Armenia to participate in 2012??

As everyone knows, there is a dispute between Armenia and the host country next year, Azerbaijan. But does this mean that Armenia will be absent from the Contest in 2012?

Firstly Armenians aren't allowed into Azerbaijan at all, and even other nationalities could be refused entry into Azerbaijan, if they have previously been to Armenia. (Information from official government website).

Yet, Ismayil Omarov, stated that he would regret to see the absense of Armenia next year. It was also said that Armenians within Azerbaijan for the contest, would be assured that their safety would be secure.

I suppose we will just have to wait and see!! 

News on ESC 2012

Less than a week after the final, we are starting to get news and gossip about next year's contest.

Obviously with Azerbaijan being a fairly small country compared to recent previous hosts, it is presumed that Baku will be the host city, being Azerbaijan's largest. Up to now, nine countries have confirmed their participation next year - Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany and Azerbaijan. It is also rumoured that next year we will see the return of the Czech Republic. Whether this is true or not, is yet to be seen. The date are roughly penciled in for the 22th, 24th and 26th May.

Stay tuned for more gossip soon!!

Thank you!!

After another busy few months to lead up of the Eurovision Song Contest, I would like to say thank you to all my viewers, whether new or regular. I didn't have high expectations for this blog but I am amazed at how well the European public have taken to it. As well as Europe, I also have regular visitors from the USA, Australia and the South Americas. Obviously Eurovision isn't completely over yet, and I will still be doing posts now and again. Keep checking back, and make sure you vote on polls and keep commenting!!

The main action will start around November/December, when the national finals begin. 

Thank you!! Merci!! Danke!! Хвала!! Tak!! Kiitos!! Χάρη!! Teşekkürler!! Спасибо!! Təşəkkür!! Շնորհակալություն!! Dzięki!! Bedankt!! Grazie!! Gracias!!

Semi-Final 1 & 2 results

Here are the full results from the first semi-final.

1. Greece
2. Azerbaijan
3. Finland
4. Iceland
5. Lithuania
6. Georgia
7. Hungary
8. Serbia
9. Russia
10. Switzerland
11. Malta
12. Armenia
13. Turkey
14. Albania
15. Croatia
16. San Marino
17. Norway
18. Portugal
19. Poland

And here are the results from the second semi-final.

1. Sweden
2. Denmark
3. Slovenia
4. Romania
5. Bosnia-Herzegovina
6. Ukraine
7. Austria
8. Ireland
9. Estonia
10. Moldova
11. Belgium
12. Bulgaria
13. Slovakia
14. Belarus
15. Israel
16. FYRMacedonia
17. Latvia
18. Cyprus
19. The Netherlands

AZERBAIJAN WIN THE ESC 2011!!!!

Well the night is over, and Azerbaijan have won the show with 221 points. A huge suprise was Italy in second place with 189 points and Sweden in third with 185 points. Let's take a look at the complete result -

1. Azerbaijan - 221
2. Italy - 189
3. Sweden - 185
4. Ukraine 159
5. Denmark - 134
6. Bosnia-Herz. - 125
7. Greece - 120
8. Ireland - 119
9. Georgia - 110
10. Germany - 107
11. United Kingdom - 100
12. Moldova - 97
13. Slovenia - 96
14. Serbia - 85
15. France - 82
16. Russia - 77
17. Romania - 77
18. Austria - 64
19. Lithuania - 63
20. Iceland - 61
21. Finland - 57
22. Hungary - 53
23. Spain - 50
24. Estonia - 44
25. Switzerland - 19

Check back soon to see the semi-final results!!

