Mikel Posted January 16, 2006 Report Share Posted January 16, 2006 38 countries will participate in the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest, which takes place in Athens, Greece. The European Broadcasting Union confirmed that moments ago. Armenia joins the big family, while Austria and Hungary will stay home. The semifinal (24 countries) on 18th May; • Albania (RTVSH) • Andorra (RTVA) • Armenia (PTV) • Belarus (BT) • Belgium (VRT) • Bosnia & Herzegovina (PBSBiH) • Bulgaria (BNT) • Croatia (HRT) • Cyprus (CyBC) • Estonia (ETV) • Finland (YLE) • FYR Macedonia (MKRTV) • Iceland (RUV) • Ireland (RTÉ) • Lithuania (LRT) • Monaco (TMC) • The Netherlands (NOS) • Poland (TVP) • Portugal (RTP) • Russia (C1R) • Slovenia (RTVSLO) • Sweden (SVT) • Turkey (TRT) • Ukraine (NTU) The following 10 countries already qualified for the final on 20th May; • Denmark (DR) • France (France 3) • Germany (ARD) • Greece (ERT) • Israel (IBA) • Latvia (LTV) • Malta (PBSMT) • Moldova (TRM) • Norway (NRK) • Romania (TVR) • Serbia & Montenegro (UJRT) • Spain (TVE) • Switzerland (SRG SSR idée suisse) • United Kingdom (BBC) The best 10 songs of the semifinal will qualify for the final. The running order of the songs will be determined by a draw to be held during the Heads of Delegation meeting in Athens, on 20th and 21st March. The city The Olympic Indoor Arena: the pavilion :wwww: :wwww: :wwww: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ahmet Posted January 17, 2006 Report Share Posted January 17, 2006 Finally, the EBU has released the official participant list of who will take part in this year's ESC. The list was originally due late December but was pushed up until now. Looks like there will be 38 nations take part which will be 1 less then last year. Both Austria and Hungary withdrew. Anyways, its good to see Armenia in this. The EBU is really expanding this contest into new frontiers. Some nations have already selected their representatives and 1 song has already been picked. So here is a brief rundown for those that aren't aware of the latest news yet: Albania: They've already selected their song and representative in their national finals that took place in mid december. They will be represented by Luiz Ejlli with, "Zjarr e ftohte" which means "Fire and Cold". The song will most likely be preformed in English, just as the past 2 Albanian entries have. Ireland: Ireland has internally selected Brian Kennedy to represent them in Athens in the Semi Finals. I have no clue how he will go abouts to chose his entry. Turkey: About two weeks ago, TRT made a huge announcement that confirmed that Turkish pop diva, Sibel Tüzün has accepted TRT's invitation to represent Turkey in Athens in the Semi Finals. It is interesting to note, that TRT took the exact same procedure as they did in 2003 with regards to selecting Sertab. Sibel will also follow the footsteps of Sertab in where, she will work on 3 songs and will have a professional jury deciding which one of the three entries she will sing and preform. After two years of horror from Turkey, I am pleased with our representative for this year. Sibel stated that the song should be ready for the public to hear by March. So, I can't wait. Switzerland: Due to Switzerland's top 10 position in last year's contest with the Estonian band Vanilla Ninja. They have already earned their ticket to preform in the finals. Switzerland has already picked its selection for this year internally. They will be represented by an unknown group called Six4One. This band were constructed for the sole reason of taking part in this year's Eurovision. It is interesting to note that German producer Ralph Siegel constructed this group, who are made up of six undisclosed number of auditionees. Only 1 out of the 6 members of this group is actually Swiss. The remaining members names and nationality are: Liel (Israeli), Andreas Lundstedt (Swedish), Tinka (Bosnian), Keith Camilleri (Maltese), Marco Matias (German of Portugese origin) and Claudia D'Addio (Swiss). That is all I know. I will keep you posted as soon as I learn new information from other nations. National Finals will be taking place all over Europe to determine who will represent the 38 nations that have signed on to compete in Athens. So, stay tuned. European member of GamesBids. Please do your part in keeping this thread and interest for this contest alive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PYRROS2004 Posted January 17, 2006 Report Share Posted January 17, 2006 Last Sunday there was a police exercise about Eurovision. The senario was a terrorist attack to a participating country bus, terrorist attack with gases (?) at the subway, a big demonstration downtown athens, and an airplane crash near Athens. All in the same day, 20th May! Also, there is a HUGE rumour that Anna Vissi will sing for Greece, but no official announcement were made. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Citius Altius Fortius Posted January 17, 2006 Report Share Posted January 17, 2006 The German national final will be at the 9th of March in the "Deutsche Schauspielhaus" in Hamburg The participants will be VICKY LEANDROS TEXAS LIGHTNING with Olli Dittrich (who is a famous comedian in Germany) and THOMAS ANDERS, who was the singer of Modern Talking Every participant will sing her/his ESC-song and one famous ESC-song... