It is Eurobash weekend here in Dublin.To celebrate here is Pernilla's schlagertastic song submitted for Melodifestivalen 2008. More of this for 2011 Christer!

Happy Friday!

Dusseldorf is espected to be announced as the host city in the coming days according to Bild with the Esprit Arena being the main contender as the venue. It can hold up to 60,000 people!!

In other news, The melodifestivalen deadline passed yesterday with a total of 3832 songs submitted! I want to listen to them all!

This is a record number of songs with a big increase from 2010.

Year Number of Songs

1995 600 songs
1996 1 475 songs
1997 1 223 songs
1998 1 126 songs
1999 1 315 songs
2000 1 394 songs
2001 1 567 songs
2002 1 830 songs
2003 2 620 songs
2004 3 228 songs
2005 3 131 songs
2006 3 326 songs
2007 3 234 songs
2008 3 489 songs
2009 3 440 songs
2010 2 794 songs (incl 180 Web wild cards)
2011 3 832 songs (incl 424 Web wild cards)

The Countdown Begins!

Our Eurovision queen Niamh will be mixing with the burly bears and tiny twinks as she plays Limerick Pride next weekend!

The committee is headed by Alternative Miss Ireland queen and Ireland's Verka Serducha, Shelia Fitpatrick Shinnors. Check out the launch with Heidi Hotlips! and Mr. Gay Limerick on Thursday the 9th@ 31 Thomas St.

They have put so much into this project and I hope everyone can support this fabulous event!

Check out www.limerickpride.ie for more details

Have a blast:)

Eurovision singer says sorry..

Nadja Benaissa a member of the German girl band No Angels has admitted to having unprotected sex with several partners without warning them that she was HIV-positive.

Nadja Benaissa, 28, was speaking at the opening of her trial in the German city of Darmstadt.

"I am so sorry," she told the court.

She faces charges of grievous bodily harm for allegedly infecting one man, and attempted bodily harm over two men who were not infected.

If convicted, Ms Benaissa faces a prison sentence ranging from six months to 10 years.

The singer was arrested in Frankfurt last year, shortly before she was due to perform a solo concert, and spent 10 days in custody.

Aids gala declaration

Aids campaigners were critical of the authorities' handling of the arrest and warned against a rush to criminalise the transmission of HIV, the BBC's Tristana Moore reports from Berlin.

According to prosecutors, Ms Benaissa knew she was HIV-positive as early as 1999.

A former lover, who is HIV-positive, has said the singer infected him in 2004 and is due to appear in court in Darmstadt as a co-claimant.

Last November Ms Benaissa appeared at an Aids charity gala in Berlin and openly declared: "My name is Nadja Benaissa, I'm 27 years old, I have a daughter - and I'm HIV-positive."

No Angels were formed in 2000 on the international TV show Popstars, before recording a series of hits and emerging as Germany's most successful girl band.

They re-formed in 2007 and competed in the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest, finishing 23rd with the song 'Disappear' with a total of 14 points – taking 12 points from Bulgaria, band member Lucy Diakovska's native country, and 2 points from Switzerland only. Only the United Kingdom and Poland placed below the four-member female band.

4th Time Lucky for Chiara?

Our favourite Malteste diva Chiara has said she is interested in returning to the Eurovision stage for the fourth time!
Speaking at Stockholm pride where she was wearing a very fetching rainbow dress..ahem Chiara said “Eurovision has become like a drug to me. Every time I think of Eurovision I get this thrill going on in my mind saying, Yes I want to be there again..and again..and again! I just loving being part of it. I am in love with it. The experience is so nice! Even if the outcome is not as expected, the experience is still unique.’

Her family are reluctant to see her return as they struggle to deal with the negative side of the press.

She also said she would consider entering Melodifestivalen in the future and confessed her love of schlager! 'Schlager makes you dance! You just cannot stand still. It’s amazing. I really like it. I do feel comfortable performing it too.’

Chiara has a clear love for the contest and has the same addiction that we all understand, no it's not chicken wings its Eurovision!!

Which City will it be?

The 2011 host city will be announced next month. 8 cities have expressed an interest in hosting with the main contenders being Berlin, Munich, Hanover, Frankfurt and Cologne.
In terms of population these cities have quite a range from Berlin at 3.2 million to Lena's city of Hanover at just 516,000.

Many have expressed their wishes for which city they would like to see hosting. In my opinion I want a city that is able to cope with the demands of hosting eurovision and providing the buzz about the contest throughout the whole city just like Oslo did.
Moscow on the other hand was too large and swallowed up the atmosphere.
Either way I am positive that the German's will present a very efficient show that is well organised and will be a comfortable and enjoyable place for all us lunatics that arrive next May!

What do you think?