which the country’s representative at Eurovision come of from.  There have been many of the great names of national artists  and not only, but also this show is the first national final of the year for each annual Eurovision.

In the last few hours, on various news sites and in social media, the news that  a great name of the Albanian scene and a craving for many fans are preparing their song for the upcoming Festivali i Këngës is being circulated.

The reason for Arilena Ara, which is currently enjoying her vacation in the US, while preparing her song with which she will participate in Festivali i Këngës.  If the news is true, it is a participation that surely all the fans are waiting for in anxiety and feeling, while at the same time it is the big favorite who wants to travel to the Netherlands.

Arilena Ara, became known through the children’s song contest “Little Genius”, where she took third place.  Later, she participated in the second version of the music contest, « The X-Factor », in the 2012-2013 season.  From the very beginning, she impressed by the audience and the committee, with Arilena finally managing to be a great winner of the show.  Since then, her career has sprung up.  One success succeeded the other with its reputation spreading to other countries, such as Romania and Russia, where her song « Nëntori » conquered the charts. Finally, she is one of three judges at « The Voice Kids Albania ».

We just wait for this reputation to be confirmed!

Source: CNA City News Albania, Prive.al, Eurovision Kosovo

Eurovision 2020: Rotterdam and Maastricht to be the official finalists for ESC 2020 hosting

/0 Comments/in , , /by

EBU,through its official website for the contest, announced a while ago what the Dutch media, but also what we had written a few days ago.  Rotterdam and Maastricht are the two remaining cities to claim Eurovision 2020 hosting.

This two cities had the most completed nomination bid and thus continue the fight for claiming Eurovision 2020. Next month, a team of the Dutch public broadcaster as well as EBU experts will visit the two cities in order to see and get up-to-date  , everything suggested by Maastricht and Rotterdam to organize the next contest.

« All cities and venues have made a great effort in their candidacies.  They impressed us with all their suggestions and I would like to thank all those involved so far for their positive contribution and commitment.  We are convinced that Maastricht and Rotterdam offer everything that a host city requires.  We hope the other cities will keep their enthusiasm for the song contest.  We would like to discuss the coming months how we can engage them in next year’s Eurovision. »

(Sietse Beker, executive producer of Eurovision 2020).

The cities that were considered inappropriate and had submitted a candidacy bid were Arnhem, Den Bos and Utrecht.

The final decision on the city that will host Eurovision 2020 will be announced at the end of August.

Georgia: the known format of « Georgia’s Star » to be used again

/0 Comments/in , , , /by

Georgia has made its debut in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2007, and since then, with only one absence (2009), has been a non-stop member of the institution with its better position to be the ninth (2010 and 2011).

The procedure followed since then for the representative selection has been shifted from a direct assignment to a national final without having resulted in a permanent procedure.  Last year, after years of national finals, GPB,the national broadcaster decided to send Iriao by selecting them internally, and this year, in Israel, they chose the Pop Idol method for choosing its representative, with Oto Nemsadze finally signing “Keep on going”.

About two months after the end of the 64th Eurovision, GPB announced that Georgia’s star, the Georgian version of the Pop Idol, will be again used for representative ‘ selection in the Netherlands, as it did last year.

Applications have already begun and whoever interested can submit applications here.