Eurovision 2022: Pots and Participants of Semifinals Allocation Draw revealed!

The semi-finals draw will take place on Tuesday 25 January at 12:00 CET, from the Palazzo Madama e Casaforte degli Acaja in Turin. At the same time there will be a ceremony of handing over the keys of the contest or as it is widely known, the Host City Insignia from the previous hosts Rotterdam to the Italian organizers.

The allocation draw will determine whether the countries will participate in the First Semifinal (Tuesday, May 10) or the Second Semifinal (Thursday, May 12). Also, again based on the draw it will be determined if they appear in the first or second half of the semifinal. We remind you that the exact order of appearance is announced later by the organizers and after it has first been approved by the EBU.

The draw will be presented by TV presenters Carolina di Domenico and Gabriele Corsi. Rotterdam Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb and Turin Mayor Stefano Lo Russo will be present.

Friends of the contest will be able to watch the draw on Eurovision’s YouTube channel or on Rai’s streaming service.

Semi-final draw: How does it work?

Italy, as the host country, together with the other 4 members of the so-called “Big 5” (France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom) do not compete in the Semifinals, but vote in one of them… so before the competing countries in Semifinals, it will be determined at random which of the Semifinals the Big 5 will be allowed to vote for.

The next part of the draw will determine in which Semifinal and in which half of the respective Semifinal the remaining 36 participating countries will appear.

The 36 countries of the semifinals are selected from 6 different pots:

Pot 1

  • Albania
  • Croatia
  • Montenegro
  • North Macedonia
  • Serbia
  • Slovenia

Pot 2

  • Denmark
  • Australia
  • Finland
  • Iceland
  • Norway
  • Sweden

Pot 3

  • Armenia
  • Azerbaijan
  • Georgia
  • Israel
  • Russia
  • Ukraine

Pot 4

  • Cyprus
  • Greece
  • Malta
  • Bulgaria
  • Portugal
  • San Marino

Pot 5

  • Estonia
  • Lithuania
  • Latvia
  • Moldova
  • Poland
  • Romania

Pot 6

  • Austria
  • Belgium
  • Switzerland
  • Czech Republic
  • Ireland
  • Netherlands

Drawing countries from different pots helps to reduce the chance of so-called neighbourly voting and increases suspense in the Semi-Finals.

Stay tuned at Eurovisionfun for all the news regarding the 66th Eurovision Song Contest!

Exclusive: Dream Team arrives in Moscow for the final preparations before Eurovision 2022

Dimitris Kontopoulos is in Moscow today, together with Elias Kokotos. There they will of course meet Philipp Kirkorov, while they will spend a lot of time in the studio, completing or preparing the projects that they will present at Eurovision 2022.

Russia

It is no secret, Philipp Kirkorov has said on various occasions, that the Dream Team will represent Russia in the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest, except for a shocking surprise. So, at a time when Russian public television is still silent about its intentions in relation to the contest, this trip could not be unrelated to the country’s representation in Turin.

Various names are already rumored, with Klava Koka and Alexander Panayotov at the top of the discussion and scripts. Eurovisionfun is able to know that Dream Team has submitted more than one song to Russia 1 channel and is now in the waiting phase of decisions.

In Russia, which is Christmas today, they like last minute announcements. We remind you that last year it was literally announced that a national final will be held in the last minute, without the participation of the Little Big, something that you first read through Eurovisionfun.

So what is expected is the final recording of these songs submitted by Dream Team on Russia 1 channel, so that everything is ready to move on, as soon as the official announcement is made.

Armenia

Also not a secret is Philipp Kirkorov’s support for Saro Gevorgyan, winner of the last New Wave Festival. Saro, who is at the peak of his career, is considered one of the favorites to represent Armenia at Eurovision 2022.

 

Δείτε αυτή τη δημοσίευση στο Instagram.

 

Η δημοσίευση κοινοποιήθηκε από το χρήστη Saro (@sarogevorgyan)

Armenian public television, after its recent victory in Junior Eurovision, has not yet announced that it will choose its representative in the competition, although most information states that it will make an internal selection, according to the standards followed by ERT.

