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Revision as of 10:32, 10 May 2008 by CT Cooper (talk | contribs) (→Commentators: Add note on talk page discussion.)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) "Eurovision 2008" redirects here. For the Eurovision Dance Contest, see Eurovision Dance Contest 2008.| Eurovision Song Contest 2008 | |
|---|---|
| "The Confluence of Sound" | |
 | |
| Dates | |
| Semi-final | 20 May 2008 (SF 1) 22 May 2008 (SF 2) |
| Final | 24 May 2008 |
| Host | |
| Venue | Belgrade Arena, Belgrade, Serbia |
| Presenter(s) | Jovana Janković Željko Joksimović |
| Director | Sven Stojanovic |
| Host broadcaster |  RTS |
| Website | eurovision |
| Participants | |
| Number of entries | 43: 19 in each semi-final; 25 in the final (5 prequalified and 10 from each of the semi-finals) |
| Debuting countries |  Azerbaijan San Marino |
| Returning countries | None |
| Non-returning countries |  Austria |
|
Participation map
| |
| Vote | |
| Voting system | People in each country can vote by tele-vote or SMS. Each country's 10 favourite songs are awarded 12, 10, then 8 through to 1 points based on the votes of the population of each country. All participating countries in the semi-finals and final will have the right to cast points in the final. |
| Winning song | TBD |
The Eurovision Song Contest 2008 is the 53rd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, which will be hosted by Serbia. The semi-finals will be held on 20 and 22 May respectively and the final on 24 May 2008 in the capital, Belgrade. The Belgrade Arena, venue for the Contest, is among the largest indoor arenas in Europe, with a total capacity of more than 20,000 seats. Serbia gained the right to host the Contest after Marija Šerifović won the 2007 Contest in Helsinki, Finland. The host broadcaster will be RTS.
At a press conference in Helsinki in May 2007, Svante Stockselius, executive supervisor of the Contest for the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) announced that the competition's format may be expanded to two semi-finals in 2008 or 2009. On 28 September 2007 it was announced that the EBU had approved the plan of hosting two semi-finals in 2008. The 2008 contest's official website opened on 15 January 2008. For the first time ever, Eurovision.tv will stream national finals on ESCTV with broadcasters' permission. On 30 January 2008, Eurovision.tv revealed the theme of the Contest: "The Confluence of Sound".
On 14 September 2007, the Mayor of Helsinki handed over the "Eurovision keys" to the Deputy of Belgrade. This ceremony is meant to be a tradition from now, and the ring contains a key from every city that has ever hosted the competition.
Due to problems and riots in Belgrade, due to the declaration of independence by Kosovo, on 22 February 2008 the EBU held a phone conference to decide if the contest should be moved to a different city. Ukraine was considered an option since they came second in Eurovision Song Contest 2007. YLE were another option, as they hosted last years competition in Helsinki, Finland. ERT also offered the EBU to host the contest in Athens, Greece again. It was later decided that the contest will stay in Belgrade, with the EBU giving support. RTS will gain a guarantee of safety and security from the government of Serbia for all visitors and participants of the contest. Therefore, the delegations of Croatia, Israel and Albania will have a special security. The show will be hosted by Jovana Janković and Željko Joksimović. However, Jelena Tomašević will also represent Serbia with a song composed by Joksimović; this led to debate over his role in the contest.
Visual design
RTS ran a competition that led to the creation of the 2008 Contest's branding, logo and the stage. The theme of this year’s Eurovision Song Contest is based around the “confluence of sound”. It is symbolic as Belgrade lies on the Sava and Danube rivers and is the place where the two European rivers meet. The logo chosen, a music key, forms the graphical basis of the design created by Boris Miljković. The theme art features as the basis of the concept, and will also play an important role in the production of the post cards, the short introduction videos before each song and during the shows.
According to RTS the stage represents native identities, history and modern themes, symbols and universally recognised messages. The confluence stage also contains a large number of television and LCD display screens. The stage will have settings for all new electronic possibilities including some movable parts of the stage. It was designed by Chicago-based David Cushing. The first semi-final is being created around a city theme, the second semi-final around the river theme and the final is based on the theme of confluence. Construction for the stage is ongoing in the Belgrade Arena.
