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Eurovision Cruise 2023: the biggest Eurovision cruise party returns!

The Eurovision Cruise returns one more time after 2020.  The biggest post-eurovision party organized by OGAE Finland will last from Thursday August 24th until August 26th, 2023.

For many years fans all over Europe have enjoyed their favorite Eurovision artists while onboard of a cruise.  Unfortunately, the Eurovision cruise was cancelled in the past two years: in 2021 because of the Covid pandemic restrictions and in 2022 because the original cruise was destined to provide temporary accommodation in the Netherlands from 20 August 2022 for a period of seven months.

The 2023 will welcome fans in their journey from Helsinki to Stockholm and back.  During the journey fans will party with some of their favorite Eurovision acts.

The Artists

Thursday August 24th, 2023

  • Hanna Pakarinen

Hanna Pakkarinen represented Finland at the Eurovision 2007 held in Helsinki after Lordi’s victory with her song Leave Me Alone

  • Lindsay Dracass

Lindsay Dracass represented the UK at the Eurovision Song Contest 2001 with her song No Dream Impossible.

  • Käärijä

Käärijä, probably the artist most of the fans are waiting for to perform during the Cruise does not require further introduction.  He represented Finland in Liverpool this year giving the Nordic country their second best result at the contest.

Friday August 25th, 2023

  • Robin Bengtsson

Swedish representative Robin Bengtsson took part in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 with his song I Can’t Go On

  • Slavko

Slavko represented Montenegro at the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 with his song Space.  Although he did not make it to the final that year his song has become an all time favorite for Eurovision fans.

  • Gustaph

This year’s Belgium representative is bringing the vogue moves and the disco with his song Because Of You to the cruise.

Saturday August 26th, 2023

  • Uku  Suviste

Uku Suviste represented Estonia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 with his song The Lucky One.

Moreover, the Eurovision Cruise will have other side events including a Karaoke, a Drag Show and live music hosted by DJ  WERNERI, DJ FirstRANK and DJ QX-RONNY!

Here is the whole programme for the Cruise:

Source: OGAE Finland

Stay tuned at EurovisionFun to follow our coverage of the Eurvision Cruise 2023!


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Eurovision 2021: Seven countries will be directed by Marvin Dietmann!

Not one, not two, but seven countries will be directed by the talented Austrian director Marvin Dietmann! He is truly without exaggeration one of the people who will be discussed more during the Eurovision 2021 season next May!

Who is Marvin Dietmann?

Marvin Dietmann is a director – who has produced numerous television shows, films, music videos, theatrical productions and concerts throughout Europe. Marvin was born in Vienna, Austria and started dancing at the age of six. At the age of 13 he started a professional ballet class and appeared in many classical ballets, including Swanlake and Nutcracker. At the age of 16, he changed his educational direction and studied musical theater, where he trained in singing and acting.

As a young music actor, he has worked in some of the leading theaters and television channels in Austria and Germany. After a huge injury at the age of 22, he changed his career again, studying photography and began his first productions as an art director.

It is not at all unrelated to the Eurovision contest, since we mention that he was responsible for directing the winning participation of Austria in 2014 with Conchita Wurst, but also the winning participation in the ranking of committees, Austria in 2018. director of the Viewing Room at the Tel Aviv event.

The countries he will direct

Seven countries have entrusted him with directing their participation on the stage of the Ahoy Arena in the 65th Eurovision Song Contest. These are:

  • Austria
  • Czech republic
  • Bulgaria
  • Cyprus
  • Spain
  • Croatian
  • Estonia

Other directors who will be editing more than one country are of course Fokas Evangelinos, who has taken over Greece and Moldova, but also Sacha Jean-Baptiste who will direct the entries of Switzerland, Sweden, Georgia and Albania.

Dream Team is in Moscow for the final mix of songs by Natalia Gordienko and Uku Suviste!

Dimitris Kontopoulos and Elias Kokotos are in Moscow for the last few days, meeting with their close friends Philipp Kirkorov, Sergey Lazarev and Ani Lorak, as we saw through their social networks. Of course, this visit to Moscow could not be unrelated to their obligations for the Eurovision Song Contest.

After a communication we had with the project manager of Dream Team, Elias Kokoto, he informed us that the reason for their visit to Moscow is the final mix of the songs of Natalia Gordienko and Uku Suviste for Eurovision 2021.

The travel restrictions that have been set in Greece and prohibit travel from the countries of Eastern Europe, has made the work of the creators difficult this year. So, in order to make the final production of the two songs instead of the two artists coming to Athens, as they did this year, Dimitris Kontopoulos went to Moscow.