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ahmet Posted January 18, 2006 Report Share Posted January 18, 2006 VICKY LEANDROS I've heard that she confirmed her participation last month in the National Finals. I wonder though, why would she want to give it another shot when she has already won it in 1972 with one of the most classic memorable entries ever? Perhaps she would like to compete in her native nation but under the flag of her adopted nation. At least she wont be selling sex, rather; would be focusing on the quality of her voice and song which is great. Another past ESC competitor that's giving Eurovision another shot is Vanessa Chinitor who represented Belgium in 1999 with, "Like the wind". It would be interesting if she wins once again. Oh, Luiz Ejlli, who is the Albanian representative confirmed that he will preform his song in Albanian as opposed to English. So thats one less English song to hear. :laughlong: Anyways, I'll keep you posted with anything else I learn. In the meantime, let's keep this thread alive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Citius Altius Fortius Posted January 18, 2006 Report Share Posted January 18, 2006 VICKY LEANDROS I've heard that she confirmed her participation last month in the National Finals. I wonder though, why would she want to give it another shot when she has already won it in 1972 with one of the most classic memorable entries ever? Perhaps she would like to compete in her native nation but under the flag of her adopted nation. Yes, I think so, too... At least she wont be selling sex, rather; would be focusing on the quality of her voice and song which is great. ... well I would like to see her win the German final ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lexus Posted January 18, 2006 Report Share Posted January 18, 2006 After my frantic and desperate behaviour lsat year, I am looking forward to a more relaxed ESC this year. (and isnt this forum a little premature?) Anyway, this year I would like to see one of the underrated long time participants win: I'm talking Germany: (although I can already see that with this years entrants it is unlikely) Lets make 2006 a German year. Spain: OMG soooo overlooked many many times Malta: So close sooo many times but just never the winner. France: If only they weren't so stubbornly choosing the same style - the french ballad doesn't work for the hundredth time. Iceland: Also some really good entrants that come close but not close enough Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ahmet Posted January 19, 2006 Report Share Posted January 19, 2006 Germany: (although I can already see that with this years entrants it is unlikely) Lets make 2006 a German year.Spain: OMG soooo overlooked many many times Malta: So close sooo many times but just never the winner. France: If only they weren't so stubbornly choosing the same style - the french ballad doesn't work for the hundredth time. Iceland: Also some really good entrants that come close but not close enough What about Portugal and Finland? They've been take part since the 1960's and haven't won yet. I'd definitely like to see Portugal winning it as almost all of their past entries have been great in musical quality but have always been underrrated. There were many wonderful Portugese entries sent in the 70's and 80's that have always been turned to with a blind eye for appreciation, which is a shame. Anyways, I agree with CAF in regards to seeing Vicky representing Germany this year. She would be well respected and give Germany a respected result as well. BTW, Ines, who represented Estonia in 2000, with, "Once In A Lifetime" is giving Eurovision another shot this year as well. She will be singing a song in Estonian called, "Iseendale" in her country's national finals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BethnalGreen Posted January 19, 2006 Report Share Posted January 19, 2006 VICKY LEANDROS I've heard that she confirmed her participation last month in the National Finals. I wonder though, why would she want to give it another shot when she has already won it in 1972 with one of the most classic memorable entries ever? Perhaps she would like to compete in her native nation but under the flag of her adopted nation. At least she wont be selling sex, rather; would be focusing on the quality of her voice and song which is great. Another past ESC competitor that's giving Eurovision another shot is Vanessa Chinitor who represented Belgium in 1999 with, "Like the wind". It would be interesting if she wins once again. Oh, Luiz Ejlli, who is the Albanian representative confirmed that he will preform his song in Albanian as opposed to English. So thats one less English song to hear. :laughlong: Anyways, I'll keep you posted with anything else I learn. In the meantime, let's keep this thread alive. I actually miss hearing many of the other songs in other languages... It's so sad! :sniffle: At least then we talked aout the merits of the real song! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ahmet Posted January 19, 2006 Report Share Posted January 19, 2006 I actually miss hearing many of the other songs in other languages... It's so sad! :sniffle: At least then we talked aout the merits of the real song! I agree, the language of the song matters a lot. I would love for the EBU to end the language free rule and permit nations to sing only in their official native langauges; however, I don't think that it would please many of the TV broadcasters who are finding success behind singing in another language. I've heard that following the repeated Irish victories in the 1990's the EBU wanted to give other nations the freedom to sing in any langauge so that they wouldn't be at a disadvantage, seeing how English is the most understood langauge in Europe. That's just one rumor that I've heard. Though I don't necessarily agree with it, as anyone is able to appericiate a song just as much in another language, even though they don't understand a word of what's being sung about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BethnalGreen Posted January 19, 2006 Report Share Posted January 19, 2006 It's funny then that the Irish have done really badly recently!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PYRROS2004 Posted January 19, 2006 Report Share Posted January 19, 2006 And we do a have a mascot for the contest too. It is said to be a butterfly. (mascot=more products=more money). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ahmet Posted January 20, 2006 Report Share Posted January 20, 2006 And we do a have a mascot for the contest too. It is said to be a butterfly.(mascot=more products=more money). I just read about this at esctoday.com. According to them, Athens 2006 would be the third time a Eurovision mascot would be used. The first one was Eurocat, which was the mascot of Zagreb, Yugoslavia in 1990. The second one was Eurobird, which was the mascot for Malmö, Sweden in 1992. I'm really curious to see how this butterfly would look like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PYRROS2004 Posted January 20, 2006 Report Share Posted January 20, 2006 And some greater news! Giorgos Kapoutzidis (a comic tv series writer) will write the texts of the 2 nights of Eurovision 2006. He and Zeta Makrypoulia will present the 2 nights for ERT and they will also present the Greek final. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PYRROS2004 Posted January 20, 2006 Report Share Posted January 20, 2006 more information regarding the stage theme The scenery that will host and surround the 38 artists participating in Athens Eurovision is in its final stage of completion. Up to now, three specialised companies have stated their interest for the materialisation of the grand project, which is the construction and the setting of the scenery, however, the name of the chosen company will be announced shortly. The ultra-modern scenery will be composed by complicated mechanisms that will give every contestant the option of choosing a different backdrop, while special effects and lightning systems will give a special touch to the performance. So, patience is needed until the unveiling of the Greek scenery, which will transform OAKA from a sports stadium to a spectacular concert venue. (by Mary Lou Tzimpelekou, Eurovision.ert.gr/en) and what is tipped as the theme According to past oikotimes.com article, the theme of the stage will depict an ancient Greek idea in a modern way. Just like the presentation of the Phaistus Disc in a modern way as the Athens 2006 sub logo, the stage will depict an ancient Greek architecural idea as the stage theme. The stage will include a round stage representing (in a vague way) the Disc of Phaistus. The round stage where the performances will take place will also include surprises. The stage was made by a talented team of young Greek artists (designers) and those who has seen the first drafts and animations speak of a spectacular and trully Eurovision original idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Citius Altius Fortius Posted January 20, 2006 Report Share Posted January 20, 2006 Anyways, I agree with CAF in regards to seeing Vicky representing Germany this year. She would be well respected and give Germany a respected result as well. I will go to a concert of VICKY LEANDROS in february... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost1 Posted January 20, 2006 Report Share Posted January 20, 2006 Rules for the Bulgarian selection of the song for the contest: Rules for Selection of the Bulgarian Song for Eurovision 2006 Rules for Selection of the Bulgarian Song for Eurovision 2006 1. The songs must be a national product of Bulgaria. 2. The songs /lyrics and music/ must not have been commercially released and publicly performed before 1 October 2005. 3. The maximum duration of each song is three minutes. Any song longer than 3 minutes will be disqualified. 4. Each performance may consist of a maximum of six people on stage. 5. All performers must be aged at least 16 on the day of the Semi-Final /18 May 2006/. 6. Each performer can only compete for one contestant. 7. The authors and performers are free to choose any language for their songs. 8. The performers will sing live on stage accompanied by a recording which contains no vocals or vocal imitations. 9. The deadline for collecting songs /demos/ is 20 January 2006. 10. By 4 February 2006, the 15-member jury will select 24 songs. 11. On 25 February 2006, a TV show will be held in Hall 1 of the National Palace of Culture, where the 24 pre-selected songs will be performed live by the artists, and the jury will shortlist 12 of the songs. 