Czech Republic: ESCZ 2023 took place tonight | Vote for your favorite!

Moments ago, the first televised national final in 15 years of Czech Republic took place. It was streamed through the official Eurovision YouTube channel and the host was actor and presenter, Adam Mišík.

The perfomances

The Czech national finalists performed live in the show and you can watch the performances below:

Maella – “Flood

Pam Rabbit – “Ghosting”

 

Markéta Irglová – “Happy”

Vesna – “My Sister’s Crown”

RODAN – “Introvert Party Club”

The final outcome

The voting started during the show and will last until Monday 6th of February. The winner will be based on 100% televoting, with 70% counting for international audience and 30% for the Czech audience. You can vote for the song you want to represent Czech Republic through the official Eurovision app or www.escz2023.com!

Which song you want to represent Czech Republic? Tell us in the comments below!

Greece: With Victor Vernicos and “What They Say” in Eurovision 2023!

With a surprise announcement a few minutes ago through the main news bulletin, ERT announced that Victor Vernicos will be the representative of Greece in Eurovision 2023. Vernicos will represent Greece in Liverpool with the song “What They Say“.

Victor Vernicos was born in Athens and is the youngest representative that Greece has ever sent to Eurovision, as he is only 16 years old, while his song “What They Say“, with which he will represent the Mediterranean country, is his own composition.

This announcement puts an end to the long process chosen by the Greek state broadcaster for the selection of the representative of Greece in the 67th Eurovision Song Contest which will take place in May in Liverpool.

Viktor Vernicos was seen as the ideal to represent Greece at Eurovision 2023, being the big winner of the internal process which included public (50.6%) and jury (49.4%) voting.

The artistic committee of ERT evaluated the proposals of all the artists, with over 106 songs, and singled out the three best, who held private meetings at the ERT’s headquarters, with the jury committee and the ERT’s management.

After these meetings, where the candidates presented more details (stage appearance, promotion of the song, plans for the video clip, etc.), the competent committee considered Victor’s proposal as better and more complete, considering primarily the song, but also the above important factors. Of course, the voting of the 70-member Polling Committee played a role in the selection.

Thus, for all these reasons, Vernicos was preferred over both Melissa Mantzoukis with the song “Liar” which allegedly won the public vote and the duo of Antonia Kaouri and Maria Maragkou with the song “Shout Out” which allegedly to win the corresponding jury vote.

The committee consists of the following:

  • Dimitris Papadimitriou, music composer – President
  • Maria Kozakou, director of the Second Program of ERA, commentator of the Eurovision contest
  • Fotis Apergis, ERT radio director
  • Petros Adam, music producer
  • Yannis Petridis, music producer
  • Konstantinos Bourounis, head of ERT’s youth program
  • Leonidas Antonopoulos, journalist and music producer

Who Is Who

Victor Vernicos is a proposal of PANIK Records. As he mentioned the theme of his participation is human anxiety, while he characterized his song as a festive, atmospheric ballad.

Victor has been involved in music since he was 4 years old. He has taken vocal and guitar lessons, while he has also attended music technology seminars.

In 2021 he released his first song in which he wrote music, lyrics but also produced it himself. At the moment he is taking vocal and performance lessons with Nina Lotsari.

 

Eurovision 2023: Logo and Slogan revealed!

The official logo and slogan “United by Music” for the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 has been introduced by the BBC and Eurovision official account ahead of the Allocation Draw.

The venue of the upcoming Semi-Final Allocation Draw and Host City Insignia handover, St George’s Hall, has had the new logo and slogan of the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 applied to the outside. The branding was applied throughout the day on Monday the 30th, a day ahead of the handover and draw.

The artwork heavily uses both colours of the Ukrainian flag, in the background to pay tribute to last year’s winning country. The logo also resembles 2017 neckless theme by having harts lined up as if part of a neckless. At this time, no information is available on who was behind the logo and their view of its meaning.

