Italy: Sanremo 2023 begins tonight with the Prima Serata!

The curtain opens tonight at Teatro Ariston and the 73rd Sanremo Festival, with the Prima Serata (first night). Through Sanremo 2023, Italy will select their representative in the 67th Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool. Until Saturday, February 11th, all the music lights of Europe fall on San Remo!

The show

The wait is over today. Everything is ready in the small town of Liguria for the big celebration of Italian music, the 73rd Sanremo Festival! Amadeus will be the presenter, but also the artistic director of the festival for the fourth consecutive year, after the great success of the previous three years.

On the Ariston scene, Amadeus will not be alone. Each night, he will have different co-hosts by his side. On Prima Serata that will be Chiarra Ferragni and Gianni Morandi.

Guests of the first night will be last year’s Sanremo winners Mahmood & Blanco, who return to where it all started eleven months ago with their victory which led them to their presence in Eurovision 2022.

Tonight’s program

During the first night of Sanremo 2023, we will have the opportunity to listen to the songs of 14 out of the 28 candidates for the first time. These artists are:

  • Anna Oxa – “Sali (Canto dell’anima)”
  • Gianmaria – “Mostro”
  • Mr. Rain – “Supereroi”
  • Marco Mengoni – “Due vite”
  • Ariete – “Mare di guai”
  • Ultimo – “Alba”
  • Coma_Cose – “L’addio”
  • Elodie – “Due”
  • Leo Gassman – “Terzo cuore”
  • I Cugini di Campagna – “Lettera 22”
  • Gianluca Grignani – “Quando ti manca il fiato”
  • Olly – “Polvere”
  • Colla Zio – “Non mi va”
  • Mara Sattei – “Duemilaminuti”

The voting

Tonight’s and tomorrow’s results will be determined 100% by the journalistic jury.

How to watch Sanremo 2023

The Prima Serata of Sanremo 2023 will take place tonight at 21:00 CET and will last four and a half hours. You can watch him through the official website of RAI, by clicking HERE.

So, those of you who are fans of Italian music and have patience in the Italian shows with many guests, endless sometimes dialogues and any other kind of interference that can make the show end even after 2 in the morning, tune in with us to the great celebration of Italian music, from which great international stars started their careers!

Stay tuned to EurovisionFun for the full coverage of the 73rd Sanremo Festival.

Marco Mengoni: I will go to Eurovision if I win Sanremo!

He already represented Italy during the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 in Malmö and he confirms he is open to represent his country one more time.  Marco Mengoni is currently competing at the traditional Festival di Sanremo which is also the Italian national final.

It is worth mentioning that winning Sanremo does not automatically mean that the winner will go to Eurovision.  However, in recent years the winner of Sanremo has accepted the invitation to represent Italy in the music contest.

When he talked with La Stampa newspaper, Marco Mengoni made it clear that he is not only ready to represent his country again but also, that he had good memories from his previous Eurovision experience

Sure and (the song) “Due Vite” would look good there too, it’s like the wind, it looks good everywhere.  After the 2013 Sanremo victory and participating in Eurovision, I started traveling to half of Europe.  I have a fan base outside Italy, their warmth reaches me every day. I would gladly return.

When Marco Mengoni represented Italy for the first time he was facing professional difficulties.  In an interview for La Republicca he reflected about that period

In 2013 I didn’t expect to win, many already considered me finished, nobody believed in us, it seemed to me I was fighting against everyone and everything.  I even thought about going back to university, music would always be part of my life but it wouldn’t be my job.

Marco Mengoni is one of the favourites to win Sanremo 2023 according to the betting predictions.

Marco Mengoni represented Italy for the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 with the song “L’essenziale”.  He ended up in 7th place in the Grand Final

Source: Eurofestival news

Eurovision 2023: The Semi-Final Allocation Draw Results!

Liverpool’s Saint George’s Hall with a very nice event hosted a few minutes ago the draw for the semi-finals of the 67th Eurovision Song Contest.