According to the information on our website, Saro is expected to meet in Moscow with Philipp Kirkorov, Dimitris Kontopoulos and Elias Kokotos, in order to work on the song with which the young artist will claim the representation of Armenia in Turin.

Greece

Finally, it is now a habit for Dimitris Kontopoulos to do the final mixing of the Eurovision songs in which he participates in any way, in one of the best recording studios in Moscow, VI Sound Studios, always with the assistance of Andrey Konoplev, a top sound engineer in Russia.

Given the fact that Amanda will soon be coming to Greece for the shooting of the video clip of the Greek participation and that it should have been completed, you understand that the possibility, the final mix of the Greek entry to take place at VI Sound Studios, is something more than likely.

With a lot of work ahead of them, in view of Eurovision 2022, the Dream Team is preparing for another Eurovision Song Contest.

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the information about the Dream Team at Eurovision 2022!

Дрим Тим: Все о подготовке команды к конкурсу в Турине!

Димитрис Контопулос сегодня уже в Москве вместе с Илиасом Кокотосом. Там они, конечно же, встретятся с Филиппом Киркоровым и проведут много времени в студии, доделывая или готовя заявки, которые будут представлены на Евровидении в этом году.

Россия

Как уже неоднократно заявлял Филипп Киркоров, Dream Team будет представлять Россию на предстоящем конкурсе. Общественное российское телевидение пока хранит молчание о своих намерениях, однако эта поездка не может не иметь отношения к подготовке страны к Евровидению.

Уже ходят слухи о различных именах, среди которых присутствуют такие артисты, как Клава Кока и Александр Панайотов. Eurovisionfun стало известно, что Dream Team отправила более одной песни каналу “Россия 1” и сейчас ожидает ответа от них.

В России, где сегодня празднуется Рождество, любят объявлять все в последнюю минуту. Напоминаем, что в прошлом году буквально в пять часов было объявлено о проведении национального финала, без участия Little Big, о чем вы впервые прочитали на Eurovisionfun.

Пока ожидается окончательная запись этих песен. Все начнет двигаться вперед, как только будет сделано официальное объявление.

Армения

Саро Геворкян, который находится на пике своей карьеры, является одним из фаворитов, чтобы представить Армению на масштабном песенном конкурсе. Недавно он стал победителем “Новой волны”, где удивил членов жюри вокальными способностями.

 

Δείτε αυτή τη δημοσίευση στο Instagram.

 

Η δημοσίευση κοινοποιήθηκε από το χρήστη Saro (@sarogevorgyan)

Общественное телевидение Армении после недавней победы на Детском Евровидении еще ничего не объявило, однако по слухам из Еревана, страна проведет внутренний отбор, аналогичный тому, что было у ERT.

Согласно информации на нашем сайте, ожидается встреча Саро в Москве с Филиппом Киркоровым, Димитрисом Контопулосом и Элиасом Кокотосом для работы над песней, с которой молодой артист будет претендовать на то, чтобы представить Армению в Турине.

Греция

Димитрис Контопулос любит делать окончательное сведение(микширование) песен в одной из лучших студий звукозаписи в Москве, VI Sound Studios, при содействии Андрея Коноплева.

Учитывая тот факт, что Аманда скоро поедет в Грецию для съемок видеоклипа, можно утверждать, что окончательный микс песни Греции возможно состоится именно в VI Sound Studios.

Оставайтесь с нами на Eurovisionfun, чтобы узнать всю информацию о Dream Team и их подготовке к Евровидению 2022!

Eurovision 2022: Semi Final Allocation Draw to take place on January 25!

One of the most important dates of the 66th Eurovision Song Contest was revealed a few hours ago, as the draw for the Eurovision 2022 semi-finals will take place on January 25th.

As revealed by the Montenegrin state radio, RTCG, in the context of the announcement of Vladana Vučinić as the representative of the Balkan country in Turin, the draw of the semi-finals will take place in exactly three weeks from today.