As you read through Eurovisionfun but also based on what Natalia Gordienko herself revealed, her new song has nothing to do with Prison. This is an uptempo dance track, much younger than the previous one.

The same is true to some extent for Uku Suviste. The Lucky One is a modern radio midtempo song, which definitely has nothing to do with the classic ballad, with which he won this year’s Eesti Laul!

Stay tuned to Eurovision Fun for all the news regarding Dream Team’s entris in Eurovision 2021!

Estonia: “Uku’s song is very strong and I like it more than What Love Is”, says the head of delegation!

During the Ringvaate, the ERR program through which the announcement of the 24 participants of Eesti Laul 2021 was made, Tomi Rahula, who is the head of the Estonian delegation to the Eurovision Song Contest, revealed that Uku Suviste’s song is very strong and in his opinion is even better than his previous entry.

Uku Suviste was the winner of Eesti Laul 2020 with What Love Is. He is also a candidate in Eesti Laul 2021 with a song by Dimitris Kontopoulos and Sharon Vaughn. According to Toni Rahula, who is a musician but also the head of delegation and producer of Eesti Laul, Uku Suviste’s entry in Eesti Laul 2021, The Lucky One, is even better than the song that gave him the victory in the previous Eesti Laul.

Uku’s song is very strong. I like it more than the previous one!

Tomi Rahula

Toni Rahula also confirmed what you read exclusively at Eurovision Fun. Although Uku Suviste had a wildcard for direct qualification in the Eesti Laul semifinals, he did not use it in the end, as it would not make sense to participate in a contest where the jury would not consider his song competitive.

I sent Uku’s song to the jury, which passed it through to the semifinals. He did not need direct qualification.

Tomi Rahula

As we mentioned in our previous article, in addition to working with Dream Team, Uku Suviste will be working for Eesti Laul 2021 with Jaagup Tuisk, who was the big favorite at this year’s Eesti Laul but eventually finished second. Jaagup, who is considered one of the best directors in Estonia, will direct The Lucky One, Uku’s entry in Eesti Laul 2021.

The semifinals of Eesti Laul 2021 will be held on February 18 and 20, while the grand Final on March 6, 2021. The songs will be available in early December.

Source: Ringvaate

Estonia: The first 12 participants of Eesti Laul 2021 | Uku Suviste, Koit Toome and Jüri Pootsmann are back!

During the ETV program, entitled Ringvaates, the first 12 artists, the titles of their songs and the composers / lyricists from the 24 total entries of Eesti Laul 2021 were announced.

Estonian Radio and Television, ERR, also announced the names of the 14-member committee that selected the finalists, among the 156 entries submitted, which consists of people from the country’s music industry and the show in general.

The first 12 participants of Eesti Laul 2021:

In the following list you will see the first 12 artists and their candidate songs for Eesti Laul 2021:

“Calm down”: Nika Marula
Creators: Andrei Zevakin, Nika Marula, Daniil Kotilevits

Hypnotized: Kéa
Creators: Ketter Orav, Sander Sadam, Alvar Antson

“Lost In A Dance”: Gram-Of-Fun
Creators: Martin Kuut, Kristel Aaslaid, Raul Ojamaa, Kostja Tsõbulevski, Mikk Simson

Magus melanhoolia: Jury Pootsmann
Creators: Jüri Pootsmann, Joonas Mattias Sarapuu, Jana Hallas, Aleksi Liski

“Nii kõrgele”: Helen
Creators: Rob Montes, Jason Hunter, Renae Rain, Helen Randmets

“One By One”: Hans Nayna
Creators: Vahur Valgmaa, Hans Nayna

“Tartu”: REDEL
Loo autorid Kristjan Oden, Indrek Vaheoja

The Lucky One: Uku Suviste
Creators: Uku Suviste, Sharon Vaughn

“Tuuled”: WIIRALT
Creators: Pat Lyons, Martin Saaremägi

“We Could Have Been Beautiful”: Koit Toome
Creators: Joonas Parkkonen, Koit Toome, Peppina Pällijeff

“Wingman”: Andrei Zevakin & Pluto
Creators: Andrei Zevakin, Henry Orlov

Üks öö: Tuuli Rand
Creators: Gevin Niglas, Kristel Aaslaid, Tuuli Rand

Of course, the returns of eurostars would not be missing this year either! Apart from Uku Suviste who was the winner of Eesti Laul and participates again with a song by Dimitris Kontopoulos and Sharon Vaughn (not mentioned in the titles due to regulations), Jüri Pootsmann, who represented Estonia in 2016, returns to the Estonian national final, but also Koit Toome, who represented his country twice, with the last one in 2017 with the song Verona, a duet together with Laura!