Results of our poll, and ESC today's Big Poll

Here are the top ten favourite from our poll - 

1. Greece - 48 votes

2. Sweden - 41 votes

3. Ireland - 38 votes

4. Hungary - 37 votes

5. United Kingdom - 28 votes

6. Bosnia-Herz. - 26 votes

7. Finland - 24 votes

8. Estonia - 23 votes

9. Georgia - 22 votes

10. Serbia - 21 votes

And the favourites to come last are Ukraine (2 votes), Italy (6 votes), Moldova (9 votes) and Lithuania (9 votes)

And the results from the ESCtoday Big Poll have been anounced. Approximately 35,000 people voted, so here are the top 5 -

1. United Kingdom

2. France

3. Azerbaijan

4. Estonia

5. Hungary

The big poll on ESCtoday, usually predicts the correct winner from their top 5. Let's see how right they will be this year!!

Bookmakers favourites to win tonight!

As the night we have all been waiting for has arrived, lets take a final look at what the bookmakers predict for tonight.

First up is William Hill -

1. France
2. Ireland
3. Azerbaijan
4. United Kingdom
5. Austria
5. Denmark
5. Estonia
5. Germany
9. Finland
10. Hungary

And now European bookmakers Oddschecker -

1. France
2. Ireland
3. Azerbaijan
4. United Kingdom
5. Germany
6. Estonia
6. Denmark
6. Finland
9. Hungary
10. Sweden

Who will you be voting for in the FINAL??

The time has come, and Eurovision fans are waiting for tomorrow night, to see the final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2011, and to find out the winner for this year. Unlike most other years, there is no obvious favourite, so anything could happen.

Make sure you vote in the new poll, titled 'Who will you be voting for in the Final?'.

Check back tomorrow, when the final favourites will be added at around 1 pm CET, and the results to this poll, which will be added at around 7pm CET.

Poll Predictions for Semi-Final 2

You have all been voting for the past two days, for who you will be voting for in Semi-final 2.

Here are the ten countries that are predicted to qualify - 

Sweden

Bosnia-Herzegovina

Estonia

Ireland

The Netherlands

Denmark

Cyprus

Latvia

Slovenia

Israel

My Prediction - 

Now I didnt have much luck when I predicted for Semi-final 1, but here is my prediction for tonight (alphabetical order) -

Austria
Bosnia-Herzegovina

Denmark

Estonia 

Ireland

Israel

Romania

Slovenia

Sweden

Ukraine

Check back later tonight, to find out the ten qualifiers and which place they will be singing in on Saturday!!

Results of Semi-Final 1!

Well definitely a shock tonight!!

Hot favourites Norway have been knocked out along with usual Eurovision favourites Turkey and Armenia. Switzerland makes a welcome return to a Eurovision final, with no surprise that Greece, Russia and Azerbaijan qualified.

Here are the ten qualifying countries from Semi-final 1 -

Serbia (place in final: 24)
Russia (place in final: 10)
Switzerland (place in final: 13)
Georgia (place in final: 25)
Finland (place in final: 1)
Iceland (place in final: 21)
Hungary (place in final: 5)
Lithuania (place in final: 4)
Azerbaijan (place in final: 19)
Greece (place in final: 9)

Let's hope that Semi-Final 2 will be as exciting as tonight, and make sure you vote in the poll!!

What does our poll predict for Semi-Final 1?

For the past two days you have been voting in a poll, for who you will vote for in Semi-Final 1.

These are the top ten countries, that the poll predicts will get through -

Hungary
Greece
Turkey
Norway
Poland
Azerbaijan
Malta
Armenia
Russia
Portugal

My Prediction

This is my prediction for who I think will qualify from Semi-Final 1 (Alphabetical Order)

Albania
Armenia
Azerbaijan
Greece
Hungary
Norway
Poland
Russia
Serbia
Turkey

OGAE Results......Hungary wins!

OGAE Full Results......

