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ERT Gears Up for Eurovision 2025: A Historic National Final on the Horizon After 22 Years!

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After a summer full of sports broadcasts and the recent administrative restructuring with the appointment of Giannis Papadopoulos as interim president of the company’s Board of Directors, alongside CEO Katerina Kaskanioti, ERT is now moving forward into the new television season. One of the key issues to address is the selection of Greece’s entry for Eurovision, with the method of selection being the main question.

The national final is closer than ever

According to information from various sources, ERT is seriously considering the possibility of holding an open national final to choose Greece’s Eurovision entry. Although the final decision has not yet been made, it is expected within the next two weeks.

ERT’s management, aiming to make the most of the Eurovision project both in terms of television and commercial success — a project that traditionally garners high viewership rates in Greece — is leaning towards holding a televised national final. The huge commercial success of Marina Satti, with the record-breaking viewership during the final of the contest, has bolstered this idea.

The fact that many artists want to represent Greece, combined with the fact that the last open national final was held in 2003, makes ERT’s management favor the idea of such a contest. Through this process, both the artist and the song representing Greece in Basel next May will be selected.

As we’ve mentioned in previous articles, ERT’s management aims to ensure a transparent and objective selection process. Public participation in this process is almost certain, as there has long been a demand for the public to have a say in choosing Greece’s entry, just as is the case in most European countries.

Record labels are already preparing

Naturally, this news has reached the record labels, which are already preparing for the now-likely national final. In fact, all record labels, without exception, will submit several candidates, as many artists on their rosters are eager to enter and compete for the chance to represent Greece in the contest.

The fact that the Eurovision contest attracts more and more interest from record companies each year — being perhaps the largest music platform worldwide — has whetted the appetite of Greek labels, who obviously want one of their own artists to represent Greece.

The conversation about potential names has already begun, with many well-known and talented artists expressing interest in participating in ERT’s national final. Some have already publicly declared their desire to compete, while others have yet to reveal their intentions. Of course, we will keep you updated in future articles, as the list of candidates continues to grow, including both artists from record labels and independent musicians.

Presentation of the new program and onwards to Eurovision…

On Wednesday, September 18th, at the Athens Conservatory, ERT will present its new programming. This is essentially the last pending issue before officially starting its preparations for Eurovision.

By the end of the month, we expect official announcements, and as long as no financial, technical, or procedural hurdles cause any setbacks, we will have the first open national final by ERT in 22 years.

ERT’s goal, once again, is not only to secure a place in the top ten but also to represent Greece in a way that will make Greeks proud, while keeping the audience’s interest at high levels.

Eurovisionfun will, of course, keep you updated on every development, providing you with timely and accurate information regarding Greece’s participation in Eurovision 2025.

Stay tuned here!

Greece: Government proposal to ERT for a national final in Eurovision 2025

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According to one of the oldest and most valid journalistic columns in Greece, BIMAtodotis in the Vima newspaper, the goverment, disturbed by what happened again this year at the Eurovision contest, have suggested to ERT that the selection of the next Greek representative be made through public voting, i.e. national final.

The issue with Marina Satti’s behavior at Eurovision with her fake yawns while the Israeli singer was speaking, seems not to have ended.

As BIMAtodotis writes, the matter now moves to another level and becomes political. It is impressive that the opposition parties were not involved, but only the goverment.

So the Prime Minister’s office (as well as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) is deeply disturbed by Marina Satti who wanted to make her own foreign policy, with the government representative Pavlos Marinakis returning to the issue and stating directly among other things: “what I want to say as a personal comment, when someone – and this has nothing to do with political positions – represents a country, even in a music competition, travels at the expense of the Greek taxpayer, she must watch her behavior. Her public image and her behavior in general.”

According to sources, the goverment does not let the matter be forgotten. In addition to transferring their discomfort to the management of ERT, they intends to suggest that the institution of approving the song should now be done by public voting and not by… direct assignment which ERT does now (that is, it does whatever it wants).

BIMAtodotis

As we also mentioned here through Eurovisionfun in 2025, ERT has the ideal opportunity to organize a national final. With the popularity of Eurovision soaring, the commercial success of the contest in recent years, and the launch of Marina Satti’s career with her participation in Malmö, the Greek representation in Switzerland is expected to be contested by many important artists.

Everything will of course depend on the new management of ERT, since both the position of the ceo and that of the president will be announced through.

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the updates!

Source: Vima

Montenegro: Back with a new national final in 2025?

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Following a call by the national broadcaster, RTCG, for a public debate to shape its broadcasting programme for 2024, the authorities have published an official report responding to the suggestions/ questions sent to them.

Of course, there were also questions about the Eurovision Song Contest!

