Latvia: The parliament voted against the withdrawal from Eurovision!

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The parliament of the Republic of Latvia voted today against the withdrawal of this Baltic country from the Eurovision Song Contest!

Taking things from the beginning, a month ago an online petition took place through the ManaBalss platform in which citizens asked the withdrawal of the country from the pan-European song contest, (despite the fact that Latvia managed to qualify for the grand final for the first time since in 2016) gathering 11,300 signatures, surpassing the threshold of 10,000 signatures required for a petition to reach the Saeima, the country’s legislature. You can read more about the relevant petition in our previous article below.

Latvia: The country’s parliament will discuss a potential withdrawal from Eurovision!

In the vote that took place today with 87 members present out of 100 members of the parliament, 32 members voted for the resolution, 24 against and 31 abstained. The resolution was therefore rejected.

Stay tuned on Eurovisionfun for all the news regarding the Eurovision Song Contest 2025!

Source: Eurowizja.org

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Breaking News: Steering Group’s meeting takes place in Madrid without the presence of Martin Österdahl!

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The Steering Group for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2024 visited Madrid to supervise the competition’s preparations, which will be held in the Spanish capital, as seen in pictures posted on social media by Alexandra Redde-Amiel, the head of France’s delegation in both Eurovision and Junior Eurovision. The notable thing, though, is that Martin Österdahl—who serves as Junior Eurovision’s Executive Supervisor to this day—is conspicuously absent from the pictures.

The aforementioned development supports the rumor that the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) is seeking to remove Martin Österdahl from his position due to his poor handling of this year’s Eurovision and crisis that emerged, which brought about an abundance of negative publicity to the competition. This was also evident during the live broadcast of the Final, when he was the target of numerous and strong criticism as well as booing from the audience.

The 22nd Junior Eurovision Song Contest will take place in Caja Mágica, Madrid on November 16, following France’s refusal to host the contest for the third time in four years.

Stay tuned to EurovisionFun for all the news!

Spain: 600.000 euros was the participation cost for Eurovision 2024 | The first announcements for Benidorm Fest 2025 expected in July 8!

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The cost of Spain’s public television’s participation in Eurovision 2024 has been made public. With a budget of just under 600,000 euros, this year’s competition participation cost was significantly less than in previous years. Apart from that, however, preparations for Benidorm Fest 2025 have already begun and the first announcements are expected soon.

Less than 600 thousand euros spent for Eurovision 2024

The participation fee itself amounted to 334.432, 62 euros and with all the costs, Nebulossa’s participation in Malmö costed RTVE 595.000 euros in total.

It is indeed a significant decrease compared to last year, when for the participation of Blanca Paloma, RTVE spent more than 800.000 euros. In fact, it is the lowest participation cost for Spain since 2021.

Benidorm Fest 2025 is underway

RTVE will unveil its initial plans regarding Benidorm Fest 2025, the format via which Spain selects its Eurovision acts for the past few years, at a special press conference on July 8.

The winners of Benidorm Fest 2024 and therefore Spain’s representatives in Malmö were Nebulossa with their song “ZORRA“, which ended up in twenty-second place.

Stay tuned to EurovisionFun for all the news!

Source: esc-plus

Lithuania: Member of the European Parliament submitted a petition for the country’s withdrawal from Eurovision!

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Petras Gražulis is a Lithuanian member of the European Parliament, and he submitted a petition for the country’s withdrawal from the Contest, stating that the Contest does not promote music and talent, but it’s just a tool to promote LGBT propaganda.

Read more

Eurovision 2025: Zürich Municipal Council passes motions for the sumbition of hosting bid!

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The Municipal Council of Zürich passed two motions in favour of the sumbition of a bid for the hosting of the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest!

On Wednesday 12th of June, the Municipal Council of Zürich passed two motions sumbitted by the Social Democratic Party of Switzerland (Sozialdemokratische Partei der Schweiz– SP) and the Green Liberal Party of Switzerland (Grünliberale Partei der Schweiz – GLP) in favour of hosting the Eurovision Song Contest 2025. In their proposals both parties pointed out the positive financial effect as well as the positive impact on the image and the promotion of the city due to Eurovision.

Marco Denoth, a member of the council representing SP, stated:

“We want to show that the Council is behind the event.”

On the other hand the Swiss People’s Party opposed the two motions as it considers Eurovision as a chauvinistic event.