The analyzes of the fans and not only, have been on fire for a few minutes now. Since the theories based on the pre-history of the countries in the competition, it is a first insight into how passable the qualification to the final is or not. In other words, it’s time to make our predictions, about who will go through to the final and who are the favorites to say goodbye to Liverpool early…

The presenters and the handover ceremony

The Eurovision 2023 semi-final draw was hosted by AJ Odudu and Rylan. Both are on the staff of the BBC, being some of the most loved faces of British public broadcasting.

During the draw, the ceremony of handing over and accepting the emblem of the contest took place. The mayor of Turin, Stefano Lo Russo, formally handed over the “keys to the event” to the mayor of Liverpool, Joanne Anderson.

Draw Procedure

The 31 countries competing in the semi-finals were divided into five pots, based on the scores they have exchanged in recent years with each other. This is done in order to avoid, as much as possible, the alliances that appear every year in the voting.

Big 5 and Ukraine

With the big winner of last year’s competition, Ukraine, directly in the final, along with the Big 5 (UK, France, Italy, Germany, Spain), the first part of the draw determined the semi-final that the direct finalists would vote for.

Will vote in the 1st Semi-Final:

  • Germany
  • France
  • Italy

Will vote in the 1st Semi-Final:

  • Ukraine
  • Spain
  • United Kingdom

In the semi-final that the six aforementioned countries were drawn to broadcast and vote for, the video from their dress rehearsal will also be shown. This was done at Eurovision 2016 for the first time, for reasons of equal exposure of the countries directly in the final and the countries that qualify from the semi-finals. Essentially, viewers see each entry twice during the shows.

Semi-Final Allocation Draw

The allocation draw for the two semi-finals had two parts. In the first part the 31 countries participating in the semi-finals were drawn in which of the two they will compete in. Fifteen countries will compete in the first/second semi-final and sixteen in the first/second semi-final.

In the second part, each country learned whether it will appear in the first or second half of the semi-final in which it will compete. The exact order of appearance will be determined by the EBU and the show’s producers at a later date.

1st Semi-final (9 May):

1st Half

  • Serbia
  • Latvia
  • Ireland
  • Norway
  • Portugal
  • Croatia
  • Malta

2nd Half

  • Sweden
  • Moldova
  • Switzerland
  • Israel
  • Netherlands
  • Finland
  • Azerbaijan
  • Czech Republic

2nd Semi-Final (11 May):

1st Half

  • Armenia
  • Cyprus
  • Romania
  • Denmark
  • Belgium
  • Iceland
  • Greece
  • Estonia

2nd Half

  • Albania
  • Australia
  • Austria
  • Lithuania
  • San Marino
  • Slovenia
  • Georgia
  • Poland

Liverpool will host the 67th Eurovision Song Contest from 9 to 13 May at the Liverpool Arena. The motto of this year’s event, as chosen by the organizers, is “United by Music“.

You can see the draw again through the link below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HAY-qpDTnY

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the developments regarding Eurovision 2023 in Liverpool!

Eurovision 2023: Today the semi-final draw!

At 20:00 CET and live from Saint George’s Hall in Liverpool, the Eurovision 2023 semi-final draw will take place.

During today’s event, there will also be the delivery-receipt of the emblem of the organization from the city of Turin to that of Liverpool. For this reason, today’s draw will be attended by both the mayor of Turin, Stefano Lo Russo, and the mayor of Liverpool, Joanne Anderson.

Presenters

The draw is expected to be hosted by AJ Odudu and Rylan, both BBC presenters.

Draw Procedure

The first part of the draw will determine the semi-final that each of the six countries that are directly in the final (Italy, France, Germany, Spain, United Kingdom, Ukraine) will broadcast and vote for.

The second part of the draw will determine which semi-final and which half the other 31 participating countries will compete in. As in recent years, the exact order of appearance will be determined by the event’s producers at a later date.

The 31 countries have been divided into five pots, based on historical voting patterns as calculated by official TV partner Digame.

