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Australia: Diana Rouvas declares willing to compete at Eurovision

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After Sheldon Riley, Diana Rouvas, the big winner of The Voice All Star Australia ,is ready to compete on the Eurovision stage.
In a follow-up question to Instagram whether she would like to “go” to Eurovision with either Australia or Greece, she gives her answer:

”I would love to….!!! Should it be with Australia not? But I’m a piece of Greek heritage”.

35-year-old Greek, Diana Rouvas currently has Greek parents and lives in Sydney. She has already excelled in her first attempt at The Voice in 2012 when she reached the semifinals. She is a vocalist, while she also writes her own songs. She was the great winner of the final of The Voice All Star in Australia. Diana is the first woman to win the popular talent show over the past three years, giving her the first win to her mentor, Boy George.

Eurovision 2020: The Eurovision 2020 Committee also inspected Rotterdam

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Following the visit to Maastricht, yesterday it was Rotterdam’s turn to welcome the Eurovision 2020 Committee, consisting of the three responsible broadcasters for the organization of Eurovision 2020 (NPO / NOS / AVROTROS), to examine the city’s potential  to host the event, according to what it has submitted  in its candidacy bid.

The committee was welcomed by Mr. Said Kasmi (Rotterdam City Council) and Ms. Jolanda Jansen (Rotterdam Ahoy Director). And of course, their first and foremost station was Rotterdam Ahoy, the proposed venue for the event, where the members of the committee observed the excellent work done by the staff  while they are already in contact with the relevant venues of other cities which had hosted Eurovision events  in order to be prepared better.

The officials, of course, Committee do not forget that Rotterdam and Rotterdam Ahoy specifically have hosted the 2007 Junior Eurovision , which will be taken into serious  account for the final decision  in mid-August.

Ms. Jolanda Jansen (Rotterdam Ahoy Director) said:
“The meeting was incredibly substantive. First we went through the bidbook in great detail, we presented ourselves as a city and toured the premises. We spent a few hours discussing various ideas about the different spaces and halls.We have been doing a lot of homework lately, for example we have been in touch with some of the former Eurovision venues and host cities that have organized the contest in recent years, such as Stockholm, Vienna and Lisbon.
It was very good to discuss all these things with each other. A very important lesson is that all of this is greater than anything I’ve ever experienced. ”

Mr. Said Kasmi (Rotterdam Councilor for Culture) stated:
“We could soon host the biggest music competition, I suppose there will be 246 million viewers worldwide watching the show. All eyes will be focused on Rotterdam and we will have lots of visitors landing in the city. We are working hard so that everything falls into place ».
Finally, Mr. Sietse Bakker (Eurovision 2020 Executive Producer) concluded:
“The EBU has had a very good experience with the 2007 Junior Song Contest here. I think that certainly counts. Ahoy is a very nice location for three very spectacular TV shows. There are many spaces and halls in close proximity to the main hall that can house the press, delegations, production and technical teams etc ».

Eurovision 2020: What did the Eurovision 2020 Committee see in Maastricht?

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The Eurovision 2020 Committee  (NPO / NOS / AVROTROS) completed yesterday  its first visit to Maastricht,the first is the two candidate cities for hosting ESC 2020.

The committee, as we wrote in our previous article, had technical meetings with the responsible parts  as well as visits to the proposed venues for the contest.

The Eurovision Committee 2020 was welcomed  by the Director of MECC MAASTRICHT, Mr. Van de Wiel and ESC Maastricht Project Leader, Ms. Inge Dovermann.

The meeting began with a virtual trip to the MECC, emphasized of course, on the stage created to host the great musical event.

The journalists did not have access to the meetings of the two parties but were given the opportunity to meet the city’s  officers  and the Eurovision 2020 Committee afterwards.

Sietse Bakker, Executive Producer ESC 2020, at the end of the meetings, stated:

« The MECC is a good, fantastic location with many options. You could host a great Eurovision here.
I am pleasantly surprised by the enthusiasm in Maastricht. It’s really amazing! »

while, regarding the stage, he said:

« In terms of height, width and depth, the MECC hall is reminiscent of the venues in Kiev and Tel Aviv. This makes it challenging! They really want to have the contest here in Maastricht.
In both cities we look at the suitability of the location, what the city itself contributes and which accommodations are available. Rotterdam and Maastricht both meet these three points ».

