Eurovision 2021: 41 countries to participate!!

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A few moments ago, the EBU revealed the list of the participating countries at the upcoming contest of Eurovision 2021, on 18th, 20th and 22nd of May in Rotterdam the Netherlands. Actually they are the same 41 nations that were about to take part in the 2020 contest that was canceled due to the COVID19 pandemic.

EBU and the Dutch host broadcasters NPO, NOS and AVROTROS have already revealed the 4 scenarios which their are focused on, and they abide by the restrictions and the facts of the pandemic and according to which the Eurovision 2021 will take place. The scenario, which will be chosen, will be announced in due time.

Martin Österdahl, Executive Supervisor of the Eurovision Song Contest, said:

“We are grateful for the commitment of the 41 participating broadcasters in helping us bring the Eurovision Song Contest back in 2021.”

“We have the exact same line up of countries that would have competed in 2020 and we are thrilled that they will all return next year. Together with our host broadcasters we are continuing to develop the 4 different scenarios and maintaining a dialogue with all participants. The team from NPO, NOS and AVROTROS are working hard on ensuring the Eurovision Song Contest will provide the excitement and innovation expected by over 180 million viewers, despite the challenging circumstances.”

 

Of the 41 nations taking part, 35 will compete in two Semi-Finals with 10 successful acts from each Semi-Final joining the Big 5 (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom) and hosts the Netherlands in the Grand Final.

Sietse Bakker, Executive Producer of the Eurovision Song Contest 2021, said:

“It is fantastic that the same 41 countries that would have taken part this year still want to come to the Netherlands in May 2021. This demonstrates their confidence in our country still being able to organize a successful Eurovision Song Contest in Rotterdam next year, after the cancellation of the 2020 edition.”

“We have set the bar high to create 3 amazing live shows for an audience of 180 million people, even in these challenging times. To achieve this, we are working on an extensive protocol that guarantees the health of employees, participants, the press and visitors as much as possible.”

 

Participating broadcasters
The following countries (and EBU Member broadcasters) will participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 in Rotterdam:

Albania (RTSH)

Armenia (AMPTV)

Australia (SBS)*

Austria (ORF)

Azerbaijan (Ictimai TV)

Belarus (BTRC)

Belgium (VRT)

Bulgaria (BNT)

Croatia (HRT)

Cyprus (CyBC)

Czech Republic (CT)

Denmark (DR)

Estonia (ERR)

Finland (YLE)

France (FT)

Germany (ARD/NDR)

Georgia (GPB)

Greece (ERT)

Iceland (RUV)

Ireland (RTE)

Israel (KAN)

Italy (RAI)

Latvia (LTV)

Lithuania (LRT)

Malta (PBS)

Moldova (TRM)

The Netherlands (AVROTROS)

North Macedonia (MKRTV)

Norway (NRK)

Poland (TVP)

Portugal (RTP)

Romania (TVR)

Russia (Channel One)

San Marino (RTV)

Serbia (RTS)

Slovenia (RTVSLO)

Spain (TVE)

Sweden (SVT)

Switzerland (SRG SSR)

Ukraine (UA:PBC)

United Kingdom (BBC)

*EBU Associate

 

It is worth to be mentioned this is the first time since 1990 that we have the same amount of participating countries in two consecutive years.

Source: Eurovision.tv

NDR confirmed that Iveta Mukuchyan was among the candidates, but she wasn’t rejected because of Nagorno Karabah

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The announcement of Iveta Mukuchyan, the representative of Armenia in 2016, that she was among the bidding candidates for the German representation, but eventually she was rejected, caused great sensation. NDR spoke to esc-kompakt and confirmed that Iveta was among the artists the panel of 100 experts had chosen. Of course, the reason given by the German public television for the “cut” of Iveta, is that its inclusion in the list of candidates was inadvertent, since they do not want artists who have participated again in the competition with other countries. This contradicts what Iveta claims, since according to her, the reason for its exclusion was its action to raise the flag of the Republic of Artsakh( formerly known as the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh) in the semifinals of Eurovision 2016.

Just yesterday, Iveta Mukuchyan, who successfully represented Armenia at Eurovision 2016 with LoveWave and ended up in seventh place, revealed through her social networks that while she was one of the candidates to represent Germany at Eurovision 2021, NDR finally informed her that it is not possible, as they do not want an artist who has participated in the competition again.

Iveta went even further, saying that she considered this a pretext, as the real reason is her act of raising the flag of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) at Eurovision 2016 and the reactions that would have taken place in Germany from the large Muslim community living there.

Talking to esc-kompakt about the issue, NDR confirmed that Iveta Mukuchyan was one of the artists who chose the 100-member panel of experts to represent Germany at Eurovision 2021, but insisted on what Iveta herself says on her post.

For the selection process, digame and the NDR have agreed that Germany should not be represented at the ESC by artists who have already participated in the international competition for another country. Iveta Mukuchyan was mistakenly included in the first selection for 2021 and contacted by digame. With the sole reason that she had already participated in the ESC for Armenia, she was then canceled by digame for the further course of the selection. There was no other reason or a separate agreement with the NDR. Political statements didn’t matter.