Source: eurovoix

Stay tuned to EurovisionFun in order not to miss any valuable information regarding ESC 2023!

Spain: Here are the Benidorm Fest stage and interval acts!

In less than 24 hours before the Spanish Benidorm Fest 2023 kicks off live at the Palau d’Esports L’Illa de Benidorm . A total of 9 artists will take  the stage this Tuesday to compete for one of the four available spots for Saturday’s Grand Final. On January 31, February 2 and February 4, Benidorm will become the epicenter of Spanish music when it hosts the two semi-finals and the grand final of the second edition of the Spanish national selection.

The main stage of Benidorm Fest has a rectangular shape and consists of three parts : the main stage of 360 square meters, the corridor and a small circular stage at the end, which will be used by some artists for their performances. In addition, the stage consists of 6 rotating high resolution LED screens and a set of fixed screens. The main entrances are provided by manually operated mechanical carts, which create the necessary openings for the passage of movable scenic elements from the backstage to the center of the stage.

The Green Room of Benidorm Fest 2023 / Source: RTVE

The second section of the venue is located directly in front of the Benidorm Fest main stage. With an area of ​​458 square meters , the space will accommodate the Green Room – the space where the artists will relax after their performance -, the jury table and the presenters’ stage . Both the space occupied by the jury table (on the right) and the stage of the presenters (on the left) have a circular shape so that they “surround” the entire stage. The Green Room, located in the center of this second space, has a rhomboid shape and is built on several stepped levels.

The audience of the arena will be located in the middle of the two platforms, in a space of 530 square meters . The rest of the spectators will occupy the stands located on both sides of the hall. 2,200 people will be able to attend the 3,000 square meters of the Benidorm Sports Palace to watch the three BEFest galas: 500 people in the A stand, 500 people in the B stand and 1,200 people in the main dance floor.

General view of the Benidorm Fest 2023 stage / RTVE

State-of-the -art equipment was used for both lighting and sound . The production will be carried out with a mobile HD unit, which allows a composition with 17 cameras : 7 on a pedestal, 2 hot heads, 3 standalone, 3 railcam, a steadycam and a cable cam. In addition, the technical equipment will include an auxiliary mobile unit, a recording unit and two interface units.

More than 200 professionals (including RTVE staff and suppliers) are behind the technical and human resources that have been working since last January in Benidorm to make everything run to perfection. The show, produced by RTVE in collaboration with Boomerang TV Producciones , will be directed by Jordi Rosell , edited by Jordi Vives and lit and photographed by Iñaki Irastorza . Oscar Denia is the producer of the second edition of Benidorm Fest while the executive producer is Josep Parés . Francesc Calafell is responsible for the scenography of Benidorm Fest.  We will see 18 unique stage designs developed by the organizers of the event in collaboration with the artistic teams of the participants.

The main stage of Benidorm Fest 2023 / RTVE

All three nights will be broadcast by Spanish TV ‘s La 1 and RTVE Play . The semi-finals will be held on Tuesday and Thursday, January 31 and February 2 respectively, starting at 11.50pm and lasting approximately 80 minutes. The final will last  over 90 minutes and will be broadcast at 23:05 on Saturday 4 February . After this exciting final we will know the successor of Chanel and the next representative of Spain in Eurovision 2023.

Interval acts

The two interval acts for the Benidorm Fest 2023 have been revealed.  Edurne and Glora Trevi will perform during each of the Semi-Finals.

Edurne represented Spain on the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 with her song Amanecer.  For her interval act she will perform a medley of her latest singles.

Mexican singer Gloria Trevi will perform during the second Semi-Final as part of her promotional tour in Spain.

Source: RTVE

Stay tuned to EurovisionFun for all the latest news regarding Spain’s participation in Eurovision 2023!

Czech Republic: With a history lesson and a response to Putin’s “Russian world” at Eurovision 2023?