Tomorrow, November 12th, we will meet the other 12 candidates. We will hear the songs for the first time in early December.

The semifinals of Eesti Laul 2021 will be held on February 18 and 20, while the grand Final on March 6, 2021.

Unlike in previous years, Eesti Laul 2021 will take place entirely in the country’s capital, Tallinn. The semi-finals of the Estonian national final will take place in a TV studio, while it is still unknown whether the final will be as usual in Saku Suurhall, or due to the pandemic it will be moved elsewhere. Presenter of Eesti Laul 2021, will be Tonis Niinemets,

We remind you that this year’s winner of Eesti Laul, while he had already secured his place in the semifinals of Eesti Laul 2021, as we revealed in our exclusive article, preferred to go through the jury process normally. Last time we saw him on social media, preparing his song with the Dream Team.

Let us remember once again the winning song of Uku Suviste at Eesti Laul 2020, by Dimitris Kontopoulos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4I3vvQzQ-E

Source: ΕRR

Estonia: Jaagup Tuisk will direct the video clip of Uku Suviste’s entry in Eesti Laul 2021! EXCLUSIVE

He was the big favorite to win Eesti Laul 2020, with his wonderful ballad, Beautiful Lie. He finally took second place, behind Uku Suviste and Dimitris Kontopoulos’ song, What Love Is. Of course we are talking about Jaagup Tuisk. Now the two artists will work together, as Jaagup will direct the video clip for Uku Suviste’s entry in Eesti Laul 2021, with which he hopes to win again the Estonian ticket to the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest.

Jaagup Tuisk’s main profession is directing and he is considered one of the best video clip directors in Estonia. According to our exclusive information, he will be the one to direct the song with which he will participate in Eesti Laul 2021 and which has been written this time by Dimitris Kontopoulos and Sharon Vaughn.

This is a song completely different from What Love Is. A highly pop radio track, midtempo. Uku Suviste asked his song to be judged properly by the pre-selection committee of Eesti Laul 2021 and not to use the wildcard for direct qualification to the semifinals, as it would not make sense to participate in a contest where the committee would not consider his song competitive.

Today 11/11 and tomorrow 12/11, we expect the 24 artists who will take part in the two semifinals of Eesti Laul 2021.

Below we enjoy once again the video clip of Jaagum Tuisk for his song, Beautiful Lie, which participated in Eesti Laul 2020, taking the second place.

Stay tuned to Eurovision Fun for all the news regarding Estonia’s entry in Eurovision 2021!

Estonia: Former Eesti Laul producer says that “Uku Suviste would have won Eurovision”!

The former chief producer of Eesti Laul, Estonia’s competition to find its Eurovision entry, Mart Normet, thinks that Uku Suviste would have succeeded at Eurovision and perhaps even won the contest, with the song “What Love is”, which was composed by Dimitris Kontopoulos and Sharon Vaughn and Uku Suviste himself.

“The song is honest, well performed, well written. I really like that song,” Normet said on ETV talk show “Hommik Anuga” Sunday.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3EIQ6U039ms

Normet is going against the general opinion in his views. Estonia didn´t make it top three in the predictions charts. The favorites were Lithuania, Bulgaria, and Switzerland.

“In that sense, it´s even sadder that the contest was canceled because this year, the top three were predicted to be countries that haven´t won in a long time,” Normet said.

From these three, Normet liked the song “Tears Getting Sober” the most. “It has some Billie Eilish moments, but it´s not so dark. And when I heard these songs, this really made me listen,” Normet said.

On the other hand, he did not like the Swiss entry so much. However, Normet acknowledged that a lot of good singers have come from the birthplace of singer Gjon Muharremaj.

“She has Albanian-Kosovar roots. If you think about how many successful singers there are from the region – Dua Lipa, Rita Ora, Bebe Rexha, maybe some of the biggest female stars in the world today have come from Albania or Kosovo,” Normet said.

Normet also listened to the Russian story “Uno”, for example. “They have one decent Kreisraadio number,” Normet said. “‘You’re joking’, and making it an international joke.”

In addition, he remembered the Icelandic entry “Think About Things”, which according to Normet sounds very nice and doesn´t lack irony.