These two motions are about to be submitted to the City Council of Zürich, which will decide if the two motions are adopted. The city mayor Corine Mauch and the council are said to be in favour of hosting Eurovision 2025. If the two motions are adopted, Zürich will be able to officialy submit an official hosting bid.

Stay tuned on Eurovisionfun for all the news regarding the Eurovision Song Contest 2025!

Source: 20min.ch

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Sanremo 2025: 24 participants and no consideration of Covers’ Night into the final result is the first planning!

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Carlo Conti is the new artistic director of the Sanremo Music Festival. He has already announced the shorter duration of the festival’s evenings, a reduced number of participating entries as well as an alternative competition for the Nuove Proposte category.

Carlo Conti and RAI unveiled the initial plan for the five nights of Sanremo 2025 in further detail. Two significant changes are highlighted.

  • the top five of each night will be announced at a random order and the precise ranking will not be disclosed
  • the classification from the Covers’ Night will not be take into consideration when it comes to the final result.

Carlo Conti believes that by doing so, the rating among journalists will be less biased, as they will not be able to massively vote for or against a song on the final night, in order to receive the desired outcome.

Furthermore, it was announced that 24 songs will compete for the prize, six fewer than the 30 that took part in this year’s Festival.

Sanremo 2025 – the initial schedule

First Evening: 24 artists perform their competing song (top five is revealed in a random order)

Second Evening: 12 artists perform their song (top five revealed in random order)

Third Evening: 12 artists perform their song (top five revealed in random order)

Fourth Evening: Covers’ Night, the artists will perform in a duet. The results for this semifinal will NOT be included in the main competition

Final: 24 artists perform their competing song. The top five in the combined rankings of all semifinals advances in the Superfinal and gets to perform again. Juries and televote will vote again to decide the winner.

When it comes to Eurovision 2025, Italy has yet to confirm its participation, so it is still unknown whether the winner of Festival Di Sanremo will represent Italy in Switzerland.

Stay tuned to EurovisionFun for all the news!

Source: X

Christina Kitsos: The Greek mayor of the city is ready to host Eurovision in Geneva!

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She is the first Greek woman elected mayor in Switzerland and in fact in one of its largest cities, Geneva. Her name is Christina Kitsos who from June 1, 2024 is the mayor of the city and the one who will make every effort to bring the competition in May 2025 to Geneva.

Will a Greek woman welcome us in Switzerland in 2025?

Christina Kitsos is a child of Greeks and a second generation immigrant. She has been involved in politics since she was very young, in the Socialist Party of Switzerland, passing through all the offices of the local government. Christina’s rise to mayor comes in recognition of her dedication to public service and commitment to addressing key issues facing the city.

The office of mayor of Geneva (maire de Genève) rotates annually among the five members of the council, the city’s executive government. The term of Christina Kitsos started on June 1, 2024 and ends on May 31, 2025. In other words, she will be the one who will conduct the entire process for claiming the organization of Eurovision 2025 in Geneva, but she will also be the mayor of the city, when the 69th Eurovision Song Contest takes place next year.

I was lucky enough to know Christina since I was an elected municipal councilor and we participated together in a conference of young elected officials from all over Europe. I know how much she loves and is connected to Greece and her Greek origins (her father is from Thessaloniki) and I think it would be a wonderful opportunity to go to a city that hosts Eurovision and whose mayor is a young woman , who is also Greek.

Eurovision is a great opportunity to promote Geneva to the world, promoting music as a global language that brings countries together, changes mindsets and transforms perspectives.

Christina Kitsos

Geneva or Zurich?

The municipality, the canton of Geneva and the Board of Directors of Palexpo, the venue that will host the contest if the city wins the event, have joined forces in an effort to bring Eurovision 2025 to Geneva.

After St. Gallen‘s withdrawal from the title race, the only opponent is Zurich, who, according to the bookmakers, is the favorite. Zurich has not yet officially announced that it is going to submit a candidacy, since the city’s municipal council is going to decide on this very soon.

Interested cities have until June 30 to apply, while the decision on which city will host Eurovision 2025 is expected to be announced in August.

Watch Christina Kitsos’s last interview two months ago:

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the updates!

Italy: Sanremo 2025 will be held with fewer songs and without the Nuove Proposte winner!

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Important announcements were made by Carlo Conti, the new artistic director and host of Sanremo. It is now a given that we will have fewer songs competing, while the winner of Nuove Proposte will not participate in the main category of the festival.

