The first Greek Eurovision Pre-Party will probably take place on March 23, in Athens!

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The first Greek Eurovision pre-party is anticipated to take place in Athens this year, as we exclusively disclosed around a month ago. Since March 23rd is the predicted date of the event, the talks are in progress, a few artists have already confirmed their attendance, and if nothing unexpected happens, the official announcements will be made in the coming days.

A popular Greek eurostar with presentation experience will be presenting the party, according to our exclusive information. Already, five of this year’s Eurovision contestants confirmed  that they would like to attend the first Greek pre-party; additional responses are anticipated.

However, in addition to this year’s Eurostars, well-known performers who competed as representatives of Greece and Cyprus will also be performing at the event. 2024 is the ideal year to host the first Eurovision pre-party in Athens, as it marks Greece’s 50th year of participating in the competition.

As previously reported, the event is anticipated to take place in a well-known concert venue in Athens. However, before any official announcements are made and the ticket pre-sale starts, certain details need to be finalised.

Of course, Eurovisionfun will be there to update you on everything that happens. The surprises don’t end here, of course, as we will soon be able to announce our own big party in Thessaloniki to mark our five years of operation.

Stay tuned on Eurovisionfun for all the Eurovision 2024 updates!

 

Sweden: The general rehearsal of the Third Heat of Melodifestivalen 2024! (Live)

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The general rehearsal of the 3rd Heat of Melodifestivalen 2024 has just started. We are happy to be watching it live, at Vida Arena in Växjö, Sweden. We will be covering this rehearsal, describing in detail what is happening during the show, for you to follow the entire process.

This article is being updated in real-time, all you need to do is hit the refresh button on your browser and all the rest is on us!

We will keep you up to date with all the latest information and images off this semi-final rehearsal, allowing you to get a glimpse of what you will get to see tomorrow February 17, at 20:00 CET, when you watch the actual show of the heat, on SVT and SVT Play.

The experts

New in Melodifestivalen this year is the participation of a couple of really knowledgeable music and Mello-experts – radio and TV profile Tina Mehrafzoon and Mello-oracle Ronny Larsson. During both the races and the final, they analyze the evening’s line-up and give their opinion on how they are doing.

The show

Carina Berg is the host of all the shows of the tour this year! With the next show of the contest on Saturday February the 17th, Melodifestivalen will take place in Växjö, then Eskilstuna follows and finally the final show in Stockholm on the 9th of March.

Carina is now at the arena and everything is ready to begin! It’s time to face the music!

Carina Berg has Christine Meltzer and Carolina Gynning on stage this week. They have written a new lyric for The Ark‘s “Calleth You, Cometh I“, which is now called “Ringer du kommer vi” (If you call and we will come).

After the intro, Carina presents this show’s contestants!

The numbers

  • “Effortless” – Jacqline

We get a professional, “Effortless” performance, great production, great staging. She reminds me of a mix of Dua Lipa, songs of Little Mix and Alicia Keys vocals. She has a big rectangular prop, red is dominating the staging. At some point she lies down, goes on stage, then again back on the prop and holds herself while the prop lifts up. It is the most advanced production and most extensive camera work I’ve seen in the contest. Equivalent to Maria Sur’s, but red and more mainstream pop, less dance pop. “Effortless” direct finalist.

Photo: Stina Stjernkvist/SVT

  • “Aldrig mer” – Clara Klingenström

Clara has a large prop behind and above her. I would be scared as if it would fall down on me. She has issues with her lows, as she would have in her two previous rehearsals. “Aldrig mer” is not my favourite of all her participations. I think she would struggle to qualify, not to mention remain in the competition. Could be a shocking non-qualifier.

Photo: Stina Stjernkvist/SVT

  • “Take My Breath Away” – Kim Cesarion

Despite the technical issues in this weeks show, now I can say that Kim got the sleek camera-shots he deserves. His staging, reminds me a bit of Robin Bengtsson‘s 2017 stagings, especially the moment when the dancers enter. His performance gives me The Weeknd vibes, much improved with his vocals. He is holding back a tiny bit for tomorrow I think. It doesn’t sound like his style of music but he does it good. He has Marvin Asante and Greg Curtis as his chorus on stage and one of the writers of the song William Segerdahl off stage. That means that he will need to reduce the number of people on stage, should he get selected this year. He dances too, here come the disco moves. Would he qualify? I am unsure. Both cases are possible.