What is certain is that we will not see Iveta in the next competition, at least for Germany. But let us once again enjoy LoveWave and its stunning performance at the Globen Arena in Stockholm:

Source: esc-kompakt

 

 

Iveta Mukuchyan: “I was invited to represent Germany in Eurovision 2021, but got rejected because I raised the flag of Nagorno Karabakh

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One of the events that stigmatised the Eurovision 2016 was the flag of the Republic of Artsakh ( formerly known as the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh), raised by the Armenian representative Iveta Mukuchyan, while in the green room during the 1st Semi Final. Through a post on her social media, Iveta reminded us the incident, and revealed that, due to this, she was rejected by the German national broadcaster for the representation of Germany in Eurovision 2021, despite the fact that she received invitation by the panel of 200 individuals who will choose the next German representative.

There were not a few those who believe that Iveta’s stance in the semi final cost her several points in the Grand Final, since she ended up in 7th place even though her entry, LoveWave, was one of the hot favourites to win the contest. In fact, the public broadcaster of Armenia was fined by the EBU for their representative’s action in Eurovision 2016.

 

Iveta, who lives in Germany, made a reference to the war between Armenia and Azerbaijan for the quarrelsome region of Nagorno Karabakh, citing that the war has nothing to do with these two peoples, since both Armenians and Azeris have a lot in common, but instead this was is triggered by Erdogan and Aliyev against Armenians and Armenia.

I know how unpleasant it is to read about a war that is happening far away from where you are right now.I knew how unpleasant it was for millions of viewers at the Eurovision back in 2016 to engage a few minutes into the discussion about why I put up the Kharabagh flag in a contest that doesn’t want to be involved in politics. What many people don’t know is that this year I got an excited call from Germany that 200 experts voted, without me knowing about it, to discuss me representing Germany at the Eurovision 2021. Everybody was excited, me as well. Then I got a call that the press-department said unfortunately they decided last minute that they couldn’t take me, explaining that I already participated and that wouldn’t make sense for Germany. I knew from the first second that this explanation was nonsense but the real reason could only be, that I put up the Kharabagh flag up and Germany does not appreciate political involvement in the Eurovision and would get a shitstorm if they would choose me representing them since there are many Muslims living in Germany. Which I completely understand. I want to make everyone understand that this is not a war between Azerbaijan/Turkey and Armenia but a war against Alliyev and Erdogan. When Artsakh shoots back they warn the population of Azerbaijan to evacuate, while Azerbaijan is targeting peaceful civilians, not even telling their own people to hide in bunkers. After they told me kindly that even though they would like me to participate they decided not to, I was mad at myself…regretting that my past act of patriotism would influence my career once again…

Source: Iveta Mukuchyan 

 

 

Armenia: Listen to the final version of “Chains On You” for Eurovision 2020

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Athena Manoukian with the song “Chains On You”, winning the Depi Evratesil, became the representative of Armenia in Rotterdam. A few hours after her victory, she announced that she would make changes to her song to achieve a better result. Almost a month after Depi Evratesil’s big finale, we can officially hear the final version of the song.

There are various changes to the orchestration of “Chains On You”. Compared to its original form, the RnB and ethnic elements of the song are more intense. While a long bridge has been added to the last minute of “Chains On You”! You can listen to the revamp below:

https://youtu.be/XpQHGMM8c5U

Who is Athena Manoukian?

Athena Manoukian, a 25-year-old Greek of Armenian descent, took her first steps in the music industry in 2007, when she won first place in the Alpha Talent Competition, What’s Missing?

The following year, she participated in the competition for Greek participation in Eurovision Junior, with the song, “Aphrodite’s Kiss”, winning third place, failing to get a ticket to Limassol.

In 2011, she released her first single, “Party Like A Freak”, which counts over a million views on YouTube. In 2012, however, her single “I Surrender” became one of the summer hits.

In the fall of the same year, she released her first Greek-speaking song, “Say How You Love Me”.

In 2014, the 25-year-old singer released the single “XO” that introduced her to the airplay of Scandinavia and Australia. In fact, it became better known in Armenia, largely occupied by the media.

She owns two music awards. In 2015 he won the award for best song in English at the Armenian Pulse Music Awards, and won the European Song Contest for the same category the following year.

In addition, Athena is one of the composers of the song “My Old Love” of Elena Paparizou. In 2018, the singer appeared on the British music competition audition, The X-Factor, claiming a spot on the show, singing Beyonce’s Crazy In Love. Athena is very excited about Robbie Williams, who thinks she can do many things in the music industry.

 

Armenia: Emmy Bejanyan to participate in Depi Evratesil?

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A few days ago, Armenian Public Television announced its return to the concept it used in 2018 to select the song and artist to represent it in Rotterdam in May, namely through “Depi Evratesil”!

One potential participant seems to be Emmy Bejanyan. Emmy represented Armenia in Dusseldorf in 2011 with the song “Boom Boom”, succeeding Armenia’s first blockade of the Final.

Now, in a series of  posts on  her Instagram account, she asks her fans if they want her back at the Eurovision Contest, with most saying yes to this venture.

Depi Evratesil will take place in 2018’s format. This means that contestants will be participating with

original songs and will not be in a talent show style, which was held in 2017.

Interested creators and performers can submit their entries by December 31st, via the official website of Depi Evratesil.

Armenia: Through Depi Evratesil the artist and song for Eurovision 2020

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Armenian public broadcaster is returning to the concept used in 2018 to select the entry and artist to represent it in May in Rotterdam. Armenia ‘s participation in Eurovision 2020 will be selected as announced recently, via Depi Evratesil!

https://twitter.com/davidtserunyan/status/1191723412290506760

Depi Evratesil will take place based on 2018 format. This means that contestants will be participating with original songs and will not be in the talent show style, which was held in 2017.

Interested creators and performers can submit their entries by December 31st, via the official website of Depi Evratesil.

More information will be announced at a later date.