Pot 1
  • Albania
  • Austria
  • Switzerland
  • Croatia
  • Serbia
  • Slovenia
Pot 2
  • Denmark
  • Australia
  • Finland
  • Iceland
  • Norway
  • Sweden
  • Estonia
Pot 3
  • Armenia
  • Azerbaijan
  • Georgia
  • Israel
  • Latvia
  • Lithuania
Pot 4
  • Cyprus
  • Greece
  • Ireland
  • Malta
  • Portugal
  • San Marino
Pot 5
  • Belgium
  • Czech Republic
  • Netherlands
  • Moldova
  • Poland
  • Romania

In the evening, therefore, we all tune in for the draw of the semi-finals of our favorite competition. You can watch the draw on the official Eurovision YouTube channel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HAY-qpDTnY

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the developments regarding Eurovision 2023 in Liverpool!

Italy: Måneskin will sing on the third night of San Remo!

Recently Amadeus and RAI announced that Måneskin will perform on the third night of San Remo on February 9th. A few days ago they announced that Mahmood and Blanco, who represented Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2022, will open the festival on February 7. A huge surprise was the announcement that on the second night of San Remo, on February 8, the Black Eyed Peas band, a world-renowned band, will perform!

See below the relevant announcement of San Remo on twitter:

About San Remo 2023:

Italy for one more year will select their entry through the San Remo festival! 25 artists will compete in order to win the festival, and have the right to represent their country at Eurovision! The contest will be held from February 7 to 11, with the fourth night inviting artists to cover Italian and world hits released between January 1960 and December 1999. In addition to everything, the final night on February 11 will reveal the final winner, and probably the representative of Italy at this year’s Eurovision!

Måneskin’s new album:

The favorite, in Italy but also throughout Europe, Måneskin, released on January 20, 2023 their third album which is called ‘Rush’! In the previous months some of the songs of the album such as “Supermodel” had already been released and it was a huge success. So we are waiting for the third night of San Remo to hear their new hits!

Source: eurovoix

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the further developments regarding ESC 2023!

 

Italy: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy guest at Sanremo 2023!

According to information by Italian journalist Bruno Vespa, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has expressed his desire to appear via video link at the Final of the Sanremo Festival, live from Kyiv.

https://twitter.com/sanremo_en/status/1614657643729256448

The response of Amadeus, host and artistic director of the Sanremo Festival was, according to Vespa, the following:

“Dear president, we are waiting for you at the final night of Sanremo.”

We remind you that the Festival of Sanremo 2023 will take place from 7 to 11 February 2023, therefore Zelenskyy is expected to make his appearance on Saturday, 11 February.

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all news regarding Sanremo 2023!

Italy: The Black Eyed Peas guests at Sanremo 2023!

The official Festival di Sanremo facebook page has just announced that the Black Eyed Peas will be guests of this year’s 73rd edition of Sanremo!

On the second night of the Festival, which is on Wednesday, 8 February, the group that has won 6 Grammy awards will appear on stage with the energy that has always distinguished them and make the Ariston theater audience and those at home dance to their greatest hits!

Their latest album “Elevation”, released last November by Epic/Sony Music, contains the million-streamed hit “Simply The Best” with Anitta and El Alfa and is currently in the Top 10 of Italian radio. Also, the track “Don’t You Worry” with Shakira and David Guetta has over 200 million streams and reached the Top 3 of Radio Airplay, the Top 10 of European Radio Airplay and Shazam’s Global Chart.

We remind you that the Festival of Sanremo 2023 will take place from 7 to 11 February. You can check out the participants here.

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all news regarding Sanremo 2023!

Eurovision 2023: Semi-final allocation draw scheduled for the end of January!

In the latest episode of ” The Euro Trip podcast”, Councilor and Deputy Mayor of Liverpool Harry Doyle was a guest and spoke among others things, about the preparations for Eurovision 2023.

