Special Eurovision - 50th Anniversary

[Ronny83]

Eurovision 'greats' to do battle 

 

Stars of the Eurovision Song Contest from the show's 50-year history are to compete against each other to celebrate the contest's anniversary.

Viewers will choose 14 past songs to be performed by the original artists or others in the spirit of the originals.

 

Past Eurovision performers include Abba, Celine Dion, Bucks Fizz, Nana Mouskouri, Lulu and Julio Iglesias.

 

Fans will then vote as usual to pick the all-time best Eurovision song during the show in Denmark in October.

 

The first contest was organised by the European Broadcasting Union, or EBU, in 1956, and has become an annual event pitting pop giants against musical minnows - with often surprising results.

 

Unmissable

 

While some regard it as an essential celebration of continental talent, others see it as an equally unmissable parade of the reasons some countries do not normally produce international stars.

 

The 50th annual contest will be held in Kiev, Ukraine, in May, after Ukrainian singer Ruslana won last year.

 

The 50th anniversary special will be held in Denmark later this year because the Danish Broadcasting Corporation came up with the idea for the all-time contest.

 

A plan to hold it in London was scrapped because of problems finding a suitable venue.

 

Ireland has been the most successful country in the show's history with seven victories, followed by the UK, France and Luxembourg with five each.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/t...dio/4213411.stm

 

I want to hear Céline singing "Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi" with her new voice.

[MontYeo]

When will this be? Will you cap it?

 

Thanks!!!!

[DjCeline]

hope that Celine will be there..and hope that she also "wins"

[Josje]

Thanks for the info

[Mozinha]

I hope she goes!!!! Pleaseeeeeeeeeeee Céline, go there!!! And win it again!

[VinnyT.]

yeaH I really hope she will be there i wanna hear her sing that song again!

[Koolan]

Wanna see Celine bust out her new dance moves Crosses fingers.

[Celine's Wife]

That would be so awesome to see her go back and perform that again!!! Only with a new look and sound!

[nano]

I hope she goes there and steal the show

[Salla]

It will be held in Denmark!? If Céline's going to perform there, nothing's gonna stop me from hopping on the plane and going to the show Except the fact that I'm going to be extremely broke after Vegas...

[Ronny83]

FORMER EUROVISION STARS COMPETE FOR ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL 

 

Music stars including ABBA and CELINE DION are to compete against each other to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the EUROVISION SONG CONTEST.

 

Viewers will pick fourteen acts from the show's past five decades - who have included LULU, BUCKS FIZZ and JULIO IGLESIAS - and the chosen artists, or tribute bands, will perform against each other in Denmark.

 

Fans across Europe will then vote for the all-time best Eurovision stars during the competitive concert in October (05).

 

28/01/2005 09:35

Source: http://www.contactmusic.com/new/xmlfeed.ns...rsary%20special

 

[CSCfan]

28 January 2005

Eurovision stars to perform in 50 years show

 

Past stars of the 'Eurovision Song Contest' are reported to be joining together for a special celebration to mark the 50th anniversary of the contest.

 

The celebration, which will be hosted in Denmark, will be transmitted as a live television event. Viewers will be given the chance to vote for the 14 best songs from the history of the show, which will be performed by the original artists, where possible.

 

The show will take the form of the annual 'Eurovision Song Contest', with viewers across Europe then voting for their favourite song.

 

Among the past Eurovision singers whose songs could feature in the show are: Abba, Bucks Fizz, Celine Dion and Julio Iglesias.

 

The 50th anniversary event is due to be staged in Denmark on 22 October 2005. As usual the annual 'Eurovision Song Contest' will be staged in May, hosted by the Ukraine.

 

Source: RTE.ie

Edited January 28, 2005 at 12:25 PM by CSCfan

[DjCeline]

ERMM....

[Koolan]

Great, where will this be shown? Celine's gonna win for sure

[olenka]

Wow

I hope that Celine will be there

[VinnyT.]

this sounds like a great event i think the media of the whole world will talk about this!

[Mozinha]

If René is really intelligent has I think he is, he MUST grab this opportunity. Celine on this huge eurovision thing singing in french, all the european and world media talking about this stuff and then a french album coming out .... I CAN SEE A LOT OF NUMBER ONES!

[Fanny!]

Yesssssssssss I want Céline to siiiiiiiiiiiiiingggggggggggggggg

[ploup]

Yesssssssssss I want Céline to siiiiiiiiiiiiiingggggggggggggggg 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

meeeeeeeeeee toooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

[Mozinha]

I'm already praying

[Koolan]

this sounds like a great event i think the media of the whole world will talk about this!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

True, just like A New Day show premiere garnered worldwide attention.

[Ronny83]

3:51pm (UK)

Viewers Pick 'The Ultimate' Eurovision Songs

 

"PA"

 

Organisers of a concert celebrating 50 years of the Eurovision Song Contest today revealed the 14 songs to be performed in a live television show on October 22.

 

Viewers across Europe have picked the tunes aspiring for the ‘ultimate Eurovision Song Contest song,’ said the Danish Broadcasting Corp.