Today's votes - OGAE Malta - 12 points to France
EC Germany - 12 points to Hungary
OGAE Albania - 12 points to the UK
Lets take a look at the full results -

1. Hungary - 277
2. France - 270
3. United Kingdom - 253
4. Sweden - 238
5. Estonia - 183
6. Bosnia-Herzegovina - 119
7. Azerbaijan - 117
8. Denmark - 56
9. Germany - 50
10. Norway - 43
11. Poland - 34
12. Italy - 28
13. Israel - 27
13. Romania - 27
15. Russia - 26
15. Austria - 26
17. Slovenia - 23
18. Greece - 19
19. Turkey - 12
20. Switzerland - 11
20. Croatia - 11
22. Ireland - 10
23. Finland - 9
24. Belarus - 8
25. Spain - 7
26. Latvia - 5
26. Serbia - 5
28. Bulgaria - 4
28. Ukraine - 4
28. Iceland - 4
28. Cyprus - 4
32. The Netherlands - 2
33. Georgia - 1
33. San Marino - 1
35. Albania - 0
35. Armenia - 0
35. Belgium - 0
35. FYR Macedonia - 0
35. Lithuania - 0
35. Malta - 0
35. Moldova - 0
35. Portugal  - 0
35. Slovakia - 0

Big Poll Results!

After weeks of voting, the results of the Big Poll 2011 are in!!!
There were 412 votes cast overall, so let's take a look -

14th Place - 12 votes
Italy - Raphael Gualazzi - Madness of Love

Joint 12th Place - 27 votes
Denmark - A Friend in London - New Tomorrow
Serbia - Nina - Caroban

11th Place - 32 votes
Israel - Dana International - Ding Dong

10th Place - 34 votes
Poland - Magdalena Tul - Jestem

9th Place - 38 votes
Azerbaijan - Ell & Nikki - Running Scared

Joints 7th Place - 39 votes
Estonia - Getter Jaani - Rockefeller Street
France - Amaury Vassili - Sognu

6th Place - 40 votes
Albania - Aurela Gace - Feel the Passion

5th Place - 43 votes
Germany - Lena - Taken By A Stranger

4th Place - 56 votes
Bosnia-Herzegovina - Dino Merlin - Love in Rewind

3rd Place - 67 votes
Sweden - Eric Saade - Popular

2nd Place - 69 votes
Hungary - Kati Wolf - What About My Dreams?

And the winner of the Big Poll 2011..........with 74 votes...........is...........
...................................................
...................................................
...................................................
The United Kingdom - Blue - I Can

I'd like to thank everyone who voted in the poll, and I hope your favourites did well!!

Stay tuned for Eurovision week, when I will be posting current stats and gossip from Düsseldorf.

Big 5 First Rehearsals - United Kingdom, Germany & Spain

14. United Kingdom
Well not the best of rehearsals for Blue, but they have time to get rid of the sound issues. The stage is lit in green and is looking great, with the boys in dark blue suits. Hopefully on the night they will sound better and do the UK proud.

16. Germany

Lena is wearing a trouser suit, similar to the one in the national final. The stage is dark and had white spotlights. The backing dancers are wearing catsuits and their images are shown on the screens around them. Lena's vocals are as good as normal, and obviously performing on her homeland will add a vibe to the song. 

22. Spain

Joined by 5 backing singers/dancers, Lucia performs a pleasant first performance of her song. This performance is based around dance and that is the key element to the entry. The stage is lit in bright colours and she delivers the latino flavoured song beautifully.

 

Big 5 First Rehearsals - France & Italy

11. France
Good start from the French, Amaury's voice sounds slightly different from the studio version, but still great. He is on stage alone with a sky background going from blue to reds and oranges. He is dressed in a white t-shirt with an military style jacket.

12.Italy.
Raphael is on stage with a white piano with a glass top. His vocals are sounding ok, and he is joined by 5 musicians with various instruments. Classy song and sticks out from the rest, but will that be enough to give Italy a good result on their comeback?



Rehearsals - Day Four - Part 2

15. Estonia
Getter certainly doesn't disappoint! Vocals are good, although she seemed to tire towards the end, and her magic cloth is back! She is joined by three male backing dancers and two female backing singers. The song gets you singing along when it starts so it'll be a good year for Estonia.

