An Xtra Happy Birthday; October 17th

After yesterday’s Eurovision birthday bonanza, having “only” four Eurostars to celebrate feels kind of “everyday”.  We have two non-qualifiers and two top 10 results. One of today’s birthday boys has taken part in Eurovision twice. In addition he’s also participated in his country’s national presection another three times. For those who know their national finals, this is an easy one; we give you Roger Pontare! 

Roger Pontare, 66

Roger Pontare has represented Sweden at Eurovision twice. The first time was back in 1994, when he performed “Stjärnorna” in a duet with Marie Bergman. During the final in Dublin they finished in 13th place. Five years later, in 1999, he finished fifth in Melodifestivalen with the song “Som av is”. In 2000 he won Melodifestivalen again, thus earning the right to represent Sweden on home turf. His “When Spirits are Calling My Name” appealed to a lot of people around Europe, thereby reaching 7th place.
Roger participated in Melodifestivalen twice since then, without making it to the final. In 2006 he reached the Andra Chansen stage with “Silverland“. In his latest attempt, in 2017, he did not proceed from the semi-final with “Himmel och hav“.

Despina Olympiou, 42

Despina represented Cyprus at the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö. Although her performance of “An me thimase” was flawless, she failed to qualify for the grand final.

Daniel Kajmakoski, 34

Daniel represented Macedonia at the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna. He performed the song “Autumn Leaves” in the first semi-final. Despite having a lot of support for his song pre-contest, he finished second to last in his semi. As a result of this he did not qualify for the final.

Dami Im, 29

Dami Im represented Australia in their second ever Eurovision participation in Stockholm 2016. She performed the song “Sound of Silence”, as one of the biggest pre-contest favorites. Despite giving an impressive performance in the grand final, she “only” finished in second place.

All of us here at escXtra wish Roger Pontare, Despina, Daniel and Dami the very best of birthdays!