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Spain: Here are the Benidorm Fest stage and interval acts!

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In less than 24 hours before the Spanish Benidorm Fest 2023 kicks off live at the Palau d’Esports L’Illa de Benidorm . A total of 9 artists will take  the stage this Tuesday to compete for one of the four available spots for Saturday’s Grand Final. On January 31, February 2 and February 4, Benidorm will become the epicenter of Spanish music when it hosts the two semi-finals and the grand final of the second edition of the Spanish national selection.

The main stage of Benidorm Fest has a rectangular shape and consists of three parts : the main stage of 360 square meters, the corridor and a small circular stage at the end, which will be used by some artists for their performances. In addition, the stage consists of 6 rotating high resolution LED screens and a set of fixed screens. The main entrances are provided by manually operated mechanical carts, which create the necessary openings for the passage of movable scenic elements from the backstage to the center of the stage.

The Green Room of Benidorm Fest 2023 / Source: RTVE

The second section of the venue is located directly in front of the Benidorm Fest main stage. With an area of ​​458 square meters , the space will accommodate the Green Room – the space where the artists will relax after their performance -, the jury table and the presenters’ stage . Both the space occupied by the jury table (on the right) and the stage of the presenters (on the left) have a circular shape so that they “surround” the entire stage. The Green Room, located in the center of this second space, has a rhomboid shape and is built on several stepped levels.

The audience of the arena will be located in the middle of the two platforms, in a space of 530 square meters . The rest of the spectators will occupy the stands located on both sides of the hall. 2,200 people will be able to attend the 3,000 square meters of the Benidorm Sports Palace to watch the three BEFest galas: 500 people in the A stand, 500 people in the B stand and 1,200 people in the main dance floor.

General view of the Benidorm Fest 2023 stage / RTVE

State-of-the -art equipment was used for both lighting and sound . The production will be carried out with a mobile HD unit, which allows a composition with 17 cameras : 7 on a pedestal, 2 hot heads, 3 standalone, 3 railcam, a steadycam and a cable cam. In addition, the technical equipment will include an auxiliary mobile unit, a recording unit and two interface units.

More than 200 professionals (including RTVE staff and suppliers) are behind the technical and human resources that have been working since last January in Benidorm to make everything run to perfection. The show, produced by RTVE in collaboration with Boomerang TV Producciones , will be directed by Jordi Rosell , edited by Jordi Vives and lit and photographed by Iñaki Irastorza . Oscar Denia is the producer of the second edition of Benidorm Fest while the executive producer is Josep Parés . Francesc Calafell is responsible for the scenography of Benidorm Fest.  We will see 18 unique stage designs developed by the organizers of the event in collaboration with the artistic teams of the participants.

The main stage of Benidorm Fest 2023 / RTVE

All three nights will be broadcast by Spanish TV ‘s La 1 and RTVE Play . The semi-finals will be held on Tuesday and Thursday, January 31 and February 2 respectively, starting at 11.50pm and lasting approximately 80 minutes. The final will last  over 90 minutes and will be broadcast at 23:05 on Saturday 4 February . After this exciting final we will know the successor of Chanel and the next representative of Spain in Eurovision 2023.

Interval acts

The two interval acts for the Benidorm Fest 2023 have been revealed.  Edurne and Glora Trevi will perform during each of the Semi-Finals.

Edurne represented Spain on the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 with her song Amanecer.  For her interval act she will perform a medley of her latest singles.

Mexican singer Gloria Trevi will perform during the second Semi-Final as part of her promotional tour in Spain.

Source: RTVE

Stay tuned to EurovisionFun for all the latest news regarding Spain’s participation in Eurovision 2023!

Sweden: This is what the Melodifestivalen 2023 Stage looks like!

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The design of this year’s Melodifestivalen stage has been completed and SVT unveiled a sketch/working image of how the final stage looks like, before it gets constructed at Scandinavium Arena in Gothenburg. It can now be seen in a post at the official Melodifestivalen Twitter account of SVT.

