The circus has come to town!

Eurovision 2014 is in full swing. The first semi final took place on Tuesday night and threw up some surprises - San Marino qualified! Well done Valentina, proving that if at first you don't succeed... Montenegro also qualified for the first time. Huge cheers for Ukraine and massive boos for Russia when the results were announced. Those girls might be in for a rough ride on Saturday. BBC Three was good fun as always - more tonight!

The second semi final will be on BBC Three this evening - the UK can vote. Ones to watch out for include Israel, Malta, Ireland and Poland - shake what mama gave ya indeed. There's a real buzz about the UK this year - I really hope Molly does well. 

My book is now available for pre-order here or an open access download here

I'm heading to London tomorrow for the final. 

Ciao for now.

We're in the bubble

The Eurovision circus is in full swing now with all delegations present in Copenhagen. Today saw the Big Five (UK, Germany, Italy, France and Spain) rehearse alongside the home team, Denmark. It's going to be a slick set of shows. 

Eurovision is changing. Gone are the lavish opening ceremonies with open invitations, the contest is downsizing and there is a much more frugal approach to the event now. The welcome reception will take place tonight but it's strictly for delegations only. Accredited press can go along to the red carpet to watch delegates arriving and like last year, can watch the party on a screen in the Euroclub. It all smacks a little of "let them eat cake" (cheesecake if you're from Belarus) although it's not entirely surprising given the budget constraints facing national broadcasters. 

Whilst Eurovision can be an expensive business it's still one which countries buy into. Georgia for example, uses Eurovision as a platform for promoting the country, an avenue for nation branding. Of course politics can and does come into Eurovision too. Tijana, the singer from FYR Macedonia performed at the Euroclub last night and expressed regret that Croatia, Serbia and Bosnia Herzegovina were all absent from the contest this year. She then performed a short rendition of the Serbian winner from 2007 "Molitva". It's easy to be cynical but bearing in mind that there was a full scale war going on in the Balkans only two decades ago, it shows how Eurovision really does continue to unite. All eyes will be on Russia and Ukraine in the first semi final on Tuesday. Tijana will be joining Scott Mills (and me!) on the show on BBC Three. 

More tomorrow!

Tick Tock... Ukraine - the ticking time bomb of Eurovision?

Rehearsals for Eurovision began this morning in Copenhagen. Later today both Russia and Ukraine will take to the stage. Never before have relations between the two countries been so tense or so serious. We are likely to see these tensions spill out onto the Eurovision stage. Whether the EBU like it or not, politics does come into Eurovision.

Over at ESC Insight I've written an article on the current situation - will there be political references in the performance? The voting? How will the Russian entry be received? Ukraine aside, Russia's image among the Eurovision fan community is less than positive. The adoption of the anti-gay laws in Russia last year has meant that the country has become viewed almost as a pariah state. It's likely that the Russian twins, the Tolmachevy Sisters, will face a rough ride from audience, consisting mainly of gay men. However, those girls will be well prepared and resilient, as my Euro pal Monty pointed out, he wouldn't be surprised if they booed back!

I arrive in Copenhagen on Friday, more updates before then though!

And... we're off!

It's difficult to believe that the Eurovision season is about to begin again. It seems like barely a few weeks since the 2013 contest! To all traveling to Copenhagen over the coming days, I wish you a safe and pleasant journey. I'll be there from Friday May 2nd but will be returning to the UK on Friday 9th May, suitably enough, on Europe Day!

2014 is shaping up to be an exciting year; it looks like it'll be tense for Russia and Ukraine and with no real runaway winner, it'll hopefully be a close race to the finish line. Danish broadcaster DR look like they're planning a spectacular show! The stage looks very impressive indeed, and with several days to go before rehearsals start, they're also looking super organised!

It'll be a busy one for me, with the publication of my book The Modern Fairy Tale: Nation Branding, national identity and the Eurovision Song Contest in Estonia as well as my on-going punditry work. I'm sure there will be time for dancing (as well as the odd glass of prosecco!) Eurovision 2014 is almost upon us! Join us!

Where there's a will...

Greece is set to participate in Eurovision 2014 against the odds. The country has been hit hard by the global financial crisis and has continued along a painful path of austerity. One of the victims of the budget cuts in 2013 was the state broadcaster ERT. Immediately after the suspension of transmissions, speculation was rife that Greece would be out of Eurovision in 2014. Could it be that despite their best efforts, the Greeks were finally out of the competition that they love so much?

Well no, actually.

Last week it was confirmed that Greece would participate in Eurovision 2014 after the replacement state broadcaster, DT/NERIT, became a full member of the EBU. In previous years the Greeks have funded their Eurovision participation through sponsorship and this trend is likely to continue in 2014. Although, with the Greek record companies feeling the pinch, it looks like they're going to have to be more creative in raising the funds. 

