OK - time for the recap...

Sat in 2nd row at the finals next to the Norwegians. You can imagine it was a bloody brilliant night, full of atmosphere. I promise you the opening part of the show looked just as amazing in the arena. Thats the first time I really liked Dima Bilan.

Downside to the show - well, that morning the gay parade attempted to start and the police arrested everyone. The tv news showed that, but neglected to mention the amount of people who were injured etc. I believe that included one of the guys from De Toppers - the Dutch entry. When we got to the arena it was surrounded by police. We were asked to hide our flags and to stick to the pathway made the line of the police. You could see the looks on their faces like they were one step away from clubbing us all to death. Friggin' scary shit. I went in via the media entrance to avoid them all - probably best for guys who are wearing kilts (I was like their protection being a female, hehe).

After the show my friend Paul and I were interviewed by Russia Today news - featuring the GAYEST man ever as host. Paul lent me his Union Jack flag as we stood in the freezing cold waiting for the interview to start live to air. I'm most certain I looked thoroughly shocking and now I'm told I'll get a copy of it on dvd to watch over. arghhhhhhhhh!

Went to the afterparty where much free alcohol (as per usual) was consumed, as well as some very alcoholic strawberries and icecream. We didnt spot many acts there - they had their own VIP section.

Around 6am the party was winding down and despite my best efforts to leave, Paul kept pulling me back inside. In the end he dragged me over to Euroclub, insisting it would still be open. It wasnt.

Anyway, best thing ever! I cant wait for Oslo Eurovision 2010!

Oh, theres only one night left with everyone here for Final and I feel like the comedown has already started. It will be utterly empty on Sunday night :(

Its like Melbourne Comedy Festival comedown or Edinburgh Fringe comedown. And I hate it. I think I've taken the right decision though to book into a hotel for tomorrow and just sleep it all off after a MASSIVE one planned for tonight. I only know 2 people still here on Sunday night - 2 Norwegians. So we are going to dinner together on Sunday which is nice.

I truly love the Eurovision spirit

If I told you I've made about 60 new friends here I wouldnt be exaggerating. There's most people from the UK fanclub - about 40 of them. And at least another 4 UK people from the media. There's a group of 5 Norwegians. 2 Russians. A handful of Swedes. 10 Irish. 3 Spaniards (who in fact were screaming at me from across the road "Australian girl" because I was walking alone to Eurocafe and they wanted me to wait and walk with them to be safe). I don't know, there's a lot of others... too many people. I have had so many photos with people taken as the "aussie girl". Probably more than Alex for Norway! Apparently he 'doesnt do photos' cause too many people ask for a photo with him.

Oh yeah, and I'd say 90% of them are gay men. You dont come to Eurovision to pick up as a woman, thats for sure. Simon from the UK club last night had 2 women (who we suspect were the 2 dopey Russian girls who blog on esckaz) trying to pick him up. I had to tell them in broken English that they are in the wrong place. hehe

Plans are already underway for next year. If Norway wins, I'm there!

I have been ordered to take my inflatible flag tonight by everyone to show off the Aussie flag. I'm in 2nd row. Its BOUND to be on the broadcast. Please, please watch the final for me, if nothing else. Its on Sunday at 7pm.

Here's also hoping nothing bad happens today. The gay parade is on and hopefully no-one gets hurt. I think everyone I know is smart enough to stay well away. But theres also been reports that the police found bullets and a gun hidden in the arena on Tuesday night - possible Eurovision assassination? Fucking frightening. But you cant live your life being scared all the time.

We went out till 8am last night/today. We came home on the Metro with packed carriages of workers heading to their jobs staring at us. Excellent semi to celebrate (because we all got the countries we wanted through and the songs were fantastic).

Qualifiers were:
Greece
Norway
Azerbaijan
Ukraine
Lithuania
Estonia
Denmark
Croatia
Albania
Moldova

As expected, we sat behind the Greeks which meant the audience was extremely loud. They have heaps to be proud of though - Sakis was unbelievable visually. I waved my flag for Norway. We all got up and danced to Ukraine.

We might all be going to Athens next year...

Anyway, all that fantastic stuff happening meant it was a big party back at Euroclub with the two favourites, and it means we got back an hour later than the night before.

I met the other 2 Aussies here last night. I'm not alone! 2 guys from Canberra, my old home town (at least during 2009).

And my mate Ewan finally emerged from his press bunker and came out with us. He got me a 'anti crisis girl' singlet. I love him!!!!
People saw me jumping up and down and squealing miles away, and just knew it had something to do with Svetlana stuff :)

This is what Eurovision is really about. I get the same buzz as Melbourne years ago. I know this will become an addiction and I'll want to see everyone year after year at this event.

OK, last night was fricking awesome!
I stumbled back into my apartment around 7am.

I swear those blisters on my toes look a lot worse than they feel. I'm so wearing my boots tonight instead.

Eurocafe... its basically a 24 hour party venue for Eurovision fans. Its a restaurant by day, nightclub by night. It also a karaoke room and a press centre.
You may as well say though that after 1am, its a gay bar. Wall to wall gorgeous gay men dancing to Eurovision songs. Well gay men and a few women. There arent too many female Eurovision fans here (at least attending the parties).

Never really thought I'd be singing and dancing along in a nightclub to the Albanian entry from this year. hehe. It is so much fun though. The place pumps energy by the litre.

And woooo! 2nd semi tonight!

Now, this semi is going to be fucking amazing! I want you all to watch it on Saturday at 7.30pm on SBS.

Keep an eye out for:
Greece - it is just such a spectacular presentation. The Greek fans are REALLY REALLY LOUD. And so they should be. I think they are sitting right in front of us tonight (we are 9th row). It looks excellent (and hopefully sounds good too on the night)
Norway - cause its my favourite little fairytale
Ukraine - acrobatics, sexy Roman costumes, catchy tune...
Netherlands - its totally kitsch but we've all decided we love it. We will be dancing in the crowd so please watch for us!

Predictions:
Greece
Norway
Ukraine
Azerbaijan
Lithuania
Estonia
Moldova
Denmark

Cyprus will just miss out because she hits some bum notes.

Oh god I'd love to see the Netherlands go through. Its utterly shamefully enjoyable.

Woah! one semi down, one semi and a final to go.

Like everything else in this fine city, there was a lot of confusion as to where and how to get to our seats. No-one at the arena spoke English at the doors and there were no signs pointing to where the Fan Zone was. Eventually through hand signals, I worked out I had to go downstairs. Then they had the doors closed right up until 30 minutes before the show which got people really angry. On the floor, there were no signs as to the seating area so I sat in this great seats that I assumed was mine, only to be told that no, we were at the side of the stage - not the greatest view - blocked by those swinging cameras. Thus, you will not see any of the UK fanclub waving our flags, or me waving my inflatible hand :(

I can understand why we had those seats - you need to seat the fanclubs of the countries actually in that semi final in front of the stage first. We will get our chance on Saturday at the final. I think our seats for the next semi arent bad though. 9th row in the centre.

