Netherlands: This is the complete line-up of Eurostars for Het Grote Songfestivalfeest concert in Amsterdam!

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Het Grote Songfestivalfeest was a concert that took place in 2019, in order to promote Eurovision 2020 planned to take place in the Netherlands. After two years without it and one cancellation in 2021 due to the COVID-19 measurments in the Netherlands, the concert is back and wants to offer a unique show.

There will be numerous winners and past participants of the contest, including Loreen (Sweden 2012), Alexander Rybak (Norway 2009), Go_A (Ukraine 2021) and Sam Ryder (United Kingdom 2022)

The concert’s official Instagram account, announced every once in a while a new artist that is going to take part and that proccess ended some days ago. In the end, these are the artists that are going to perform in the contest in alphabetical order and the songs that they will sing:

  • Alexander Rybak – Fairytale (Norway 2019, 1st Place)
  • Antique – (I would) Die for You (Greece 2001, 3rd Place)
  • Carola – Fångad av en stormvind (Sweden 1991, 1st Place)
  • Efendi – Mata Hari (Azerbaijan 2021, 20th Place)
  • Frizzle Sizzle – Alles Heeft een Ritme (Netherlands 1981, 13th Place)
  • Gjon’s Tears – Tout l’Univers (Switzerland 2021, 3rd Place)
  • Go_A – Shum (Ukraine 2021, 5th Place)
  • Helena Paparizou – My Number One (Greece 2005, 1st Place)
  • Herreys – Diggi-Loo Diggi-Ley (Sweden 1984, 1st Place)
  • Jamala – 1944 (Ukraine 2016, 1st Place)
  • Johnny Logan – What’s Another Year και Hold Me Now (Ireland 1980 and 1987, 1st Place)
  • Kalush Orchestra – Stefania (Ukraine 2022, 1st Place)
  • KEiiNO – Spirit in the Sky (Norway 2019, 6st Place)
  • Lenny Kuhr – De troubadour (Netherlands 1969, 1st Place)
  • Lordi – Hard Rock Hallelujah (Finland 2006, 1st Place)
  • Loreen – Euphoria (Sweden 2012, 1st Place)
  • Michael Schulte – You Let Me Walk Alone (Germany 2018, 4st Place)
  • Netta – Toy (Israel 2018, 1st Place)
  • OG3NE – Lights and Shadows (Netherlands 2017, 11th Place)
  • S10 – De Diepte (Netherlands 2022, 11th Place)
  • Sam Ryder – Space Man (United Kingdom 2022, 2nd Place)
  • Sandra Kim – J’aime La Vie (Belgium 1986, 1st Place)
  • Senhit – Adrenalina (San Marino 2021, 22nd Place)
  • Sheldon Riley – Not the Same (Australia 2022, 15th Place)
  • Stefania – Last Dance (Greece 2021, 10th Place)
  • Subwoolfer – Give that Wolf a Banana (Norway 2022, 10th Place)
  • The Roop – Discoteque (Lithuania 2021, 8th Place)
  • TIX – Fallen Angel (Norway 2021, 18th Place)

The big concert, is a co-production of the public broadcaster AVROTROS and PILOTSTUDIO and it’s going to take place in November 17th in Ziggo Dome arena of Amsterdam. It will also be broadcasted some time later by the Dutch public Television.

The hosts of the show will be Cornald Mass (Dutch commentator) and Edsilia Rombley (Netherlands 1998 and 2007, Eurovision 2021 host).

Which artists are you looking forward to see on stage in this Eurovision-themed concert? Write us in the comments below!

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

Eurovision 2023: National broadcaster participation window closing today!

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The national broadcasters from the countries having an active EBU membership, have a deadline until today (15/9), in order to confirm their participation in the 67th Eurovision Song Contest.

We might not know the city at United Kingdom that we are going to travel to for Eurovision 2023 yet, but today is the deadline for the national broadcasters-EBU members to confirm their participation in the contest.

Until October 11th, according to the rules, the possibility of withdrawal is provided without the imposition of a fine. From this date on, the broadcasters that applied for participating and are willing to withdraw, are going to face the imposition of a fine, which is varying, depending on the time of withdrawal (before or after the semi-finals draw etc.).

