JOY Eurovision

27 Nov 2013

The Update: Tickets, Who’s In & New Releases

This is The Update – a (semi) regular news post, keeping you up to speed with the happenings of Eurovision 2014 and the doings of past ESC entrants. In this edition:

We find out how to get those all important tickets;
Get the (unconfirmed) list of confirmed participants in 2014; and
See who’s been releasing new music.

It’s Ticket Time!

Big news out of Copenhagen and the EBU, with confirmation that tickets for the rehearsals and live shows of the semi-finals and grand final of next year’s Contest will go on sale this Friday 29 November.

One-third of the available tickets will go on sale from 8pm (AEDT), via www.billetlugen.dk/eurovision. Unlike this year’s dramas, it seems that anyone will be able to purchase tickets online with a credit card, not just European residents.

If you miss out, the next batch of tickets will go on sale on 31 January 2014, with a final allotment being released in April. You can also be added to a waiting list for the next rounds if you miss out on the first lot of tickets, giving you access to a special pre-sale before they are released to the public.

Prices range from €14 to €242. For more information, check Eurovision.tv

Who’s In?

EBU broadcasters had until last Friday to let the EBU know of their intention to participate in the 2014 Contest. As of this week, the unconfirmed confirmations are:

Albania
Greece
Norway
Armenia
FYR Macedonia
Portugal
Austria
Hungary
Romania
Belarus
Iceland
Russia
Belgium
Ireland
San Marino
Bosnia & Herzegovina
Israel
Slovenia
Denmark
Italy
Spain
Estonia
Latvia
Sweden
Finland
Lithuania
Switzerland
France
Malta
The Netherlands
Georgia
Moldova
Ukraine
Germany
Montenegro
United Kingdom

Broadcasters can still withdraw their applications until 15 December without being penalised.

Euro Tidbits

Here’s a summary of all those stories that have come up over the last month:

The Netherlands have announced that they are sending The Common Linnets, popular duo Ilse DeLange and Waylon, to the 2014 Contest. DeLange is currently one of the judges on the Dutch version of The Voice. The duo will be performing a country/blue grass song for the Contest.

The winner of the 2007 Eurovision Song Contest has announced she is bisexual. Serbian singer Marija Šerifović has come out as part of a TV documentary about her life to be screened on Serbian TV later this month.

Montenegro announced that Sergej Ćetković will be going to Copenhagen to represent the country next year. The very popular ballad-singing artist will announce his song at a later date.

Sweden’s 2011 Junior Eurovision entrant, Erik Rapp, has also come out of the closet. The 17 year old told Sweden’s QX Magazine that he thought he was bisexual but has come to the realisation that he is gay. He shared his experiences with homophobia at school, saying

There has never been someone who reacted negatively. My closest friends have known since eighth grade. At school there was no homophobic atmosphere at all, but in high school there used to be gay jokes here and there, and it was a little dicey. But there has never been anything addressed to me.

It’s Junior-tastic

Get ready Australia! The Juniors are taking over the Eurovision stage this weekend. Kyiv has been in party mode this week with the final rehearsals for Sunday’s Junior Eurovision Song Contest.

This year, SBS will be showing the event in the same live way they do Eurovision-proper. Tune in to SBS2 from 6pm on Sunday 1 December to see the colour and spectacle.

And if you can’t wait that long, check out our Facebook page where all the entries are being shared for your (very positive and constructive) feedback.

New Releases

Malta‘s representative in the 2012 Contest, the very lovely Kurt Calleja, has a new single. Love on Mars is a single on Calleja’s charity album of the same name.

Eleftheria Eleftheriou was that sexy minx who represented Greece at the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest. She’s released Τελειώσαμε (Teliosame). It’s a little bit saucy.

And Sweden‘s extremely (and illegally) handsome (and some would say, not too TV-smart) Eric Saade has got something new. The 2011 entrant has released Boomerang, which is the third single from his latest album Forgive Me.