Finally, Mr. Van de Wiel, MECC Director,said:

« They wanted us to move the stage a little, because the logistics around the stage are much bigger. So we have to go back to the drawing table ».

We are expecting tomorrow the Committee’s impressions from its meetings in Rotterdam!

Source: esctoday.com, 1 Limburg, Limburger.nl

Eurovision 2020: NPO to visit the two candidate cities

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Just yesterday, following a thorough examination of the candidates’ bids for the organization of the next Eurovision contest, as we had mentioned in our previous article, the responsible  committee of the Dutch broadcaster NPO announced officially that only two cities of five candidates meet the EBU’s criteria for hosting the next Eurovision: Maastricht and Rotterdam.
As expected, and without losing time, NPO executives have begun today the  visits to the two cities to see and discuss in detail everything that each city has in its  bid as well as to look closely at the structures that will host the music contest.
Their first stop is Maastricht, where they will mainly inspect the Maastricht MESC, with a capacity of 20,000 spectators proposed by the city to host the contest, as well as the other necessary structures such as accommodation and easy transfer of delegation  and fans. Significant weight is also given to the other venues and location  of the side events such as Euroclub, Eurovision Village, Opening Ceremony, Red Carpet, Press Center, Delegation Bubble etc.
Tomorrow,  NPO travels to Rotterdam, heading mainly to Rotterdam Ahoy, the venue proposed for the contest, and the other locations proposed for all the side events.
In both cases, NPO  will also have meetings with officials from the two cities involved in organizing the event to gain a fuller picture of the potential of cities based on the files they have submitted and to inform EBU afterwards.

It is worth mentioning that Rotterdam strongly wants to host  the event, which is apparent from the intention of the Southern Holland province to boost the city with an extra 1 million euros if it takes over the organization. At the same time,Rotterdam claims  as its strong point a very good network as well as its excellent connection with most European cities through two airports (Schiphol International Airport and Rotterdam-The Hague Airport), a point that is lagging behind Maastricht.
Whatever the case, the on-the-spot review is in progress and we expect any information from these inspects.

Albania: Arilena Ara the first name for Festivali i Këngës 2019?

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Since May, RTSH, Albanian public broadcaster, had announced that the subscriptions for « Festivali i Këngës 2019 » begin but without confirming the country’s participation in the upcoming ESC.

« Festivali i Këngës » is used as the Albania’s selection method, which the country’s representative at Eurovision come of from.  There have been many of the great names of national artists  and not only, but also this show is the first national final of the year for each annual Eurovision.

In the last few hours, on various news sites and in social media, the news that  a great name of the Albanian scene and a craving for many fans are preparing their song for the upcoming Festivali i Këngës is being circulated.

The reason for Arilena Ara, which is currently enjoying her vacation in the US, while preparing her song with which she will participate in Festivali i Këngës.  If the news is true, it is a participation that surely all the fans are waiting for in anxiety and feeling, while at the same time it is the big favorite who wants to travel to the Netherlands.

Arilena Ara, became known through the children’s song contest “Little Genius”, where she took third place.  Later, she participated in the second version of the music contest, « The X-Factor », in the 2012-2013 season.  From the very beginning, she impressed by the audience and the committee, with Arilena finally managing to be a great winner of the show.  Since then, her career has sprung up.  One success succeeded the other with its reputation spreading to other countries, such as Romania and Russia, where her song « Nëntori » conquered the charts. Finally, she is one of three judges at « The Voice Kids Albania ».

We just wait for this reputation to be confirmed!

Source: CNA City News Albania, Prive.al, Eurovision Kosovo

Eurovision 2020: Rotterdam and Maastricht to be the official finalists for ESC 2020 hosting

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EBU,through its official website for the contest, announced a while ago what the Dutch media, but also what we had written a few days ago.  Rotterdam and Maastricht are the two remaining cities to claim Eurovision 2020 hosting.

This two cities had the most completed nomination bid and thus continue the fight for claiming Eurovision 2020. Next month, a team of the Dutch public broadcaster as well as EBU experts will visit the two cities in order to see and get up-to-date  , everything suggested by Maastricht and Rotterdam to organize the next contest.