Format
Based on research conducted by the EBU's tele-voting partner Digame, the semi-finalists will be sorted into the two heats through the drawing of lots, which will be seeded to keep countries that have a significant history of voting for each other apart. Each broadcaster will have to broadcast the semi-final they are taking part in, with the broadcasting of the other semi-final being optional. The draw for the semi-final allocation occurred in the Belgrade City Hall on Monday 28 January 2008 at 13:00 CET and was conducted by dancers from the National Dance Ensemble KOLO. First, two envelopes with 'Semi-Final 1' and 'Semi-Final 2' were drawn. Then, three countries from each pot were chosen randomly to take part in the first semi-final and the other three in the second one. The country left in Pot 5 took part in the first envelope that is drawn. While, the country left in Pot 6 in the second one.
The automatic finalist countries can choose whether they will broadcast both semi-finals or just one, but viewers from these countries may only vote in one. From the draw conducted, it was decided which of the five finalist countries will broadcast and have voting rights in either of the events. The semi-finals will be webcast live through Eurovision.tv. The top nine songs from the televoting will qualify for the final, and a tenth will be determined by the back-up juries. Twenty-five songs will compete in the final.
Semi-final allocation
On 24 January 2008, all 38 countries in the semi-finals were separated into the following pots based on voting history and geographical location:
| Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Pot 4 | Pot 5 | Pot 6 |
Running order
The draw to decide the running order of the songs in each Semi-Final and the Final, was conducted at the Heads of Delegation meeting on 17 March 2008.
Individual entries
Template:Entries of the Eurovision Song Contest 2008
On 21 December 2007, the EBU confirmed that 43 countries would be present in Belgrade. San Marino, as well as the newest EBU member, Azerbaijan, will debut at the 2008 contest. Austria will not compete; its broadcaster, ORF, said "we've already seen in 2007 that it's not the quality of the song, but the country of origin that determines the decision."
The following countries will compete in two semi-finals to be broadcast live on Tuesday 20 May and Thursday 22 May 2008. In addition to this, automatic finalists Germany and Spain will exercise voting rights and broadcast the first semi-final. France, the United Kingdom and Serbia will exercise voting rights and broadcast the second semi-final.
Semi-finals
Semi-final 1
The first semi-final will be held on 20 May 2008.
Semi-final 2
The second semi-final will be held on 22 May 2008.
Final
The finalists are:
- the big four France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom;
- the host country Serbia;
- the top nine countries from the first semi-final plus one wildcard from the jury;
- the top nine countries from the second semi-final plus one wildcard from the jury.
The final will be held on 24 May 2008.
| Draw | Country | Language | Artist | Song | English translation | Place | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | SF Qualifier | - | SF Qualifier | SF Qualifier | - | - | - |
| 02 |  United Kingdom |
English | Andy Abraham | Even If | - | - | - |
| 03 | SF Qualifier | - | SF Qualifier | SF Qualifier | - | - | - |
| 04 |  Germany |
English | No Angels | Disappear | - | - | - |
| 05 | SF Qualifier | - | SF Qualifier | SF Qualifier | - | - | - |
| 06 | SF Qualifier | - | SF Qualifier | SF Qualifier | - | - | - |
| 07 | SF Qualifier | - | SF Qualifier | SF Qualifier | - | - | - |
| 08 | SF Qualifier | - | SF Qualifier | SF Qualifier | - | - | - |
| 09 | SF Qualifier | - | SF Qualifier | SF Qualifier | - | - | - |
| 10 | SF Qualifier | - | SF Qualifier | SF Qualifier | - | - | - |
| 11 | SF Qualifier | - | SF Qualifier | SF Qualifier | - | - | - |
| 12 | SF Qualifier | - | SF Qualifier | SF Qualifier | - | - | - |
| 13 | SF Qualifier | - | SF Qualifier | SF Qualifier | - | - | - |
| 14 | SF Qualifier | - | SF Qualifier | SF Qualifier | - | - | - |
| 15 | SF Qualifier | - | SF Qualifier | SF Qualifier | - | - | - |
| 16 | SF Qualifier | - | SF Qualifier | SF Qualifier | - | - | - |
| 17 | SF Qualifier | - | SF Qualifier | SF Qualifier | - | - | - |
| 18 | SF Qualifier | - | SF Qualifier | SF Qualifier | - | - | - |
| 19 |  France |
