UK post-Eurovision party!

The UK Eurovision Winners Party takes place in the Scala club in King's Cross, London tonight - the scene of the very successful preview party on 26th April.

Dima Bilan is expected to attend (flying in from Germany) as is Ani Lorak from Ukraine along with some notable UK entrants - Bucks Fizz, Nicki French, Brotherghood of Man and Sonia. The organisers have agreed to donate 10%of all ticket sales from Saturday night's event in London to the Terrence Higgins Trust.

Some Tickets still available here.

Webchat with Dima

The singer of the Eurovision Song Contest - Dima Bilan will be online on Friday 30 May from 1.30pm to 2.30pm to answer fans' questions.

He will be in Ireland as part of his winner's tour and will be online on RTE television.

You can submit your questions here

Dima kick's off his tour

Dima Bilan, this year's ESC winner will start his Winner's Tour of Europe tonight in Helsinki .

After Finland, the winner will travel to Sweden, Norway, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Belgium, France and last, but not least... San Marino!

He will appear on the season finale of the Late Late Show in Dublin on Friday night on RTE1 tv.

You can follow Dima's progress here

Is "schlager" dead at Eurovision?

Over the years,schlager music has been very much a part of the Eurovision Song Contest. One of the contenders for the 2008 crown this year was Schlager queen - Charlotte Perrelli. Nobody could have predicted that she would finish in 18th position with Sweden's entry - Hero. Iceland and Latvia didn't fare much better. Is this part of a wider decline of camp songs/routines at Eurovision?

Last year "schlager" songs like Drama Queen from Denmark, Ven a Bailar Conmigo from Norway and Vertigo from Malta didn't even make it to the final. The same fate happened to Malta's camp offering this year - Vodka.
But it was the shock result for Sweden that may have put the final nail in the coffin for "schlager" at Eurovision. Malta have already indicated that they may send a ballad next year (Perhaps Chiara will be back - hurrah).

Sweden will probably go down a ballad or rock route aswell. As Mrs Perrelli said after the contest - "The people simply wanted something else. We didn't have what they wanted. It is that simple.". It would appear that the ESC may be shaking off it's schlager past.

UK Commentator Terry Wogan speaks out

BBC Eurovision commentator Terry Wogan has commented on the results of this year's ESC in Belgrade, calling it a "debacle". You can see and hear the interview here.

Eurovision 2009

So, we're back from our Eurovision fortnight in Belgrade, and the next contest will be somewhere in Russia. The dates have been confirmed by the EBU as follows:

1st Semi-Final - Tuesday 12th May 2009
2nd Semi-Final - Thursday 14th May 2009

Grand Final - Saturday 16th May 2009.

Venue/Host City not yet confirmed.

We will, of course, continue our year-round news and comment on all things Eurovision.

Norway - we love you!

The real winner in Eurovision Express' opinion is Maria from Norway with her great song - Hold On Be Strong.

Norway, you embody the true spirit of Eurovision and we love you!

A great final but a disappointing result

This year's Eurovision final must rank as one of the best finals in the history of the Contest. The result, however, has been met by most fans with disappointment. And quite what countries like the UK do now is anyone's guess.

The strength of the Eastern vote is just too strong now to stop. There's no level playing field anymore. We expect Armenia to win soon, and then Azerbaijan....

And what motivation would there now be for anyone to represent the UK?

Apparently Terry Wogan said that this may be his last Eurovision. It seems that he has become understandably tired with the way the contest is going - he's not alone.

Congratulations Russia....Is it Bye Bye Wogan??

So Russia have finally done what they have tried so hard to for years, they have won the ESC!

Most of the fans are not happy with the result, especially the Greek fans. Most disappointed have to be the UK fans who yet again see their efforts finish at the bottom of the board!

Latest news is that Terry Wogan may not do BBC commentary next year...more to follow on this!

ESC 2008.....We are calling it for..............

UKRAINE


Go Shady Lady!