During the ceremony, the emblem of the event will be handed over from the city of Rotterdam to the Mayor of Turin. The draw will take place either at the Mole Antonelliana, the tallest building in Turin, or at the Palazzo Madama, which housed the first Senate of the Italian Kingdom.

The draw

The first part of the draw will determine the semi-final that will be broadcasted and voted by each of the five countries that are directly in the final (Italy, France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom).

The second part of the draw will determine in which semi-final and in which half the other 36 participating countries will compete. As in recent years, the exact order of appearance will be determined by the producers of the event at a later time.

The 36 countries will be distributed in five or six pots, based on historical voting patterns as calculated by the official television partner Digame. This separation is done in order to avoid the gathering of many neighboring countries in a semifinal that would significantly affect the final result.

We remind you that Eurovision 2022 will be held on May 10, 12 and 14 at the PalaOlimpico in the capital of Piedmont. Thus, Turin will become the third city in Italy where the Eurovision Song Contest will be held. The previous two were Naples in 1965 and Rome in 1991.

We remind you that the 66th Eurovision Song Contest will take place at the Pala Alpitour in Turin, on 10, 12 and 14 May 2022, with 41 participating countries.Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the news related to the 66th Eurovision Song Contest!

Odds: Spectacular drop in Russia’s odds in a few hours!

Although it’s too early to base bets and odds on the Eurovision winner, a frantic drop in Russian odds in the last few hours has prompted us to write this article.

Russia with power at the top

As usual at the beginning of each Eurovision season, when there is still no specific information about the participants, but not many songs, the countries leading the betting race are Sweden, Italy, Russia and the countries in general that last year did well in the competition.

The same was true of the odds for the winner of Eurovision 2022, where in first place we had Sweden, followed by Norway, Italy, France and Russia, with very small differences between them.

In the last few hours, however, Russia has dropped its performance too much, overtaking not only in the first place, but with a big difference from the rest. Characteristically, as you can see below, Russia currently has a 14% chance of winning based on the odds (a large percentage for the time being), with Sweden now in second place with only 6%.

 

What is the reason for this sudden change?

Usually such a sudden change in odds for a country is justified either by the release of the song, or by the leak of some information that bookmakers consider very important.

Three artists are rumored so far to represent Russia at Eurovision 2022. These are Klava Koka, Alexander Panayotov and finally Diana Ankudinova. All of them are very big names in the Russian music scene.

As in previous years, RTR, which for 2022 is responsible for the selection of Russia to participate in the contest, is expected to work with the Dream Team, with the aim of course to bring the country higher than the ninth place that Manizha took in Rotterdam.

According to our exclusive information, so far the Russian public television has not reached the artist who will represent it next May in Turin, although the relevant discussions have begun.

We will follow with interest the evolution of the betting odds for Eurovision 2022, while of course at Eurovisionfun you will be informed about all the details of the Russian participation as soon as there is something to be announced…

Who will represent Russia at Eurovision 2022?

Junior Eurovision 2021: Dream Team in Paris with the Russian delegation!

The Dream Team (Dimitris Kontopoulos, Elias Kokotos and Philipp Kirkorov) is in Paris with the Russian delegation, in order to support Tanya and help her bring the third victory for her country, in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest.

Junior Eurovision 2021 takes place on Sunday and today the rehearsals of the 19 participants begin. Russia participates with the song Mon Ami and appears in seventh place. The song has won the impressions and is considered one of the favorites to win the competition. According to our information, the Dream Team has edited Tanya’s entire appearance and that was one of the reasons for the recent trips of Dimitris Kontopoulos and Elias Kokotos to Moscow.

This is the first time that the Dream Team is so actively (obviously at least) involved with Junior Eurovision and it comes at a time when everything shows that it will take over the participation of Russia in the senior Eurovision.

According to our information, we will see a very impressive act on stage by Tanya, transferring the colorful video clip of Mon Ami to the stage of La Seine Musicale in Paris.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHlgT3gRCPo

Junior Eurovision 2021 will be held on Sunday, December 19, 2021, at 16.00 cet and you can watch it through the official YouTube channel of the contest!