We didnt have any real car crash entries this year. A few bum notes though. We thought Andorra looked good, and Switzerland and Belarus. We rated them quite highly. But the qualifications to the finals were:
Bosnia
Turkey
Armenia
Iceland
Finland
Malta
Portugal
Sweden
Israel
Romania

Anyway, makes sense. All the Scandis voted for each other and got through. And pretty girls won over rock songs as per usual.

Apparently the UK tv cut to interviews with acts instead of showing the interval act (which was AMAZING!). Travesty.

The afterparty entertainment last night was a Russian drag show. Quite a good one. It opened with a Kylie set and the boys reckoned they put it on just for me :P
I drank about 4 beers in 20 mins leaving me a little tipsy.

I was chatting away to the guys about the semi and noticed the lead singer of Bosnia standing right next to me (Davor from Regina). I leaned over and said 'congratulations' and he hugged me to say thank you and then grabbed my pass around my neck and pointed at it and said "AUSTRALIA! Are you really from Australia?". He seemed really excited.
Davor and I ended up chatting for quite a while about Australia. He has family that live in the Gold Coast. He says he would like to go on holidays around Sydney and Queensland after this to relax. I was giving him some tourist attraction recommendations.
So he's a really excellent guy. I mentioned I was staying around the corner from their hotel and said I was very welcome to join them on the bus home from Euroclub. We left around 4.30am when things were dying down and god I wish I had a camera last night! The Bosnians are so happy (as to be expected) and were all singing on the bus. I'm so very very happy for them. I said I want them to win for me because I have bets on them at very good odds.

So... I've had about 3 hours sleep, feeling seedy, but I have a semi 2 rehearsal to attend in a couple of hours. Gotta be there to see Norway and the Ukraine perform! Then home to sleep and off to the Russian party tonight. Should be a big one.

1st day at Eurovision

I've landed in Eurovision! I'm now in Moscow.

I thought for a while I wouldnt be. My driver wasn't there to collect me and I did all sorts of broken English and finger pointing to organise a taxi at a set rate. Then on the way to the apartment Tanya rang (the landlady) and said the water is broken in my flat and I'm staying somewhere else. Its further away from the arena. I still dont have an actual address of where I am staying, so thank god I've got a great sense of direction.

On the plus side, when I got off the plane in Moscow there was a girl holding a Eurovision card and I went up to her and skipped the entire immigration queue of about 50 people. Turns out she thought I was from the Finnish delegation. Hilarious but very helpful.

The metro system here is very much like London and the stations are stunning inside, but its not user friendly. I only had 2 stops to go to get to the arena but even so it took me 2 hours to find the metro entrance! When I did finally negotiate the metro system I then took 40 minutes to find the arena and then the accreditation area. Fortunately no queues there as I really expected. I have a shiny big electronic photographic pass now to wear everywhere, then I got a Eurovision scarf (very cute!) and a metro card for 70 free trips. I unfortunately dont get a bag or a book like the press do. I also dont get access to the press area after tomorrow (when the shows start).

I snuck into the press conference of Germany today which was uneventful, stole a Patricia Kaas from France promo cd, and saw the UK rehearse. The UK does look and sound amazing. I do think now it may go top 10.

And then there was the opening night party. On entry I was given free wine, then I was directed to the buffet - bread tables, meat tables, salad tables, dessert tables and nibbles. The food was constant but settled on Strogonoff and potatoes. Stood and watched the Dutch, Icelandic, Czech Republic and Belgian entries getting interviewed. Had more free wine. The show 'Legends of Eurovision' started and I went up the front and saw Ruslana (who is just so gorgeous) and Dima Bilan and Carola and Genghis Khan (remember that song 'Moscow'? It was excellent there!) and Tatu and so many other acts...

Then I followed that up with even more free wine. During my time there I was interviewed by Swiss radio about their entrant and whether I think it will make it to the final (I do), and had copious amounts of photos taken of me.

I have tons of photos I need to upload, as well as video clips.

As for my hopes for this Eurovision, I have now:

1. Officially danced to Brainstorm 'My Star' at a Eurovision party.

2. Acquired the first of my free promo stuff

3. Seen Ruslana

Three particular wishes left:

4. A photo with Alexander Rybak from Norway (not yet, but I *do* have a photo of him up close)

5. Make friends with the Latvian delegation (Intars is apparently ill and wasnt there tonight)

6. Acquire an 'Anti Crisis Girl' tshirt. (everyone here is wearing them so I'm asking lots of people if I can have one too)

Next - 1st semi 1st rehearsal to attend, then the Dutch party at 7pm and the Azerbaijani party at 11pm. Big day.

1st rehearsal, 2nd semi thoughts

The rehearsals for the 2nd semi just concluded. Quite the surprising bunch - much stronger in total compared to semi 1. But some that have been rated highly fell a bit flat in my eyes, whilst some of them really shone (and amazingly, I picked those ones aaaaaaaaaaaages ago!)

Here are my thoughts on the 2nd semi (in order of personal idea) :

Definite qualifiers: Ukraine, Norway, Azerbaijan
Good chances: Greece (but this rehearsal was a BIG mess), Denmark, Lithuania, Moldova
Borderline: Netherlands, Hungary, Serbia
Need improvement: Albania, Estonia, Croatia, Ireland, Slovenia, Poland, Cyprus, Latvia, Slovakia

Let's be honest, Ukraine is a standout. Yes, more so than Norway (there I said it! I've got a banner for supporting Norway, but the one I think will win is Ukraine). As I said what feels like many moons ago now, we shouldn't discount Svetlana. I think there is still more to be seen in terms of performance, but already its got me 'oooh'ing and 'aaaah'ing. Perhaps this is too flamboyant, more focus should be on the song, not the acrobatics. But how good does it look and sound? It certainly caught everyones attention.

Most people watching and voting for Eurovision won't know the songs or see the clips beforehand. Therefore it HAS to be eye catching and an instaneous song. In terms of competition both Norway and Ukraine have it by the bucketload.

Right now I'm rubbing my hands together and patting myself on the back for taking a bet on Ukraine 3 weeks ago at 60/1. Just put another bit of money on it at 27/1. If I win, I'll get $1140 in total (around 570 Euros). Thats at least another week of holidaying for me in Europe :)
I believe its going at 19/1 now on some betting website. Put it on whilst you can.

1st rehearsal, 1st semi thoughts

Its been a while since I blogged because its been mayhem here in Oz for me.

I'm leaving for Moscow and Eurovision tomorrow!

The Euros have been bought, the bag packed, the contacts made, the tickets and visa secured...

Between work and sleep I've pretty much lived and breathed Eurovision stuff. The rehearsals started on Sunday and they are conveniently scheduled in the evening Australian time, so I have been following the events online via other blogs (the excellent 'All Kinds of Everything' and 'On Europe' livejournals particularly), and then EscToday, Oikotimes, and obviously Eurovision.tv websites, and YouTube clips.

So far only 3 acts have REALLY impressed me. Armenia, Bosnia and Norway.
There have been plenty of 'good' acts and plenty of 'ohmigod! I hope they improve in the next week' acts. And then there's the ones worth having a giggle over... so far Czech Republic, Serbia, Belgium (although I like the song, it does look rather over the top) and Latvia.