More specifically, someone asked the following question:

“Are there any plans to organise a music festival produced by the RTCG? From time to time there have been announcements about a winter festival instead of Montevizija, about Montefon and other festivals…
Will RTCG participate in the Eurovision Song Contest and will there be a national final?”

The RTCG’s response was as follows:

“The Montenegrin TV is planning to organise a music festival promoting new songs by local artists and composers and at which (depending on the budget for 2025) the country’s representative for the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 will be selected!”

It is also stated that although in 2023 RTCG did not broadcast Eurovision, in 2024 it intends to broadcast both Eurovision and Eurovision Junior.

Montenegro’s last participation in the contest was in 2022 with Vladana and the song “Breathe” which finished in the 17th place of the semi-final with just 33 points.

Would you like to see Montenegro return? Do you think this will happen in 2025? Let us know in the comments!

Source: RTCG

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

Greece: A National Televised Show for Eurovision 2024?

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More and more articles claim that ERT’s administration is planning a national televised show through which the entry of Greece for the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest will emerge.

At Typologies section of ToParon newspaper it is mentioned not only the changes at CyBC’s plans for 2024 Eurovision and Fame Story, following the rules changes by EBU and its intervention, but also the possible plan of the organisation of a national televised final show through which the singer and the song that will represent Greece for Eurovision in Malmö will be selected.

Through this way ERT’s administration hopes to overcome this year’s disappointment including everything around the Eurovision project and not only the final outcome at Liverpool.

The possibility of a national final show is a scenario that has recently been circulating among the press and its realisation is highly depended on intentions of the new manager director of ERT that everyone expects.

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

Sources: To Paron

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The Netherlands:Commentator Cornald Maas is hesitant towards a national final possibility

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The experienced Dutch commentator of Eurovision, Cornald Maas, voiced on Twitter his negative attitude towards the possibility of hosting a national final for the selection of the future representatives of the Netherlands.

In response to Dutch sociologist Sjors Joosten’s article, published in NRC Handelsblad, arguing that the Netherlands should follow Sweden’s example and organize a Melodifestivalen-style national final, Cornald Maas stated:

Hear hear? I would say: think think. Leaving out the upcoming competition: All (Dutch) national finals since 2004 have resulted in only a single qualification to the final. From 2013 onwards (internal selection), we are always in the final. Or maybe you just want an orange national celebration?

In a subsequent tweet, after having being asked why the selection method is not democratic anymore,he commented the following:

It doesn’t work at the moment if we want to guarantee quality. The music industry is not willing to participate in a national final in the Netherlands, unlike in Sweden. Even “in the background”, big/good names with good songs do not want to compete here, as it has been proven more than once.

In spite of the fact that holding a Dutch national final does not seem likely in the near future, Cornald Maas did not rule out seeking for alternative,more democratic selection processes such as plebiscites.

The Netherlands is a country that has established themselves as a force to be reckoned with in the competition,with a considerable amount of remarkable entries that gave them various top-10 placements,including a 9th, a 2nd and even a top position in the scoreboard ever since the reintroduction of the internal selection process.

The Greek cooperating broadcaster ERT may find themselves at the crossroads between the internal selection and the national final on account of the fact that ever since the implementation of a selection process similar to the Dutch one (submission of proposals by interested artists and selection by an artistic committee), they have returned to the final (2019) and to the top 10 subsequently (2021,2022).

 

Do you think a Melodifestivalen type national final could be successfully held in Greece? Would it capture the interest of well-known/respectable artists and record companies? Would the Greek public make the right choice?

 

Write us in the comments and stay tuned in Eurovisionfun for more things about Eurovision!

Latvia: The results of Supernova’s 2023 semi-final!

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The semi-final of Latvia’s national final, Supernova 2023, was completed successfully and the 10 finalists of Supernova were decided.

A total of fourteen candidates competed in the semi-final, claiming ten tickets for Saturday’s grand final. Presenters of the evening were Ketija Šēnberga and Lauris Reiniks.

The participants:

The participants of tonight’s semifinal were:

  1. Artūrs Hatti – “Love Vibes”
  2.  Alise Haijima – “Tricky”
  3.  Inspo – “Sway”
  4. Toms Kalderauskis – “When It All Falls”
  5. Katrine Miller – “Beaten Down”
  6. Justs – “Stranger”
  7. Adriana Miglāne – “Like I Wanna”
  8. 24. Avēnija – “You Said”
  9. Markus Riva – “Forever”
  10. Avéi – “Let Me Go”
  11. Patrisha – “Hush”
  12. Raum – “Fake Love”
  13. Luīze – “You To Hold Me”
  14. Sudden Lights – “Aijā”

50% of the results in the two shows (semifinals and a final) comes from the jury, while the other 50% from the audience.