English, French | Sébastien Tellier | Divine | - | - | - |
| 20 | SF Qualifier | - | SF Qualifier | SF Qualifier | - | - | - |
| 21 | SF Qualifier | - | SF Qualifier | SF Qualifier | - | - | - |
| 22 |  Spain |
Spanish, English | Rodolfo Chikilicuatre | Baila el Chiki Chiki | Dance the Chiki Chiki | - | - |
| 23 | Serbia |
Serbian | Jelena Tomašević and Bora Dugić | Oro | - | - | - |
| 24 | SF Qualifier | - | SF Qualifier | SF Qualifier | - | - | - |
| 25 | SF Qualifier | - | SF Qualifier | SF Qualifier | - | - | - |
Commentators
Belgium - Bart Peeters and André Vermeulen (VRT)
Denmark - Nicolaj Molbech
Estonia - Marko Reikop
Finland - Jaana Pelkonen, Mikko Peltola and Asko Murtomäki (Finnish) / Thomas Lundin (Swedish)- France - Jean-Paul Gaultier and Julien Lepers
- Germany - Peter Urban
Greece - Maggira Sisters
Hungary - Gábor Gundel Takács
Norway - Hanne Hoftun
Poland - Artur Orzech
Portugal - Isabel Angelino
Slovenia - Andrej Hofer
Switzerland - Sven Epiney- United Kingdom - Paddy O'Connell and Caroline Flack (semi-finals), television: Terry Wogan, and radio: Ken Bruce (final)
Spokespersons
- Azerbaijan - Leyla Aliyeva
- Belgium - Sandrine Van Handenhoven
- Estonia - Sahlene
- Finland - Mikko Leppilampi
Georgia - Tika Patsatsia- Hungary - Éva NovodomszkyCite error: A
<ref>tag is missing the closing</ref>(see the help page). - Poland - Radek Brzózka
- Portugal - Sabrina
- Serbia - Nina Radulović
- Switzerland - Cécile Bähler
Broadcasting
Semi-finals broadcasts
As said above, a country only has to broadcast the final and the semi-final where it takes part. The United Kingdom, San Marino, Greece, Croatia, Ireland, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Malta, Serbia, Finland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Denmark, Portugal, Cyprus, Israel,, Estonia, Turkey and Australia have confirmed that they will broadcast both semi-finals.
International broadcasts
Australia- Although Australia is not itself eligible to enter, the event will be broadcast on SBS. The first semi-final is to be broadcast on Friday 23 May at 7.30pm local time, the second semi-final is to be broadcast on Saturday 24 May 2008 at 7.30pm local time, with the Final being broadcast on Sunday 25 May 2008 at 7.30pm local time. For the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest, SBS local host, Julia Zemiro, will comment on events in the broadcast and tie the broadcasts commercial breaks together. In previous years, Australia has aired the United Kingdom's BBC broadcast, including commentary. The contest in recent years has been one of SBS's top rating special with viewers.
- Austria
- Austrian broadcaster ORF will broadcast the contest live, despite its withdrawal. Austrian broadcaster ORF will broadcast the final of the Eurovision Song Contest live on 24th May 2008 however it will not broadcast the semifinals on 20th and 22nd May. Austrian people still have the chance to watch the semifinals on German television NDR.
Italy- San Marino RTV, which will broadcast the full event, is available in some parts of Italy, these are: Romagna (and a small part of Emilia, including Bologna), northern Marche, and southern Veneto, including Venice.
- Template:Country data World
- A live broadcast of the Eurovision Song Contest will be broadcast worldwide by satellite through European streams such as ERT World, Armtv, TVE Internacional, TRT International, TVP Polonia, RTP Internacional, RTS Sat and SVT Europa. The official Eurovision Song Contest website will also provide a live stream without commentary using the peer to peer transport Octoshape.
High-definition broadcasts
RTS will broadcast the event in 1080i high-definition (HD) and 5.1 Surround Sound. The new high-definition television system was in place at the Belgrade Arena by April 2008. This will be the second year that the event will be broadcast live in HD. The BBC in the United Kingdom will broadcast the final in high definition on BBC HD. Swedish broadcaster SVT will broadcast both the semi-final and the final on their HD-channel SVT HD. The same will occur on Swiss HD channel HD suisse; on this channel viewers will be able to choose the language of the commentary while viewing a semi-final or final of the Eurovision Song Contest. However, all other countries will broadcast the show only in standard definition, and the event will only be available to buy on a standard-definition DVD; it will not be released on Blu-ray Disc.
