Sexy Slovenia!

I have just returned from a fantastic holiday in Lake Bled in Slovenia. Having visited the beautiful capital Ljubljana I think it would be a perfect host city for Eurovision. Great nightlife, not too sprawling, great food and friendly people!

Here is one of my favourite entries to get you all in the holiday mood! Go Karmen nanananana...

Austria Return?

Despite earlier reports that they would not return Austria are now considering returning to Eurovision!

Since winning in 1966 Austria have struggled to find the top of the scoreboard and in recent years their best placing was with Alf Poier with his comedic fiasco which placed 6th.

Let's hope Austria sends something fabulous! They should send Petra Frey whose 1994 entry deserved a lot better than 17th place, or maybe The Rounder Girls!!

15 wildcards for Melodifestivalen 2011!

SVT have announced some changes for Melodifestivalen 2011. The contest which is rumoured to be Christer's last will accept submissions from foreign composers and artists as long as they work with a Swede in the process.

The biggest change is that there will be 15 wildcards instead of 4 with the panel selecting another 15!

The final 2 songs will come from the web selection that was introduced last year and was represented by 'Come and Get me'

This one feels like a corker!! Get that schlager in there!

Today's gossip is that Kylie's song 'Aphrodite' from her new album of the same name was originally offered to Helena Paparizou for Eurovision 2010!

Check it out above!

May 14th 2011 we will do it all again!

Yesterday the date for Eurovision 2011 was confirmed. On May 14th we will once again be going crazy waving flags, partying, singing, laughing and dancing!

That's certainly what we did in Oslo! It was an amazing experience. A great city, wonderfully kind people, great restaurants and a city that totally absorbed the Eurovision experience. 2010 will be remembered for 2 great semis and final, professional presentation and camerawork and a deserving winner. Obviously Ireland's placing was a big disappointment and clearly it was not the year of the ballad as most of them finished towards the bottom.

I never thought Germany would do as well as expected but clearly it is a song that appealed to a mass audience and that is what makes a eurovision winner. It is a positive step forward for Eurovision and the style of music is modern and contemporary. It has been confirmed that Lena will return to defend her title in 2011 which is surprising but commendable. This hasn't happened since Lys Assia returned after winning in 1956!

The fate of Sweden was the biggest shock in the semis and Anna was stunned at the result. Many feel that Christer will be evaluating his approach to Melodifestivalen for what will apparently be his final year running the contest. When I met him at Club Latter I did excitedly tell him to bring back Nanne Gronvall!!

I also thought Croatia were in with a great shot at qualifying but it wasn't to be.

The moment Ireland came out of the envelope in Semi 2 will always stay with me! I almost choked on my feather bowa with all the excitement!
It felt so good to see Ireland qualifying and all the fans were so behind 'It's for You'

The buzz outside the arena on both nights was fantastic. We got so many pictures taken and sang so many songs to T.V. cameras from a selection of Melodifestivalen songs to the special 'Irish medley' on the hill on the Saturday night! We even began taking requests at one point!!

Going into the arena on final night there was a definate sense that about 14 songs could be in with a shot at winning. This added to the openness of the show in that there was not a clear winner and that is something I love.

It was great to see Belguim and Cyprus in the final. Both songs I have such a soft spot for.
Schlager was still strong with Denmark and Iceland proving so popular and at the beginning of the voting I thought Denmark were in with a definate shot.

I caught up with great friends, met many new friends, saw some eurovision legends perform (Bobbysocks), met some euro stars (Safura, Marcin, Thea, Graham Norton, Michael von der Heide, Josh, Rosman Pace and Christer Bjorkman to name a few!)

Oslo you were a star and I can't wait to return!

Thanks to everyone who made it so special especially young Mick!
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