Today, Wednesday 11/11 and tomorrow Thursday 12/11, the 24 artists who will compete in Eesti Laul 2021 for the representation of Estonia in the next Eurovision song contest will be announced.

Source: ERR

Estonia: Uku Suviste records his Eurovision entry The first information about the song!

Uku Suviste started recording his song for Eurovision 2021. This year’s winner of Eesti Laul. has already secured his place in the semifinals of the Estonian selection, where he will participate again with a song by Dimitris Kontopoulos and Sharon Vaughn. Eurovision Fun presents you exclusively, the first information about the song!

First of all, let’s say that Uku Suviste was scheduled to come to Athens to record the song, but travel restrictions prevented him due to the pandemic.

With the help of technology and with Uku in Tallinn and Dimitris Kontopoulos in Athens, the recording of the song started yesterday (21/9). It is worth mentioning that Victoria Chalkiti is the vocal coach, as she will be a vocal coach with Natalia Gordienko too.

The first information about the song

We are glad to have heard the song and we convey to you exclusively the first information. This is something completely different from What Love Is, the song with which Uku won Eesti Laul 2020. It is not a ballad, but a mid tempo, a completely radiofriendly track, while its lyrics are about a social problem of our ages. If, of course, Uku Suviste wins the Eesti Laul 2021 and represents Estonia again in the contest, Fokas Evangelinos will take over his stage appearance in Rotterdam, as would happen this year as well.

We remind you that the deposit of entries in Estonia lasts until November 6. The announcement of the songs that will compete in the two semifinals of Eesti Laul will be announced on December 5, while the final will take place on March 6. The semifinals will of course precede, which are scheduled for February 18th and 20th.

 

Estonia: Submission of entries for Eesti Laul 2021 has started | The final on March 6!

Estonian public broacaster recently gave the details of Eesti Laul 2021, while the submission period will last until November 6.

Via Eesti Laul the Estonian representative at Eurovision 2021

Estonia is one of the 11 countries that have so far announced that they will re-select a representative for Eurovision 2021. A few minutes after the cancellation of this year’s competition, Estonia announced that they will hold Eesti Laul, the national final through which in recent years they choose the artist and the song for Eurovision.

This year’s winner of Eesti Laul, Uku Suviste, was given the opportunity to participate again, securing his place in the semifinals. The song of Uku was written by Dimitris Kontopoulos, while the stage appearance at Ahoy Arena would be edited by Fokas Evangelinos. It is unexpected for Eesti Laul 2021, the same team to be behind Uku’s entry in Eesti Laul 2021.

The regulations

The rules for participating in Eesti Laul 2021 have been published on the website of Estonian Public Television. Let’s see their main points:

  • Submission period starts today 1/9 and will last until 6/11.
  • Each artist and creator can submit a maximum of five entries.
  • The deposit is made electronically through the special window on Estonian public television.
  • The participation cost is 25 Euros for the songs with Estonian lyrics and 75 Euros for the songs with non-Estonian lyrics. The cost goes up if the song is submitted after 1/11, when it doubles.
  • 23 songs will be selected for the two semifinals and one place will be given directly to the song submitted by Uku Suviste.
  • The semifinals will take place on February 18 and 20, with the final taking place on March 6.
  • All the shows of Eesti Laul will be live and the presence of the audience will depend on the restrictions that will exist due to the covid-19.
  • Foreign artists are also allowed to participate, as long as there is an Estonian among them.

We remind you that Uku Suviste would represent Estonia at Eurovision 2020, after his victory at Eesti Laul, with the song of Dimitris Kontopoulos, What Love Is.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4I3vvQzQ-E

Estonia: The winner of Eesti Laul 2021 at Eurovision 2021

Estonia will normally host Eesti Laul next year and will not send Uku Suviste to the contest, as other countries have already announced.

Croatia, Spain, Latvia and the Netherlands have already announced that they will be represented by the artists themselves next year. Estonia is following in Sweden’s footsteps and will host Eesti Laul next year as well. Indeed, public broadcaster in the country invites Uku Suviste to take part in the year.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B94JWh6p5Oe/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

It seems that public television broadcasters  do not follow a common line on the artist who will represent them at Eurovision 2021, as some countries wish and have already announced that they will be represented by the same artist, while others, mainly those organizing national finals, will perform normally their festival and simply this year’s representatives will lose their right to compete in Eurovision.

We remind you that Uku Suviste would represent Estonia at Eurovision 2020, after his victory at Eesti Laul, with the song by Dimitris Kontopoulos, “What Love Is”.

https://youtu.be/z4I3vvQzQ-E