Tag: Emmelie de Forest

Eurovision 2014.

This week the 59th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest took place in Copenhagen, Denmark, following the country’s victory at the 2013 contest with the song Only Teardrops by Emmelie de Forest. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Danish Broadcasting Corporation(DR), the contest was held at B&W Hallerne, and consisted of two semi-finals on 6 and 8 May, and a final on 10 May 2014. The three live shows were presented by Danish television presenter Lise Rønne, musician Nikolaj Koppeland actor Pilou Asbæk.

Thirty-seven countries participated in the contest; this included the return of Poland and Portugal after absences of two years and one year respectively. Overall, there were two fewer countries competing compared to the previous year, making thirty-seven participants, the smallest number since 2006. Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus and Serbia announced that they would not be taking part.

The winner was Austria with the song Rise Like a Phoenix, performed by Conchita Wurst and written by Charley Mason, Joey Patulka, Ali Zuckowski, and Julian Maas. The entry won both the jury vote and televote. Austria’s first victory was 48 years earlier in 1966, which at the time was the longest gap between wins. The Netherlands, Sweden, Armenia and Hungary rounded out the top five, with the Netherlands achieving their best result since its victory in 1975, Hungary achieving its best result since its fourth place in 1994, and Armenia equalling its best result from 2008. Of the Big Five countries, only Spain achieved a place in the top ten, while France finished in last place for the first time in its Eurovision history. Meanwhile, San Marino and Montenegro both qualified for the final for the first time.

A new record of 195 million viewers for the contest was reported. The host broadcaster DR and the EBU won the International TV Award at the Ondas Awards for their production of the contest. The show organisers from Copenhagen spent in total DKr 112 million on the contest, three times more than the expected costs, and were furthermore accused of nepotism.

Eurovision 2013

This week the 58th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest took place in Malmö, Sweden, following the country’s victory at the 2012 contest with the song Euphoria by Loreen. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Sveriges Television (SVT), the contest was held at the Malmö Arena, and consisted of two semi-finals on 14 and 16 May, and a final on 18 May 2013. The three live shows were presented by Swedish comedian and television presenter Petra Mede, being the first time only one host had presented the show since the 1995 contest. Former Swedish entrant Eric Saade acted as the green room host in the final.

Thirty-nine countries participated in the contest, with Armenia returning after its one-year absence. Bosnia and Herzegovina, Portugal, Slovakia and Turkey all ceased their participation for various reasons. Slovakia and Turkey have yet to return to the contest since.

The winner was Denmark with the song Only Teardrops, performed by Emmelie de Forest and written by Lise Cabble, Julia Fabrin Jakobsen and Thomas Stengaard. The song had the highest average score in both the televote and jury vote. Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Norway and Russia rounded out the top five.

This year marked the reintroduction of the Parade of Nations, a concept which was first used in the contest from 1959 to 1963 (with the exception of 1962) before making a one-off return in 1983. The concept had also been used, on-and-off, in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest since 2004. It sees all countries performing in the final presenting themselves with their national flags before the contest begins. This year, the contestants entered the main stage by walking across a bridge over the audience. This idea has subsequently continued in every edition of the contest onwards.

The EBU reported that 170 million viewers watched the semi-finals and final of the 2013 edition.