An interesting and pleasant surprise the Czech Republic was preparing us for its national final, through which they will choose the song that will represent the country at Eurovision 2023. Among the candidate entries we find My Sister’s Crown by the band Vesna, a song that in addition to its solidarity and support for Ukraine, it is the musical response to the ahistorical “Russian World” of Putin and his propaganda, according to which the Ukrainian nation does not even exist, since in fact they are Russians.

As you will see in the video clip, all the pieces of the puzzle fit together perfectly, so that the message is resounding and understood by everyone, even by those who may not have the historical background to understand it immediately.

Vesna is a person of Slavic mythology who could be said to be very close to Persephone of Greek mythology. In other words, she is also identified with spring, the fertility and fruitfulness of the earth. Vesna also means spring in many Slavic languages… The group consists of people from various slavic countries, like Ukraine, Bulgaria, Russia and of course Czech Republic.

The video clip starts with a narration of a few seconds. We are in a Slavic kingdom, where everything flows with love and everyone is united. But all this ends and dark clouds cover “Slavia” and the times of prosperity are simply forgotten… You obviously understand the comparison with today and everything that is happening between two nations that a few years ago were very close, of course we are referring to the Russians and the Ukrainians.

The song has lyrics in four languages. English, Czech, Ukrainian and Bulgarian, wanting to include the languages of the whole Slavic family (central, eastern and southern Europe).

We won’t say much more about the video clip, since the allegories of the bad things that have been happening in Ukraine for a year since the invasion of Russia are very cleverly and figuratively used in an artistic action that keeps you glued to the screen.

What we will comment is the verse that is repeated several times in the song, in different languages:

My beautiful sister, the crown is yours! 

 

This verse summarizes the entire message of this anti-war song. From a simple cry for the end of this atrocity that is happening in our neighborhood, it becomes, a history lesson, a response to Pan-Russianism, to the ideology of the “Russian World” that Putin is trying to impose on all Slavs.

Ukraine and Russia claim the cultural, but also political heritage of the state of the Rus, an empire of about 900 AD, through which Christianity, culture and letters were transmitted to all modern Slavic peoples. The capital of this state and the most important center was Kyiv. Both Ukraine and Russia (and Belarus secondarily) claim the Rus heritage and their achievements as cultural ancestors.

But Vesna sings in My Sister’s Crown, that this crown is yours and no one will take it from you, our beautiful sister, clearly taking a position in this historical controversy, on which the ideology of the Ukrainian national identity has been based.

The video clip of the song was released a while ago and already the Czech Republic is among the favorites to win the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest.

The clear message of My Sister’s Crown did not go unnoticed, as in just four hours after its release it was blocked from YouTube in Russia and Belarus, as Vesna informed via their Instagram account.

You can watch My Sister’s Crown here:

A participation that, if selected, will keep us properly occupied in Liverpool!

What did you think of the song? tell us in the comments below!

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun!

Markus Riva: “I’ll keep trying until I represent Latvia at Eurovision” | Exclusive interview

Markus Riva, is undoubtedly one of the most famous artists among the Eurovision fans! This year, he is trying to represent Latvia at Eurovision for the 9th year , and he is also the artist with the most appearances in their national final, Supernova. This year he will participate with the song “Forever“.

He spoke exclusively about his big dream to Eurovisionfun and to Apostolos Bogiannos and Stella Gialetzi.

Οn the question about his journey in Supernova so far, he told us:

“Wow, it’s been a long time! I hope that this journey is still ongoing and I want to believe that in the end I will succeed. Eurovision is my dream. This journey is unique and every year is different, I was twice in second place while some other times I didn’t manage to make it to the live shows. This shows us that there is no recipe, of course it takes hard work, but you can never be sure! It means a lot to me to achieve my goal and I will do my best!”

Markus also talked about his entry and how much he loves the 80’s vibe on it:

“The main message of my song is for people to try to stay away from the bad events that affect our lives! First it was the covid-19 pandemic, now we have bad events happening in Ukraine and all over the planet bad events are happening. So my goal was not to make a political song but an optimistic song that will lift people’s mood!”