16. Belarus

Anastasia is joined on stage by four backing dancers and a pianist. They have gameshow like mic stands. Her vocals are sounding ok, but are very difficult to hear at the beginning. The screen shows patterns from the Belorussian flag.



17. Latvia

Pleasant first rehearsal from Musiqq. They are sitting on two "bar chairs". They start the song facing away from the audience, but turn around at the start of the first chorus. The backing singers are wearing long dresses, and the return of the wind machine plays a part in this performance.



18. Denmark

Simple performance from the boys from Denmark. They're all wearing black and the stage is set up in the normal band layout. They aren't moving around to much, and the balloons from MGP are back, and the lead singer kicks one into the audience. Vocals are doing ok.



19. Ireland

Hyperactive performance from Jedward. This song is obviously more about what you see, than what you hear. Their voices are as good as Jedward can be, and they are concentrating on jumping around like children. Catchy song that will get many votes from the younger audience.



Rehearsals - Day Four - Part 1

10. Bulgaria
Good vocals from Poli, she is joined by three guitarists and a drummer. The stage is lit in mainly blues and whites. She is wearing a white dress, with black leggings underneath. She is one of the few artists to use the catwalk, where she rips off the bottom half of the dress when on the satellite.

11. FYR Macedonia

This performance is full of balkan and slavic flavours, with the backdrop showing cryllic letters. Vlatko is joined on stage by five backing dancers. His vocals are looking ok, but he may struggle against strong vocalists.

12. Israel

Typical Dana performance, she controls the arena. She is joined by five backing singers, but she is not yet wearing her semifinal dress. Alot more movement than expected, and her vocals are sounding solid. The screen behind her shows circles flashing constantly.

13. Slovenia

She is wearing a silver outfit with long black boots. Great vocal performance, and the stage suits the song perfectly. She is joined by 4 backing singers. We could be seeing Maja and Slovenia in the final!

14. Romania

Pleasant little song from Romania, with a catchy chorus! The three band members are on stage with two female backing dancers. There are patterns being shown on the screen behind them, and the stage is looking a very blue/green colour. Vocals are sounding good.

 

Poll Update

With only four days left to vote on our big poll, the results so far are pretty close.
Lets take a look at how the big poll entries are doing now -

1. United Kingdom - 21%
2. Hungary - 18%
3. Sweden - 16%
4. Bosnia-Herzegovina - 16%
5. Albania - 10%
6. Azerbaijan - 10%
7. Estonia - 10%
8. Germany - 9%
9. Poland - 8%
10. France - 8%
11. Israel - 7%
12. Serbia - 5%
13. Denmark - 4%
14. Italy - 1%

If you still haven't voted, you have plenty of time to make sure your favourites get a good place, or even win!! I will post the full results up on the 8th May.

Rehearsals - Day Three - Part 2

6. Ukraine
Nice vocals from Mika, and an unusual backdrop, yet absoloutley fascinating. However I think that it really distracts you from the song. After a while I realised that I was concentrating so much on the sand drawings, that i'd forgotten that Mika was singing. Hopefull not everyone will be like me on the night!

7. Moldova
The stage is lit in green, yellow and orange, with elf like cartoons being shown on the screen behind them. Two members of the band are wearing long black pointed hats, which I can't work out! The vocals are typical Zdob si Zdub, not particularly great, but has a madness affect to it.

8. Sweden
To me this song starts the show. This uptempo song, has that Eurovision feel to it. His vocals were patchy, but the stage looked good. The glass box is back. The stage was lit in black, white and red, with a red finish. This could be Sweden's best position for years.

9. Cyprus
Simple rehearsal from Cyprus. The back drop showed lights on sticks, and a girl at the end of the catwalk had a light on a piece of rope. He is joined by four male backing. His vocals sound ok, but this slow song will struggle in this Semi-final.