You can watch the contest live here





As presenter Åse Klevland sang in 1986...."Soon, we will know who'll be the best, in the Eurovision Song Contest"

We will be back after the contest with reaction.

Happy Eurovision Day!

It's here at last...the Final of the 53rd Eurovision Song Contest.

Predicitions, comments and reactions from Belgrade later today and tonight!

Spain, Serbia, Russia, Norway

And so to the last 4 songs from a very strong final.

Spain - For some, Rodolfo has put the "pain" in "Spain" with Baila El Chiki Chiki. He dropped his glasses during this performance, not sure if it was deliberate. Disco y Grafica (dancers) shine as usual. Bit ropey overall though.

Serbia - Home country up next. Dressed in silvery grey , Jelena gives a very good performance. Needs to lose the purple eye shadow though. This is going to be a contender but can't see it winning in this strong final.

Russia - Amongst the fans gathered here, Dima is not one of the most poplular artists. Russia has certainly thrown everything it can at this performance including a very well know ice skater. Dima's performance is a bit over the top as ever. Certainly top 3 but Serbia and Russia may take votes from each other...thus letting Ukraine through to the winning post perhaps?

Norway Yet another Nordic qualifier, and one of our faves since we first heard it many months ago. Great song to finish the final on, Maria is pitch perfect as ever, looks great and so deserves to be in the final. We would love this to do really well.

So......lots of food for thought. Must go and work out our predictions now. What a toughie!

France, Azerbaijan, Greece

France - Another long wait to hear and see this one again. Sebastien still arrives on the golf buggy. Still the choir in the backround trying to replicate the electronic voices, and not very well. Can see Germany and France fighting over the last two placings on the scoreboard though.

Azerbaijan - Definitely the bizarre section of the contest. One of the most heavily promoted songs this year, Day after Day certainly makes it's presence felt on stage. Will the Eurovision audience take to this very odd premiere song from Azerbaijan? Maybe.

Greece - Our delightfully childlike-sounding Kalomira gives another powerful performance of Secret Combination. This song has also become more and more popular and will no probably be in the top half of the scoreboard on the night.

Denmark, Georgia, Ukraine

Denmark - It's not easy to follow Sweden but Denmark did a great job. Simon gave another marvellous performance and we can see why he got to the final. Another song that has gone up and up. Do not be surprised if this becomes the top Nordic song.

Georgia - A simple and effective message from Diana, coupled with an extremely clever costume change will enhance Georgia's chances of getting top 5 with this song. Very slick. One to watch.

Ukraine - Well, what can we say about our Shady Lady? Ani has been consistently excellent during rehearsals, and this hasn't changed today. This will definitely be in the running on Saturday. Could go one better than Verka and snatch the top spot! Great staging and great singing position in the final.

Portugal, Latvia, Sweden

After a commercial break we have one of the most universally welcomed finalists:

Portugal - We came to Belgrade not giving this song much of a chance but the performance from Vânia and her backing singers is nothing short of superb. This got the warmest reception in the hall last night and this song is going to be Portugal's best chance of winning for years!

Latvia - This song has divided opinion, you either love it or hate it. Some think Switzerland should have qualified instead of Latvia but reality is the Latvian pirates will be on stage on Saturday. Better performance (minus the sword) than the semi but can't see it being top 10 as it's in between two possible winners.

Sweden - Another Nordic finalist - Mrs Perrelli doesn't fail to impress. Another flawless rendition of Hero and we are sure that Charlotte will be in contention for the top spot. After all, she won from position 15 in 1999.

Poland, Iceland, Turkey

Poland - Isis is in her trademark blue dress and gives another very polished and strong performance of For Life. Welcome to the final, Poland. Bit of an unknown quantity thsi one , could do a Shiri Maymon 2005.

Iceland - Delighted that Euroband made it to the final. This lively number wakes everyone up after several ballad-type songs. Good old-fashioned Euro stomper and we really hope this does well. Stage looks great and so do they in a pink and black melange!

