Last week RTSH the national broadcaster of Albania announced the entries 20 acts taking part in Festivali i Këngës 60. Now RTSH has revealed more details of the 60th edition of the historic festival, including the return of Eurovision 2019 representative, Jonida Maliqi on hosting duties over the three nights of December 27, 28, 29.
Festivali i Këngës 60
Slightly later this year, the 60th edition of Festivali i Këngës will take place on December 27, 28, 29. Over those three FiKmas nights Albania will treat us to a festival of music. The format of the shows are as follows.
- Contestants Night – December 27
- Nostalgia Night – December 28
- Eurovision Night – December 29
The first night is dedicated to the contestants and is an introduction to their songs. Nostalgia Night is a tribute to the best of Albanian music and all the big names and even bigger songs that have left an indelible mark on the festival. Of course Eurovision Night is where it all matters, where the winning act will be selected to represent the country in Turin next May.
Hosts
No show is complete without a team of skilled presenters to guide the audience seamlessly through the occasion. With that in mind, RTSH have called in Ardit Gjebrea who is most famous for hosting Albania’s other main music festival, Kënga Magjike. He is also the father of Albania’s JESC 2021 representative Anna Gjebrea. In addition, Ardit is joined by Jonida Maliqi, who represented Albania with ‘Ktheju Tokës‘ in 2019 and will be performing in the interval. Along with Isli Islami, Kelvi Kadilli and Xhemi Shehu.
Once again the festival returns to the famous Palacio de Congresos. Due to the ongoing Covid-19 situation, last year’s festival moved outdoors to the Plaza Italia in Tirana in order to comply with Covid safety regulations. Meanwhile Albanian musician and FiK legend Elton Dada will be the artistic director. All of the competing entries are available to listen to here.
Vote in Eurovision Prediction
Yesterday we revealed the return of Eurovision Prediction 2022. For the first time ever, we have launched a special platform for you to make your predictions for all of this season’s national finals. To do this, simply register for our new platform with one easy click! Once you enter our Eurovision Prediction platform, you will be able to choose your own username and your nationality.
For those of you who have never played Eurovision Prediction before, it is a game where Eurovision fans from all over the world battle it out to become the champion! All players need to do is predict which entry will win each national final that takes place during the 2021 Eurovision season.
So get voting in the Round One selections for ESCZ 2022 and Festivali i Këngës 60 now!
Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest
Albania debuted at the Eurovision Song Contest back in 2004 and has participated every year since. Anjeza Shahini was the first to fly the country’s flag at the contest with her song ‘The Image of You‘. She finished in 7th place with 106 points.
Over the years, Albania have qualified for the final on 10 occasions. So far, Rona Nishliu holds the best placement of 5th, achieved in Baku in 2012 with her emotional ballad ‘Suus‘.
Earlier this year it was the turn of Anxhela Peristeri to represent the Balkan nation in Rotterdam. During the contest, ‘Karma’ qualified from the second Semi-Final in 10th place. In the Grand Final it placed 21st with 57 points.
Will you be celebrating FiKmas? Which is your favourite Festivali i Këngës 60 act? Let us know! Be sure to stay updated by following @ESCXTRA on Twitter, @escxtra on Instagram and liking our Facebook page for the latest updates! Also, be sure to follow us on Spotify for the latest music from your favourite Eurovision acts. As well as YouTube to see our reactions to the news in the run up to the 2022 contest in Turin!