Αlso, he revealed that his stage presentation is going to be epic, because he wants to leave his own mark on the contest!

About his favourite entries from Eurovision, Markus revealed:

“My favorite entry from Latvia is definitely Aminata’s “Love injected”. She is my friend and we also wrote a song together for supernova, it may not have been the most successful but it has a special place in my heart. More generally in Eurovision, the first entry that comes to my mind is Norway’s entry in 2013, “I feed you my love”. Also, from last year I really liked Sweden’s participation, “Ηold me closer” is definitely one of my favorite songs, but “Slomo” was also an impressive performance! I also really liked the winning song 2022, from Ukraine, as well as Jamala’s who won in 2016.”

Watch the full exclusive interview from Markus Riva:

Listen to his entry “FOREVER” from Supernova 2023:

Don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel to be the first to enjoy interviews, reaction videos and Live streams for our favorite contest!

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all Eurovision related news!

 

Croatia: Dora 2023 hosts announced!

Croatian broadcaster HRT has announced the hosts of the Croatian national final for Eurovision, Dora.

For the 2023 edition of Dora we will have three big names in the Croatian entertainment industry hosting for us.  Duško Ćurlić, Mario Lipovšek Battifiaca and Marko Tolja will host the Croatian selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 on February 11.

Duško Ćurlić has been the Croatian Eurovision commentator for HRT for the past 17 years.

Marko Tolja himself has tried to represent Croatia at Eurovision in 2007 and 2009, his best result was 12th in the final of Dora in 2007.

Dora 2023

The following acts are competing to represent Croatia for the Eurovision Song Contest 2023:

  1. Damir Kedžo – “Angels and Demons”
  2. Meri Andraković – “Bye Bye Blonde”
  3. Martha May – “Distance”
  4. Tajana Belina – “Dom” (Home)
  5. Đana – “Free Fallin’”
  6. Boris Štok – “Grijeh” (Sin)
  7. Maja Grgić – “I Still Live”
  8. Patricia Gasparini – “I Will Wait”
  9. Krešo and Kisele Kiše – “Kme kme” (Whoa whoa)
  10. Eni Jurišić – “Kreni dalje” (Move on)
  11. The Splitters – “Lost and Found”
  12. Yogi – “Love at First Sight”
  13. Let 3 – “Mama šč!” (Mum shh!)
  14. Detour – “Master Blaster”
  15. Hana Mašić – “Nesreća” (Accident)
  16. Harmonija Disonance – “Nevera (Lei, lei)” (Storm (Lei, lei))
  17. Barbara Munjas – “Putem snova” (Through dreams)
  18. Top of the Pops ft. Mario 5reković – “Putovanje” (Journey)

 

Mia Dimšić represented Croatia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 with the song “Guilty Pleasure”.  She performed in the First Semi-final but did not make it to the Grand Final.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vBQdtW3mJE&ab_channel=EurovisionSongContest

Source: HRT

Latvia: Supernova Semifinal running order revealed!

This Saturday, February 04 the Supernova semifinals will take place.  14 contestants will perform for the first time for the Latvian national final but only 10 will make it to the final.  The result will depend on the overall rating the acts get from  both the jury and the vote of the public.

Supernova Semifinals

This is the running order for the Supernova Semifinals:

1. Artūrs Hatti- “Love Vibes”

2. Alise Haijima-“Tricky”

3. Inspo- “Sway”

4. Toms Kalderauskis- “When It All Falls”

5. Katrine Miller- “Beaten Down”

6. Justs- “Stranger”

7. Adriana Miglāne- “Like I Wanna”

8. 24. Avēnija- “You Said”

9. Marcus Riva- “Forever”

10. Avéi- “Let Me Go”

11. Patrisha- “Hush”

12. Raum- “Fake Love”

13. Luīze- “You To Hold Me”

14. Sudden Lights- “Aija”

The songs and performers participating in the “Supernova” semi-finals were determined by a jury selected by LTV, which included representatives of the Latvian music industry, show and television, as well as foreign professionals.  LTV will reveal the names of the jury representatives only after the international Eurovision Song Contest in May for security reasons.