Eurovision 2022: 41 countries joining the 66th contest in Turin!

Public broadcasters from 41 countries will take part in the Eurovision Song Contest when it returns to our screens next May.

Fans of the Contest will welcome back ARMTV from Armenia and RTCG from Montenegro, both taking to the stage for the first time since Tel Aviv in 2019.

It’s also a special year for Norwegian broadcaster NRK as they will be celebrating the selection of their 60th Eurovision entry during the Melodi Grand Prix grand final on Saturday 19 February.

We will also witness the 300th ‘Big Five’ performance – that’s a song from one of either France, Germany, Italy, Spain or United Kingdom.

Martin Österdahl, Executive Supervisor of the Eurovision Song Contest, shared his thoughts on the line-up:

‘We are so excited that we once again have over 40 broadcasters competing to win the iconic Eurovision trophy in Turin next May.

The team from Rai are working hard on preparations to welcome all the delegations to a new Host City and ensuring the Eurovision Song Contest will provide the excitement and state-of-the-art spectacle expected by nearly 200 million viewers.’

On the announcement of the 41 participants, Simona Martorelli and Claudio Fasulo from Italian broadcaster Rai added:

‘After 31 years, Italy is proud to host the Eurovision Song Contest again! As Executive Producers, we are incredibly excited to set up this amazing event and welcome delegations from 41 nations to Turin next year.

Above all, we strongly believe the Eurovision Song Contest will allow us to showcase and share the beauty of Italy with a global audience via the elements that unite us all: music and harmony.’

The Italian city of Turin won the race to become the Host City of the 66th Eurovision Song Contest, setting Saturday 14 May as the date of the Grand Final, which will be held in PalaOlimpico along with two Semi-Finals on 10 and 12 May.

Source: Eurovision.tv

Russia: Dima Bilan recalls his Eurovision past | Is he preparing for his third participation?

He is one of the most popular artists in his country and the only winner of Eurovision for Russia (2008 with Believe). We are talking, of course, about Dima Bilan, who at the age of 39 seems to have a strong desire to be on the stage of the contest for the third time.

With Dima Bilan, Russia in Eurovision 2022?

Earlier, through a video he posted on his social networks, Dima Bilan recalls his first entry in the competition in 2006 in Athens, where with Never Let You Go, he took second place. Commenting, Duma Bilan states:

Do you remember how Eurovision brings people together? What a strong spirit of support and integration? Wasn’t it nice? Should we repeat it…?

 

Δείτε αυτή τη δημοσίευση στο Instagram.

 

Η δημοσίευση κοινοποιήθηκε από το χρήστη Dima Bilan (@bilanofficial)

The video has garnered over 50,000 likes in four hours, and the responses to comments on Dima Bilan’s possible return to the Eurovision Song Contest are more than encouraging.

Russia at Eurovision 2022

As usual, Russia surprises us with its decisions for its respective participations in the competition, since little information sees the light of day, before the official announcements.

Responsible for Russia’s entry in Eurovision in 2022 is the Russia 1, with which Philipp Kirkorov has been collaborating with the Dream Team in recent years. Apart from the shocking unexpected, the Russia channel will trust the same team again this year, which has also brought them significant successes. This year’s ninth place of Manizha and Russian Woman, a song that was especially loved by fans, but found itself in relatively low positions for Russia, especially in the public voting, proved that no country alone has a guaranteed place in the top 5…

Although it is still early and the first processes have started in Russia, it is no coincidence that in the summer Dimitris Kontopoulos and Elias Kokotos were in Moscow, where they also had meetings with various artists. The fact is that we are far from any decisions, but the interest of Dima Bilan is also a given.

After this year’s mediocre position for the data of Russia, but also the low numbers in the television viewing, the channel Russia will want a popular artist, who will raise the numbers and the interest, hoping of course to win a very good position. In this equation, Dima Bilan can be the solution…

Below is the first entry of Dima Bilan in the competition:

Would you like to see Dima Bilan again at the Eurovision Song Contest?

