Results tagged “EBU” from Boom Bang a Blog

Forget the glitz and glamour of the Euro 2012 qualifying rounds draw this morning. At the same time In Oslo, the draw for who is singing in which semi-final of the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest was made by a very bored-looking policeman and a presenter who kept being interrupted by ESC bossman, Svante Stockselius.

This time around, each country was allocated a place in one of two semi-finals, but also which half of that qualifier they'll be performing in, so the delegation can organise which date to arrive in Oslo for rehearsals. Here's who's singing where, in the order they came out of the bowls about 10 minutes ago:

SEMI-FINAL ONE (Tuesday, May 25)
FIRST HALF: Serbia, Finland, Russia, Slovakia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Moldova, Latvia, Estonia.
SECOND HALF: Greece, Iceland, Malta, Portugal, FYR Macedonia, Belarus, Belgium, Poland, Albania.

SEMI-FINAL TWO (Thursday, May 27)
FIRST HALF: Switzerland, Lithuania, Sweden, Ukraine, Denmark, Azerbaijan, Israel, Armenia.
SECOND HALF: Georgia, Turkey, Ireland, Slovenia, Netherlands, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Romania.

Good news for ireland in that they perform late on and the UK has been confirmed in voting in the second qualifier.

Right, I'm off to the fans meet-up in Liverpool I blogged about a few weeks ago. Hope to see some of you there - and I'll report back on what happens.

Spain didn't broadcast their allocated semi-final of this year's Eurovision Song Contest live, due to a sporting event. As they were contractually obliged to do so, the European Broadcasting Union has given them a ticking off.

On a more political note, Azeri telly was fined 2,700 euros for blurring the number viewers had to call to vote for the Armenian entry, interfering with the TV signal whilst the Armenian act was performing and then the small matter of the police taking Azeri citizens who voted for Armenia in for questioning after checking their mobile phone details.

Surely that sort of behaviour deserves more than a 2,700 euro fine? And Azerbaijan is being allowed back in for 2010.

It makes you think.

Boom Bang a Bloggers, I bring exciting - and perhaps controversial - news.

It has been decided that, for next year's Eurovision in Oslo, a new way of casting viewers' votes will be introduced.

Basically, instead of waiting until the 10-minute window at the end of the songs to dial the number of your preferred tune, you'll be able to do it from the moment an act starts singing.

But is this a fair way to vote? Let's consider it whilst stroking our chins and nodding sagely.

They had waited for a win since their first appearance in 1960. They had scored nul points in 1963, 1978 and 1981, three of the six occasions they had finished bottom of the scoreboard. They were destined to be the Contest's eternal no-hopers. Then, in 1985, twenty-five years after their first appearance, something amazing happened. Norway won the Eurovision Song Contest.

According to this report, Leichtenstein could be announced as a late entrant in Oslo next year if the tiny nation's admission to the European Broadcasting Union is approved at the end of the year. It also seems the entrant will have to be either from, or have close links with, the country in question if it all goes ahead. Are you reading this, Luxembourg?

You may recall a Boom Bang a Blog post about members of the Azeri populace being taken in for questioning about the fact they cast televotes for Armenia during this year's Eurovision Song Contest.

The European Broadcasting Union investigated the incident, which appears to fly in the face of the spirit of the event, and has released this statement:

The EBU committee responsible for running the Eurovision Song Contest, the so-called Reference Group, examined the matter at a meeting in Oslo on 11 September 2009 and decided to amend the rules of the Eurovision Song Contest to hold the participating broadcaster strictly liable for any disclosure of information which could be used to identify voters*. The new rule aims to ensure that voters' privacy is respected, and if it is not the EBU will be in a position to impose appropriate sanctions on the offending broadcaster.

* The regulations governing the previous editions of the Eurovision Song Contest imposed an obligation on the telecom companies involved in the televoting to respect the privacy of the voters. However, the EBU does not have an ability to impose sanctions on them, therefore the new rule was developed.

So basically, they've been told not to do it again - or next time, there'll be a rule in place to stop 'em.

Your thoughts?

THE European Broadcasting Union has announced the official list of nations which will participate in this year's Eurovision Song Contest in Moscow.

With pennies pinchier than ever, the weeks and months leading up to the announcement saw two 21st Century Eurovision ever-presents (Latvia and Lithuania) more or less declare they were too broke to take part, whereas San Marino (one of only two countries to vote for Andy Abraham in Belgrade) is definitely staying away. Georgia had also announced its boycott of a Russian-staged Contest following real-world events in 2008.

With that in mind; shall we see who's on the list?