Tomorrow we will be seeing the last of the semi-final first rehearsals - Bulgaria, FYR Macedonia, Israel, Slovenia, Belarus, Estonia, Romania, Latvia, Denmark and Ireland.

Rehearsals - Day Three - Part 1

1. Bosnia-Herzegovina
First up is Dino Merlin. His vocals are sounding great, as are those of the backing singers. There are five backing singers, some standing on a podium. At points during the performance, a man does a weird dance, which to me doesn't fit the song at all, and seems out of context. The stage is red once again for the Bosnian entry.

2. Austria
The ballad from Austria is performed well by Nadine. She is on a small podium, wearing a small black dress with long sleeves. She has five backing singers all wearing long black dresses. The set is a dark blue and has small diamonds on the screen behind the stage. Charming little number but will this be enough to qualify, after not seeing Austria in a ESC final since 2004.

3. The Netherlands
3JS are joined on stage by three backing singers. The stage is lit in green, yellow and purple, and the vocals are sounding ok. Not sure whether this will be good enough to qualify against some of the other big songs in this semi-final, but I wish them luck!

4. Belgium
Witloof bay sounded as if they had a few sound problems with their rehearsal today, but hopefully they can be fixed before the next rehearsal. The performance is pretty simple, with a blue back drop behind them, and just them on stage. After a few good vocal performanes I think Belgium will struggle this year.

5. Slovakia

Pleasent rehearsal from TWiiNS, with them sounding nice singing the verses, but they have some distance to go before it sounds as good as what it could. On stage with them is a grand piano, a drum kit and two backing singers. The screen behind them shows white and yellow patterns, so the focus of the performance is definitely the twins.

Later we will look at the first rehearsals of Ukraine, Moldova, Sweden and Cyprus.

Rehearsals - Day Two - Part 2

16. Portugal
The group have a new line up compared to what they did. They have boards with messages on in various different European Languages, which may win them votes. The stage is very colourful with images of carnations around them. But the song and singing....well i'll let you decide! 

 

17. Lithuania

Next was the big ballad from Evelina, she was in a lovely peach coloured dress, and also on the stage was the pianist. During parts of the song she did sign language (evidentally a copy of their neighbour in 2005!!!!!). Her vocals were good and strong, so she is definitely ready for the show!

 

18. Azerbaijan

Disappointing rehearsal from Azerbaijan in my opinion. Nice to look at but not great to hear, their vocals were patchy. The stage went from being dark to light etc, which had a nice event. On the night he will be wearing a grey jacket and the girls in peach coloured dresses.

 

19. Greece

Yet again another very typically greek performance. The screen behind them showed greek columns. Vocals were sounding good, and there were four male backing dancers. It looks like Greece will be qualifying for yet another year.

 

Tomorrow we will see the first rehearsals from Bosnia-Herzegovina, Austria, The Netherlands, Belgium, Slovakia, Ukraine, Moldova, Sweden and Cyprus.

Rehearsals - Day Two - Part 1

11. Malta
A very colourful performance from Glen. The stage is a mass of roainbow colours, with two female backing singers on podiums, and two backing male dancers. His vocal performance is good, but will it be enough to qualify Malta...

12. San Marino

A lovely simple performance from Senit, and she has such a mellow voice. The stage shows this, by being dark with deep yellows and golds surrounding her. She has two female backing singers and one male, with two guitarists. They all do a simple dance routine of just swaying their hips and hand movements.

13. Croatia

Daria is wearing a short black dress with a strip of gold down the middle of it. The stage is full of colour and we see the catwalk being used for the first time. Daria changes costume three times. Firstly by going into a big hoop and coming out in a pink dress, and then at the end of the song she changes again into a long silver dress.



