Can you imagine living ON Globen?

Swedish artist Mikael Genberg placed this little house on Globen and hopes one day to put a similar one on the Moon!




(Pic: Metro.co.uk)

La Voix in Lithuanian!

Helena Paparizou for Melodifestivalen 2010?

In an interview with Alpha TV Helena Paparizou hinted at a possible return to the Eurovision stage.

For the first time she stated that representing Greece again is out of the question and if she is going to get involved in a Eurovision again it would be for Sweden!

Could she accept Christer's wildcard for 2010 or is it too soon?

Back from Mockba!

Hi all!

I am just about recovered from my hectic weekend in Moscow, sorry for lack of updates!

So Eurovision 2009 is over! It was a truly fantastic year for Eurovision. The show, the spectacle, the songs, the high profile it has received has really boosted Eurovision and with 'Fairytale' breaking chart records for Eurovision winners it is looking very positive!

As readers of this blog will know I have been a big follower of 'Et Cetera' and I thought they performed really well on Semi 2. Vocals were great, they caught the camera angles and looked relaxed and confident on stage. It was a pity they didn't make it but 11th place is commendable and they are now number 6 in the Irish charts.

After we arrived in Domodedovo airport in Moscow we boarded our lavish limousine (dodgy lada!!) which took us to the Aerostar hotel. Although it was listed as an offical hotel for delegations it turned out there were none there bar a few French cameramen!

On Saturday we got to the arena to collect our accreditation and check out the Olympisky. We ended up on Portuguese television and chatted to some friends and felt the exciting build up to the great night ahead.

Wwaving our Swedish and Irish flags we arrived nice and early on show night to soak up the atmosphere. Although there was an alcohol ban within the Arena and its environs people were in good spirits!

Our seats were outstanding 11 rows back from the stage amidst all the OGAE fans. We were next to a big bunch of Swedes so we fitted in well!

The arena looked magnificent, the stage was definately breathtaking!

Listening to the opening music for a Eurovision final is possibly one of the highlights of the year and the show was opened by a very impressive show by Dima Bilan.

Our final presenters were a lot more competent that the two nuts we had for the semi final!

25 songs flew by with some amazing performances.

Patricia Kaas gave me goose bumps and the emotion that came across was inspiring.

Chiara brought a tear to my eye having watched her over the years and to finally see her right in front of me was every euroboys dream!

It was great to see support for every song (maybe Croatia were the exception! Jury vote why why?!)

The biggest reaction on the night was obviously for Russia along with Turkey, Greece,

Azerbajjan, Norway and UK.

The interval act was stunning. There was so much going on around us it was hard to keep up!

It was beautiful and enthralling and it was all very unique.

Mr. Rybak won by a landslide but I was so happy to see Iceland and the U.K. score so highly. Surprised that Sakis didn't feature as I thought his performance was vet impressive. Disappointed for Malta and Sweden.

We then made our way to Euroclub to party and spotted Russian 'Flyer' Sergey Lazarev!

The following day I met Jade at the airport!!!

I am happy Norway won. He is a charming performer and it is a great song. In the run up to the contest I didn't think he would be such a runaway winner but Oslo 2010 suits me 100%

As much as I enjoyed this year I felt Moscow was quite oppressive. The city itself was not very welcoming and the staring my God! The heavy military presence and strict nature was funny at times but tiring! Maybe the size of the city didn't help and this is where I think Oslo will flourish.

Now we have to fill our time before the build up to 2010 begins!

I am back from Moscow! What a great show!
Pictures et cetera coming soon..

Reactions in the Greenroom Semi 1!

Direkt till Olympisky!!!

What an exciting night! I am thrilled with the qualifiers! All of my favourites bar Andorra and Switzerland made it. I thought Switzerland were not as strong vocally as I had heard them before.

I was so proud of Malena I thought she looked and sang brilliantly. Many were critical of her background but I found it enchanting!

Iceland gave me goose bumps!

Portugal was charming!

Israel was better than I expected!

Malta was wonderful!

The presenters were shockingly poor! She looked out of it and was unable to even read her cards! Thankfully we won't see them in the final!

The stage looked magnificent and came across really well. Some camera angles were a bit off but fingers crossed all will be ok for final.

Great draw for Finland and Romania but it is the U.K. that will benefit here. Go Jade!

Israel got the Andy Abraham spot i.e. the killer number 2!

A wonderful night and we have another semi to go yet!

As many of you know I will be flying to Moscow on Friday for the final and I could explode with excitement!

I so hope Ireland qualify as it would make it very special on Saturday night. From semi 2 I want to see Norway, Denmark,Hungary, Greece and The Netherlands make it through.

I will be back next week with updates from our adventure!!

Enjoy it everyone..What a wonderful addiction Eurovision is!!!

A Magical Moment!

This is Our Night!!!

It is just over 2 hours to go until Eurovision 2009 kicks off!!!

Tonight I have everything crossed for Sweden, Andorra, Portugal, Malta, Switzerland, Romania and Finland!