Instead of two stages like last year, there will instead be one well-sized stage. The record-breaking staircase to the front of the stage is recognisable, but is split in two and offers a pointed stage where the performers can be close to the audience. The record-breaking staircase to the front of the stage is recognisable, but is split in two and offers a pointed stage where the performers can be close to the audience.

As for this year’s Greenroom, it will be similar in appearance and placement, as the big party place on the parquet in the middle of the crowd, and almost as generously scaled during the tour as well as in the final.  

The construction of the stage will be livestreaming next week starting Monday 30 January 12:00 CET, at SVT Play with the show “Den stora scenriggningen“.

Changes in voting system

As we have already informed you, the voting system of Melodifestivalen has changed following the announced changes by EBU regarding the voting format in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool!

The broadcaster now scraps the group division at the fifth semi-final and all eight contestants will now have to face each other. Points will be awarded from the viewing groups and the four entries with the highest points will advance to the final!

The dates of Melodifestivalen 2023

  • Heat 1: Göteborg – Saturday 4 February 2023 (Scandinavium)
  • Heat 2: Linköping – Saturday 11 February 2023 (Saab Arena)
  • Heat 3: Lidköping – Saturday 18 February 2023 (Sparbanken Arena)
  • Heat 4: Malmö – Saturday 25 February 2023 (Malmö Arena)
  • Semi-Final: Örnsköldsvik – Saturday 4 March 2023 (Hägglunds Arena)
  • Final: Stockholm – Satuday 11 March 2023 (Friends Arena)

We remind you that Melodifestivalen 2023 is scheduled to take place between February 4th to March 11th and will be hosted by Jesper Rönndahl and Farah Abadi.

Melodifestivalen 2022 was won by Cornelia Jacobs with the song “Hold Me Closer”, representing Sweden in Eurovision 2022 and coming 4th with 438 points.

Stay tuned at Eurovisionfun, for all the latest developments regarding Sweden’s entry for Eurovision 2023!

Source: SVT
Scene Graphics: Viktor Brattström

Eurovision 2022: Behind the scenes of Turin stage construction!

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The first images and videos of construction of the Eurovision 2022 stage at the PalaOlimpico in Turin can now be seen on social media.

There are already images from construction inside the arena suggest that the stage may be one of the largest in recent years of the contest:

The concept behind the design is called “The Sun Within” which relies on movements and light of a kinetic sun. The stage is able “to showcase theatrical motion, which is framed by water and will have a lush Italian garden lapping up the rays in front of it”.

There is a video on Twitter that shows the building of the stage:

The creative mind behind the design is Francesca Montinaro, who has also created the stages of Sanremo Music Festival two times (2013 and 2019), explained what inspired the idea for this years stage:

Italy, with its sun its sea, art and nature, but above all to represent Italians with their unique vocation to adapt and welcome.

Another video was posted that shows a large LED wall behind the stage construction:

Also it has been known through Instagram that viewers can also expect an LED floor on the stage:

The design will also incorporate a Green Room at the front of stage which is inspired by the feel of baroque gardens such as those at Villa d’Este, Castel Gandolfo, Villa Lante or other estates across Italy, while the water reminds people of fountains in a park. Francesca Montinaro has explained that she wants to make sure that every artist has a platform to express their identity through the stage.

The Eurovision Song Contest returns to Italy this year following Måneskin’s victory at the 2021 contest with their song “Zitti e Buoni”. The 2022 contest will be hosted on 10th, 12th, and 14th May at the PalaOlimpico in Turin.

Source: eurovoix

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the news about Eurovision 2022!

Don’t forget to Vote in our poll! For the First Semi-final you vote HERE and for the Second Semi-final you vote HERE.

 

 

Moldova: Zdob şi Zdub & Fraţii Advahov Plan To Feature A Train In Eurovision Performance!