31 countries, with one way or another, have announced their will to participate in Eurovision 2023. Among them there’s Greece, and Cyprus too. Those countries are:

  • Albania
  • Australia
  • Austria
  • Belgium
  • Cyprus
  • Denmark
  • Estonia
  • Finland
  • France
  • Georgia
  • Germany
  • Greece
  • Iceland
  • Ireland
  • Israel
  • Italy
  • Latvia
  • Lithuania
  • Malta
  • Norway
  • Poland
  • Portugal
  • Romania
  • San Marino
  • Serbia
  • Spain
  • Sweden
  • Switzerland
  • The Netherlands
  • Ukraine
  • United Kingdom

The number from the countries above is expected to grow, because nine countries that participated in this year’s contest, haven’t clarified their intentions yet. Those are:

  • Armenia
  • Azerbaijan
  • Bulgaria
  • Croatia
  • Czech Republic
  • Moldova
  • Montenegro
  • North Macedonia
  • Slovenia

There’s always a chance, although slight, for a country to return or for another one to debut. The participating countries and their exact number will be confirmed through EBU’s official announcement. The respective announcement for Eurovision 2022 was made on October 20th.

 

The Netherlands: During November the song selection for Eurovision 2023!

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After S10’s remarkable result at the last year’s Eurovision Song Contest, the Dutch national broadcaster AVROTROS has already completed the song submission process for Eurovision 2023.

As previously announced, August 31st was the deadline for Dutch artists to submit their proposals in order to represent the country this year.

Cornald Maas, a member from the Dutch representative selection committee, at some of his statements highlighted the importance Eurovision currently holds for The Netherlands. He also mentioned that November will most probably be the month that their participation will be selected.

More specifically, he said:

“In the last years, Eurovision’s prestige has drastically changed in The Netherlands if someone takes into account that four Eurovision 2022 songs charted at the Dutch Top 40 for the first time since 1983.

Many young artists feel they have a chance and that is what I like the most. That unknown talents don’t feel restricted – they submit their song and think: wait, this stage is also there for me.

The participation will most probably be selected during November.“

Maas believes that this year’s submissions won’t surpass those of 2022, although AVROTROS has never announced the number of last year’s submissions.

The members of the selection committee are:

  • Carolien Borgers – DJ and music expert
  • Hila Noorzai – Eurovision expert
  • Eric van Stade – Direct General of AVROTROS
  • Cornald Maas – Commentator and Eurovision expert
  • Jan Smit – Commentator and presenter
  • Sander Lantinga – Radio DJ

The rules that submissions must meet are:

  • The song is convincingly distinctive and meets the above description
  • A maximum of three songs can be submitted
  • The song cannot have been commercially released before September 1st 2022
  • The song cannot exceed 3 minutes in length

Last year, The Netherlands has achieved finishing at 11th place at the Grand Final and at second place at the First Semi-Final, with “De Diepte” by S10.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgOnu7ux2-k

Source: Eurovoix

Eurovision 2023: The new season has just started!

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For many, including us on Eurovisionfun, Eurovision never ends! However, September 1st is a special date. Any song that is released after that date is eligible to be chosen to take part in the next years contest. Therefore, any song from now on can be a potential Eurovision 2o23 entry!

What we know so far

After the landslide victory of Ukraine and Kalush Orchestra in Turin, EBU has already announced that due to the ongoing war since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the contest will be held in the United Kingdom instead, to ensure safety of everyone involved in the production.

During August, BBC announced a shortlist of seven cities that will compete to host the contest next year, while the deadline to submit the finalized bids is set for September 8th. BBC and EBU representatives will visit these cities to inspect the facilities and discuss with local authorities on the proposed bids.

Around late September/early October and after there is potentially a dialogue with the British government, BBC and EBU will announce the Eurovision 2023 hosting city.

The shortlisted cities are:

  • Birmingham
  • Glasgow
  • Leeds
  • Liverpool
  • Manchester
  • Newcastle
  • Sheffield

Betting odds are every year a topic of discussion within and outside the Eurovision fandom. As of the time of writing, the odds about which city will host Eurovision 2023 predict Glasgow as the hosting city, with 65% chances, indicating a one-horse race for the hosting of the contest next year.