Here are my thoughts so far for qualification in the first semi
(in my preferenced order - borderline I'm not sure of, could easily been taken over by the 'needs improvement' acts) -

Definite qualifiers: Bosnia, Armenia, Turkey
Good chances: Switzerland, Malta, Iceland, Portugal
Borderline: Sweden, Finland, Romania
Need improvement: Bulgaria, Israel, Montenegro, FYR Macedonia, Belarus, Andorra, Czech Republic, Belgium.

Yesterday, the most impressive acts were Norway and Denmark. It does seem to be a good year for the Scandis.

Today is probably the most exciting of the rehearsal days. Looking forward to seeing the unknown but possible favourites Greece, Azerbaijan, Ukraine.

Mega thanks to the EBU! I have just been granted a fan accreditation pass for Eurovision this year.

And in response to that, I bring you the photo of my banner...

This time of year I'm normally at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, hanging around the bar, seeing about a hundred shows, doing my own show promotion and management. Not this year. In order to attend Moscow, a sacrifice had to be made. Therefore for the first time in 13 years, I won't be there.

And of all the years, the comedy festival has a Eurovision-theme show...


Trades Hall is presenting every Friday a competition to find a possible entrant for an Australian entry into Eurovision 2010. Of course, its all a joke, but isn't it great to see the Australias biggest cultural event celebrate the Worlds best cultural event?

If only I could be in Melbourne to cheer the acts on. *sigh* Its free, its on for the next 3 Fridays. Check it out!
www.comedyattrades.com.au

I just realised that my own profiling, thoughts, etc on Eurovision acts now will have be done at the rate of 2 a day if I'm gonna finish them by the time I leave.
sheeesh! Its getting close now.

My thoughts on certain acts have really changed over the past 3 months, but one thing remains is that I still tip Norway to win. And I guess thats why I just finished painting a banner to wave in Moscow...

"i'm in (heart) with a fairytale"

I'll take a photo and post it up here and then people can look out for me waving it at the show.

My trip planning for Eurovision has been going on for 9 months, and hopefully I've learned some lessons to organising that I can pass on to others hoping to make the journey to Eurovision (from anywhere, not just Australia)...

1. Keep a close eye on the Eurovision news - eurovision.tv , esctoday.com , oikotimes.com , esckaz.com are my favourite sites. Looking at the websites on a daily basis kept me up-to-date on rumours, including the city Eurovision was being held in, when Eurovision would be held, and how much it would cost. Knowing well ahead means you can plan well ahead. Those 4 websites are probably the first websites I look at every morning that I log onto the internet. They keep my Eurovision love alive the other 11 months of the year.

2. Join a OGAE fanclub. I believe if you love something, you should show your love. So I joined OGAE UK because it puts you in touch with people who share your love, and it adds another element to your interest by getting fanclub emails, newsletters etc. I've made a few friends online through it as well, and I look forward to meeting them in Moscow - means I won't be alone in a strange land. Last of all, there's the benefit of ordering OGAE tickets to Eurovision which are discounted and the best seating is on offer to fanclub members.

3. BOOK YOUR ACCOMMODATION AS SOON AS DETAILS OF HOSTING CITY ARE AVAILABLE. I can't stress this enough. I know a lot of people wait to hear what places are the "official hotels" so they can be closer to the action, but my experience says the longer you wait, the more the prices go up. I booked a B&B originally in Moscow who then said they'd move me to another place further from the Arena and then double the price. Obviously I wasnt pleased. But because I made enquiries so early on I at least had other places to choose from. I'm now going to be staying in my own apartment 2 metro stations from the arena, and the cost is 480 Euros for the week. The hotels I've seen this late in planning have been 100 Euros per night!

4. Do your travel research. This goes in conjunction with booking the hotel - find out about the city you are going to - transport, cost of living, sights,visa requirements, 'the dodgy areas'... I believe it adds to the excitement of travel, or maybe its just me being anal. I even go to the point of borrowing books and dvds from my local library to find out about the culture of the country, maybe a bit of the language, (or in my experience, watching Anthony Bourdain - I like learning about national food) ... It turns your trip to Eurovision from an event to an experience. In most cases, the place Eurovision is held is somewhere I wouldn't have thought of travelling to before or will probably travel to again, so I want to get the most from my trip.

5. BOOK YOUR FLIGHTS EARLY. If you are travelling from another European country, book early because transport to the hosting city gets booked out quite quickly. If you are travelling from Australia I recommend booking in the period Nov-Jan prior to Eurovision. Its during that period you can take advantage of 'Earlybird' flight deals. Another tip for travellers from Australia is to get 3 quotes from different travel agents, then select the cheapest/best deal and take it to the remaining travel agents and play them off each other (Flight Centre is good for this because they match price and sometimes throw in stuff for free to get the business). By doing that I knocked $800 off the cost of my flights flying Cathay Pacific/Finnair - Melbourne-Helsinki-Moscow-London-Melbourne. It even worked out cheaper than flying Aeroflot *shudders*

This is excellent! http://www.esctoday.com/multimedia/gallery/623

I told people to not discount the Ukrainian act at Eurovision, and if this is true (and not an April Fools) I'll have been proven correct. A massive pyrotechnic 'cog' descending from the roof of Eurovision with Svetlana in it. She trained for the circus originally, so she can actually do gymnastics stuff in these things. I love the addition of the stripper pole in the middle too. hehe. They are calling it the 'hell machine'.

You are so sexy BOM
Dont make me crazy BOM
We're gonna do the BOM BOM
Aint that amazing BOM

....

I call you on the phone
You speak in monotone
Don't wanna be alone
Because I'm crazy BOMMMMM!

Baby, baby, you're so fine
Be my, be my valentine...
....
Baby, I could save your world
I'm your anti-crisis girl.

I had this massive brainwave over the past 6 hours - I want to do a show at comedy festival. hehe. I want to do a show about my Eurovision obsession.

I'm not in any way proclaiming I'm a comedian. Far from it. But I believe there's plenty of unintentional comedy in discussing Eurovision and my obsession and its history.

Seriously. I'm thinking this could work.
I always thought it would be awesome to do my own show at comedy festival, but I just can't imagine myself writing 'jokes'. Storytelling I can do. I have heaps of stories. I love telling my stories.

I want to take video footage in Moscow now. I want to show the world Eurovision outside of just the broadcast. To do this, I might have to apply for accreditation. If I say I'm writing a show about my obsession of Eurovision for Melbourne Comedy Festival 2010...?

What brought it on was peoples reaction to my story of going to Eurovision this year at Bens farewell yesterday. Initially people ridicule you for going, but after 5 mins they all admit they adore the show and watch it every year, and about 10 mins into the conversation they actually think going to Eurovision would be awesome. Its a wonderful celebration of kitsch - a guilty pleasure, something that will be the best party ever to attend. Yes, they all said I was obsessed during the conversation (what with my knowledge of it), but they all thought it was a fantastic holiday idea and told me they'd be keen to hear what its like on my return.

heyyyy, any of my musical friends out there want to write a song?

