Good morning Europe from a shiny and actually hot Malmoe, Sweden. Today the second semifinal is about to take place but we have lots of stories for you going on behind the scenes. Check the latest updates and highlights of the day.
ANA MATRONIC CAN BE THE NEW COMMENTATOR?
Scissor Sisters band member Ana Matronic was the surprise replacement for Sarah Cox at Eurovision – taking up commentary box duties with Radio One DJ Scott Mills during last night’s first semi-final. How did she do? Pretty well for an American who hails from Portland, Oregon and has probably remained blissfully unaware of the unique traditions of the singing competition. Channelling the spirit of Terry Wogan – who quit commentating on the song contest in 2008 after 35 years – she made quips about the show’s host, acts, costumes and questionable song lyrics, proving herself to be a true and sympathetic fan.
LOREEN IN THE FINAL WITH A NEW SONG
Yeah, Loreen, we got it!! The Swedish singer, famous four winning the Eurovision Song Contest in 2012 with “Euphoria”, has a brand new single out named “We Got The Power”. The full song became available for full stream on Spotify today (May 15), but it won’t be available for purchase digitally until May 17. The following day, Loreen will debut “We Got The Power” live with a performance at the 2013 edition of the Eurovision Song Contest to be held in the city of Malmo in Sweden. Listen Loreen’s new single below!
You can listen to the new song here
SUPERCHARGED INDEED
The temperature is rising. Only three days left to the Eurovision Song Contest final on Saturday. England’s contestant Bonnie Tyler will visit TeliaSonera’s studio at Gustav Adolfs Torg in Malmö tonight at 6.30 p.m. At the same time Johnny Logan, one of Eurovision’s greatest artists, will participate via link from Ireland. This could be an interesting meeting. All broadcasted at http://supercharged.eurovision.tv/#/. At the website you will find everything about the Eurovision Song Contest, exclusive content such as interviews and live broadcasts with the participating artists, photos and films, tweets and unique moments showing the artists preparing for the final. This is a platform for all Eurovision fans all around Europe and made possible by TeliaSonera’s international network and technical competence.
GRAHAM NORTON SAYS ‘UK WON’T WIN’
Graham Norton, who will present the BBC’s coverage of the Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday, appears to lack confidence in this country’s contestant, Bonnie Tyler. “Britain could definitely win one year, it has the potential,” says the Telegraph columnist at a Samsung NX Smart Camera event in aid of Marie Curie Cancer Care. “Probably not this year, though.” The Irish chat show host adds: “It’s a hard thing to win; you need a lot of factors in your favour.”
BIG NUMBERS IN THE NETHERLANDS
Dutch broadcaster TROS has published the viewing rates for the first semifinal. It is an amazing number of 3.7 million people, the number got even higher when Anouk was on stage. They have two things to be proud of now, the first qualification in nine years and the best viewing rate for Eurovision in years.
SERBIAN TV RATINGS FOR SEMIFINAL 1
The first semi final of the Eurovision Song Contest in Serbia saw lower ratings than usual. An average of only 1.874.336 people tuned in to watch show. Last year over 3 million tuned in to watch Željko Joksimović perform. This does not bode well for the Serbian broadcaster RTS ahead of the final on Saturday. The lowest ratings for the Eurovision Song Contest final on RTS were recorded back in 2009 when Serbia failed to make it into the final with less than 1 million people watching the show in Moscow. The final of the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest still holds the title of the most watched program in Serbian broadcasting history with over 4 million people tuning in (more than half of the country’s entire population).
CYPRUS & SERBIA CANCEL EUROVILLAGE PERFORMANCE
Eurovision Village has been a success so far it seems. People living or just visiting Malmö has appreciated the Eurovision Village that has been built up in central Malmö. Concerts and other activities has been offered every day, but with a lot of changing of schedules that has caused some confusion. It is reported that Cyprus and Serbia, that was supposed to perform at Eurovision Village on Wednesday cancelled their performances as they were so disapointed about not qualifying for the final. On the other hand Belgium delayed their performance until the evening as they were staying up all night celebrating their sucess in the semifinal.
KIDS FLASHMOB IN MALMOE
Malmö is really in Eurovisionspirit. Yesterday, thousands of schoolchildren joined up on Malmö’s largest shopping streets for a flashmob performing Loreens “Euphoria” for enjoyment of inhabitants as well as all the visitors in Malmö right now. See the video of the flashmob here.
NOT EVERYONE TO PARTY ON SATURDAY
Local media reports that people living in famous Malmö landmark Turning Torso, (Europes tallest tower with living-apartments) wasn’t that happy about Tuesdays semifinal. TurningTorso was supposed to be lit up with hundreds of gigantic lights and lanterns with different colours showing the current country flag of nation performing at Malmö Arena at the moment. Something similar to how Azerbajian lighted up Crystal Palace last year. It’s unclear though if this years installation was supposed to be shown live on TV. In any case, this installation got technical problems during the night. Turning Torso did become a gigantic beacon in the night, but not the way intended. Instead, all lights were just white and it was turned on all night. Disturbing the sleep for the inhabitants in the tower. After tenants complained to Malmö City council, the tower will only be lighted a few hours in the evening on Saturday, right after the sunset and lights will be turned off manually, no later than 23 hrs to secure the safe sleep of the people living in Turning Torso. Apparently, a lot of people living in Turning Torso seems to prefer to sleep instead of celebrating the Eurovision.