Participating countries

As of now, 27 countries have officially or unofficially confirmed that they will take part in Eurovision 2023. These are:

  • Albania
  • Austria
  • Belgium
  • Cyprus
  • Denmark
  • Estonia
  • Finland
  • France
  • Georgia
  • Germany
  • Greece
  • Iceland
  • Israel
  • Italy
  • Latvia
  • Lithuania
  • Netherlands
  • Norway
  • Poland
  • Romania
  • San Marino
  • Serbia
  • Spain
  • Sweden
  • Switzerland
  • Ukraine
  • United Kingdom

Within the next months more countries are expected to confirm their participation, with the goal to have 40 countries as in 2022. Russia and Belarus are not eligible to take part in the contest, since their broadcasters are not EBU members anymore.

Certain countries have already announced that they will not take part in Eurovision 2023, with some of them extending their long-lasting absence from the contest. Andorra, Monaco, Luxemburg, Liechtenstein, Slovakia, Maroco and Hungary will not be present in the 67th Eurovision Song Contest, while Turkey and Bosnia-Herzegovina are yet to announce their plans but the chances to see them returning are low for various reasons.

Until March 14th the announcement of all the entries

It won’t be before March 14th until we know all competing artists and entries for 2023, since on that day is the meeting of the Head of Delegations where all entries will be officially submitted. However, Israel has already selected its artist and its Noa Kirel, a local superstar with many of her songs conquering the charts.

Albania and Ukraine will be the next to select their entries before the end of 2022, unless there is a surprise as with Czech Republic last year.

Join us on the road to Eurovision 2023!

Eurovisionfun will bring you Eurofun-tastic news throughout the season, while you should be ready for exclusives and surprises! Our 24/7 coverage in Greek and English includes articles, reactions, discussions and many more!

Don’t forget to follow us on our social media, we are always online and we love interacting with you! You can check us out on:

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Let the Eurovision 2023 season begin! Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun!

 

 

 

Netherlands: Selection committee revealed for Eurovision 2023!

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Two new members are joining the committee that will determine the Dutch participation in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 . AVROTROS will again internally select the singer and song for the competition. Since 2014, a committee has been formed to select the participant.

DJ and music expert Carolien Borgers and Eurovision expert Hila Noorzai participate in the committee this year . Carolien and Hila replace Coen Swijnenberg and Joyce Hoedelmans who have been on the committee for the past three years. The committee members remain unchanged and are:

  • Eric van Stade – Director General AVROTROS
  • Cornald Maas – Eurovision commentator and expert
  • Jan Smit – Commentator and presenter
  • Sander Lantinga – Radio DJ

General Director of AVROTROS Eric van Stade commented:

That young talented artists have just as much chance of being selected as an established name is apparent from the artists who have performed on the largest music stage in Europe on behalf of the Netherlands in recent years. The committee really selects on the basis of the best and most suitable song and I am happy that Carolien and Hila are supporting us in this difficult choice.

AVROTROS  is currently seeking the country’s participation in Eurovision 2023, requesting :

An entry with preferably a contemporary, but in any case authentic sound. A song that is able to survive in a competition. By a Dutch artist who can and wants to present a personal song in a distinctive way, in any genre, and if possible a personal story.

The rules that submissions must meet are:

  • The song is convincingly distinctive and meets the above description.
  • A maximum of three songs can be submitted.
  • The song cannot have been commercially released before 1 September 2022.
  • The song cannot exceed three minutes in length.

S10 represented the Netherlands at Eurovision 2022 with “De diepte” , the first Dutch song in the contest since 2010. They finished  11th  in the Grand Final with 171 points.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgOnu7ux2-k

Stay tuned on Eurovisionfun for all the news regarding the Dutch participation at the Eurovision Song Contest 2023!

Source: AVROTROS

Netherlands: The Voice of Holland winner, Dany, will submit a song for Eurovision 2023!

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Dani van Velthoven, better known to his fans simply as Dany, claimed to have been among the last acts standing during the Dutch internal selection for Eurovision 2022. “The Voice of Holland” winner said in an interview that he, alongside S10, was one of the four acts that remained on AVROTROS shortlist.