12. In the course of two weeks Bulgarian National TV will be broadcasting the shortlisted 12 songs as performed at the show. 13. On 11 March 2006, in Second Hall of National Palace of Culture - Sofia a live concert will be held with the shortlisted 12 songs. Following that, and as part of the TV show, the TV viewers will have 10 minutes to vote by phone calls and SMS for the song to represent Bulgaria at Eurovision 2006. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ahmet Posted January 21, 2006 Report Share Posted January 21, 2006 Anyways, I agree with CAF in regards to seeing Vicky representing Germany this year. She would be well respected and give Germany a respected result as well. I will go to a concert of VICKY LEANDROS in february... Aren't you always lucky? :upside: :: Anyways, apparently, debuting nation Armenia has confirmed its participant. It will be an artist named Andre. It has been rumored that he will sing the song called, "Stay with me" although it is not confirmed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ahmet Posted January 21, 2006 Report Share Posted January 21, 2006 ESCtoday.com has reported that a lot of familiar faces will be competing in National Finals across Europe. Here are the the list of the ones that have and haven't been mentioned so far by me: Sweden: - Sahlene (She actually represented Estonia in 2002 with, "Runaway" though she's Swedish by nationality) - Magnus Bäcklund and Jessica Andersson who were known as Fame back in 2003 that sang, "Give me your love". This time, they are each going at it serperately. -Kayo (She was one of the group members of Afro-dite that sang, "Never let it go" in 2002 for Sweden of course) - Roger Pontare (Represented Sweden twice. The first was in a duet with Marie Bergman in a balad called, "Stjärnorna". The second appearance was in 2000 with, "When spirits are calling my name") - Kikki Danielsson (She too represented Sweden twice. The first appearance was in 1982 as she was in a group called Chips who preformed the song called, "Dag efter dag". Her second Eurovision appearance was in 1985 with the song, "Bra vibrationer") Germany: - If Vicky Leandros wins the German National Finals this year. It would be her 3rd appearance at the Eurovision stage. The first one was in 1967 representing Luxembourg with, "L'amour est bleu". Her second appearance with, "Après toi" which not only brought Luxembourg a victory in 1972, but also it is one of the most memorable entry that easily recognized by many as a classic hit Iceland: - Birgitta Haukdal who represented Iceland with, "Open your heart" in 2003 will be appearing in this year's Icelandic national finals as a contestant - Gunnar Ólason who was one of the members of TwoTricky that represented Iceland in 2001 with, "Angel" will also give Eurovision another go. Belgium - I reported earlier that Vanessa Chinitor who appeared in 1999 for Belgium with, "Like the wind" is giving Eurovision another shot. - Barbara Dex that represented Belgium in 1993 with, "Iemand als jij" will also be present in this year's Belgian national finals. There are more familiar faces that are competing in national finals from other nations, which I'll report on in a future post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PYRROS2004 Posted January 21, 2006 Report Share Posted January 21, 2006 Anyways, I agree with CAF in regards to seeing Vicky representing Germany this year. She would be well respected and give Germany a respected result as well. I will go to a concert of VICKY LEANDROS in february... For me, she is an old fashioned lady. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Citius Altius Fortius Posted January 21, 2006 Report Share Posted January 21, 2006 I will go to a concert of VICKY LEANDROS in february... Aren't you always lucky? :upside: :: ... well not always I hadn't been able to go to the Depeche Mode concert on monday, because I had a bad cold... :cry: :cry: :cry: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Citius Altius Fortius Posted January 21, 2006 Report Share Posted January 21, 2006 Anyways, I agree with CAF in regards to seeing Vicky representing Germany this year. She would be well respected and give Germany a respected result as well. I will go to a concert of VICKY LEANDROS in february... For me, she is an old fashioned lady. ... well I will be the first time at a concert of her - I have to wait and see... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikel Posted January 21, 2006 Report Share Posted January 21, 2006 What a pity... I wanted to see the debut of Lebanon in the ESC... :cry: And, what about Georgia and the Czech Republic? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobi Posted January 21, 2006 Report Share Posted January 21, 2006 Any news about how will our beloved TVE choose our probably shameful entry this year? :Oo: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Citius Altius Fortius Posted January 21, 2006 Report Share Posted January 21, 2006 Any news about how will our beloved TVE choose our probably shameful entry this year? :oo: well - I liked "Brujeria" and "Para Llenarme De Ti"!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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