« All cities and venues have made a great effort in their candidacies.  They impressed us with all their suggestions and I would like to thank all those involved so far for their positive contribution and commitment.  We are convinced that Maastricht and Rotterdam offer everything that a host city requires.  We hope the other cities will keep their enthusiasm for the song contest.  We would like to discuss the coming months how we can engage them in next year’s Eurovision. »

(Sietse Beker, executive producer of Eurovision 2020).

The cities that were considered inappropriate and had submitted a candidacy bid were Arnhem, Den Bos and Utrecht.

The final decision on the city that will host Eurovision 2020 will be announced at the end of August.

Georgia: the known format of « Georgia’s Star » to be used again

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Georgia has made its debut in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2007, and since then, with only one absence (2009), has been a non-stop member of the institution with its better position to be the ninth (2010 and 2011).

The procedure followed since then for the representative selection has been shifted from a direct assignment to a national final without having resulted in a permanent procedure.  Last year, after years of national finals, GPB,the national broadcaster decided to send Iriao by selecting them internally, and this year, in Israel, they chose the Pop Idol method for choosing its representative, with Oto Nemsadze finally signing “Keep on going”.

About two months after the end of the 64th Eurovision, GPB announced that Georgia’s star, the Georgian version of the Pop Idol, will be again used for representative ‘ selection in the Netherlands, as it did last year.

Applications have already begun and whoever interested can submit applications here.

Norway: 40 songs will participate in the Melodi Grand Prix 2020

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Early in March, Norway first confirmed its participation in Eurovision 2020, while announcing significant changes to the Melodi Grand Prix 2020.

In 2020, MGP, Norway’s national final for the selection of the Eurovision country’s representative, will close 60 years of existance, conducting six big shows following the standards of the Swedish Melodifestivalen. The last years that the country made so many shows was 2014.

Today, NRK has announced that 40 songs will compete at MGP 2020, celebrating 60 years of Norway’s presence in the Eurovision family.

Each of the five semi-finals will vary according to the geographical origin of the artists.

The program is as follows:

Show 1: 8 songs will compete in Northern Norway
Show 2: 8 songs will compete in Central Norway
Show 3: 8 songs will compete in Western Norway
Show 4: 8 songs will compete from East Norway
Show 5: 8 songs will compete in South Norway
Show 6: 2 songs selected by each semifinal will compete in the Grand Final of the Melodi Grand Prix 2020

All 6 shows will take place in Oslo, with no dates announced yet.

In the semifinals, the result will be judged by both the television audience and the jury, while in the final, the final decision on who will travel to the Netherlands will be made by the TV audience.

This year Norway was  represented by KEiiNo, with the song “Spirit In The Sky”, winning the 6th place with 331 points, scoring 1 in the televoting.

Israel: Two shows for the next country’s national selection

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The Israeli broadcaster, KAN, has confirmed the country’s participation in Eurovision 2020, making Israel the 25th country that announces its participation.

Together with confirmation of participation, KAN also announced how it will choose its  representative but also the song.

Initially, the selection of the artist will be made another year through the talent show « HaKokhan HaBa L’Eurovizion », which makes sense since,using this option after 2015, the country has not lost the qualification to the final – including of course Netta ´ s victory  in 2018.

But the selection of the song is the detail that will be changed. Until this year, the song was chosen by a team of experts.  However, for 2020, KAN will organize an additional show for the selection of the song which will be determined this time by the television audience.

KAN  is expected to invite artists to participate in HaKokhan HaBa next week, but the dates of the talent show have not yet been announced.

After Netta’s victory, Israel’s next representative was Kobi Marimi with the song « Home ».  Kobi won 23rd place.

Source : eurovoix.com

Switzerland: Directly assign for the Eurovision 2020

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Following Luca Hänni’s successful tour at Tel Aviv, Switzerland’s broadcaster SRF confirmed the country’s presence in the upcoming event in May 2020 in the Netherlands.

After this year’s great result that brought Switzerland to 4th place, the best that has been achieved since 2005, SRF,  decided to follow the same recipe, choosing internally, for the second consecutive year, both its representative and and the song as well.

For this choice, the broadcaster will nominate a panel of experts, composed of 100 members and a twenty-member international committee, to decide who will fly the Swiss flag in the Netherlands.

Interested composers, producers and songwriters can send their entries until September 2. More information about the participation is here.