Its official - Asiavision is starting this year. Australia is going to be in it (SBS should be announcing its involvement very soon). Apparently the national finals will be sometime between July and October, and the Asian Final is in November.

Basically its like Eurovision. Except its localised and Australia will be in it. The official languages of Asiavision will be Mandarin and English. Don't know where the final will be held, but the rumour is Singapore.

If you fancy prizemoney, being onstage in a massive arena or writing a song for it, and getting a free trip, lets write a song!!!!
(the more dodgy the pop punk feel of it, the better).

Dom, if its in Singapore, I'll come visit you in Malaysia whilst I'm over.

And in other related news - my Eurovision promise for this year. I'd really really like to see Norway win. If they do though, I dont believe I could afford to go next year. I have a feeling Azerbaijan are the other big chance, but its ridiculously hard to get to.
So... if one of the following countries win instead, I will go to Eurovision 2010 -
Spain, Greece, Malta, Turkey
(as well as my normal favourite countries to visit - Germany and UK).

I made the decision of those based on the fact they are affordable and easy countries to get to. I chose them because I havent been down to the Mediterranean yet on my travels (apart from Italy), but I'd love an extra excuse to go. I think they all have very high chances of winning. All of them are ranked as top 10 chances already.

If I do go 2010, the holiday will be about cruising the Islands after Eurovision and maybe doing a cooking course somewhere. I'd love to learn more Greek and Turkish dishes. Lots of great vegie meals to eat there. oooh, and I would like to go to Pompeii... still havent been there.

In 2011, I might aim to do the Balkans... Romania, Moldova, Ukraine etc. By then hopefully the visas won't be needed.

ohmigod, losing it - it has been confirmed, the opening night party on the 10th is the 'Legends of Eurovision' concert. YAY RUSLANA! They are saying there are two venues for the party. I imagine the legends will perform at both, but they are saying that there are 2 venues mainly because in Russia during May "the weather can be unstable".

Either way, YES!

I'm gonna have a massive first night in Moscow.

The official clips and versions of songs for Eurovision are starting to be released as the closing date for song submission was 16th March. I think we may have underrated the Albanian act as she's a fantastic singer and the song is now in English. She still can't dance but apparently they have got her Kalomira's (last years Greek entry who came 3rd) choreographer, so that should do wonders for her performance.
I think people are also underrating the Ukrainian act. Its rather sensational with its bondage imagery, but the song is catchy 'baby, baby, you're so fine. be my, be my valentine'. I expect it to do quite well because I know that Ukraine invests heaps to give the best performances

Things are starting to filter through about the Eurovision shows.

Apparently at the final, the interval will be a 'winter wonderland'. Some talk of fake snow on the audience.

The opening act at the final is Dima Bilan doing 'Believe' again, but he'll be flying over us on wires. They are putting a ice on the stage for an ice skating spectacular too.

As for the opening Eurovision party, it is rumoured to be hosted on 10th May in the Red Square. THAT WILL BE AMAZING!

The Euroclub is meant to be in the exhibition centre about 5 mins walk from Red Square.

And then finally, I've heard that as part of the party (dont know if they mean opening or closing party) there will be a 'History of Eurovision' concert with some of the past winners performing including my beloved and favourite Ruslana (Ukraine 2004), Marija (Serbia 2007), Helena (Greece 2005), and Dana International (Israel 1998). If that happens, I think I might wet myself at the concert out of excitement.

just woke up again to read the latest on the ticketing saga. It appears that the website didnt work anywhere but Russia this morning meaning that no-one outside of Russia got a ticket to the final. Well, how are they going to explain that? Hmm? What are the EBU doing about this?

I mean, I'm relieved that us fanclub members got tickets already, but this is ridiculous.

The website is 'working' now, but after going in and trying to book another rehearsal ticket it appears that all the instructions after selecting a seat are conveniently in Russian! I havent a clue what I'm doing on it. I put the online translator thingy on and it didnt come up with any payment stuff, it says to click 'my orders' (which doesnt work) to pay. So I can only see that this is an utter farce.

People who have rung the phone line for tickets from outside Russia have said that it goes to onhold music for about 15 mins and then hangs up on you. So no-one is getting tix that way either.

Its starting to get quite obvious that most tickets will be sold on the black market to European fans at a far higher price.

In some good news, they have moved the opening ceremony/party from the 9th May to the 10th May which means I'll be there for it now. It apparently is to be held on Red Square, which I have a feeling could be a massive highlight of my trip.

They have also drawn the running order for the semis and finals. Not bad. Semi 1 does sound a little dull though. Spain is really trying to push this year to win. Soraya is doing massive promo and talking herself up, and now they have the amazing final performance spot in the final.

ok, now this is REALLY ridiculous. Apparently all the ticket ordering is only working in Russian on the website now.

I found something else though... there is a 'Russian only' ticketing agency that is handling some tickets as well (its official - I found it through the official website), and they not only have English translating available on their site, they will let international orders through as long as you pick them up on arrival in Moscow (no delivery offered). There are no issues with their website, but they have well and truly sold out of tix for the final and the 1st semi (but for some reason not the 2nd semi - there are HEAPS of tix left for it).

So, I now have my VIP ticket to the final dress rehearsal the night before the final. Total cost of $A48.
I think that might be it for me ticketing wise now.

I'm told that as fan club members we can go to the afterparty on the finals night. I really, really hope so. I'm planning on having a big one and then going home to just vacate my apartment and head to St Petersburg the next night on the overnight train.

Ukraine has just released its promo video for their act 'Be my valentine'. Its ummm... like going to a night at the Hellfire club. Or that leather bondage float at Mardi Gras. I have a feeling it will be an 'interesting' act on stage from them this year. But then, when havent the Ukraine done something fabulous at Eurovision? I'm still in love with Ruslana from 2004 :-)

The public tix for Eurovision have been on sale for about 2 hours. They opened the site early without warning. It's probably been down for about ummmm...2 hours. I dont know who they hell is able to buy tix through it. First you login then it logs you out. If you actually get to the bit where you select seats it then goes blank on the delivery page. And to top it off, they dont seem to have any of the rehearsal tix on sale. I'm trying to get a VIP ticket to the final rehearsal they night before the FINAL.

Everyone is currently VERY annoyed. And no-one is giving answers. After ringing the box office in Moscow directly, they said they won't deal with non-Russian orders on the phone.

I don't think thats very good service for Eurovision.

At least, thank god, I have my final and semi final tix already through the fan club.

SUGGESTION TO ALL PROSPECTIVE EUROVISION GO-ERS: Join your local OGAE fanclub - show your support for Eurovision and your country, and it will reward you back.

whoop!
I just paid for my Eurovision tickets! 185 Euro (because I had a holding deposit on them of 30 pounds). They set it up so I just paid via Paypal to make it quick and easy.

phew. The stress is all over. Let the Eurovision fun begin!

I don't feel apprehensive at all about going over there - the fanclub have all been so friendly and it does seem like a bit of big family when you go to Eurovision. Theres a fanclub for every country there so I imagine it will be massive. I can't wait to meet some of the other fanclub people from places like Sweden and Germany.