In his new interview, Carlo Conti confirmed a lot of what had been circulated recently as rumours. The new artistic director of the festival is already working on the regulations of Sanremo 2025, while he will then deal with the search for songs for Nuove Proposte and then for the big category of the festival.

The Nuove Proposte will be a separate contest, but unlike previous years, its winner will not have the right to participate in the big category of Sanremo 2025.

Carlo Conti indeed aims to reduce the duration of Sanremo 2025 and for this purpose the competition process will include fewer songs. Despite rumors that the evenings of Sanremo 2025 will end at 12 midnight, Conti says that this is not possible, but he aims to keep it no longer than 1 midnight. Finally, what has also been confirmed is the return of Dopo Festival.

The new presenter and artistic director of the next two editions of Sanremo, notes that his desire is for the songs to be at the center and all the rest to be secondary elements that frame a TV show. The people who will surround him is an issue that will concern him after finding the songs in September.

This will be the 75th edition of the Sanremo Festival, through which Italy will once again choose the artist that will represent it at Eurovision 2025.

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the updates!

Source: quatidiano

Kosovo: RTK officially asks EBU for an invitation to Eurovision 2025!

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Kosovo’s intention to be a part of the Eurovision family is no secret. RTK has tried for years to secure the nation’s spots to EBU’s shows, since the nation’s independence declaration.

Moreover and as we have previously informed you, RTK has announced that they will make an official application in order to participate in the next edition of the Eurovision Song Contest in 2025, which will be held in Switzerland.

The application has now been sent on behalf of RTK. Via a formal letter, RTK asks Kosovo to be invited to participate in Eurovision 2025, in a similar way Australia also participates. Specifically, the letter sent to the EBU mentions that:

Dear Mr. Osterdahl,

As Director General of Radio Television of Kosovo (RTK) I am writing to you on behalf of RTK to ask for an invitation to participate in the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest, organized by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Participation in this high-level cultural event in Europe is our strong ambition and of great importance for our European Union integration.

RTK has been actively fostering musical talent and promoting cultural exchange within Kosovo. We have successfully organized our own national song contest, which has garnered significant popularity among Kosovans. This year, we will proudly host the second edition of our contest, with the hope that the winning song will represent Kosovo in the next year’s Eurovision Song Contest.

Although Kosovo currently has a special Agreement and a status with the EBU, we are inspired by the example of countries like Australia, which have been invited to participate in Eurovision. We firmly believe that the Eurovision Song Contest is a non-political event that celebrates music, diversity, and unity, values that resonate deeply with our nation.

We respectfully requést your consideration in extending an invitation to RTK to participate in the next Eurovision Song Contest. Our participation would not only showcase the vibrant talent of Kosovo but also reinforce the spirit of inclusion and cultural exchange that Eurovision embodies.

Last but not least, the EBU has played a crucial role in establishing RTK back in 1999, thus we hope that you will look into helping us to achieve this goal, enshrined in our mission as public broadcaster.

Thank you for considering our request. We look forward to the possibility of contributing to and enriching this prestigious event.

Warm regards,

Shkumbin Ahmetxhekaj

Director General of Radio Television of Kosova

What has been holding RTK from its Eurovision participation?

In order for Kosovo to become a member of the EBU, and thus be able to participate in Eurovision, it must first join the International Telecommunication Union  (ITU) or the Council of Europe. Kosovo has yet to achieve any of these, due to its partial recognition.

Considering the political implications that occurred during Eurovision 2024, the inclusion of a country that is not recognized by all the participating states will be a harder decision than it may seem.

Festivali i Këngës në RTK the selection process!

Kosovo’s ambition to participate in Eurovision is that high that they have already prepared a festival via which a potential future Eurovision entry will be selected. Festivali i Këngës në RTK, which was first organized in 2023, will probably serve as the nation’s selection format in case their permitted a Eurovision participation.

In fact, La Fazani with his song “Oj Kosova” was the first winner of FiK në RTK and would represent Kosovo in Malmö in case he was allowed to.

Stay tuned to EurovisionFun for all the news!

Source: RTK

Albania: Elhaida Dani will be the artistic director of Festivali i Këngës 63!

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One of Albania’s most famous and successful singers, Elhaida Dani, is going to return to the country’s greatest music festival, Festivali i Këngës, but this time, not as a contestant! Read more