The allocation draw for the semi finals is any important date, since it marks the official start of the Eurovision season. During the event, the draw to determine in which semi finals countries will perform and which out of the two semis Big Five must broadcast and vote takes place, as well as the host city insignia exchange.

Mr Doyle revealed that preparations are underway for the ceremony which is gonna take place at the end of January. Furthermore, meetings with representatives of local and Ukrainian communities of Liverpool will also take place, to explore ways of collaboration. We remind you that as part of the agreement of BBC to host Eurovision 2023 on behalf of Ukraine, is to include Ukrainians and Ukraine culture as part of the shows.

Even though Mr Doyle did not reveal the exact date of this years allocation draw, it is expected that it will be at the last Tuesday of January, as it happened the two previous years, meaning January 31st.

Below you can listen the full episode of the podcast:

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the latest updates on Eurovision 2023!

Source: The Euro Trip Podcast

Eurovision 2022: These are the 50 most-watched performances on YouTube!

For yet another year, just some hours before the New Year, Eurovision TV reveales the 50 songs that got the most views throught the year, on the contest’s official YouTube channel.

On the list, there are 13 winning songs, while 23 more from the 40 songs that took part in Eurovision 2022.

Let’s see the songs that the TOP 50: Most watched in 2022 is consisted of:

50) 🇱🇻 Citi Zēni – “Eat Your Salad” – Latvia 2022 

49) 🇦🇿 Efendi – “Mata Hari” – Azerbaijan 2021

48) 🇫🇮 Blind Channel – “Dark Side” – Finland 2021

47) 🇦🇿 Nadir Rustamli – “Fade To Black” – Azerbaijan 2022

46) 🇬🇷 Helena Paparizou – “My Number One” – Greece 2005

45) 🇹🇷 Mor ve Ötesi – “Deli” – Turkey 2008

44) 🇫🇮 The Rasmus – “Jezebel” – Finland 2022

43) 🇷🇸 Marija Šerifović – “Molitva”– Serbia 2007

42) 🇩🇪 Lena – “Satellite” – Germany 2010

41) 🇸🇪 Måns Zelmerlöw – “Heroes”– Sweden 2015

40. 🇲🇩 Sunstroke Project & Olia Tira – “Run Away” – Moldova 2010

39) 🇮🇹 Mahmood – “Soldi” – Italy 2019

38) 🇬🇷 Amanda Georgiadi Tenfjord – “Die Together” – Greece 2022

37) 🇧🇪 Jérémie Makiese – “Miss You” – Belgium 2022 

36) 🇺🇦 Ruslana – “Wild Dances” – Ukraine  2004

35) 🇷🇺 Sergey Lazarev – “You Are The Only One” – Russia 2016

34) 🇦🇿 Aysel and Arash – “Always” – Azerbaijan 2009

33) 🇺🇦 Jamala – “1944” – Ukraine 2016

32) 🇷🇺 Manizha – “Russian Woman” – Russia 2021

31) 🇵🇹 MARO – “saudade, saudade” – Portugal 2022

30) 🇩🇪 Malik Harris – “Rockstars” – Germany 2022

29) 🇫🇷 Barbara Pravi – “Voilà” – France 2021

28) 🇵🇱 Ochman – “River” – Poland 2022

27) 🇫🇮 Lordi – “Hard Rock Hallelujah” – Finland 2006

26) 🇸🇪 Loreen – “Euphoria” – Sweden 2012

25) 🇨🇾 Eleni Foureira – “Fuego” – Cyprus 2018

24) 🇨🇾 Andromache – “Ela” – Cyprus 2022

23) 🇫🇷 Alvan & Ahez – “Fulenn” – France 2022

22) 🇹🇷 maNga – “We Could Be The Same” – Turkey 2010

21) 🇳🇱 Duncan Laurence – “Arcade” – Netherlands 2019

20) 🇸🇪 Cornelia Jakobs – “Hold Me Closer” – Sweden 2022

19) 🇺🇦 Verka Serduchka – “Dancing Lasha Tumbai” – Ukraine 2007

18) 🇹🇷 Hadise – “Düm Tek Tek” – Turkey 2009

17) 🇦🇹 LUM!X feat. Pia Maria – “Halo” – Austria 2022

16) 🇲🇩 Zdob şi Zdub & Advahov Brothers – “Trenulețul” – Moldova 2022

15) 🇳🇱 S10 – “De Diepte” – Netherlands 2022

14) 🇮🇹 Mahmood & BLANCO – “Brividi” – Italy 2022