I even booked my Edinburgh to London train last night (only 14 pounds - bargain!) so its really all over when it comes to planning, booking and paying. Only spending money left to save and change.

7.5 weeks till I head to Moscow!!!!!

OH YEAH BABY!

All my tickets to Eurovision (section in front of the stage!) come to a grand total of 203 Euros through the fanclub! Like $400 for everything. wow. I'm ready to fork over the money right now. Can't believe it. And then I just go and pick them up on arrival in Moscow.

I was told to expect around 300 Euros 6 months ago for the ticket package. They are selling individual tickets to the public for the 2 semis, final and 9 rehearsals at a cost of 480 Euros (very average seating).

And my lovely shiny plastic rather official looking membership card is in the post already. I should have it early next week.

Ah, bless 'em.
ok, now this was worth the wait. All that stressing...

Havent heard the final versions of everything, nor seen all of them performed live, but going out on a limb to guess the final 25 acts for Eurovision (the final - the qualifers - in order of possible results)...
Let's see how many I get right in my selection at least...

Norway
Azerbaijan
Iceland
Greece
Finland
Ukraine
Spain
Turkey
Germany
Malta
Armenia
Ireland
France
Sweden
Poland
Hungary
Montenegro
Romania
Switzerland
Denmark
United Kingdom
Moldova
Russia
Czech Republic
Estonia

The 1st semi final is nowhere near as strong as the 2nd semi, so I guess I could have some surprises in store.

Oh, and Georgia have pulled out of Eurovision. The European Broadcasting Union deemed that their song 'We don't wanna put in... we just wanna shoot him' is politically motivated (ie. possibly referring to Putin) and thus is not allowed in the contest. They had option to either change the lyrics or submit another song/act but Georgia have refused.

Just Czech Republic and Sweden left to decide their songs now :-)

hehehe, Ukraine has gone mardi gras.

'Be my valentine'. Its trashy, she could do with some singing lessons, but its actually catchy and frankly, a bit fabulous.

She performs upside down at the start and in the middle she wanders off to play the drums.

I reckon they will tidy up the performance for Eurovision and it WILL come top 5 in the final.

yay! best song revealed this weekend.

OMG!

The song chosen by Russia is APPALLING. She can't sing! And the song lyrics are dreadful!

hahaha.

No Russia, I don't think you are hosting again next year.

Norway to win!!!!

The Estonian act just chosen isn't too bad actually...
Just waiting on Sweden, Serbia, Belgium, Ukraine, Slovakia and the Czech Republic to reveal their chosen final songs. They have to all choose by 14th March.

Not one intentional novelty song revealed yet. How disappointing :-(
Latvia is pretty funny though.

I just looked at the price of accommmodation in Oslo. I take it back - I DON'T want to go to Eurovision there.

Looking at $200 a night to stay in a 'cheap' hotel.

Maybe I should hope somewhere in the Balkans wins. I haven't been there before either and the region is dirt cheap to holiday at. hehe.

Nah. I still think Alexander/Norway should win. I just probably couldn't afford to go. It looks worse price-wise than Moscow.

340 Euro for average seat tix just to the 2 semis and the final???? WTF!
Thats what they selling tickets for this year to Eurovision to the public.

The fanclub members are still waiting to hear final prices for our 'package' of 2 semis, the final and the rehearsals. We have been told its considerably cheaper and better seats... but...

Tix go on sale to the public 12th March. I hope they let us fan club members know whats happening before that date rolls around. They still havent confirmed final prices, payment due date and how the tix are being distributed. I don't want to somehow find out I don't have my fanclub tix after all and I'm too late to get public sale tix.

arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

ohmigod! Soooo cute!

Have a look -
http://life.ru/video/9120

YAY! Wild Dances!

They look like them, sing like them and do all the moves. They even have got a kid on rollerblades performing as the ice skater from last years act.
I'M SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Haven't seen a Lordi lookalike kiddie act yet though :-( Kids doing heavy metal in masks would be awesome.

My mum bought me my inflaitable Aussie flag hand today to wave at Eurovision. Will you all watch the broadcasts and look out for me?

and once again Russia has delayed Eurovision tix.
They are now saying mid-March for payment.

I might just ask to pick them up on arrival in Moscow, because I probably wont receive them in time here.

Who starts selling tix just 1.5 months before a MASSIVE European event which they have known was going to happen, when and where, for a year?

At the moment I think a lot of fans have decided not to go because they were told accommodation problems would be sorted out (and they haven't - no-one has heard back from the Russian fanclub about hotel bookings - its been 7 weeks) and without having guaranteed accommodation and guaranteed tix only 1.5 months before the event, I think I'd cut my losses.

Thankfully I'm in a better situation. I have my accommodation.

I'm off to the Russian consulate next Monday morning to organise my visa. The 3rd last thing I have to do/pay for (the other 2 being the Eurovision ticket being paid for and booking my Edinburgh to London train).

63 days till I leave for Moscow. 9 weeks.

woah. Just heard the full Azerbaijani song. Its a serious contender. Thinking top 3 (although I believe that Norway is still best).

Updated scoring from me (my personal preferences after 2 full days of listening to songs over and over)...

Points -
12 - Norway
10 - Iceland
8 - Azerbaijan
7 - Finland
6 - Germany
5 - Switzerland
4 - Greece
3 - Moldova
2 - Malta
1 - Turkey

Greece and Turkey (and even Ireland) are starting to wear thin with me. But Germany, Moldova and Switzerland are growing on me. Even the Albanian entry is becoming a fave of mine but I have serious doubts that the girl can give a good live act.

Personally I think we are looking at the following top 5 in the final -
Norway
Azerbaijan
Finland
Greece
Iceland

I think we will also see Turkey and Malta up near the top somewhere. And I think we'll see all of the Big 4 (uk, germany, spain and france) not at the bottom for once, which is where they have been the past 5 years (they will be more like mid range in 2009 - huge improvement).

I still think I need to see the Swedish, Russian and Ukrainian final entries before making a definative list though. Russia and the Ukraine are deciding this weekend, and Sweden is early next week.

After next week I think I might start placing bets on Norway and Azerbaijan (at least).

Bosnia presented their entry last night. Nothing too flashy. 'Bistra Voda' sounds and looks like a Coldplay cover band.
Israel selects tonight.

There are only 6 more countries left to select. woooo... getting close! I can't really believe I'll be in Russia in about 9 weeks time.

Helsinki, Moscow, St Petersburg, Tallinn, Riga, Berlin, Krakow, Edinburgh, London.
What an amazing route. I'm almost in shock when I think thats where I'm travelling to. Only have my train from Edinburgh to London left to book now. And a day trip to Auchwitz. And maybe a day trip to Vilinus (from Riga). I've heard theres an amazing KGB museum in Vilinus. And you can drive old Russian tanks in some museum place in Latvia.

My friend Rob told me to speak loudly in an Aussie accent in Helsinki because the Finns love Aussie visitors. I'll keep it in mind.
And *sigh* Riga - the home of Europes biggest food market. I'm staying 5 mins walk away from it.

