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.