Photo: Stina Stjernkvist/SVT

  • “För dig” – Klaudy

Klaudy has restored the wetlands and has put them right on stage. If you can recall, last year, someone wanted to restore the wetlands. A guy stormed onto the stage when Loreen was performing her song in the fourth heat in Malmö. A pleasant song, in Swedish. I would listen to it on the radio, or on a road trip. Would he qualify? Let’s see.

Photo: Stina Stjernkvist/SVT

  • “I Won’t Shake (La La Gunilla)” – Gunilla Persson

La La Gunilla is a superstar. She shines in the wild west, which is the theme of her staging. Her teeth shine too and we learned she had a dentist appointment when we had the press conference today. The whole package is a mess. It is uber-trash. But maybe people like this. She is a big thing in Sweden and I am unsure for what reason. Her vocals are very bad, but very much improved than her previous rehearsals. She at least now sounds in sync with the instrumental. The crowd cheers, not as hard as I would expect. If I had to decide, I would disqualify her.

Photo: Stina Stjernkvist/SVT

  • “Give My Heart A Break” – Cazzi Opeia

Moa (Cazzi‘s name), has a very strong trademark sound. You listen to her music you know it’s her. As when I first listened to Loreen‘s Tattoo I immediately knew she had to do with the “Tattoo-oo-oooo” part. Not as distinctive as “I can’t get enough” but people love it. She begins singing inside a large keyhole prop, uses a dimple camera effect and kaleidoscope I kinda got dizzy. She wears a fluffy pink suit which is totally her and I love to see this. Her four dancers are yellow and remind me of Kex choklad. Her vocals are amazing. This is fun, crazy and has the amount of kitsch that we need and as much as we can all handle. The LED backdrop shows a heart in yellow and pink. DTF for me.

Photo: Stina Stjernkvist/SVT

These were the six numbers of this week, a recap follows to show the voting numbers for the contestants of the heat.

The Intervals

Carina Berg ends up with a bearded type in the audience that looks like he came right out of Cast Away movie. There are cheers immediately. It’s amazing how much the audience loves Björn Gustafsson. Björn has asked not to reveal much about his part of the interval today that is the general rehearsal.

Now it’s time for the first virtual results.

Also, in Saturday‘s competition from Växjö, the director, screenwriter and commentator Edward af Sillén is awarded the Hall of Fame award. From now on, he is also a member of this well-known group of artists, hits and creators who have all been of great importance to Melodifestivalen over the years.

Christine Meltzer goes up on stage and does an impersonation of Gunilla Persson, who is competing at this week’s Melodifestivalen show. She wears the same dress as Gunilla and then the real Gunilla joins her and compliment’s Christine as a fantastic body double.

Then a short video of Björn Gustafsson with the CEO of Sveriges Television Hanna Stjärne.

The virtual Direct Qualifiers

First voting round virtual winner: “För dig” – Klaudy

The first voting round winner moves from the green room onto an intermediate small stage in the middle of the audience and sing their song.

Second voting round virtual winner: “Take My Breath Away” – Kim Cesarion

Those who virtually remain at the contest

Second voting round virtual 2nd place: “I Won’t Shake (La La Gunilla)” – Gunilla Persson
Second voting round virtual 3rd place: “Aldrig mer” – Clara Klingenström

Second voting round results

Age-band 3-9 years old virtual winner: “Take My Breath Away” – Kim Cesarion

Age-band 10-15 years old virtual winner: “Take My Breath Away” – Kim Cesarion

Age-band 16-29 years old virtual winner: “Effortless” – Jacqline

Age-band 30-44 years old virtual winner: “Take My Breath Away” – Kim Cesarion

Age-band 45-59 years old virtual winner: “I Won’t Shake (La La Gunilla)” – Gunilla Persson

Age-band 60-74 years old virtual winner: “I Won’t Shake (La La Gunilla)” – Gunilla Persson

Age-band 75+ years old virtual winner: “Give My Heart A Break” – Cazzi Opeia

Televoting virtual winner: “Effortless” – Jacqline

A prediction

TBA

The schedule for the six shows of the Melodifestivalen 2024 tour

  • Heat 1: Saturday 3 February 2024, Malmö Arena, Malmö
  • Heat 2: Saturday 10 February 2024, Scandinavium, Göteborg
  • Heat 3: Saturday 17 February 2024, Vida Arena, Växjö
  • Heat 4: Saturday 24 February 2024, Stiga Sports Arena, Eskilstuna
  • Heat 5: Saturday 2 March 2024, Löfbergs Arena, Karlstad
  • Final: Saturday 9 March 2024, Friends Arena, Stockholm – Solna

Which two of today’s competing artists do you think will be the direct qualifiers to the finals, on the 9th of March?