In an interview with local radio programme De Zaterdagochtend, Dany discussed his short Eurovision 2022 journey. Saying that he “didn’t sign anything”, he explained:

“Last year they approached me for Eurovision. They asked me and then I submitted a song, and then I was in the final four. I some advice because everything was so new back then. Now I’m a year ahead, but in terms of my position, my contract, I’m not ahead at all. And that is starting to change. Now I can choose a team to have around me, who can help me with such things. I think when I will have all that, it will be better to deal with Eurovision.”

Dany talking about the contest said:

“It’s a dream to go to Eurovision, but I want to do it with a good song. I’ve been watching since I was a kid and everything it stands for is what I love about music. But last time I had a track that didn’t sound exactly like I wanted, and I also have more experience now.”

Listen to Dany performing the song “Fragile”:

Answering whether he will submit a song again, he said:

“I’m going to submit a song, that’s all I can say, that I’m going to apply. But I’m not focusing too much on that this year. I’d rather build my team and get my career in order, then if I do Eurovision and everything goes more smooth, it’ll be a lot more fun and I guess I’ll do a lot better.”

What do you think about Dany representing the Netherlands? Write us in the comments down below!

Stay tuned on Eurovisionfun for all the news regarding the Dutch participation at the Eurovision Song Contest 2023!

The most successful Eurovision countries in the 20s!

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Eurovision is heading to the third decade of the 21st century and it has clearly changed not only in comparison with the past, but also with the recent years. In this article we investigate how countries scored during the first 2 years of the 20s, as well as their average score.

As you can see below, we cannot identify a group of 5-6 performing performing always well, as it used to happen the last years. Only a few countries are consistently doing well, despite the fact that the scores studied are only of the last 2 years. Tougher competition, the success of the contest on social media (TikTok had a business partnership with the contest this year featuring exclusive clips of the first rehearsals on the platform), as well as the high interest by record labels are only some of the reasons why it is harder to perform consistently well, since entries are of higher lever than the past.

Lets see in detail the average score of the countries during this decade:

Country        2022   2021    Average

  1. Ukraine           1          5             3
  2. Italy                 6          1            3,5
  3. Greece             8         10            9
  4. Sweden           4         14             9
  5. Russia             –           9             9
  6. Switzerland    17        3             10
  7. Moldova          7        13            10
  8. Serbia              5         15            10
  9. Portugal          9         12           10.5
  10. Lithuania       14         8             11
  11. France            24         2             13
  12. Spain               3         24           13.5
  13. Iceland          23          4            13.5
  14. Finland          21          6            13.5
  15. United Kingdom 2     26           14
  16. Norway           10         18            14
  17. The Netherlands 11     23          17
  18. Azerbaijan     16          20            18
  19. Belgium          19         19             19
  20. Armenia         20          –              20
  21. Malta               35          7             21
  22. Estonia           13         31             22
  23. Poland            12         33            22.5
  24. Cyprus            29         16            22.5
  25. Romania        18          28            23
  26. Israel              30          17           23.5
  27. Albania          28          21           24.5
  28. Australia        15          34           24.5
  29. Bulgaria         38          11           24.5
  30. Germany        25          25            25
  31. Croatia           26          27           26.5
  32. St. Marino     33          22           27.5
  33. Czech Republic 22     36             29
  34. Denmark        31         29             30
  35. North Macedonia 27 35             31
  36. Austria           36         30             33
  37. Ireland           34         37            35.5
  38. Latvia             32         39            35.5
  39. Slovenia         40        32              36
  40. Montenegro   37         –                37
  41. Georgia           39       38             38.5

As you can see in the table above, there are very few countries where the average of their positions in these two years is below 10. This proves how difficult it has become to be in the top ten. It is even more difficult to have continuous results within top 10, since only three countries have achieved this, Ukraine, Italy and Greece!

It is evident that Italy and Ukraine are the two powerhouses of the competition for this decade (so far). Sweden remains high on the list, but far from the first place it was in the last decade. Greece is recovering dynamically since it is in third place, when in the previous decade it was out of the 20s. Cyprus gets lower scores year by year, unfortunately making us believe that 2018 was just a coincidence and is currently in 24th place!

Regardless of personal taste and opinions, the numbers speak themselves and is clear that Ukraine, Italy and Greece are doing great during this decade. The new strategy of the management of ERT to chose the artist and the song internally, is proven to be successful, after years of bad results and 2 NQ (2016,2018).

Stay tuned on Eurovisionfun because the journey to Eurovision 2023 has already begun!