The qualifiers:

The qualifiers of tonight’s semifinal were as follows:

  1. 24. Avēnija – “You Said”
  2. Alise Haijima – “Tricky”
  3. Artūrs Hatti – “Love Vibes”
  4. Avéi – “Let Me Go”
  5. Luīze – “You To Hold Me”
  6. Markus Riva – “Forever”
  7. Patrisha – “Hush”
  8. Raum – “Fake Love”
  9. Sudden Lights – “Aijā”
  10. Toms Kalderauskis – “When It All Falls”

Last year’s Supernova winner was Citi Zeni with “Eat Your Salad“. They ended up 14th in their semi-final with 55 points.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TM0_0WfuxSk

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all news regarding Latvia’s participation in Eurovision 2023!

Croatia: Dora 2023 will take place on February 11 | The day will be a Super Saturday of national finals!

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A few days ago HRT the public broadcaster of Croatia, published the names of the artists that are going to participate in Dora 2023, the country’s national final for Eurovision 2023.

In contrast with their initial announcement, Dora 2023 will take place with just one show, the show of the Grand Final with 18 participants chosen from a jury among the 196 songs submitted:

  • Damir Kedžo – “Angels and Demons”
  • Meri Andraković – “Bye Bye Blonde”
  • Martha May – “Distance”
  • Tajana Belina – “Dom”
  • Đana – “Free Fallin”
  • Boris Štok – “Grijeh”
  • Maja Grgić – “I Still Live”
  • Patricia Gasparini – “I Will Wait”
  • Krešo I Kisele Kiše – “Kme Kme”
  • Eni Jurišić – “Kreni Dalje”
  • The Spitters – “Lost & Found”
  • Yogi – “Love At First Sight”
  • Let 3 – “MAMA ŠČ!”
  • Detour – “Master Blaster”
  • Hana Mašić – “Nesreća”
  • Harmonija Disonance – “Nevera (Lei, Lei)”
  • Barbara Munjas – “Putem Snova”
  • Top of the Pops feat. Mario 5reković – “Putovanje”

Earlier today, the organisers revealed the exact date of the national final and this is February 11th in the city of Opatija.

Dora 2023 will not be the only national final that is going to take place in that day, as five more national finals and two qualifying rounds will be broadcasted in the same evening, in a Super Saturday! In detail, these will be:

  • 🇸🇪 Melodifestivalen Heat 2
  • 🇱🇹 Papandom iš Naujo Second Semi-Final
  • 🇩🇰 Dansk Melodi Gran Prix 2023 Final
  • 🇮🇹 Festival di Sanremo 2023 Final
  • 🇲🇹 MESC 2023 Final
  • 🇪🇪 Eesti Laul 2023 Final
  • 🇭🇷 Dora 2023 Final
  • 🇷🇴 Selecția Națională 2023 Final

The previous winner of Dora and Croatia’s representative in Eurovision 2022 was Mia Dimšić with the song “Guilty Pleasure“, but she didn’t manage to qualify for the grand final, ending up in 11th place of the first semi-final for the second year in a row:

https://youtu.be/9vBQdtW3mJE

Stay tuned on Eurovisionfun for all the news regarding the Croatian participation at the Eurovision Song Contest 2023, in Liverpool!

Source: eurovision.tv

Albania: The participants of Festivali i Këngës 61 are announced!

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A few moments ago, the Albanian broadcaster announced through their website, the twenty-six participants who will participate in Festivali i Këngës 61. 22 soloists and 4 groups have been selected by the jury to compete in the competition, from which the winner will represent Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023.

Albania’s radio broadcaster, RTSH, has not yet announced when Festivali i Këngës 61 will take place. The competition is traditionally held in mid-December.

The participants of Festivali i Këngës 61 and the titles of their songs are as follows:

  1. 2 Farm (Bandë muzikore) – “Atomike”
  2. Alban Kondi & Lorela Karoshi – “Melodi”
  3. Albina Kelmendi – “Duje”
  4. Anduel Kovaçi – “Malli”
  5. Aris Bako – “Sonte dua të jem me ty”
  6. Melodajna Mancaku – “Gjysma e zemrës sime”
  7. Elisa Lila – “Evita”
  8. Enxhi Nasufi – “Burrë”
  9. Erma Mici – “Kozmosi i dashurisë”
  10. Evi Reçi – “Ma kthe”
  11. Fabian Basha – “Një gotë”
  12. Fifi (Filloreta Raçi) – “Stop”
  13. Franc Koruni – “Në pritje”
  14. Genti Hoxha – “Ajër”
  15. Gjergj Kaçinari – “Dje”
  16. Luna Causholli – “Jetën ta fal”
  17. LYNX – “Nëse ke besim”
  18. Manjola Nallbani – “Dua”
  19. Permit of Stay – “Fobia”
  20. Petrit Çarkaxhiu – “Emri yt mirësi”
  21. Rezearta Smaja – “N’Eden”
  22. Rovena Dilo – “Motit”
  23. Sara Kapo – “Para teje”
  24. Serxhio Hajdini – “Vështirë”
  25. Urban Band – “Në çdo hap”
  26. Vanesa Soni – “Aroma jonë”

Last year’s winner was Ronela Hajati with “Sekret“, who did not make it past the semi-final as she finished 12th with 58 points.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jWXmo0-ZjI&feature=emb_title

Stay tuned to Eurovision Fun for all the news regarding Albania’s participation in Eurovision 2023.