Turkey - Always a reliable finalist, very different and contemporary rock song from Turkey this year. Deli is performed very well and will be up there on the night as Turkey always is since televoting.

Israel, Finland, Croatia

Another technical hitch left us with a test-card before Israel.
Commercial break at this point.

Israel - Boaz dressed in a silver wasitcoat takes a while to get on stage, but once he does, the song shines! This strong ballad is a deserved finalist but may suffer from being after the break. Great performance from Boaz and the boys.

Finland - The surprise finalist, Teräsbetoni, certainly make their presence felt with their pyro-rock show. Anyone near the front of the stage may come away with an instant suntan after this song. Difficult to see how Finland will do, but their rock entries seem to get them good results these days.

Croatia - Another surprise finalist, Romanca did as well as the semi performace and will probably pick up a lot of votes from neighbours now that FYROM/Slovenia and Montenegro are out. Can't see it doing top 10 though.

Germany, Armenia, Bosnia-Herzegovina

Germany - Die No Angels have failed to make much of an impact here in Belgrade and we're afraid this performance was very weak. Off-key for most of the song, they are dressed in their purple and blue shiffon but this has got last place written all over it....so far.

Armenia - One of the pre-contest faves, this was no better than the semi performance, which was ok at best. Sirusho, dressed in a black and whiter mini-skirt will still probably finish top 10 as Armenia tends to do very well.

Technical problem after Armenia stopped show for a couple of minutes.

Bosnia-Herzegovina - This is one of the songs that has been the talk of ESC-land over the past two weeks. Very artistic rendition of Pokušaj from the zany Laka and Mirela and their knitting brides. This has been growing in popularity day by day. Don't be surprised to see this in contention on Saturday.

Romania, UK, Albania

Romania - beautiful song but shame it is first on. The nerves are showing a bit by Vlad who was slighlty off-key. Nico looked stunning in a silver/white armless dress. Still a fantastic song and should be one of the contenders but will suffer fromm being on first.

UK - After almost a week, we get to see Andy on stage again. Great voice. He's dressed in his blue suit and gives a very good performance. This will benefit from being between two slow songs. Maybe top of the Big 4!

Albania - One of the surprise qualifiers, this was a very competent performance from young Olta. This could snatch a few of the ethnic votes from Serbia but otherwise shouldn't trouble the scoreboard too much.

1st Rehearsal for THE FINAL

Live blogging coming up for the first rehearsal of this year's final. We will blog in batches of 3, so - Romania, UK and Albania will be first!

What a great final this promises to be!

Maria Serifovic opens the final with a dance version of Moltiva followed by her new single. Then the hosts arrive and explain the procedures.

The postcards seem to be the same as used in the semi.

OK...the Final draw..

Here is the final running order:

1. Romania
2. UK
3. Albania
4. Germany
5. Armenia
6. Bosnia-Herzogovina
7. Israel
8. Finland
9. Croatia
10. Poland
11. Iceland
12. Turkey
13. Portugal
14. Latvia
15. Sweden
16. Denmark
17. Georgia
18. Ukraine
19. France
20. Azerbaijan
21. Greece
22. Spain
23. Serbia
24. Russia
25. Norway

Hurrah! We're happy bunnies

Great outcome to Semi-Final 2...Almost all of our faves have got through, with one big exception...Switzerland. However, Iceland getting through has made our night. No FYROM has really surprised us and has shown that the new system may actually be working well!!

In case you missed it, here are the qualifiers...

Ukraine
Croatia
Albania
Iceland
Georgia
Denmark
Sweden
Latvia
Turkey
Portugal

Semi-Final 2 tonight! Final prediction.

We're almost at the "Semi-Final of Death" ... will Charlotte get through, will Ani get through, what will the surprises be?

Having sat through the rehearsal last night, we have changed our minds on some of the qualifiers. Here are the songs we think will get through..