Map
Notes
- "Welcome to Belgrade Arena". Eurovision.tv. 2007-05-13. Retrieved 2007-05-14.
- ^ "Jovana Janković & Željko Joksimović the hosts". Oikotimes.com. 2008-03-04. Retrieved 2008-03-04.
- "San Marino in Belgrade confirmed". ESCToday.com. 21 November 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-21.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Austria will not go to Belgrade". ESCToday.com. 2007-11-20. Retrieved 2007-11-20.
- ^ "Eurovision 2008 - format confirmed!". ESCToday.com. Retrieved 2007-11-24.
- "ŠERIFOVIĆEVA I BREGOVIĆ U FINALU EVROVIZIJE". evropesma.org. 2008-04-21. Retrieved 2008-04-21.
- "ŠERIFOVIĆEVA I BREGOVIĆ U FINALU EVROVIZIJE". evropesma.org. 2008-04-21. Retrieved 2008-04-21.
- "Two semi finals in 2008". ESCToday.com. 2007-07-31. Retrieved 2007-05-14.
- "Eurovision: 2 semi finals confirmed!". ESCToday.com. 2007-07-31. Retrieved 2007-07-31.
- "Revamped eurovision.tv site launched!". ESCToday.com. 2008-01-15. Retrieved 2008-01-15.
- "Belgrade 2008: The Confluence Of Sound". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 2008-01-30.
- "Belgrade received Helsinki city keys". Eurovision.tv. 2007-09-14. Retrieved 2007-09-19.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - "'Helsinki could host Eurovision again'". ESCToday.com. 2008-02-22. Retrieved 2008-02-22.
- "WEBU holds phone conference to decide host city". Oikotimes.com. 2008-02-2]. Retrieved 2008-02-22.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - "Eurovision 2008: Set to stay in Belgrade". esctoday.com. 2008-02-22. Retrieved 2008-02-22.
- "ЕВРОВИЗИЈА ПОД СИЛНО ОБЕЗБЕДУВАЊЕ: Во Белград ќе се пее со страв". vreme.com.mk. 2008-02-22. Retrieved 2008-02-22.
- "Jovana Janković & Željko Joksimović the hosts". Oikotimes.com. 2008-03-04. Retrieved 2008-03-04.
- "Serbia: Zeljiko's double role in question". ESCtoday.com. 2008-03-13. Retrieved 2008-03-13.
- "Serbia 2008: THE WINNER OF THE LOCAL OPEN COMPETITION FOR THE SUBLOGO – CODE MAMA 2008". RTS.co.yu. 2007-07-05. Retrieved 2007-07-05.
- "Izabran novi logo za „Evrosong" u Beogradu". blic.co.yu. 2007-07-05. Retrieved 2008-02-01.
- "Eurovision 2008: Full stage image - The Sava, the Danube & Kalemegdan". ESCToday.com. 2007-10-10. Retrieved 2007-10-10.
- "All you need to know for Monday's draw!". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 2008-01-24.
- "Svante Stockselius explains the new format". Oikotimes.com. Retrieved 2007-07-09.
- Sietse Bakker (2008-03-17). "Belgrade 2008: The running order!". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 2008-03-18.
- "43 Countries for Eurovision 2008". ESCToday.com. Retrieved 2007-12-23.
- The song is mostly in English, but includes words and phrases in French, German, Italian and Spanish.
- Other translations can include Mad or Insane.
- Song is in English, but contains three words in Spanish.
- Song is in English, but also includes 2 Russian words.
- "Sandrine geeft de Vlaamse punten op het Songfestival". eurosong.be. Retrieved 2008-05-05.
- "Nicolaj Molbech til beograd". esconnet.dk. Retrieved 2008-04-30.
- "Estonia: Sahlene to be ETV's spokeperson". esctoday.com. Retrieved 2008-05-09.
- "TIEDOTE 17.3.2008". YLE. Retrieved 2008-05-01.