Netherlands: Didn’t give permission for the broadcast of S10’s Live-on-Tape!

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Dutch participating broadcaster, AVROTROS, didn’t give its permission for the broadcast of S10’s Live-on-Tape. According to Songfestival Update, an AVROTROS spokesperson stated:

We have submitted a request to the EBU not to put it online. We would like the performance from the live shows to remain as a memory for the public and the viewer

Just like in 2021, all countries had to record their performance in advance, as a backup in the event of a corona infection. This year it turned out not to be necessary. In 2021, Australia participated through their live-on-tape performance, because Montaigne was unable to come to Rotterdam due to the corona pandemic. A band member of Daði Freyr (Iceland) tested positive in Rotterdam. They participated with images from their rehearsal.

From June 14 to June 23, the live on tapes for Eurovision 2022 will be released on the official Eurovision channel on Youtube. These performances were recorded prior to the competition and would have been used if a delegation could not travel to Turin due to Covid-19 restrictions or if someone in the delegation was offended by Covid-19 while in Turin and could not participate in live shows.

It has not been clarified yet, which public radio and television stations did not give their permission for the publication of their live on tape. We will definitely not watch the live on tape video of Ukraine, since it was excluded from its recording due to the ongoing war in the country.

S10 represented the Netherlands at Eurovision 2022 with “De diepte”, the first Dutch-language song in the contest since 2010. She finished 11th in the Grand Final with 171 points, including 12 points from the Italian jury.

Source: SongfestivalUpdate.nl

Netherlands: Willing to cooperate in order to organize Eurovision 2023!

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With Ukraine’s victory during last Saturday’s Grand Final still fresh in our minds, many wonder what Kalush Orchestra’s win would mean for next year’s Eurovision. Soon after the Grand Final, the EBU released a statement saying that they will begin planning Eurovision 2023 with the winning broadcaster UA:PBC.

Of course, due to the ongoing war in Ukraine after being invaded by Russia, unique challenges will lie ahead in organizing a safe and free event for all. In the unfortunate case Ukraine won’t be able to host Eurovision in their own country next year, the EBU will look for another possible host country. The Spanish broadcaster RTVE has already confirmed they would be prepared to host Eurovision and support Ukraine regarding the organization.

According to Sietse Bakker, executive producer of the Eurovision Song Contest, while speaking with EditieNL, it would make sense for the EBU to look at possible host countries that have had the honor of hosting recently in the past. Since the Netherlands only hosted the contest last year in Rotterdam, they are known to be up for the task of hosting such a big event like Eurovision.

Dutch broadcasters AVROTROS and NPO have commented on this news as well, saying that it is too early to say anything about a possible new edition in the Netherlands. If the EBU approaches them to organize the event once again, they will take that into consideration with all involved parties.

Stay tuned on Eurovisionfun for all the news regarding the Eurovision Song Contest 2023!

Source: escxtra.com

Netherlands: Song submissions open for Eurovision 2023

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AVROTROS has commenced its search for the Netherlands entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2023.

The Netherlands has today opened the song submissions window for the Eurovision Song Contest 2023, as the Netherlands looks for its next entry. The Dutch entry will once again be selected by a selection committee, the same method the Netherlands has used since 2014. AVROTROS is looking for:

“An entry with preferably a contemporary, but in any case authentic sound. A song that is able to survive in a competition. By a Dutch artist who can and wants to present a personal song in a distinctive way, in any genre, and if possible a personal story.”

The rules that submissions must meet are:

  • The song is convincingly distinctive and meets the above description
  • A maximum of three songs can be submitted
  • The song cannot have been commercially released before 1 September 2022
  • The song cannot exceed 3 minutes in length

To submit your song to the Dutch selection process email: songfestival@avrotros.nl. The last day for songs to be submitted to AVROTROS is August 31.

S10 represented the Netherlands at Eurovision 2022 with “De diepte”, the first Dutch-language song in the contest since 2010. She finished 11th in the Grand Final scoring 171 points.

Below you can watch the performance of Τhe Netherlands on the Grand Final:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgOnu7ux2-k

Follow us on all social media, so you do not miss a moment of what happens regarding the Eurovision Song Contest:

Stay tuned at Eurovisionfun for all the updates regarding Eurovision 2023!