Blog Archives
Preview: Spain’s “Mira quién va a Eurovisión”
Tonight at 22:00 CET, live from Barcelona, Spanish broadcaster TVE will host their national final, “Mira quién va a Eurovisión (Look Who’s Going to Eurovision)”. Five singers are vying for the ticket to Denmark, but only one will clinch the title and try to bring Spain their first Eurovision victory since the infamous four-way tie of 1969.
Preview: A Dal Final in Hungary
The second of four songs that we’ll have added to the Eurovision roster this Saturday will come from Hungary, as the successful A Dal system culminates its third year. Will the show that gave us Compact Disco and ByeAlex give us the country’s fourth consecutive qualifier? Read the rest of this entry
Preview: Iceland’s Söngvakeppnin Final
Saturday at 8:45 PM CET, Icelandic network Ríkisútvarpið (or RÚV to the less-linguistically-adept) will broadcast the final of Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins and decide who will represent the nation in Denmark. Iceland’s running on a bit of a hot streak, having qualified every year since Eurobandið sang “This is My Life” back in 2008…who’ll have to face the challenge of keeping the positive trend going? Read the rest of this entry
Preview: National Final in Malta
Tonight at 20:45 CET, live from the Malta Fairs and Convention Centre in Ta’Qali, broadcaster PBS will bring us the Finals of the Malta Eurovision Song Contest 2014. Still riding emotionally high from the victory of Gaia Cauchi at JESC, will this past winner’s luck rub off on the grown-ups? Read the rest of this entry
“Hunter of Stars” Catches the Win in Switzerland
Last night in Kreuzlingen, just a stone’s throw away from the German border, Die Grosse Entscheidungsshow took place at the Bodensee Arena. A somewhat slim field of six entrants presented their songs and performed covers, hoping to find support in the Swiss voting public and a ten-member professional jury. Read the rest of this entry
“Something Better” for Finland
There we have it! After seven weeks of introductory shows, a pair of heats, a semifinal/second-chance round, and an exciting final, Finland has declared a winner in 2014’s Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu, or UMK. Once the say of the four-member professional jury and the vote of the viewing public were tallied, only one song out of the eight in the running could take the title, and with it the right to represent the country in Copenhagen this May.
Preview: Switzerland’s “Grosse Entscheidungsshow”
Starting a mere ten minutes after its Finnish counterpart, the Swiss National Final (or, for the linguistically capable, “Die Grosse Entscheidungsshow”) will be held in Kreuzlingen this Saturday, hosted by veteran Swiss Eurovision presence Sven Epiney. Following the submission of over 200 entries from all over the world (as the Swiss generally do not technically place geographical restrictions on who can enter), the nation’s major broadcasters have whittled the selection down to six finalists.
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Preview: UMK Final in Finland
February starts off in style, with no fewer than seven televised events going on all around the Eurosphere on Saturday alone. Among them are two actual song/artist selections: Switzerland’s Entscheidungsshow and Finland’s Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu. We’ll also be seeing heats and semifinals in Hungary, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, and last year’s hosts Sweden. It’s a lot of ground to cover, so let’s start with the goings-on in Finland. Read the rest of this entry
Israel has selected: Mei Feingold!
After a few years of disappointing results, despite some stellar entrants and unforgettable personalities, Israeli broadcaster IBA has decided to turn to an internal selection for their participation in Copenhagen. This year, Israel turns to Kokhav Nolad alum Mei Feingold, who came to national fame back in 2009 as she took the bronze in the televised talent show. (This makes Mei the fourth veteran of the show to take the stage at Eurovision, following Shiri Maimon, Boaz Mauda, and Harel Skaat.) Read the rest of this entry
Preview: National Final in Belarus
The Belorussian National Final, scheduled for Friday, January 10th, will bring together fourteen acts, all vying for the ticket to Copenhagen. With performances by 2013 representative Alyona Lanskaya, 2006 alumna Polina Smolova, and recent Türkviziyon silver medalist (and occasional Eurofest participant) Gunesh Abasova, the show will be live-streamed on Eurovision.tv. Read the rest of this entry
The ESC Insider 