 

Fans picked two songs per decade and the European Broadcasting Union, or EBU, which created the event, picked four wildcards.

 

The list includes Domenico Modugno’s 1958 serenade Volare and the 1974 hit Waterloo by ABBA.

 

Other entries include winning songs by Ireland’s Johnny Logan, French singer France Gall and Britain’s Brotherhood of Man, whose Save Your Kisses for Me earned them the title in 1976. Some of the 14 songs finished second or third.

 

This year’s winner, My Number One performed by Greece’s Helena Paparizou, also is on the list.

 

The songs will be performed by the original artists in some of the cases or by other artists, DR spokeswoman Nina Lethin Larsen said. “It’s too early to say now who will come,” she added.

 

The show has been titled Congratulations, after Cliff Richard’s second-placed song in the 1968 edition of the contest.

 

Viewers across Europe will cast their votes on the 14 entries by telephone, in the same way that the winner is selected in the regular Eurovision contest.

 

The show is often derided as a showcase of kitsch and the winners often fade into obscurity.

 

Its best known champions are ABBA, who were propelled to international fame after winning the contest.

 

Other entries for the ultimate Eurovision Song Contest song are tunes by: Spanish band Mocedades in 1973, German singer Nicole in 1982, Celine Dion, who performed for Switzerland in 1988, Israel’s Dana International in 1998, Denmark’s Olsen Brothers in 2000 and Turkey’s Sertab Erener in 2003.

Source: http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=4699881

[Bellamy]

I really hope Celine will be there and win!!!!!

[Mozinha]

She was chosen???? OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm so happy.

Guys, let's hope she really goes there than all the fans reunite and we vote her to win!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[tativale]

WOW I Wanna Celine there!!!! WOW

[nano]

yeah...I hope she will be there

[VinnyT.]

wow she is among the 14 singers due to partecipate to the show!

[Mozinha]

If she really goes, we must have a plan to vote for her

[Linda]

I hope Celine performs and then is going to win Edited June 17, 2005 at 10:40 AM by Linda

[Ronny83]

Official press release:

 

Congratulations – 14 songs to compete

Eurovision Song Contest’s 50th Anniversary Show

 

Geneva, 16 June 2005: A total of 14 songs have been selected to take part in Congratulations, the special ESC 50th anniversary TV show organized on behalf of the EBU by Danmarks Radio (DR) in Copenhagen on Saturday 22 October 2005.

 

The special two-hour celebration show will be broadcast live (21:00 CET) in over 25 countries across Europe (the final list to be announced). On the night, European viewers will televote to choose the most popular ESC song. As with the Eurovision Song Contest, the centralized televoting system will be developed and coordinated for Congratulations by digame.de GmbH, an affiliate of Deutsche Telekom.

 

The 14 songs taking part in Congratulations were selected in the following way: fans across the world chose 10 of the songs by voting at www.eurovision.tv. An additional four wild card songs were picked by the ESC Reference Group.

 

To help voters with their choices, the online voting platform featured video clips along with facts and figures about songs and performers. Online voting for the 50th anniversary event started on eurovision.tv on 20 May and ended on 12 June.

 

The 14 songs are, in chronological order: Nel Blu Di Pinto di Blu or Volare (Domenico Modugno), 1958, Italy; Poupée de Cire Poupée de Son (France Gall), 1965, Luxembourg; Congratulations (Cliff Richard), 1968, UK; Eres Tú (Mocedades), 1973, Spain; Waterloo (ABBA), 1974, Sweden; Save Your Kisses for Me (Brotherhood of Man), 1976, UK; What’s Another Year (Johnny Logan), 1980; Ireland; Ein Bisschen Frieden (Nicole), 1982, Germany; Hold Me Now (Johnny Logan), 1987, Ireland; Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi (Céline Dion), 1988, Switzerland; Diva (Dana International), 1998, Israel; Fly on the Wings of Love (Olsen Brothers), 2000, Denmark; Everyway That I Can (Sertab Erener), 2003, Turkey; My Number One (Helena Paparizou), 2005, Greece.

 

Fans who took part in the online voting will get a chance to win a trip for two to Copenhagen and seats to watch Congratulations. Runners-up can win one of 25 Eurovision anniversary books, 50 exclusive CD and DVD anniversary box sets are also being given away. The prize winners will be announced shortly.

 

Eurovision Song Contest stars, including The Olsen Brothers (Joergen and Noller Olsen) and pop celebrities, will perform spectacular medleys of the most loved, most popular and most memorable moments from the Eurovision Song Contest.

 

EBU

 

Geneva-based EBU unites and serves 72 national broadcasters from 52 countries in and around Europe. Working on behalf of its members in the European broadcasting area, the EBU negotiates broadcasting rights for major sports events, operates the Eurovision and Euroradio networks, organizes programme exchanges, coordinates coproductions and provides a full range of other operational, commercial, technical, legal, and strategic services.

 

Further information

 

Aline Ingwersen, Media Officer, +41 (0)79 774 86 44; ingwersen@ebu.ch; www.eurovision.tv; www.ebu.ch

Source: http://www.eurovision.tv/english/1820.htm