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Zdob şi Zdub & Fraţii Advahov would like to bring a real train to the Eurovision stage for their performance in May this year.

During an interview with Moldova’s Pro TV newsite, Moldovan Eurovision 2022 artists Zdob şi Zdub & Fraţii Advahov revealed the plans for the staging that they want to take to Turin:

“We will bring the real train on stage, there will be a drum, maybe the grandmother will be there, I don’t know. In Turin will be the version recorded in the studio, with backing vocals.”

The music video for their entry “Trenulețul” (The Train) features the band, joined by two folk musicians known as Frații Advahov, travelling on a train from Chisinau to Bucharest.

Source

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the news regarding Moldova’s participation in Eurovision 2022!

 

 

Eurovision 2022: Stage Construction to Start on March 15!

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As we previously informed you, Rai unveiled the first designs of the stage for Eurovision Song Contest 2022!

Construction of the stage in the PalaOlimpico, in Turin, is due to start on March 15, almost a full 8 weeks ahead of the final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2022. No date for completion has been published at this time.  In the past, the process of stage construction has taken 3-4 weeks.

Last year in 2021 stage construction began on April 11 and was completed by the end of April around three weeks later. 2022 will be one of the earliest start dates for stage construction to start, a factor that could potentially be due to the complex design of the stage for 2022, which included moving LEDs and a water feature.

The concept behind the design is called “The Sun Within” which relies on movements and light of a kinetic sun. The stage is able “to showcase theatrical motion, which is framed by water and will have a lush Italian garden lapping up the rays in front of it”.

 

The creative mind behind the design is Francesca Montinaro, who has also created the stages of Sanremo Music Festival two times (2013 and 2019).

The Eurovision Song Contest returns to Italy this year following Måneskin’s victory at the 2021 contest with their song “Zitti e Buoni”. The 2022 contest will be hosted on 10th, 12th, and 14th May at the PalaOlimpico in Turin.

source

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the newss related to our favorite contest!

 

Sweden: This is what the Melodifestivalen 2022 Stage looks like!

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After the completion of the construction of the Melodifestivalen 2022 stage, at Avicii Arena in Stockholm, SVT unveiled its design. In the past, the stage design was revealed to the public long before the live shows and long before any construction work was to take place.

This year, SVT hadn’t published any CGI render of the stage before it was actually completed, but streamed the entire construction process, live in realtime on SVT Play, allowing the fans to see the stage gradually being built up.

The full CGS render but also real photos of how the final stage looks like, can be seen in a post at the official Melodifestivalen Twitter account of SVT, however, SVT has not revealed the technical specifications of the stage yet.

The process

Currently, the Swedish government guidelines and restrictions due to the pandemic, limit the crowd in indoor events to 500 people while also allowing one seat empty in each direction around one occupied seat.

Two songs will directly qualify to the grand final of Melodifestivalen 2022, which will take place on the 12th of March. The songs that will place third and fourth will have to compete again, at the fifth semi-final, held on the 5th of March. There will be four semi-finals in total.

Oscar Zia will present the Melodifestivalen 2022, while due to the outbreak of COVID-19, the shows for the national selection process that will represent Sweden in Turin this year, will be held exclusively in Stockholm!

Melodifestivalen 2022 finals will he held on the 12th of March, when we will get to know who will be selected as a representative for Sweden at the Eurovision Song Contest in Turin!

The detailed schedule of Melodifestivalen 2022 is described below:

  • First Semi-Final on the 5th of February
  • Second Semi-Final on the 12th of February
  • Third Semi-Final on the 19th of Februrary
  • Fourth Semi-Final on the 26th of February
  • Fifth Semi-Final on the 5th of March
  • The Final on the 12th of March

Stay tuned at Eurovisionfun, for all the latest developments regarding Sweden’s entry for Eurovision 2022!

Source: Eurovoix
Photo: SVT