Russia: Philipp Kirkorov is not included in Ukraine’s “Black List” anymore

Five days ago, Ukraine’s goverment has decided to include the Russian Pop Star Philipp Kirkorov in the “Black List” and ban him from entering the country, among other 200 Russian artists.

However, the Russian artist has made an instagram post to reasure his fans and followers that his name is not included in the list anymore and his fans will be able to keep on listening to his music.

I’m sending a piece of my heart and soul to every fan I have in Ukraine. I’m feeling very happy and proud with with the unexpected announcement from government authorities.

At the weekend, Ukraine’s government authorities, has removed my name from “Black List”. Thank you all for your support and your love.

We all have the right to decide what to watch or what to listen to, all by ourselves. And you proved that music and politics shouldn’t be related.

You proved to the whole world that your voice, the voice of the people, is much more powerful than every goverment agency. You showed a friendly face to Russia and I’m really hoping that the two countries will be friendly and show respect to each other. Maybe, there is still hope that the whole situation between us will be improved

Philipp Kirkorov

The Russian artist represented the country in Eurovision 1995 and has been part of the “Dream Team” ,as a co-writer , the last 15 years.

 

 

Russia: Philipp Kirkorov in the spotlight – Zivert’s chances for Eurovision are reduced!

A big controversy broke out yesterday in the Russian showbiz with Russian pop singer and member of the Dream Team, Philipp Kirkorov and the producer of the singer Svetlana Loboda, Natella Krapivina, as the main actors.

The occasion was the appearance of Philipp Kirkorov with the influencer-rapper Dava Manukyan on the red carpet of the Muz Tv awards and the photo they uploaded, in which they are surrounded by half-naked men.

The specific post on Instagram was commented by Natella Krapivina, producer and director of Svetlana Loboda, writing “Horror show in every way. “In the old days in the Caucasus, such people were cut up and made into kebabs.”

Krapivina’s comment was answered by Phillip Kirkorov, posting a video on Instagram, in which he directly accused her of arrogance, toxicity and hypocrisy, as she claims that she is progressive, while at the same time she wishes people to die. In the same post he blamed her for the fact that a Loboda appearance had strong similarities with an older Beyonce appearance.

Philipp Kirkorov has received rave reviews from celebrities such as Little Big Sonya, Melovin and Natalia Gordienko.

The famous Russian singer Zivert, however, seems to have liked Krapivina’s initial comment, something that Dava Manukyan also noticed, accusing her on Instagram of hypocrisy, since she has collaborated with Kirkorov. At the same time, Dava asked Kirkorov “not to cooperate in the future with people who smile at them but want to send them to the barbecue.”

Therefore, although it was one of the most rumored names, Zivert’s chances of representing Russia at Eurovision 2022 in collaboration with the Dream Team seem to be significantly reduced.

Meanwhile, Krapivina announced the end of its cooperation with Loboda and its departure from Russian showbiz.

In a video she posted, she admitted that her comment was harsh, explaining that she was not addressing all members of the LGBT community but the “atalants promoted by Kirkorov” and the “circus of Russian showbiz”. In addition, she stated that she proves her tolerance every day and accused Philipp Kirkorov of distorting her comment, while he has not actively supported members of the LGBT community in Russia. He also referred to previous incidents with Kirkorov, the fact that Loboda is the producer of a great success and claimed that Kirkorov repeatedly asked Loboda to cooperate in recent months, but she refused.

Svetlana Loboda on the other hand stated that her views do not coincide with those of her (former) producer and apologized to anyone who was offended or hurt.

Meanwhile, Roskomnadzor (Russia’s Communications, Information and Media Supervision Service) said it would investigate Muz Tv Awards material for violations of a law banning the promotion of “non-traditional sex with minors”. during the day and without the sign 18+. It is the law that was passed in Russia in 2013, became known as the “law of gay propaganda” and was condemned by the international community.

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