Stay tuned at Eurovisionfun, for all the latest developments regarding Melodifestivalen 2024 and the Swedish entry for Eurovision 2024!

Source: SVT
Photos: Stina Stjernkvist / SVT

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Bosnia & Herzegovina: A two-million euros fund granted for BHRT!

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The funding problem that BHRT is facing for the past years has been temporarily solved with a two-million euros fund granted for the broadcaster by the Council of Ministers. The extreme financial problems that BHRT is facing almost led to the shutdown of the country’s public television.

The payment now granted for BHRT is intended to cover its studio and production needs along with the broadcast rights for Euro 2024 and the Summer Olympics.

However, the afore-mentioned is only a temporal solution. The problem shall be solved from the ground up and according to the Minister of Communications and Transport, Edin Forto:

This is the first step. The second one must be the urgent appointment of the FTV management structures in the Parliament of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in order to regulate the method of collecting the RTV tax within the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in a fair manner. The third step is the adoption of a new law that will permanently regulate the stability of public services and from which all three services will have stronger support than today.

What threatens the sustainability of BHRT?

The problem lies on the distribution of the Radio and Television tax between broadcasters inside Bosnia and Herzegovina. Radio Television of the Republika Srpska (RTRS), which has had a special agreement on the collection of Radio and Television tax since 2017, does not transfer a single BAM(Bosnian currency) to BHRT.

Hence, the entity broadcaster violates Article 23 of the Law on Public RTV Service and illegally accumulates money from the RTV tax on its account that does not belong to it, leaving BHRT in the red, despite the fact that the Federal Television program depends on BHRT fulfilling its obligations.

Along with RTRS, the Radio Television of the FBiH (RTVFBiH) does not pay any funds to BHRT. In fact, BHRT rents its premises to RTVFBiH and provides it with studios, cameras and technical expertise in order to produce the program.

With RTRS and RTVFBiH collecting illegally money and BHRT being in the red, people are worrying about the worst-case scenario, a shutdown, since it can no longer perform its function.

The solution, according to BHRT, is that the Radio and Television tax money is paid into their account, and they guarantee a more equitable distribution than before.

Bosnia and Herzegovina has a long way to go before it can combat corruption within the state, become more modern, and operate in accordance with European standards.

It is also worth noticing that Bosnia and Herzegovina is the only country in the whole continent of Europe that does have a digital signal, seven years following the conclusion of the first phase of digitization.

We hope that this will be a step towards a BHRT sustainability as well as the country’s return to the Eurovision Song Contest.

Bosnia and Herzegovina at Eurovision

Due to the afore-mentioned financial burdens EBU has sanctions imposed on BHRT for failing to meet its financial obligations. Hence, the Balkan country remains absent from the contest since 2017. Meanwhile, its last participation was in 2016 with Dalal, Deen, Ana Rucner and Jala and the song “Ljubav je”. Along with the country’s last appearance at the Eurovision Song Contest up to this day, it was also Bosnia and Herzegovina’s first non qualification.

Stay tuned to EurovisionFun for all the news!

Source: broadbandtvnews

Austria: The entry will be revealed on March 1st!

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The entry of Austria in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 is expected to be revealed on Friday 1st of March!

According to the Austrian newspaper Kleine Zeitung the entry of Austria at the upcoming Eurovision 2024 in Malmö Sweden under the title “We Will Rave”, and with Kaleen as the representative, is expected to be revealed alongside with the official videoclip on Friday 1st of March, and will be broadcast by the national broadcaster ORF.

As we have already informed you in a previous article the shooting of the official videoclip is going to take place in Los Angeles. Further information regrding Kaleen you will find available in the article below.

Austria: Kaleen is off to Eurovision 2024!

Source: Kleine Zeitung

Stay tuned on Eurovisionfun for all the updates around the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest!

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Poland: The Polish representative for Eurovision 2024 will be announced in 19/2!

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Public broadcaster TVP announced back in January 9 that Poland will internally select their representative for Eurovision 2024. The artists who were interested in taking part in the internal selection could send their songs until  February 2.