14. Iceland

This performance is very similar to the one we saw in the Icelandic National Final. They are all lined up singing and playing their instruments, with the drummer sitting on a horses sadal. The stage shineswith bold patterns and colours. They are wearing waistcoats, and jeans. A nice simplistic performance.



15. Hungary

One of the more anticipated rehearsals was Hungary. I don't think it failed to deliver either. Her voice was in a great shape, and her dress was lovely. It was a short light blue dress, with a large left sleeve. She had three backing dancers and two backing singers. Hungary is definitely back in the game!







Rehearsals - Day One - Part 2

6. Serbia
The stage certainly has a 60s feel to it, and it sets a perfect mood for the song. Nina has three backing singers/dancers. The dance routine is nothing fancy, but suits the song perfectly. Her voice is sounding great, and its all looking hopeful! 

7. Russia
On the stage for the Russian performance, there are some metal screens and lighted podiums, which are moved around during the song, to help with the choreography. The stage has a blue/green feel to it, with some smoke to set the mood. Alexey's voice is strong and sounding good, but he has a very arrogant attitude which may put people off.

 

8. Switzerland
What a delightful song to watch. Anna delivered it in a beautiful way, with a lovely deep red dress. Her vocals were effortless and it had a great simplistic feel to it. The Swiss used soap bubbles of the screen behind them to add effect to the song, and she was joined by her two band members with their instruments. It's looking good for Switzerland this year!

 
9. Georgia
Well this is certainly different! The lead singer's dress isn't that attractive, and doesn't suit the song at all, but certainly catches the eye! Her vocal performance was ok, but there is no overall feel to the song. The stage was simplistic, with the back drop showing a wall during the chorus.

10. Finland

For me, the setting for this song is the best today. The feel from the stage is great, and the meaning of the song is lovely, although his voice does nothing for me. I feel its too similar to Tom Dice, although it could easily charm Europe. The stage's screen shows the world and stars, with blues and greens dominating.

Tomorrow we shall see the first rehearsals of Malta, San Marino, Croatia, Iceland, Hungary, Portugal, Lithuania, Azerbaijan and Greece!

Rehearsals - Day One - Part 1

The much anticipated rehearsals have begun, so lets take a look at the first five.


1. Poland

Magdalena Tul was on stage with two backing dancers, two female backing singers, and one male. Although I should point out that I think they should find somewhere else for the male to be positioned or get rid of him, as he looked a little lost throughout the whole performance. Main colours of the stage are red and yellow, with alot of smoke, to add affect to the song. Magdalena sings effortlessly, and this will certainly be a worthy opener to the ESC this year.

2. Norway

Well it was obvious that this song would make everyone want to get involved and it didn't let anyone down. The new version of the song was used, and it created a great atmosphere in the arena. Stella is wearing a similar dress as MGP 2011, yet in gold, with the five backing singers in red. The stage has a very african feel, with reds and yellows dominating. The vocal performance is still good, though a few places need to be checked.

3. Albania

Another strong performance, with great vocals. She recently announced that she will be wearing a peach coloured dress, similar to the one in her video, with the backing singers in black. The stage had a nice effect, with a red and black backdrop. Some of the backing singers are american, similar to last year. Aurela didn't move around the stage much, but she doesn't need to, as her voice dominates the arena.

 

                                                              

4. Armenia

Well........unusual springs to mind. A boxing glove and cartoon images. Not what I expected from Armenia, but I suppose it makes you smile. Even if its for the wrong reasons!! Emmy has four male dancers with her, and it sounds as if she has a backing singer somewhere on stage. The performance is energetic if nothing else, and you can hear that she has a great voice, its just a shame that the song couldn't be a little better.

5. Turkey

The stage set up for the band is pretty normal, but they do have a mesh globe in the centre of the stage with a female contortionist inside. The back drop is bright yellow, and a per usual with Turkey, there are pyrotechnics everywhere! I think this will qualify Turkey for the final, as it has a good vocal performance and that real rock/turkish feel to it. (That and dispora!!!)