Eurovision

Last week, it was revealed that RTVSLO – Slovenia’s broadcaster for Eurovision – had revealed that 18 acts have been selected by the broadcaster to compete in EMA FREŠ. This selection, which starts in three weeks, will act as a pre-selection for EMA 2020. Now, the full line-up has been revealed! The submissions where reviewed by a jury, who whittled the pack down to a line-up of 18. Because the submissions were made up of demos, followers of EMA FREŠ will be able to see the process behind the final versions being developed! The artists competing in the series alongside their songs are as follows: Alfirev – Črno bela lika (Black and white figure)Astrid in Avantgarden – Sing To MeKlarity – Diham (I’m breathing)Lana Hrvatin – DreamLjudmila Frelih – Vztrajaj, ker je vredno (Persevere because it’s worth it)Marko Škof – Hočem da je vse kot prej (I want everything as before)Marmoris – Moj pristan (My haven)Martina – Pleši (Dance)Nuša Pliberšek – Življenje je čarovnija (Life is magic)Parvani Violet – CupidPetra Ceglar – Srce naglas (Heart out loud)Pia Nina – Tukaj in zdaj (Here and now)Sara Petešič – Sanjaj / DreamSaška – Še kar lovim tvoj nasmeh (I’m still chasing your smile)Soulution …

The submission deadline for Söngvakeppnin 2020 passed at midnight on 17 October. Today, RÚV announced that they have received a total of 157 entries. This is 25 more than last year, which equals an increase of approximately 20%. Selection process In addition to the songs songwriters have submitted, RÚV also invited a few popular songwriters to write songs for the contest. A seven member selection committee will select the ten semi-finalists, a process that will start shortly. During this work the jury won’t know who has written the songs, nor who will perform them. The committee consists of representatives from RÚV, alongside songwriters and musicians. RÚV will announce the songs and songwriters in January. Increase in interest Spokesperson at RÚV, Björg Magnúsdóttir, says the broadcaster is registering greater interest in Söngvakeppnin compared to previous years. They see an increase of approximately 20% in submitted entries compared to last year. She says Hatari’s participation and good result is likely to have motivated songwriters across Iceland to want to take part. Another motivation might be Hatari’s post-Eurovision success. Söngvakeppnin 2020 As in previous years, Iceland will select its representative through two semi-finals and a grand final. The semi-finals will take place on …

Having struggled in previous years, the last two editions of Slovenia’s EMA have produced two qualifiers. Can they continue this streak for a third year in a row? RTVSLO are getting the ball rolling early by selecting two acts for EMA 2020 in the coming months via an online competition. RTVSLO – Slovenia’s broadcaster for Eurovision – has revealed that 18 acts have been selected by the broadcaster to compete in EMA FREŠ. This selection, which starts in three weeks, will act as a pre-selection for EMA 2020. EMA FREŠ kicks off on November 4th, and will run for five weeks. Note, this will be five-times longer than EMA 2019, which was a one-shot national final. The series will culminate in the selection of two acts being chosen to compete in EMA 2020, and potentially representing Slovenia at the Eurovision Song Contest. EMA FREŠ is designed to discover emerging Slovene talent. The selection was open to performers under 26 who have only commercially released three songs to date. Last year, young newcomers Zala Kralj and Gašper Šantl scored an unexpected landslide victory in the EMA superfinal against Raiven’s Kaos, earning almost 73% of the televote. Previously, based on the snippets of the 10 EMA entries, …

UA:PBC, along with STB has confirmed that Ukraine’s representative for Rotterdam will be selected on February 22. STB has already opened submissions for entries, and will close on December 25. Hosts and Semi-Final dates have been confirmed STB has confirmed that Sergey Prytula will be the host of Vidbir 2020. In addition, it’s been confirmed that Vidbir will consist of two Semi-Finals (February 8 and 15) and a Final (February 22). The semi-final stage of the competition will consist of four to eight participants in each semi-final. The jury and the public will have a say as to which two to four of the participants in each semi-final will advance to the final. During the Final of the competition, the jury and the public will once again select the winner of Vidbir, thus gaining the right to represent Ukraine at the Eurovision Song Contest. Changes to Vidbir rules have been confirmed Ukraine were due to participate at the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest. Vidbir took place, with MARUV winning the competition. However, after win, it was announced that she was not confirmed as Ukraine’s participant. As both MARUV and UA:PBC were unable to come to an agreement, this resulted in Ukraine …

This week, the winners of the Venice TV awards 2019 were announced. Who do we see winning the award for “Best of Technology and Innovation”? KAN, for the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 that was held earlier this year in Tel Aviv! The Venice TV Awards The Venice TV Awards’ slogan is “Celebrating the masterpieces of television”. It is all about recognising active, creative and successful TV from across the world. This year, awards were given to 28 different countries around the world, but the Best of Technology and Innovation award was awarded to Israel’s KAN for their work on this year’s Eurovision Song Contest. KAN beat out Qatar’s Al Jazeera Media Network for their work on Faoladh from Ireland, Living in the Unknown and the USA’s Smithsonian Channel for their work on Aerial Britain: Scotland. Other award winner’s included Sky Atlantic and HBO’s TV series Chernobyl, Al Jazeera English’s documentary Brides & Brothels: The Rohingya Trade, Olympic Channel’s Far From Home, and France TV’s TV film Ce Soir La. The award for Best of Technology and Innovation comes after KAN also previously received a Booster award for their Eurovision 2019 Accessibility project. The praise just doesn’t stop coming for KAN! …