Sweden
Turkey
Ukraine
Switzerland
Bulgaria
Georgia (great performance last night, especially the costume change moment)
Denmark (much more impressed with this song's chances now)
Hungary
FYR Macedonia (doesn't it always?)
Portugal (one of the best performances of the evening)

.... bubbling under....

Malta
Latvia
Iceland
Croatia

Good luck to all!!!

Fancy this on your mantelpiece?

Here's the new perpetual Eurovision trophy, as unveiled at yesterday's EBU press conference.

Eurovision Express is wondering what happened to the last perpetual trophy revealed in Istanbul in 2004. Maybe someone dropped it....anyway this new one is pretty smart.

Bosnia captures the youth vote!

After a hugely enthusiastic welcome for Laka and Mirela at the Eurocafe in Belgrade this afternoon where they performed Pokušaj, we found this delightful kiddies' version of the increasingly popular song!

The vibe here certainly seems to be with this song. We are sure this will be a strong contender on Saturday night! Go Bosnia-Herzegovina!

Giving Up? No - giving the points!

Carrie Grant, one third of UK Eurovision superstars, Sweet Dreams, will be giving out the UK points on Saturday. Apparently Carrie's a bit nervous she might give some points to Italy, and they're not even in it! Anyway, as the UK is first up to give its marks, Carrie will be able to get the ordeal out the way fairly quickly.

Another Eurovision legend, Niamh Kavanagh, will be presenting the Irish scores.

Swedish get-together

Sweden hosted a little get-together for the first semi-final. Charlotte's team, together with Sebatien Tellier from France and Ani Lorak from the Ukraine, gathered in the restautant of the IN hotel to check out the competition.

From the picture above it looks like they could have done with some nibbles and drinkies. And Fredrik Kempe didn't really get the best seat in the house, did he?

Our Verdict on Semi 2

After the Dress rehearsal we predict the following countries (in bold) will qualify for the final from Semi-Final 2 (it's a tough one to choose only 10):

Iceland
Sweden
Turkey
Ukraine
Lithuania
Albania
Switzerland
Czech Republic
Belarus
Latvia
Croatia
Bulgaria
Denmark
Georgia
Hungary
Malta
Cyprus
FYR Macedonia
Portugal

It's a really difficult semi to predict so we probably won't get anywhere near our 9/10 prediction for semi 1. And, of course, there will always be some surprises!

and finally...Portugal

We'll be honest - we don't especially like this song, but we'd be pleased if Portugal got through after a long absence from the Eurovision final. And you can't deny, Vânia gives a very assured performance of this dramatic ballad. A qualifier.

FYR Macedonia

FYROM....they always qualify, don't they? And they always seem to send the same song....! Anyway FYROM will find it harder this year, with an ok but certainly not great song. If this does get through it will be a shame.

Cyprus

During the duration of this Eurovision, the Cypriot singer, Evdokia Kadi, has come across as a lovely person, but this is one of the weakest songs in semi 2. There's nothing wrong with the performance but the song has a very limited appeal. Not a qualifier.

Malta

The tempo increases tenfold now with Vodka! The whole song is pretty silly, but it's quite infectious and Morena suits this entry perfectly. After the disappointment Malta must have felt last year, they have reason to be more optimistic in 08. Na zdarovye!

Hungary

Very good. A quality midtempo ballad with a very pleasant arrangement, and a strong, yet relaxed performance. This very much deserves to qualify and we think it will.

Georgia

Cripes - the backing vocals on this are loud. Eurovision Express quite liked this initially, but have gone off it since we arrived in Belgrade. Doesn't really deserve to get through.

Denmark

Another Eurovision Express favourite, we'd love to see this qualify. It's a good performance, with great singalong potential, and has a similar vibe to the Danish entry from 2005. Again hard to call, but we're keeping our fingers crossed.