As we’ve previously informed you, the interest of both artists and the recording labels to have their artists represent Poland in the greatest music contest in the world, was really high.

In their latest announcement in their social media, the public broadcaster announced that the artist that will represent Poland in Eurovision 2024 will be revealed in Monday 19/2!

Many Polish artists have publicly expressed their interest in representing Poland in Malmö and sent their proposals to TVP.

You can see an indicative list of the competing artists here.

The favourite to win the internal selection, is Justyna Steczkowska with the song “WITCHER – Tarohoro” which has already been a sensation among fans for quite some time:

However, latest information in local media, talk about the Steczkowska losing the selection, to Luna and the song “Tower”, the second favourite to represent Poland:

Who would you like to be the representative of Poland n Eurovision 2024? Write us in the comments below!

Stay tuned on Eurovisionfun for all the news regarding the Polish participation at the Eurovision Song Contest 2024, in Malmö!

Source: pomponik.pl

Spain: Two cities and a region are ready to host Junior Eurovision 2024!

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About three months after France’s third victory in four years, it was announced that Spain would be hosting Junior Eurovision 2024. Thus, Spain’s public broadcaster, RTVE, began a search for the most suitable city to host the contest.

The Generalitat Valenciana, Barcelona, and Malaga authorities have expressed interest in hosting the event thus far.

In fact, in a post on X, Barcelona Mayor Jaume Collboni said that the city is ready to take over the event and will reveal additional information about its bid in the coming days.

The Generalitat Valenciana region has also expressed interest. Towns like Benidorm, Valencia, and Castellon de la Plana are all within its borders. At the same time, the Presidents of Ágora and Conecta España urged the Malaga authorities to put in a bid to host the event.

https://youtu.be/DLw4kS1PSNQ

Which city would you like to host Junior Eurovision 2024?

Source: ESC Plus, Eurovision Spain

A new statement from the EBU confirms Israel’s participation in Eurovision 2024!

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Israel can still take part in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, organizers say again, despite calls for it to be excluded because of the war in Gaza, as it was with Russia in 2022 after its invasion of Ukraine.

The EBU has once again confirmed Israel’s participation

The EBU in a new statement on Thursday, after checking all the facts and data, decided that Israel could participate in the upcoming song contest in Malmö, Sweden.

“The Eurovision song contest is a non-political music event and a competition between public service broadcasters who are members of the EBU. It is not a contest between governments,” the EBU director general, Noel Curran, said in a statement.

Our governing bodies … did review the participants list for the 2024 contest and agreed that the Israeli public broadcaster Kan met all the competition rules for this year and can participate, as it has for the past 50 years.

Israel and Russia two different cases

But Noel Curran does not stop at this statement, he also explains the reasons why the case of Israel’s participation in the Eurovision contest is not the same as that of Russia.

In the case of Russia, the Russian broadcasters themselves were suspended from the EBU due to their persistent breaches of membership obligations and the violation of public service values.

The relationship between Kan and the Israeli government is fundamentally different to the relationship that exists between those Russian members and the state, with the Israeli government in recent years threatening to close down the broadcaster.

Curran finally explained how the EBU followed other international organizations, such as sports federations, that kept Israel in their competitions.

Israel will be represented at Eurovision 2024 by Eden Golan, with a song to be announced in the coming weeks. The Israeli delegation this year will limit its appearances to a minimum for security reasons, even avoiding the parade on the turquoise carpet, one week before the competition.

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the updates!

Source: The Guardian

Germany: Tonight marks the final of Das Deutsche Finale 2024!

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Today, Germany, the two-time winner of the contest, selects its representative for the 68th Eurovision Song Contest. In just a few hours, we will know the artist who will represent the mighty Western European nation in Malmo, aiming to end its dismal streak of the past nine years, where it has landed in the bottom two positions in seven out of eight competitions.

Participants

Nine artists will take part in tonight’s grand final of Das Deutsche Finale 2024. These artists will perform in the following order:

  1. NinetyNine – “Love on a budget”
  2. Leona – “Undream you”
  3. Isaak Guderian – “Always on the run”
  4. GALANT – “Katze”
  5. Floryan – “Scars”
  6. Bodine Monet – “Tears like rain”
  7. RYK – “Oh boy”
  8. Marie Reim – “Naiv”
  9. Max Mutzke – “Forever strong”

Final Outcome

The selection process for Germany‘s representative in Eurovision 2024 is straightforward. Following the Eurovision Song Contest standards, the grand winner of Das Deutsche Finale 2024 will emerge from a combination of 50% German public vote and 50% vote from an international jury.