For the past couple of years, Greece has been internally-selecting their artists and songs for the Eurovision Song Contest. However, back in August, it emerged that this may change for the 2020 contest. OGAE Greece have now confirmed that the broadcaster is indeed considering a national selection for the 2020 contest. Although it was initially rumoured that Greece may be considering a withdrawal from the contest, it was later confirmed that they would be participating in Rotterdam 2020. Along with this confirmation was the further discussion of changes to be made to the way ERT selects their entries. Now, in an interview with OGAE Greece, ERT’s Head of International Relations has given some more details on their discussions. Although no exact details are set in stone, ideas are being brought forward it seems. Having attended a recent Eurovision workshop in Rome, Maria Koufopoulou has been exploring potential selection methods, explaining: No decisions have been made yet but, yes, there are some thoughts on last year’s changes, such as the possibility of a national final … We are in discussionERT’s Maria Koufopoulou speaking to OGAE Greece Regarding more exact details, she added: As I said, yes, there is the possibility of a national final, maybe …

Maltese broadcaster PBS has confirmed their participation for the Eurovision Song Contest 2020. In addition to their confirmation of participation, it has been announced that the winner of X Factor Malta will be flying the Maltese flag in Rotterdam, which will be revealed on February 8, 2020. 2nd Season of X Factor Malta underway Earlier this year, it was announced that X Factor Malta was renewed for a second season, before the first season has even finished. Judges Howard Keith, Ira Losco, Alexandra Alden, and Ray Mercieca and Host Ben Camille has returned for the second season. Filming for the 2nd season has been fully underway, with the judges auditions taking place in the summer and the six-chair challenge taking place. The second season of X Factor Malta started airing its 2nd season on October 6, and is set to conclude on February 8. Malta at the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 In 2018, PBS decided to bring X Factor to Malta. Whilst doing this, they have confirmed that the winner will be representing Malta in Tel Aviv. Afterwards, Michela was crowned as the winner, thus winning the right to represent Malta in Israel. Subsequently, it was decided that Michela’s entry …

Today, Latvian national broadcaster, LTV, announced that Supernova will be back for the sixth time to select the Latvian entrant for Eurovision 2020. Previously, we reported that there were doubts of the national selection, which has produced mixed results, returning to the television screens. Nevertheless, the project that is aimed at developing the music scene and new talent in Latvia, was brought back. The submission window is open until November 20. This year the national selection will see minor changes, including: The minimum participation age is 16 (previously 18)Foreign composers can send in entries, as well as participate as part of a group (albeit, no solo performances) For a long time, we did not know what to await for the Supernova sixth season. Since the end of august, there has been high interest, above average levels, in the national selection and the submission period, so we’re hoping for a high quality level of submissions. Currently we have lots of unknowns about the national final, but we do know that our entry will be selected on February 8.Ilze Jansone, Producer Supernova’s results for Latvia have been mixed. The first two entries selected via the national final brought Latvia back to the …

Earlier this evening, Italian broadcaster RAI has confirmed that it will be participating at the Eurovision Song Contest 2020, which is due to take place in Rotterdam. As part of the Big Five, Italy will be participating at the Grand Final on May 16. Will Italy use Sanremo to select Italy’s 2020 entrant? As RAI confirmed Italy’s participation in Rotterdam, it did not announce how it will be selecting their representative for next year. Since their return to the Eurovision Song Contest in 2011, Italy has mostly used the Sanremo Music Festival to select their Eurovision entry. Regardless of whether or not Italy chooses to use Sanremo for Eurovision 2020, preparations for next year’s competition is in full swing. The Music festival has appointed Amadeus as the host and artistic director for the 2020 edition of Sanremo. Italy at the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 The Sanremo Music Festival was used in order to select Italy’s Eurovision entry for 2019. Mahmood won the competition, and was chosen to represent Italy in Tel Aviv. At the end of the competition, managed to finish 2nd with 472 points. This is Italy’s best result alongside their return in 2011 where they also achieved 2nd …

The new director of entertainment and varieties of France Télévisions Alexandra Redde-Amiel has confirmed to Pure Médias that the French entry for Rotterdam will be selected through a National Final. Is Destination Eurovision making a return in 2020? During her interview with Pure Médias, Ms Redde-Amiel has not confirmed if Destination Eurovision will be making a return, or if changes to the current format would be made. What is certain is that the show will come back. In what form and with what name, it is not decided yet.Ms. Redde-Amiel on the National Selection for 2020. In addition to the above, Ms. Rede-Amiel has confirmed that the main focus right now is Junior Eurovision, and that the representative for Gliwice-Silesia will be revealed shortly. She has also said the following in regards to what France Télévisions, aims to acheive with Eurovision in the long run. Our desire is to turn the Eurovision brand into a bigger event. We can not disappoint, because Eurovision has become the unmissable event of entertainment on France 2 for viewers. This is the best entertainment audience of the year, the one that brings together all audiences.Ms Rede-Amiel on the long-term goal for Eurovision France at the Eurovision …