The winner of Supernova, who will be determined by the jury and the audience in the final February 11, will  represent Latvia at the Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool in May.

Source: Latvijas Sabiedriskie Mediji

Czech Republic: Tonight the ESCZ 2023 Final!

The Czech Republic chooses its representative in Eurovision 2023 tonight, as in a few hours the grand final of ESCZ 2023 will take place.

The Central European country is once again using the format of a national final, with five artists competing on the night to represent the Czech Republic at the 67th Eurovision Song Contest.

Participants

The Czech national finalists are as follows:

  1. Maella – “Flood
  2. Pam Rabbit – “Ghosting”
  3. Markéta Irglová – “Happy”
  4. Vesna – “My Sister’s Crown”
  5. RODAN – “Introvert Party Club”

The Vesna band is considered a big favorite to represent the Czech Republic in Liverpool. Yesterday afternoon’s release of the song “My Sister’s Crown” was met with rave reviews on social media giving Vesna the edge for victory at ESCZ 2023.

Format

The five artists will perform their songs live during the Czech national final, with voting opening during the evening. The public will be able to vote through the Eurovision app as well until next Monday, February 6.

The final result will be determined by 70% of the voting of the international public and 30% of the voting of the Czech public, a clear indication of the importance given by the Czech delegation to the preferences of foreign Eurofans who will also have the final say during the three nights in May in Liverpool. Subsequently, the final result and the representative of the Czech Republic in Liverpool will be announced.

ESCZ 2023 will be hosted by the well-known actor and presenter, Adam Mišík.

The final of ESCZ 2023 will take place tonight at 21:00 CET. The Czech national final will be broadcast through the official Eurovision YouTube channel and you can watch it by clicking HERE.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EA5zETYL3fM

Until we find out who will represent the Czech Republic at Eurovision 2023, let’s remember the country’s participation in last year’s contest. The previous ESCZ winners and representatives of the Czech Republic at Eurovision 2022 were We Are Domi with the song “Lights Off” and they finished in 22nd place, bringing the country back to the Grand Final after being eliminated in Rotterdam:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGRzSefqOm0

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all developments regarding the Czech Republic’s participation in Eurovision 2023 in Liverpool!

Norway: Τhe running order of the Grand Final of MGP 2023!

Melodi Grand Prix 2023, the national final for Norway’s next Eurovision entry, is coming to a close with the 9 finalists vying for the golden ticket to Liverpool this Saturday.

After three semi-finals and a new voting system it’s time for the grand final. A little while ago, the country’s public television, NRK, released the line-up for this year’s Melodi Grand Prix final:

The running order of the Grand Final

  1. JONE — “Ekko inni meg” (Echo in me)
  2. Eline ThorpNot Meant to Be
  3. Skrellex — Love Again
  4. Ulrikke Brandstorp – “Honestly“
  5. Umami Tsunami – “Geronimo“
  6. Atle Pettersen Masterpiece” 
  7. Swing’it — “Prohibition”
  8. Elsie Bay — “Love you in a dream”
  9. Alessandra Mele – Queen of Kings“

In the Grand Final, for the first time since 2019, there will also be an international jury that will determine 50% of the result while the remaining 50% will be determined by the public vote. This year’s Melodi Grand Prix presenters will be presenter Arian Engebø and singer Stian Thorbjørnsen who has also participated in MGP in 2015 and 2021.

An extra addition to this year’s national final, is that NRK decided to give the contestants the opportunity to use Auto-Tune in their performances so that they can be more perfect vocally.

See you next Saturday 4 February for the grand finale of Melodi Grand Prix 2023.

Source: NRK