With numbers dwindling in the contest it appears as if the EBU have had some hand in helping Greece take part in 2014. After careful negotiations, Poland and Portugal are set to return yet other Eurovision regulars such as Turkey, Serbia, Croatia and Cyprus to name just a few, will stay at home. Slovenia has been given until 17 January to decide whether or not it will participate in Copenhagen. To date, a total of 36 countries are confirmed for 2014, the lowest number since the semi finals were introduced in 2004.

Greece's continued participation in Eurovision, against all odds, demonstrates the significance that the event has. We laugh at the contest in the UK but it continues to attract high viewing figures for the BBC and in Greece, it's one of the most popular shows of the year. If Greece were to pull out then it would consolidate the image of Greece as bankrupt and on it's knees. They're fighting on and good for them. Participation in Eurovision is taken for granted by some countries yet here are the Greeks, fighting to be heard. National broadcasters that make little effort when it comes to Eurovision would do well to remember this. 

2014 - Join Us!

Happy New Year!

The 2014 Eurovision season has officially started. Ukraine and Albania have already chosen their entries and in the coming weeks there will be a deluge of national finals and internal selections. The BBC were said to have been considering "alternative options" for 2014. Does this mean the end of the internal selection procedure? There have been rumours circulating about Geri Halliwell possibly representing the UK. However in this digital age it’s all too easy to put something out there on the internet and before you can say douze points, it’s being accepted as truth. The BBC is being tight-lipped. There's a different production crew working on the BBC's Eurovision output so there may be changes ahead. Watch this space.

2013 was a very interesting one in the world of Eurovision. After Sweden won the 2012 contest, held in Baku, Azerbaijan which was arguably one of the most politically-charged in the history of the event, the contest was held in Malmo in May. This was the first time since 2000 that Sweden staged the ESC. In reflection of the wider austerity drive in Europe, and the increasing financial pressure facing national broadcasting corporations, Sweden’s national broadcaster, SVT, announced that they were staging the contest on a smaller scale. The large arenas seen in Germany, Norway and Russia were gone, as were the audacious opening acts. Malmo was different; one presenter, no frills and standing room only for the audience. Behind the scenes the party circuit was considerably restricted; gone were the days of unlimited alcohol for accredited journalists and seemingly limitless press packs. The 2013 contest also saw several countries withdraw from the contest due to cutbacks across the various national broadcasters. Poland continued to stay away having missed the 2012 event, Bosnia Herzegovina, Portugal, Slovakia and Turkey all stayed home. Four years after the global financial crisis began it had reached the Eurovision Song Contest.

Musically 2013 was a mixed affair; the usual ballads peppered with dance songs and of course a share of bizarre songs which have become customary at the Eurovision Song Contest. Greece’s Koza Mostra performed their song “Alcohol is free” in kilts, at a time when the Greek economy was crippled by debts and many other countries were debating introducing minimum unit pricing for alcohol. Finland’s Krista Siegfrids demonstrated her support for equal marriage by sealing the performance of her song, “Marry Me” with a same-sex kiss. Georgia opted for an old-school ballad written by Thomas G:Son, the Swedish songwriter responsible for the winning entry in 2012, “Euphoria”. The BBC’s selection of Bonnie Tyler as United Kingdom’s entry followed the same format and form as 2012; internal selection, well-known artist aged sixty plus yet without a major hit for decades. The assertion that the BBC sees Eurovision first and foremost as a television show, rather than a competition, was therefore confirmed. To be fair, Bonnie was a real character and despite a rather weak performance in the final, did the UK proud; the perfect ambassador.

Politics was never far from the foreground despite the continuous reinforcement of the apolitical nature of the event by the European Broadcasting Union. SVT developed the slogan “We Are One” for the 2013 contest. The theme aimed to portray Europe as a united entity, emphasising diversity and multiculturalism. Except Europe really isn’t one; Europe is a fractured construct, economically, politically and socially. As happened in 2000, Denmark won in Sweden. The 2014 contest will be held in Copenhagen on 10^th May 2014.

On a personal note, 2013 was bittersweet for me. On the one hand, as Dr Eurovision I was busier than ever and appeared on Sky News and BBC Breakfast. On the other, my aunt sadly passed away. She had been ill for a while and was an incredibly brave and inspirational lady and our family are incredibly proud of her. I will be running the Edinburgh Marathon in May 2014 in her memory. Thank you to you all for reading this blog and for the comments on Twitter. 2014 is shaping up to be an exciting one with the publication of my book and some exciting projects in the pipeline. Steady yourselves, the circus that is Eurovision is once again rolling into town!