Bulgaria

We are inda house for Deepzone and DJ Balthazar. Very difficult to say if this will qualify - it's a competent performance of a dance track, and Eurovision audiences seem to be going for more contemporary stuff. Hard to call.

Croatia

Thanks to the novelty value of 75 Cents, Croatia may just scrape into the final. The song is occasionally boring, and we're not as confident about this song's chances as we were.

Latvia

Swab the decks - it's the pirates! A catchy, trashy song which might garner a few Western votes, and has a pretty chance of qualifying. And, by the way, watching this semi is far more enjoyable than the first semi....

Belarus

Coming after the Czech Republic song will certainly help Ruslan. Despite quite a few bum notes this could still qualify, but only just.

Czech Republic

We think there may have been a sound problem at the start of this song, because the music didn't come in for about 10 seconds. Goodness knows why they decided to use a different 'Eastern' remix of this song - the original version was better. A definite non-qualifier.

Switzerland

Eurovision Express' favourite song next - Era Stupendo. Paolo's vocal performance has improved vastly since the first rehearsal, and we reckon this should make it through, probably thanks to the jury. Whatever happens, this is the best song in the contest.

Albania

This is actually the first time we have heard this song since we arrived in Belgrade and the arrangement is far more contemporary, less balladlike. It was better in its original version. Not a qualifier, we think.

Lithuania

All good things come to an end. This is quite scary both to watch and listen to. Probably last place in this semi.

Ukraine

And the quality continues with Shady Lady. This will be Top 4 surely, although Ani's prop - a magic box - needs a bit of a clean....The most definite qualifier from the 2nd semi.

Turkey

A change of style and pace now as Turkey take to the stage. Catchy rock this looks good on stage - no gimmicks, just a credible performance of a decent song. Another qualifier we think.

Sweden

Mrs. Perrelli is great. It sounds brilliant and it would be one of the biggest shocks in Eurovision history if this didn't qualify. Confident, assured and catchy - Eurovision old skool it may be, but this should sail into the final.

Iceland

OK, first up



Euroband have been consistently good performers during rehearsals and this is a great opener. Lighting and camera angles let this song down though. Hope this squeezes through to the final, it deserves to.

Semi-Final 2 - First dress rehearsal LIVE ...

Live Blogging on this afternoon's dress rehearsal coming up.....

and here's how it starts!!

9 outta 10 ain't bad!

Eurovision Express is celebrating predicting 9 of the 10 qualifiers from the first semi-final.

Only The Netherlands didn't make it - which was a real shame for them, and we feel sorry for Belgium too.

We were getting a bit worried towards the end though, when Norway still hadn't been picked out. But as soon as the last envelope was opened, the party began. Norway we love you - you are the spirit of Eurovision!

And, of course the land of Bobbysocks is singing last - what a great way to end this Eurovision that will be.

And just for the record here are the positions that tonight's qualifiers will be singing in:

Greece - 21
Romania - 1
Bosnia-Herzegovia - 6
Finland - 8
Russia - 24
Israel - 7
Azerbaijan - 20
Armenia - 5
Poland - 10
Norway - 25

to join

UK - 2
Germany - 4
France - 19
Spain - 22
Serbia - 23

Running Order for Semi-Final One later tonight

The positions in which tonight's qualifiers will sing will not be drawn during the show, but instead at the press conference directly afterwards.

This seems a little strange, and we would hope that next year the excitement of the draw can in some way be incorporated into the live broadcast.

Tips for the Top 10

OK, with just over an hour to go before the first semi-final, here is Eurovision Express' prediction as to who will make it through tonight:

Israel
Azerbaijan
Norway
Poland
Bosnia-Herzegovina
Armenia
The Netherlands
Romania
Russia
Greece

We'd love Belgium to get through but think it will just miss out....In a few hours' time, we'll know!

Bosnia in the running?

Eurovision Express had kind of written Bosnia Herzegovina off, but now we've seen Laka's crazy but extremely well judged performance in the dress rehearsals, we reckon Pokušaj could be a dark horse.

