Yes, it's that time of the year again when I start a thread about one of the world's most popular events - the Eurovision Song Contest!

The show has turned into such a marathon this year ... While the first show in 1956 only had 7 participants, there'll be 43 countries in the race this
time, and for the first time a total of three shows ...
(I can't say I'm too fond of the new rules. I liked the old system of allowing the countries that did well in the previous year to qualify directly,
even though the entries then were sometimes really bad. But well, some of the entries that were chosen in the semi-final were also really bad, if you ask me.
I've actually been kind of shocked when I realized that only the winning country and the Big Four are automatically qualified from this year on;
it's embarrassing. And it means that the semi-final that Germany can't vote in will be broadcast at 12:45 a.m.
I'm still looking forward to
it, though.
)
The winner will be determined on Saturday, May 24, while the two semi-finals are held on Tuesday and Thursday (all at 9 p.m. CET).
If you want to take a look at all the previous winners, you can do so here (OMG, the hair! the clothes!
):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Xb9LXuROGI (1956-1979)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xbk4pxXj_P0 (1980-2007)
It's kind of interesting to see how the contest has developed. Particularly if you compare the first few years with something like 2006! ![]()
As usual, I like to go into the competition unspoiled, so I haven't checked out any of the songs except for three where it was unavoidable. I've
heard a lot about entries, though.
There's a special treat this year for all the figure skating fans as Evgeni Plushenko will be a part of Russia's
entry. No, as far as I know, he won't be singing
- that's Dima Bilan's job. The downside is that Edvin Marton will also be part of this
performance.
It should be fun in any case!
To watch live, go to http://www.eurovision.tv/page/live-esctv and follow the instructions.
The participants in the first semi-final, May 20, are (in this order):
Montenegro
Israel
Estonia
Moldova
San Marino
Belgium
Azerbaijan
Slovenia
Norway
Poland
Ireland
Andorra
Bosnia & Herzegovina
Armenia
The Netherlands
Finland
Romania
Russia
Greece
The particpants in the second semi-final, May 22, are (in this order):
Iceland
Sweden
Turkey
Ukraine
Lithuania
Albania
Switzerland
Czech Republic
Belarus
Latvia
Croatia
Bulgaria
Denmark
Georgia
Hungary
Malta
Cyprus
F.Y.R. Macedonia
Portugal
Serbia (the host country), United Kingdom, Germany, France and Spain are qualified for the final.
I'm getting really excited about this!
Hope to see you here to discuss the performances later!
Thank goodness Dustin the Turkey is in the
first semi-final tomorrow - I want to see what this is all about. ![]()
Janina.
