After a night of tension and close voting, Conchita Wurst representing Austria has won the Eurovision Song Contest, beating The Netherlands into second place. It is the first victory for the country since 1966. Videos from the first dress rehearsal is available in a playlist on our YouTube channel. The 59th contest was broadcast from the… Read more
Feeling buoyed after only getting two wrong on Tuesday, I’m back for another go at predicting who will qualify from the second semi-final. OK, with only 15 songs competing, I’m guaranteed to be 50% correct, but let’s see if I can predict all 10. Malta: Firelight – Coming Home – It is inevitable that some… Read more
The first semi-final of the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest is almost upon us and fans everywhere are discussing who will emerge from the show on Tuesday night and make it through to Saturday’s final. here are my predictions for the results. Armenia: Aram Mp3 – Not Alone – The Armenian song has always been among… Read more
After the opening press conferences yesterday, today was the turn of those competing in the second semi-final to rehearse and face the probing questions of the assembled media. During the Maltese song, photos of the band are prominent on the video wall. "It’s up to the production to decide how many of the 208 selfies… Read more
Today saw all the artists competing in the first semi-final not only rehearse for the second time, but also have their first press conferences. In previous days, there had been ‘meet and greets’, but today was the first opportunity to question the stars of the show properly. Kicking things off the conference room was Aram… Read more
To the loud applause of the audience, Arisa was crowned the winner of the Sanremo Festival on what was her fourth foray into the event. Her song, Controvento, was lying in second place after the first round of voting on Thursday but climbed up to the top spot to claim victory of the final evening… Read more
The event commonly considered to be the father of the Eurovision Song Contest, the Sanremo Festival, starts on Tuesday 18th February in the beautiful Italian town on Riviera. There will be four evenings of music, special guests, drama and no doubt some controversy along the way until the winner of the 64th festival is revealed… Read more
Lithuanian broadcaster, LRT, is engaged in one of the longest selection processes of the Eurovision national final season. This evening, five acts made it through to the next stage. At the beginning of the evening, there were six acts vying for the opportunity to make it to the next stage of the competition. The show… Read more
Earlier today, the head of the selection committee for the 2014 Sanremo Festival, Fabio Fazio, announced the names of the singers and the songs which will compete in the 64th edition of the famous event. The format is the same as this year, with each of the fourteen acts presenting two songs, one of which… Read more
After a reletavely successful tenth placing in the 2013 contest, Hungarian broadcaster have launched the search for ByeAlex’s successor. The A Dal format will once again be the method of selecting the singer and song. Any songwriters wishing to submit an entry have until 1st December. Whoever is chosen to represent Hungary looks set to… Read more
Award winning and former Eurovision singer, Francis Ruffelle, is about to star in a show celebrating some of the classic French female singers like Edith Piaf and Francoise Hardy. Fresh from a successful run in New York of another of her shows, Beneath the Dress, Francis Ruffelle will return to London to star in a… Read more
After the drama of the semi-finals (especially the second one) the biggest night of the year finally arrived and it was time for the 58th Eurovision Song Contest from the Malmo Arena in Sweden. The show began with a travelogue starting in last year’s host city, Baku to Malmo in the form of the life… Read more
Just as the debate around the first semi-final was dying down, it was time to do it all over again in the second semi-final, arguable the stronger of the two. The show opened with a dance routine performed by a troupe called Urban Orchestra, whose routine fused the traditional and the modern by showcasing the… Read more
After the excitement of the first semi-final and amid the preparations for the second semi-final, the six countries who have an automatic place in the final staged their second rehearsal, after which, they all spoke to the media in their own press conferences. In addition to the usual answering of questions and posing for photos,… Read more
Fresh from correcting guessing seven out of the ten qualifiers from the first semi-final (be fair, it’s an improvement on last year) it’s time for me to guess who will emerge from then arguably stronger second semi-final on Thursday. Latvia – PeR – Here We Go – Here we go, indeed, straight back on the… Read more
After months of preparation and national selections, some of which started last year, it was finally time for the first of the shows of the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest. A reduced number of participants, mostly for financial reasons, gave those delegations who have travelled to Malmo a great opportunity be among the ten to qualify… Read more
The question on the lips of every Eurovision Song Contest fan is who will qualify for the final from Tuesday’s semi-final. Well, I’m going to stick my neck out, put my reputation on the line and other clichés to predict who I think will be celebrating and who will be drowning their sorrows. I write… Read more
After the first round of press conferences yesterday, it was the turn of the acts appearing in the second semi-final to move into the spotlight and answer questions from media and fans. After their rehearsal, the Latvians were first to enter the press room. The members of PeR acclaimed the organisers. They are fans of… Read more
The fifth day of rehearsals also saw the acts competing in the first semi-final on Tuesday meet the press for the first round of press conferences. All sixteen countries should have given conferences today. However, the Moldovans cancelled their conference to express their unhappiness with the production. Before the delegations held their conferences, the organisers… Read more
In a move that surprised many who had heard the original choice, Imperija, the FYR Macedonia broadcaster, MKRTV, decided to replace this song with a different song. Pred Da Se Razdeni was premiered tonight. Citing the reason as a less than enthusiastic reception in the country the song would represent, MKRTV responded to their public… Read more
Tonight, Israel became the second country of the day to reveal its 2013 Eurovision Song Contest entry. Moran Mazor will go for the country’s fourth victory with the song, Rak Bishvilo. In recent years, Israeli broadcaster, IBA, has chosen the singer, the song or both. This year, they returned to the format of a multi-artist… Read more
During the busiest night of the 2013 national final season, Armenia has chosen the song which will represent the nation in Malmo in May. Male singer, Gor Sujyan had already been chosen by the Armenian broadcaster, AMPYV, to perform the song which will mark the return of Armenia to the contest, having withdrawn from the… Read more
Yesterday the Hungarian jury and televoters selected the first four finalists of A Dal. Tonight the remaining nine acts were competing for yet another four spots in the final, which will be held on the 2nd of March. In our article from yesterday you can read about the first four acts that qualified for the final of… Read more
Marco Mengoni has won the 63rd Sanremo festival with the song, L’essenziale. He won a three way vote against Elio e le Storie tese and Moda to join a long list of distinguished winners. He was also chosen to represent Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö in May. The evening began with some… Read more
Tonight sees the conclusion of the 63rd Sanremo festival. During the show, RAI will announce the singer or band that will represent Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest in May. It is hard to predict who will carry the flag for Italy, but read on for a guide as to who the likely act will… Read more
The penultimate evening of the Sanremo festival saw all the artists in the Campioni section pay tribute to the past. In an evening called ‘Sanremo Story. They all sung classic songs from festivals past. The main event of the night would be the climax of the Novita competition. This is the part of the festival… Read more