Source: rtsh.al

Belgium: With a national final at Eurovision 2023?

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According to weekly magazine TV Familie, there are rumors going on about a possible return of Eurosong, the Flemish Song Contest preliminary round for Eurovision Song Contest .  In a response to Songfestival.be, the public broadcaster stated that it wants to focus on entertainment and relaxation, but that nothing concrete can be announced yet about the selection of the VRT candidate for the Songfestival 2023.

The same source stated that the Flemish public broadcaster VRT is considering reselecting the 2023 Belgian representative  entry via Eurosong. The presenter has apparently already been chosen, and it’s Niels Destadsbader, who switched from VTM to VRT, would be ready to present a new edition of the preselection in 2023. He has recently been under contract with VRT and would present several live shows there.

The public broadcaster neither accept or deny the rumours about the comeback of Eurosong for Eurovision 2023!

“Each edition we look at the best way to select our candidate for the Eurovision Song Contest. This has already happened via pre-selections, via a TV show and via an internal selection.  At the moment we cannot announce anything concrete about the selection for our VRT candidate for the Eurovision Song Contest, but of course we will share news about this later.”

The Eurosong preliminary round was last used as a selection method in 2016. Peter Van de Veire, who has been the face of VRT for Eurovision for many years, presented those shows at the time. Van de Veire is in favor of selecting our Belgian candidate without a preliminary round. According to TV Familie, he would not return as the presenter of Eurosong 2023 after his retirement from MNM.

In 2016, Belgium was represented by Laura Tesoro and “What’s the Pressure”. She advanced on the Grand Final and she finished 10th with 181 points.

This year, Belgium will be represented by Jérémie Makiese with “Miss You” and we will compete on the 16th place of the Second Semi Final of Eurovision 2022!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZ3mLO4uFjY

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

source

Ireland: Brooke Scullion will represent the country at Eurovision 2022 with the song “That’s Rich”!

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The Irish national final of, Eurosong 2022, at tonight’s Eurovision Late Late Show Special was broadcast by RTÉ and has just been completed, with Ireland selecting Brooke Scullion and “That’s Rich” as their winning act and therefore their representative at Eurovision 2022 in Turin.

Seven years later than the last time that the Irish entry was selected by a national final, the Irish viewers got the chance to vote their favourite Irish hopeful, that they wished their country got represented by.

Ryan Tubridy was the host of  tonight’s “The Late Late Show Eurosong 2022 Special”, also Marty Whelan was the co-host covering what was going on backstage. Panti Bliss also appeared briefly at the beginning of the show.

The national juries are Caroline Corr, Paul Harrington, Bláthnaid Treacy and Lucia Evans.

A total of six finalists, which had been selected among 320 submissions, competed in the national final, in the hopes of representing the country in Turin.

The performances of the finalists

The six contestants of the national final, appeared in the following order:

  • Patrick O’Sullivan – “One Night, One Kiss, One Promise”

  • Janet Grogan – “Ashes Of Yesterday”

  • Brendan Murray – “Real Love”

  • Miles Graham – “Yeah, We’re Gonna Get Out Of It”

  • Rachel Goode – “I’m Loving Me”

  • Brooke Scullion – “That’s Rich”

The voting system

After the completion of the six performances, Ryan announced that the voting lines are open and all numbers appeared again for the viewers to vote, along with a recap of the songs.

The winner was determined by a combination of jury (international and national) and televoters. In fact, first there was a combination of both the international and the national jury votes and then the aggregate jury votes were combined to the votes of the viewers.

The voting will be Eurovision style, 12 the act getting the highest number of votes, 10 the second highest etc. In case of a tie, the act scoring higher in the public televote will be declared a winner.

At the end of the televised show, the results were announced and they are as seen below.

International Jury vote results

Aggregate Jury results (International and National Jury)

Total results

The winner

Over the last few years, things haven’t really gone their way, for Ireland. Hoping to overturn the situation, tonight they had to vote for their favourite artist and song, that they wished they’d represent Ireland at the contest.

At the end of the show, the results were announced and had determined the winner which is Brooke Scullion with the song “That’s Rich”!

You can watch the winning performance of Brooke below:

What do you think of the representative that secured a ticket to Turin, to represent Ireland at this year’s contest? Let us know in the comments section below!