When I come home I'm sure to look like a beetroot. The plan is to eat a LOT of borcsht (and thus I should lose weight too) in Russia, Latvia, Estonia and Poland.
And perhaps I'll eat reindeer in Helsinki.
Theres an energy drink in Finland called Cocaine.
My fave drink though is Mezzomix in Germany. Close second is the German apple mineral water that I lived on in 1999, 2002, 2004.
And I won't forget to eat a heap of tomato, brie and basil bagettes from Pret a Manger in the UK. mmmm.

Yes, yes, this will be a bit of foodie, eastern european & eurovision tour.

I have to also remember to take lots of photos. I get lazy with my camera but I want to have lots of photos to remember the holiday by. I don't think I'll be going back to Russia anytime soon.

Next year I might have a Scandi tour... I've always wanted to go to Iceland. And Norway. And see more of Sweden. And Denmark is sooooo much fun.
Or maybe I should do a Balkan tour (Romania would be nice)... Or a Spain/Italy/Greece/Malta/Turkey sun and sailing tour... ooooh, something like that Rick Stein barge tour with all the local foodies. Cooking classes in Greece perhaps?
Let's see where Eurovision ends up.

I think thats what I've decided in my life. I'm always happiest organising tours and going on holidays. I like seeing the world. And for that reason, I'll never really settle into a 'career'.

I have an Estonian mobile number all set to go.

Spain chose Soraya, which admittedly was the best of the bunch. She's just another pop diva though, without the appeal and personality that Ani Lorak had when she sang for the Ukraine last year. But I'm sure it will do rather well.

Portugal chose Flor De Lys, which again was the best pick on the night. But the song is rather dull, somewhat folkish without being memorable.

And Croatia and Latvia also decided last night. Not a possible winner amongst them.

Sweden will be next to choose - their final is later this week.

Czech Republic are deciding between 2 songs now by Supergipsy. Both are too hardcore rap for Eurovision.

I think Bosnia and Slovenia might be deciding next weekend. Plus Israel is choosing its song (out of 4 possible). And then Russia, Ukraine and finally Belgium and Azerbaijan will release their full entries.

For f*cks sake Spain, what are you doing?

They decided to fast track the Eurovision choice process by having the 3rd semi and the 2nd chance show on the same night, then decided to scrap the 2nd chance process and have the final on the same night... its now 1am in Spain and they are only up to the 3rd song out of 12 songs in the final.

Oh, and now theres technical problems! The stage has broken under the weight of a prop...
Just send someone!

I hope to god Spain never win Eurovision if this is the crap show they put on.

And Portugal isn't much better. 20 juries? 1am... still voting...
Flor De Lys has obviously won, so announce it, have them perform and finish already!

Ahh, the joys of webcasting mean I can see how bad acts/shows really are. Even Georgia had a better show than this.

I am aware that the actual Eurovision is just as long and drawn out, but its at least entertaining.

Did you all know that the show won't be starting in Moscow until 11pm at night? Its so its broadcast in central Europe during prime time. Means I won't probably leave the arena until 3am in the morning. And then we'll probably go to the afterparty. And then I have to leave my apartment by 10am the same day, and wander around until my overnight train to St Petersburg. Gonna be a looooooooooooooooooooooooooooong two days.

Latvias entry = rock song in Latvian. The guy doesn't blink, just shouts. Bloody awful. Someone compared it to Laka from Bosnia last year. Laka was at least entertaining and catchy.

Croatias entry = male Croatian ballad. Its a yawn fest.

Spain and Portugal are being decided as I type.

Norway is leading the online betting in the UK - 5/2 odds. Good taste!
Greece, Russia, Turkey and Malta follow.

We are getting down to the final countries/songs being decided, and I think its almost safe to say that Norway is the best this year. Obviously Azerbaijan, Russia and Ukraine could produce something brilliant in the actual show and change my thoughts, but Norway will be the one to beat.

I don't agree with the odds on Iceland - 40/1 (and 100/1 on another website). I think thats an amazing outside bet. Finland is 66/1.
Even Cyprus is getting closer odds and it sucks.

Finlands entry has grown on me for Eurovision. The presentation is really entertaining. Have to agree with some of the fans that say its reminicient of 'Freestyler', and that was a grower too. So, I'm now thinking -

1. Norway
2. Finland
3. Greece
4. Turkey
5. Iceland

Azerbaijan is still a good chance.
I don't know what Russia is going to present yet, but I imagine it will be good.
Spain is a possibility...

I'd say Ukraine is out based on the finalists they have shown.
I haven't heard anything from Sweden that has impressed me.
Israels 4 possible songs are sweet but not memorable.
Really can't imagine Estonia, Latvia, Portugal or Serbia coming up with anything that make me totally change my mind.

I know how to pick 'em!
Norways Eurovision entry has received more comments than any other entry so far tenfold. Everyone is saying winner already. Alexander Rybak had to release a press statement thanking for everyones praise of 'Fairytale' but reminding us that the decision is still 11 weeks away and a lot can change.

Unless Ukraine or Russia pulls another great entry out of the bag, I think we do have a winner. Judging by the previews online, I don't see Spain or Sweden matching the talent.

Last year EVERYONE knew 6 months before that Russia would win. It was a self-fulfilling prophecy. I however picked Ukraine to come close, and they did - they came 2nd when no-one else thought they would. Everyone was tipping Armenia instead.

I'm saying top 10 -
Norway
maybe Ukraine
Azerbaijan
maybe Russia
Turkey
Iceland
Greece
Malta
UK
Finland

Some people are thinking it could be the year of the Scandis - Norway, Iceland, Finland - maybe Sweden depending on what they pick - then Denmark. What a top 5! It what certainly f*ck up all those who think only Eastern Europe can win.

I'm not denying there is a definite bloc voting going on that influences results, but I think its overstated. If you put forward a great song and do a fantastic performance, you'll get votes no matter what country you are.

Ohmigod! I love the Norwegian entry for Eurovision this year!

Its called 'Fairytales' by Alexander Rybak. It has a Russian folk-pop feel. It feels like a winner. And I think the performance is rather special already - by the time it gets to Moscow it will be brilliant.

I'm not alone in calling this a possible winner.

wooooo! Very exciting! I've never been to Norway... hmmm... 2010...

And in other (but could be slightly related) news, I'm starting to think about doing a Cultural Studies postgrad. They are offering it at Sydney Uni and it has a lot of subjects on human rights that I'm very keen to do, but also international relations, international crime, film, politics.

Whilst possibly very silly, was thinking about a thesis topic...
The role Eurovision plays in diplomatic relations and politics (and vice versa).

Yes, it does sound silly, but let me explain -
Eurovision was set up in the 50s as a way of building bonds again between countries in Europe following WWII.
Moving forwards 40 years, you have the Iron Curtain falling, and Eastern Europe joins Eurovision. The last 10 years we've seen a shift in voting power towards the East, which has caused tension with the Western European countries because of diaspora voting. Many countries that previously part of the USSR are now voting for Russia ('bloc' voting).
On the flipside, last year Baltic countries called for boycotts of Russia Eurovision based on the recent conflicts in Georgia, the gas dispute with the Ukraine.
But then, Georgias first 'forgivness' gesture back to Russia was actually announcing it would participate in Moscow this year. This came after Russia awarded 12 points to Georgia at the Junior Eurovision...
We've also seen the increase of political statements in Eurovision. Ukraine with its Orange Revolution hosted Eurovision. Israeli entries waving the Palestian flag in 2003. Israel now sending a Jew and Arab to sing a duet together. Georgia sending 'We Don't Wanna Put-In', etc.