Sarajevo 2009 anyone?

Eurovision Express has gone to Iceland

Eurovision Express had a great time at the Icelandic party last night. Located by the banks of the Sava the shindig took place in the glamorous Magacin Club. Guests were welcomed with champagne cocktails and cds.

Whilst enjoying a free bar, Euroband performed hit after Eurovision hit, including the English language version of Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi (Don't Leave Without Me Now), Eitt Lag Enn (sung by Euroband and the male half of Stjornin member, Greta), Ooh Aah Just A Little Bit, and, of course, This is my Life.

Afterwards Denmark's Simon Mathew got up and sang his entry too.

Eurovision Express officially now loves all things Icelandic.

First Reaction to 1st Semi Dress Rehearsal

OK, so we have sat through the first semi final's first dress rehearsal. It all got off to a great start with a jazz medley of some past Eurovision classics. Then on came the hosts who thankfully didn't screech at the audience as previous years' hosts have. We liked Jovana and Željko. There were some sound problems, but that's what rehearsals are for, so we're sure RTS will get it right on the night.

So, on first hearing, we have categorised them into UP, DOWN, or SAME depending on whether we think their performance has improved or not. We have also given them a % chance of qualification.

Predicted qualifiers in bold

Montenegro - SAME - 10%
Israel - UP - 60%
Estonia - DOWN - 40%
Moldova - SAME - 10%
San Marino - UP - 30%
Belgium - DOWN - 40%
Azerbaijan - UP - 60%
Slovenia - DOWN - 35%
Norway - SAME - 55%
Poland - UP - 65%
Ireland - DOWN - 40%
Andorra - DOWN - 30%
Bosnia-Herzegovina - UP - 70%
Armenia - SAME - 55%
Netherlands - UP - 55%
Finland - UP - 25%
Romania - UP - 80%
Russia - SAME - 75%
Greece - UP - 75%

Some of the 2nd Semi-finalists are partying tonight as the 1st Semi-finalists have a nervous night!! We're off to the Icelandic party....and then tomorrow it's the REAL 1st Semi-final!

Semi-Final 1 ... First Dress Rehearsal

Just about to go into the Belgrade Arena to watch the 1st Dress Rehearsal for Semi-Final 1 of ESC 2008! Who will shine and who will fall???

Comments and thoughts later.............

Dustin in sex-change promise!

(photo www.escnation.com)

Ireland's Eurovision hopeful - Dustin the Turkey - has said that if he doesn't win the Eurovision this year, he will have his giblets removed and return next year as Dustin International!

Gulp!

From Paris to Berlin....kind of

Germany's No Angels are back, and it's all ok, nothing more, nothing less.

As we already knew Sebastien Tellier for France enters the stage (rather pointlessly) on a buggy. 5 backing singers are having to replicate the ooh-bap-boo-ap that is normally created by a synthesizer. C'est un peu bizarre, and this could come last.

Dommage!

Gonna miss Serbia again as the royal family are expecting us at the White Palace later...ta ta for now!

Connect 4

Time for the Big 4 to give it another go. Andy Abraham from the UK is in his cozzie - a blue number with some jazzy silver bling down one lapel continuing onto his jacket. Quite reminiscent of Cliff Richard in '68.



The song sounds good, and Eurovision Express thinks Andy may surprise a few people and do pretty well. We hope so!

Prediction Time: Semi-Final 2

OK, the semi-final open rehearsals have now finished, so it's time to update our prediction for the qualifiers from Semi-Final 2.

This is a tough one....

To Qualify:

SWEDEN
UKRAINE
SWITZERLAND (due to a much better performance in 2nd rehearsal)
BELARUS
CROATIA
BULGARIA
GEORGIA
HUNGARY
MALTA
PORTUGAL

Just like Semi 1 this could all change after the Dress Rehearsal.