The international jury comprises eight experts from the following countries:

  • Austria
  • Croatia
  • Iceland
  • Lithuania
  • Spain
  • Sweden
  • Switzerland
  • United Kingdom

In case of a tie, the artist with more votes from the public will prevail.

The Show

Once again, the hostess of the German national final will be Barbara Schöneberger.

A plethora of guests is expected to grace the grand final of Das Deutsche Finale 2024. Notable among them are the winner of Eurovision 2014, Conchita Wurst, and Germany’s representatives in Eurovision 1972 & 1984, Mary Roos. Additionally, performances are slated from Rea Garvey, Riccardo Simonetti, Florian Silbereisen, and Alli Neumann.

The final of Das Deutsche Finale 2024 will commence at 22:05 CET, and you can watch it through the official website of German public television by clicking HERE.

Last year, Germany was represented by Lord Of The Lost with the song “Blood & Glitter”, securing the 26th position with 18 points.

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the developments regarding Germany’s participation in the contest!

Sweden: Watch clips from the rehearsals of the Melodifestivalen 2024 third heat!

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As usual, a few hours before each Melodifestivalen heat, SVT published the rehearsal clips of all six competing artists of the third heat of February the 17th, taking place in Växjö.

A while ago, the first 30 second rehearsal clips of the upcoming heat got published! You can watch the published clips, by clicking on the song title links below:

In the meantime, you can read through the lyrics of all six competing songs of this heat in our previous article.

Carina Berg is the host of all the shows of the tour this year! With the next show of the contest on Saturday February the 17th, Melodifestivalen will take place in Växjö, then Eskilstuna follows and finally the final show in Stockholm on the 9th of March.

The schedule for the six shows of the Melodifestivalen 2024 tour

  • Heat 1: Saturday 3 February 2024, Malmö Arena, Malmö
  • Heat 2: Saturday 10 February 2024, Scandinavium, Göteborg
  • Heat 3: Saturday 17 February 2024, Vida Arena, Växjö
  • Heat 4: Saturday 24 February 2024, Stiga Sports Arena, Eskilstuna
  • Heat 5: Saturday 2 March 2024, Löfbergs Arena, Karlstad
  • Final: Saturday 9 March 2024, Friends Arena, Stockholm – Solna

Which two of the above artists do you think will be the direct qualifiers to the finals?

Stay tuned at Eurovisionfun, for all the latest developments regarding Melodifestivalen 2024 and the Swedish entry for Eurovision 2024!

 

 

Germany: Some snapshots from the rehearsals of “Eurovision Song Contest – Das Deutsche Finale 2024”!

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Tomorrow is the big day for Germany’s national Final, the “Eurovision Song Contest – Das Deutsche Finale 2024” where the winner will earn the right to represent Germany in Eurovision 2024, in Malmö.

Thus, only a few hours before the Grand Final, the national broadcaster of Germany, ARD, published some snapshots from all the candidates’ rehearsals, so as the viewers may take a little hint of what is going to happen on stage and what should they expect from the artists more or less.

The official running order of all the nine (9) entarnts for tomorrow night is the following: Take a look…

01) NinetyNine – “Love on a budget”

NinetyNine

 

02) Leona – “Undream you”

Leona

 

03) Isaak Guderian – “Always on the run”

Isaak Guderian

 

04) GALANT – “Katze”

GALANT

 

05) Floryan – “Scars”

Floryan

 

06) Bodine Monet – “Tears like rain”

Bodine Monet

 

07) RYK – “Oh boy”

Ryk

 

08) Marie Reim – “Naiv”

Marie Reim

 

09) Max Mutzke – “Forever strong”

Max Mutzke

 

Remember here, that Germany’s National Final “Eurovision Song Contest – Das Deutsche Finale 2024” is set to be aired tomorrow, on Friday the 16th of February, while the winner of the show will be determined by a split system between the public’s vote (50%) and the International jury’s vote (the rest 50%).

All of the artists are going to be judged by eight different national juries all around Europe according to a Eurovision-like voting system, giving from 1 point to 12 points. In a possible case of a draw, it will be the public’s first place artist that will represent Germany in Malmö in May.

Source/Photographs: Esc-kompakt.de

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for even more news regarding Germany’s participation in Eurovision Song Contest 2024!