I think its a facinating topic to explore. An even more relevant one for closer to home when you consider that Asiavision is starting up. Will Australia have a role in this? Is there opportunity to use it as a diplomatic event?

I've just spent the last 2 hours watching a webcast of the Irish Eurovision finals. Well done Ireland for actually picking the best song on the night! hurrah! They picked 'Et Cetera' which is sung by pop-punk girly band, much in the vein of Avril Lavigne or Pink. Its really very catchy and I think will actually allow Ireland to make it to the finals for the first time in years. Even better is that it was written by two people I'm familiar with in the Eurovision fanworld - Jonas and Christina Schilling who are fan club members in Denmark and Sweden. I read a lot of their blogs last year. So double hurrah to them!

So Eurovision is really heating up and I'm very excited. It's 11 weeks today till I'll be watching the finals in Moscow. arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Yes I have paid for everything now, but I'm rather stressed that my savings account (and hence spending money) say $0. That obviously will change significantly in the next month once I get my bond back, my annual leave payout, my handout money from the govt. $3800 all up just from that alone.

Now, the latest entries to comment on...

Ireland - Sinead Mulvey and Black Daisy 'Et Cetera' - catchy pop number in the vein of Avril, Pink and High School Musical. Energetic band, colourful presentation, quite 80s. Will propel Ireland to the finals, but who knows how far it will get them?

Greece - Sakis 'This is our night' - ok, another great dancey catchy song sung by a Ricky Martin wannabe. It stuck in my head most of yesterday which I guess is a good sign. It's not really my thing normally, but I know it will do really well at Eurovision - talking top 5 here. I really wish he'd stop thrusting. I'm thinking Enrique Iglesias.

Georgia - Stephane and 3G 'We don't wanna put in' - Ouch! 70s disco beat and girls with afros. It is catchy but its also controversial. Lyrics about 'shoot him' in the chorus which are thinly veiled comments towards Putin. I expect some booing at Eurovision for this. Yes, its warranted. If they want to make a political statement it was made better last year with the Georgian entry 'Peace will come'.

Belgium - Patrick Ouchene 'Copycat' - I haven't heard it yet, but its a tribute song to Elvis Presley sung by an Elvis impersonator. Yeah, ummm, say no more. Our first novelty song for Eurovision 2009! Thanks Belgium for not letting the side down - you deliver hilarity year after year.

France - Patricia Kaas 'Et s'il fallait le faire' - Its cabaret at its finest, and the music sounds like a jewellery box. I'm betting it would have won back in the 60s, but I don't know whether it really works now. In fact, its sending me to sleep.

Germany - Alex Swings Oscar Sings 'Miss Kiss Kiss Bang' - what strikes me most is this sounds like Sam Sparrow. It has that swinging dance beat behind it and should be entertaining on the night.

Armenia - Inga and Anush Arshakyan 'Nor par (new dance)' - I don't like this because it changes sounds and tempo 4 times in the space of the first 30 secs. At first it starts like the last years entry Qele, then it sounds turkish, then the dance beat kicks in and disappears just as suddenly and goes r'n'b. And now it sounds like its Indian and rap. Too confusing.

Iceland - Jóhanna Guðrún Jónsdóttir 'Is it true' - great song, slightly uptempo ballad, great singer, and I believe its a dark horse in the race. Would go so far to say its this years 'Hold on be strong' (last years entry from Norway that came 5th) that came from nowhere and blew people away.

Malta - Chiara 'What if we' - here's an artist who has been at Eurovision 3 times now, has a following and has been 2nd and 3rd before. But in comparison this song is dull. Its well done but sounds more like it be in a musical on the West End.

Andorra - Susanna Georgi 'La teva decisió (Get a Life)' - its Michelle Branch in the verse with the guitar and then very keyboard ABBA in the chorus. She acts about 18 and looks about 40. Apart from that desperation I think this will rank highly cause its catchy. And its curently ranking as a fave on the fan sites

Azerbaijan - Aysel and Arash 'Always' - its now been announced the country will have a upbeat r'n'b duet between the very cute pop starlet and the author of the song. Only a snippet has been heard online but from that its obviously she can sing and dance and is the full package. I still think Azerbaijan are ones to watch.

Cyprus - Christina Metexa 'Firefly' - she's 16, her brother won the Cypriot Idol 2 years ago. Its an ambitious and sweet ballad written by the brother but done badly. She can't reach the notes and her voice is more a whisper in parts. Would have been better for junior eurovision.

Lithuania - Sasha Son 'Pasiklydes zmogus' - beautiful male pianist delivers a strong ballad. Well delivered and well sung, but can be a bit dull to listen to. Would help if it was in English so I know what the song is about.

Moldova - Nelly Ciobanu 'Hora din Moldova' - this is the most obviously balkan ethnic song I've heard so far in the competition. It sounds like every other ethnic entry given by the likes of Slovenia, FYR Macedonia, etc in the past few years. They usually do well in the semis and flunk out in the finals. Nothing too special.

Netherlands - De Toppers 'Shine' - ohmigod! I'm singing along to this! Its the most cliched Eurovision entry I've heard in years with the 90s beat and the coda... it sounds like 'No Goodbyes' by a Netherlands entry a few years back. Its got me dancing now. So dodgy but it will make people happy.

Poland - Lidia Kopania 'I don't wanna leave' - a typical Polish ballad staple. But when I listen to it I have to admit its the first time I've heard a Eurovision ballad from Central and Eastern Europe where the language is perfect English rather than broken or terribly translated. I could actually imagine this being sung by Delta Goodrem. Really good actually - the kind of stuff that would make it in the top 40 charts too.

Slovenia - Quartissimo 'Love Symphony' - strings accompany rock music, but not much singing happening. The presentation is just wonderful but it is starting to sound like 'Hooked on Classics'...

So with these countries now decided, UK, Montenegro, Denmark, Finland, Romania, Turkey, Belarus and Albania also having decided their songs (as previously commented), and Czech Republic, Israel, Switzerland and Bosnia decided their artists, I'm gonna give some top predictions (so far) -

Azerbaijan
Greece
Turkey
Iceland

And maybe - UK, Ireland, Poland, Malta and Andorra as outsiders in the finals.

I think we need to keep an eye out for Russia, Sweden and Ukraine even though they haven't decided. I see those countries as big chances of winning no matter what.

OK, now I'm getting excited about Eurovision.

Most people still dont have accommodation for Moscow, and thats really f*cked up. Fortunately its all sorted for me and I'm so happy I booked and paid when I did last August/September.
LESSON ONE TO POTENTIAL EUROVISION GO-ERS : BOOK ACCOMMODATION AS SOON AS THE HOSTING CITY IS CONFIRMED!