13) 🇦🇱 Ronela Hajati –“Sekret” – Albania 2022

12) 🇮🇱 Netta – “TOY” – Israel 2018

11) 🇦🇲 Rosa Linn – “Snap” – Armenia 2022

10)🇷🇸 Konstrakta – ”In Corpore Sano” – Σερβία 2022

9)🇷🇴 WRS – ”Llámame” – Ρουμανία 2022

8)🇺🇦 Go_A – ”Shum” – Ουκρανία 2021

7)🇳🇴 Alexander Rybak – ”Fairytale” – Νορβηγία 2009

6) 🇮🇹 Måneskin – ”Zitti E Buoni’‘ – Ιταλία 2021

5) 🇳🇴 Subwoolfer – ”Give That Wolf A Banana” – Νορβηγία 2022

4)🇬🇧 Sam Ryder – ”SPACE MAN” – Ηνωμένο Βασίλειο 2022

3)🇷🇺 Little Big – ”Uno” – Ρωσία 2020

2)🇪🇸 Chanel – ”SloMo” – Ισπανία 2022

1)🇺🇦 Kalush Orchestra – ”Stefania” – Ουκρανία 2022

 

What do you think of the TOP 50, do you agree with the results? Write us in the comments below!

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

Eurovision 2023: The odds after the Ukrainian national final!

A few hours have just passed since the first national final of this season and as expected, there are not a few rearrangements in the betting tables. That’s why your favorite column is here again, to give you a first taste of the betting odds ahead of the 67th Eurovision Song Contest.

While you are preparing for your Christmas break and a “hot” Eurovision winter, the bookers are already busy, with the Eurovision 2023 winner section already being offered to some companies. So, we’re taking this opportunity to present to you what we have so far for the next contest.

Winner and Top 5

Despite the dominance of an underdog in yesterday’s Ukrainian national final, TVORCHI, the Eastern European country still remains at the top of the betting tables. Nevertheless, the odds for a possible fourth Ukrainian victory are “rising”, approaching 4.40 in some companies.

This is a clear increase compared to the previous time period, where a victory of Ukraine barely tripled the money of the bettor. The Ukrainian back-to-back is currently being played at odds between 2.75 and 4.40.

Behind Ukraine, in the Top-3, are Italy and Sweden. The Eurovision 2022 host and the six-time winner of the competition are among the heavy favorites for Eurovision 2023, with bookers relying mainly on the long tradition and quality of entries at Sanremo and Melodifestivalen respectively. Italy’s win is offered at 8 and Sweden’s win at 10.

Spain and the United Kingdom complete the top five. These are two countries that impressed in Turin and in which the betting companies show confidence that they can achieve an equally successful result in Liverpool in May. Bookers give the British victory at odds between 7 and 18, while the corresponding Spanish one between 15 and 16.

Top 10

Greece is seen as the sixth favorite to win Eurovision 2023, with bookers recognizing the positive results of the 2021-2022 biennium and the change of approach by ERT within the current decade. Greek victory is played at odds between 17 and 20.

In seventh and eighth place, with similar odds, Norway and Australia are playing. Both are played at a maximum of 21, making two respectable sizes for our favorite contest. Ninth is France, which is called upon to prove that the 2nd place in 2021 was not a “firework”, while the first ten are jointly completed by Belgium and Serbia. Both the Central European country and the Balkan country return 34 times the money of those who bet on them.

Do you think Ukraine can make it back-to-back and become the first country since Ireland in the early 90s to achieve back-to-back wins in our beloved contest?