- "Jean-Paul Gaultier to comment Eurovision final". esctoday.com. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
- "Der ESC 2008 im Fernsehen". NDR.de. Retrieved 2008-05-01.
- "The press conference at the Athens Hilton hotel". Oikitimes.com. Retrieved 2008-01-22.
- "Information on Hungarian broadcasting". eschungary.extra.hu. Retrieved 2008-05-06.
- "Hanne Hoftun blir MGP-kommentator". NRK. Retrieved 2008-04-08.
- "EUROWIZJA.COM.PL - Konkurs Piosenki Eurowizji". Retrieved 2008-04-14.
- "Commentator revealed by RTP, updated news". oikotimes.com. Retrieved 2008-04-01.
- "Slovenci padamo na žalostna besedila". rtvslo.si. Retrieved 2008-04-03.
- "Details zur Sendung". sf.tv. Retrieved 2008-05-09.
- "UK: Caroline Flack to Commentate". esctoday.com. Retrieved 2008-05-09.
- "Eurovision Song Contest 2008: BBC coverage". BBC. Retrieved 2008-05-08.
- "Azerbaijan: President's daughter to announce votes". Retrieved 2008-05-07.
- "Belgium: Sandrine to announce Belgian votes". Retrieved 2008-04-23.
- "Estonia: Sahlene to be ETV's spokeperson". esctoday.com. Retrieved 2008-05-09.
- "Mikko and Jaana are back!". Retrieved 2008-05-07.
- "Georgia: Tika Patsatsia spokesperson for 2008". esctoday.com. Retrieved 2008-04-17.
- "Radek Brzózka przekaże głosy do Belgradu". Retrieved 2008-04-29.
- "Sabrina to announce Portuguese votes". oikotimes.com. Retrieved 2008-04-03.
- - "Nina će čitati kako je glasala Srbija". alo.co.yu. Retrieved 2008-04-29.
- "Details zur Sendung". sf.tv. Retrieved 2008-05-09.
- During the UK national final (Eurovision: Your Decision), Terry Wogan said that both semi-finals would be broadcast on BBC Three.
- "Croatia: We will broadcast both semi finals". ESCToday.com. Retrieved 2007-03-20.
- "Supporters of German finalists and broadcast details revealed". ESCToday.com. Retrieved 2007-02-26.
- "Netherlands: We will broadcast live both semi-finals". ESCToday.com. Retrieved 2007-03-07.
- "exclusive PBSmalta to air both semifinals". ogaemalta.com. Retrieved 2008-05-07.
- "Oba polufinala u direktnom prenosu". evropesma.org. Retrieved 2007-11-15.
- "Finland: YLE to broadcast both semi finals". ESCToday.com. Retrieved 2008-03-29.
- "BHRT goes Euromaniac". oikotimes.com. Retrieved 2008-03-29.
- "Denmark: DR to broadcast both semi finals". ESCToday.com. Retrieved 2008-04-04.
- "RTP to broadcast both Eurovision semi-finals". oikotimes.com. Retrieved 2008-04-16.
- "Cyprus: CyBC to air both semis and preview shows". ESCToday.com. Retrieved 2007-04-24.
- "OGAE Israel: 12 points to Sweden!". ESCToday.com. Retrieved 2007-05-07.
- "Estonia: Sahlene to be ETV's spokeperson". esctoday.com. Retrieved 2008-05-09.
- "Turkey: TRT will broadcast both semi-finals live". ESCToday.com. Retrieved 2008-05-09.
- "Australia: SBS to air both Eurovision semi finals". TVtonight.com.au. 2008-04-26. Retrieved 2008-04-26.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - "Broadcasting of Eurovision in Australia". OZEurovision. 2008-02-07. Retrieved 2008-02-07.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - "ORF to broadcast the Eurovision final live". oikotimes.com. 2008-03-16. Retrieved 2008-03-29.
- "San Marino to air both Eurovision semi finals". ESCtoday.com. Retrieved 2008-03-31.
- "Tijanić: Sa RTS-a proterane španske serije". MTS Mondo. Retrieved 2008-05-05.
External links
- Eurovision Song Contest
- Radio Television of Serbia: Eurovision Song Contest Template:Sr icon
- Official Serbian Eurovision website Template:Sr icon