The entries are starting to be finalised...

- UK has Jade (kind of a Beyonce for the UK) singing a powerballad by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Diane Warren called "Its my time". Its actually very good, quite moving and she's a great performer. I think it could be the year that the UK could return to the top 10 (but not win it). I'm not usually a fan of the powerballad, but theres always a couple that feature in the top 10.
- France has Patricia Kaas. No song announced yet, but from what I can understand of her career, she's very well known for doing great jazz material
- Israel once again has a controversial entry - Noa and Mira Awad, a Muslim and Jew doing a duet. Yeah... I'm waiting for the boos and cheers... no matter what the song is. But I think its poignant considering the events of the last few months.
- Andorra is sending Andrea Demirovic with "Just Get Out of my life". To me it sounds like a tune by ABBA, and I have a feeling may have nicked lyrics from "Outta My Head" by that Ashlee Simpson. Doesn't bode well and sit well with me.
- Denmark just announced Neils Brinck with "Believe Again" written by Ronan Keating. He sounds like Ronan Keating. But the song is a nice, leisurely, singalong, bopalong sort of tune. Not a winner (I think), but one that will stick in peoples heads.
- Finland has Waldos People singing "Lose Control". Its a dance/techno tune with a female singer and male rapper. The performance could make or break it, but it doesnt do much for me listening to it now.
- Romania has Elena Gheorghe with "Balkan Girls". Its more of the latest Eurovision-typical-entry, a dance tune with Eastern beats sung by a beautiful girl and performed with 4 scantily clad backup dancers
- Turkey has Hadise with "Dum Tek Tek". Like Romania, its a dance tune with Eastern influence (we can blame 2003 winner Sertab Erner from Turkey for this wave of such entries). She's a good performer though, great singer, great dancer... could be one to watch and a certain finalist.
- Czech Republic has Gipsy.cz (no song announced yet) who are a Romani rap/folk/dance group. After listening to their stuff, it borders on sounding the Cat Empire. I like them actually, but it really depends on the song and the performance, and I don't know if Europe and Eurovision really goes for bands.
- Switzerland are sending a rock/pop band called Lovebugs. Again, there's no song announced, but after checking their stuff of the net, I like them. They might look like Matchbox 20 (well, better looking), but they sound a bit like old-time stuff from The Verve. I don't think they are winners for Eurovision, but they will be winners in terms of the exposure they quite obviously want from Eurovision.
- Belarus has Peter Elfminov with "Eyes that never lie". He looks like a Nordic 70s rockstar complete with white bodysuit. The song is an appauling 80s stylee rock tune (with falsetto!), but will grab a lot of votes because he seems a massive self-promoter and quite a performer. God help us.
- Azerbaijan have Aysel who is promising an upbeat r'n'b dance tune (ala "Qele. Qele" by Sirusho last year) even though the song hasnt been chosen yet. I'm thinking something like the Greek entry last year which came out of nowhere and claimed 3rd place - a mindless but catchy pop ditty complete with dance routine. I'll go out on a limb and say she's top 5 already. She's cute, I haven't even heard her sing (she could be dreadful), but she looks like she's stepped straight out of Idol. She'll be up there in the votes based on her energy and youth. As long as she doesnt do any of that 'lung' gurgling that the Azerbeijani entry did last year.
- Greece is sending Sakis again - he's the Greek Ricky Martin. I imagine he'll do much the same as his last Eurovision entry in 2006 - a pop tune and lots of pelvic thrusting, possibly with his shirt off. hmmmm.
- Netherlands are sending De Toppers - an aging male trio who do covers mainly. I have no idea what they'll sing, but I think you can be assured that this will be one of the non-intentional joke entries of this years Eurovision. Their song is being announced tomorrow.
- Albania has Kejsi Tola singing "Me merr ne enderr". Its the first confirmed song not in English at this years Eurovision. Its a dance tune, performed by a female that seems to have no rhythm, and no personality. She can certainly sing but her performance skills need a LOT of work. It was like watching a girl on her hens night doing kareoke after a few too many wines. She couldnt stand still, and couldnt even move in time with the music.

Thats all so far thats announced artist/song wise. Long winded I know. I'm using it as my own reference.

I say keep an eye out for Azerbaijan in the finals (possible winner? who knows), and Greece, Turkey and the UK for top 10 in the final.

The entry I'm really holding out for is the Ukraine. They've been 2nd for the last 2 years. They won in 2004. And featured in the finals every other time. They have the knack of picking great songs and artists. Verka (2007 entry who came 2nd - performing a wonderful show of utter campness) is producing one of the finalists for their own national selection - a duo called NikitA who appear to be leather bodysuit-clad lesbians, blonde and very sexy. They do r'n'b dance style songs with raunchy lyrics. And unlike Tatu, they can sing.

And Russia shouldn't be discounted either. I know they want to be the new Ireland and win lots of back to back Eurovisions now. They will put up a great act and put a lot of effort into the promotion and performance, just like they did with Dima last year. It certainly wasnt the greatest song and didnt deserve to win, but they acted like they had it in the bag months before Eurovision. The over-confidence won because every other act went in thinking Russia had won (and even Terry Wogan said it). It was a self-fulfilling prophecy. Something the UK really needs to learn if they ever want to win again.

Just checked the Eurovision news and they FINALLY made some announcements about the semi final draws (I'm quite happy to see that they've put a lot of Eastern European countries in the 2nd semi which means the West will be happy). They've launched the logo (Fantasy Bird - which is quite pretty, but has no slogan this year), and ticketing. The ticketing has me pissed off. Suddenly there are no packages available, only single tickets. 650 Euros for best seats? Ouch!

The fanclubs have been waiting for the confirmed news for months now but we still didn't have costs confirmed and therefore haven't paid yet. The only thing we all paid so far is a deposit of 30 pounds to guarantee our tickets.

I bloody hope that the packages are still available for fan clubs and they are decent seating and still around the 300 Euro mark. A massive jump to 650 Euros just for the final ($1300 AUSTRALIAN!!!!!!) is too much for anyone to tolerate, especially when most fans attending Eurovision also have the high hotel expenses to pay in Moscow, plus visas...

If its the case that theres no packages for fan clubs now, and tickets are that expensive, well, I might take my chances with ordering separately on the net. I'll just have to book cheaper seats for the final and I'll book better seats for the semis (which will be less popular). I'll just work towards ordering the 3 shows to a total of 300 Euros as originally estimated. I was so looking forward to sitting on the dancefloor section, but honestly, I'll just be happy to attend no matter where I sit. Just as long as I get to go to Eurovision and enjoy it live.

They are meant to be on sale to the public in the 2nd half of Feb. Counting down the days...

Latvia has been saved! They are back in Eurovision!
YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'll have to remember today, everytime someone peeves me off at work, to think of Eurovision, my holiday, and seeing Latvia perform!

And Bosnia is sending a rock band to Eurovision. Should be, umm, interesting.

Its shaping up to be a good year. Andrew Lloyd Webber is on board for the UK, Patricia Kaas for France, other countries are sending all their big acts, and System of a Down might be representing Armenia. hehe