DR has explained that the formal bidding process will start tomorrow, and from there they will make a decision. Director General Maria Rørbye Ronn said:

We have not taken any decision on where in the country it should be. I think it is important to have an open process where we examine the opportunities and collaborations that, and we have not been to talk to anyone yet. I know that people have been out to comment on different things. But I think only, it is positive if there are different options. And then we take it from there.

The Culture Minister of Copenhagen, Pia Allerslev, thinks that the Danish capital would be the ideal venue for the competition:

If it were me who had to choose, Copenhagen would be the obvious choice. We are an international metropolis and the capital. So it makes sense.  Unfortunately we do not have our Copenhagen Arena yet, but we  have Parken where there was a fine show in 2001, so I wonder if you could repeat the success and I’m sure you could.

However, the Jyske Bank Boxen in Herning also offers a good alternative for DR, having hosted DMGP this year and the X-Factor finals in 2011 and 2012. The Mayor of Herning, Lars Krarup, explains:

If DR would like to host the Eurovision Song Contest in Herning, then it will be a task in which we will rejoice wildly to work along with DR. We will do everything so that it can become a national festival for several weeks. We will in every effort to make it a big party.

A third city, Aarhus, was also going to bid for the event but has decided to withdraw to support Herning instead. Speaking to told TV2 East Jutland, Culture Minister of Jutland Marc Perera Christensen said:

Western Denmark has a good infrastructure and will be able to handle the job. The hotel capacity in Aarhus combined with improved highway connection to Boxen in Herning creates the possibility of a successful Eurovision 2013.

Marc Perera Christensen will contact the Herning Municipality this week to offer cooperation to bring the Eurovision Song Contest to the Jutland region of Denmark.

Those 4.8 million represented a market share of 65,1%. The absolute high of the night was during Anouk’s performance: at 22.09 local time, 5.9 million people watched Anouk perform her song Birds. The voting managed to attract 5.4 million viewers. These viewing figures make the Eurovision final the best watched show this year. On average, it only just beats the inauguration of King Willem-Alexander earlier this year. The last time a show that doesn’t involve sports attracted so many viewers was back in 2011.

The preview show, which aired in the half hour before Eurovision, was the third most watched show of the day, with 2.1 million people tuning in to watch it. Logically, the final was the best watched show of the day.

The Netherlands qualified for the final for the first time since 2004 last week and managed to score its first top ten position since 1999 when Anouk scored a nineth place with 114 points.

Ouch, I won’t lie – those results hurt. but it is what it is. I still had an AMAZING time through this whole process and fully stand behind our song 100%. The people who worked with me, the support here and abroad was truly inspiring. I appreciate this whole experience with all my heart and always will. Those who know me and what I’m capable of might agree i wasn’t up to my full potential, but i truly worked hard and gave it my all and I honestly believe that didn’t affect much the final result for reasons not worth getting into.. WE had a great performance and I want to thank Maestro Crew for their phenomenal job! And thank you all again for the love and support! In the end what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. My life still has plenty of blank pages ahead, and that means room to write and epic ending! 

For the second successive year, Slovenia finished in their in their semifinal, this year scoring points from Croatia and Montenegro only.

Whilst the figures are way below those of 2012, when a 43.5% share (6,542,000) turned in to watch Pastora Soler, they are consistent with the audiences recorded in 2009 and 2010. With thanks to Eurovision-Spain.com, Spain’s viewing figures since they moved away from the Operación Triunfo selectino format (which recorded their highest ever figures), are as follows:

2013 – 5,369,000 (33,1%)
2012 – 6,542,000 (43,5%)
2011 – 4,724,000 (32,3%)
2010 – 5,760,000 (41,9%)
2009 – 5,122,000 (35,9%)
2008 – 9,336,000 (59,3%)
2007 – 3,373,000 (28%)
2006 – 4,892,000 (38,9%)
2005 – 4,712,000 (35,5%)

Viewing figures in the United Kingdom peaked at 9.22 million as Bonnie Tyler was voted in #19 place with 23 points. Whilst the figures are a small increase on last year, they still fall short of the 11 million who tuned in to watch Blue in 2011. Additional figures will be gained over the course of this week through viewers watching on-demand via the BBC iPlayer service.

The United Kingdom are without a top 10 finish since Jade Ewan coming fifth in 2009, although Blue did manage #11 in 2011. Of their last five entries, two have placed last but one.

The audience represented a 20.7% market share, and peaked at 9.43 million during Cascada’s performance- meaning that the German first  channel was the clear winning of the day’s viewing figures. Encouragingly, they also recorded a 42.6% market share of 14-49 yea-olds, and a 44.1% market share of viewers aged between 14-29.

Cascada finished in position 21 in this year’s Eurovision Grand Final with just 18 points.

“Security officers had to struggle to control people as they surged towards the young doctor when he showed up at the arrivals lounge, applauding and cheering”, reported the Times of Malta. Among the well-wishers were members of Gianluca’s family and people from his hometown of Qrendi.

“Gianluca expressed his gratitude and said he had never expected such a warm welcome. He said he was overwhelmed by the whole Eurovision experience and the opportunity it had provided him to meet so many people”, according to the Times of Malta.

Regardless of all our own individual opinions on the songs, Europe chose Denmark last night and we congratulate DR, as well as wishing them the best of luck with preparations for 2014.

I would like to thank everyone from escXtra for their hard work over the last 12 months on our journey to Malmö. Our Malmö team had a great time together, but we also couldn’t have done it without the help of everyone else working from home.

Lastly, and most importantly, a huge thank you from all of us to you, the readers. You have been with us on this journey, through JESC, national finals, preview parties, and the main event. Thank you for your continued support which makes this so worthwhile.

Eurovision 2013 has come to an end, but 2014 is just around the corner

The rule change was confirmed via the official EBU twitter account this morning in response to rumours that Turkey would be automatically disqualified from next year’s contest should they wish to participate due to their decision not to broadcast this year’s grand final.

This rule used to apply but no longer does. Turkey would be welcome at #Eurovision 2014

39 countries participated in this year’s contest won by Denmark with a victory of 281 pts. Several countries have already confirmed participation for next year with more expected to follow.

The Press Award was voted on by the accredited press in the Malmö press centre. The award was won by Nodi Tatishvili & Sophie Gelovani from Georgia with their song Waterfall. They came 15th last night, but the press obviously thought they deserved better. The last three winners of this award were Harel Skaat (2010), Paradise Oskar (2011) and Sabina Babayeva (2012).

The participating composers in this year’s Eurovision were in charge of the Composer Award. Their winner was host country Sweden, who sent Robin Stjernberg with his song You. The responsible composers for this entry, Robin Stjernberg, Joy Deb, Linnea Deb and Joakim Harestad Haukaas, received the award this morning. Past winners here were once again Harel Skaat (2010), Amaury Vassili (2011) and Loreen (2012).

The last award that was given out was the Artistic Award. The people voted on this award were this year’s commentators. They selected Farid Mammadov and his Hold Me as their winner. Last year, Loreen won this award. The two winners before that were Harel Skaat (2010) and Jedward (2011).