The only song I really dislike is the Czech Republic and I can't see them making it.

Turkey, Armenia and Bosnia+Herzegovina are definate qualifiers!

Enjoy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

DAYS TO GO!

Sinead's Catsuit!

Interview with Sinead Mulvey Flying the flag for Ireland!

Schlagerqueen: Hi Sinead!

Sinead Mulvey: Hi Aidan!

SQ: How are plans going for Moscow?

SM: The plans are going really well! we are havin so much fun too!

SQ: You won Eurosong by a landslide how did you feel?

SM: Yeah I couldn't believe how much we won by it was great we were over the moon! The song is so catchy though!

SQ: It is a great song. What was it like performing at the London and Amsterdam preview parties?

SM: London and Amsterdam were fantastic!

We had a ball and it was great meeting the other countries! Sasha Son from Lithuania was really friendly and Serbia were really funny to talk to. It was a great experience for us before Moscow!

SQ: Have you heard the other entries for Eurovision 2009? What songs do you like/dislike?

SM: Yeah I have heard most of them at this stage. I like them all in different ways! Lithuania'ss song is gorgeous and Serbia's song is funny!

I also like Ukraine's song its very upbeat which is good! :)

SQ: What are your outfits like for Moscow?How will the song be presented on stage?

SM: Our outfits are a surprise u will love them they are like wow! he he! I can't wait til u see them!

SQ: How do you feel about being 2nd in the running order?

SM: I am ok with second! They will all be watched and it means we are earlier in the reprise! Obvoiusly last would be nice but that is the luck of the draw!

SQ: That is true. In both semi finals last year song number 2 qualified for the final. What do you think of the new Eurovision rule where in the final the voting will be decided by jury and public this year?

SM: I think it's fantastic it stamps out any block voting! its a great idea! well done EBU ha ha!

SQ: Will you still be flying high with Aer Lingus alongside your music career?

SM: Yes, I would like to stay there but I will have to see how I get on with this because I would like to further my music career more so than anything!

SQ: Congratulations on your record deal with Sony. What does the future hold for your music?

SM: Thank You! Yes, I am thrilled, I hope to release a second single and maybe an album if all goes well so fingers crossed!

Thanks Sinead and the very best of luck for the 14th!

Thanks you so much Aidan!

It's Moscow Baby!

I must say watching and reading about this weeks rehearsals on AKOE and On Europe has been so exciting.
The coverage is fantastic and as entertaining as always. Thanks guys!
The most impressive rehearsal from semi 1 was Bosnia Herzegovina. I have never been a fan of the song from the audio or video I have seen but when I saw them rehearse there were definite signs of a ‘Lejla’ style powerful performance. I can see it sailing into the final and being top 3. Some people wisely got this at 80/1 I settled for 28/1!

Malena who clearly had a fight with a swan made no major changes in her 1st rehearsal but that could change.

Portugal had a charming presentation with a colourful background.

Sakis, Svetlana and co gave us a glimpse of their big stage show.

Some had dodgy vocals..Yes, Poland you heard me!

Sinead and Black Daisy had sound issues but all seems to be sorted out now.

The excitement is palpable and Moscow seems like they are doing a good job so far with impressive facilities for press and a Euroclub that is perfect for all Eurofans.

In my mind it is still anyone’s game. Norway, Greece, U.K. and Bosnia+Herzegovina are looking very strong in my book but you can rule out very few. Plus, we have yet to see the big 4 and Russia rehearse.

It is a pity that Spain are unable to vote in Semi 1 as Andorra and Portugal deserve as many votes as they can.

There is still time for those who experienced problems to remedy any flaws.. Some flaws though cannot be repaired..Thats right Gispy.cz I mean you!

The hosts have also been announced The hosts for the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest have been announced! The semifinals will be hosted by Andrei Malakhov and top model Natalia Vodianova. The final will be hosted by Ivan Urgant and Alsou, the Russian Eurovision entrant from 2000!

"La Voix" in rehearsal.

Get ready Olympisky!

Rehearsals will begin tomorrow morning with Montenegro kicking off procedings. You will find a full list of the schedule here.

Reports from those already in Moscow are very positive. The arena itself is still being finished but the stage is said to be magnificent! With a budget of 35 million in comparison to Serbia's 9.3 million there are great expectations!

Eurovision producer Tarmo Krimm said 'This is the biggest stage for Eurovision that has ever been built. My breath catches even when I speak about this. To build it is almost like building a skyscraper'

You can follow the stage construction on the Eurovisiondiary website.

400 students will work as volunteers during the contest build up. The opening ceremony will take place on May 10th at 10pm local time.

Channel one also plans to merge the opening party with a 'Legends of Eurovision' event featuring Lys Assia, Ruslana, Marija Serifovic and Dima Bilan.

The Euroclub will be launched on May 5th and they are expected to welcome 1,500 guests daily.

For those travelling to Moscow the underground map is vital. Click here.