Who’s Singing And Who’s Staying At Home?
We have three returning countries in Portugal, Romania, and Australia. Each has their own tale to tell from the tweaking of the rules on associate members entering the Song Contest legitimising Australia, to the fraught relationship of budgets and subsidies that blocked Romania’s appearance in Stockholm. And as we’re not in Sweden, Portugal has no secret reason to not enter. That’s just the natural order of things.
We’ve also lost Bosnia and Herzegovina from this year’s Contest due to financial difficulties.
No songs have been chosen yet, but Cyprus and the Netherlands have internally selected their artists – Hovig for Cyprus and O’G3ne for the Netherlands.
Having a record-equalling complement of 43 entries is a huge vote of confidence in the Song Contest, especially as some were worried at the ‘risky’ nature of Ukraine and Kyiv as a host. For all the fear and negativity, the commitment is great to see, and that includes the entry from Russia. The potential to throw a stroppy fit and walk away was always there, but I’m hopeful that Russian participation will bring the continent a little closer together when tensions are running high.
The Time And The Place
The announcement also confirmed the dates of the three live shows, with the Grand Final taking place on Saturday May 13th. The venue is, as previously announced, the Kyiv International Exhibition Centre with an expected capacity of 11,000. Tickets are not yet on sale but this issue is on the agenda for the next organisational meeting. There’s a chance that some may be on sale before Christmas (but if you really want a Eurovision present for Christmas, Melodifestivalen 2017 went on sale today as well).
Although venues for the EuroClub and the EuroVillage have been discussed, these are not yet confirmed.
If you’re considering joining us in Kyiv, then our guide to attending the Song Contest is vital reading.
The Story Continues…
It is still early days for the 2017 Contest, but today marks the end of one chapter and the beginning of the next. We already have our musical Colosseum, but we now know the teams that will work on the chariots for the exalted 43 acts that will take to the stage. We know two brave names that will fly the flag for their respective countries, and the preparations to find the other 41 are well under way across the continent and beyond.
ESC Insight will be covering the story throughout the year through our website and social media active, to the regular newsletters and the ever-present podcasts. You can also keep on top of all the headlines from the Eurovision community websites through ESC Buzz. That said, there’s one more adventure to complete before we focus completely on Kyiv, and that is the Junior Eurovision Song Contest in Malta. Seventeen countries take part on Sunday November 20th, and Insight’s coverage of JESC will start the weekend before on November 12th.
To Valetta! To Kyiv! To Music!
Well the list can be expanded at last minute to 44, because Kazakhstan will discuss their eventual debut at the EBU General Assembly in December and will see what happens!!
I thought with all the orchestrated media complaints after Ukraine’s win Russia were preparing the ground for their withdrawal from this year’s contest, but they’re turning up after all. I wonder what slot the host broadcaster will give them in the Grand Final Running Order. 2nd perhaps!!
Pleased that Portugal and Romania are back – shame about B&H but it’s an annual sideline to be honest, will B&H have enough money, will Turkey get over the voting process and the Big 5 etc…
I think that Cyprus and The Netherlands have chosen well, as long as both sets of artists play to their strengths (which wasn’t ‘Take The Money And Run’ in O’G3ne’s case)…
As for Russia, I think that we will see their strongest push to win Eurovision EVER – using a football analogy, there’s nothing like winning the local derby at THEIR ground…
Oh the time for Russia to do that is when it causes the maximum impact if they are that Machiavellian – and that would be much closer to the time!
I still think TRT is under pressure to not engage with Europe, so ESC’s Big 5 is a nice little ‘will never change’ clause to reduce embarrassment when asked.