Has anyone heard of Eurovision Song Contest? ESC is an annual song competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU).

Each member representing the country submits, and it is performed on live television, and then cast votes for the other countries' to determine the most popular song in the competition.

The Contest has been broadcast every year since its inauguration in 1956 and is one of the longest-running television programmes in the world.Since 2000, the Contest has also been broadcast over the Internet.

So has anyone else heard of it? If not, you should look it up!

http://www.eurovision.tv/page/baku-2012 This is the site for this years!

Also the picture (above) is the logo, it has been used since 2004 to create a consistent visual identity. The host country's flag appears in the heart. (Don't you think that is cool??)

Finally, a thread for this~ Eurovision is all my love but I only found out about it around middle-late 2011. I'm looking forward to the next contest. (Gotta watch clippets on youtube though, I'm American and I don't know if they broadcast this here)

I just learned about it this year, and I absoulutely love it. I have to watch them on YouTube too, though I want to go see one in person one day~

Ayyyy, hijacking this thread because ESC is love, ESC is LIFE!

Also, Baku is over. Move on, pls.

I should say that calling this a 'song contest' is a bit of a stretch. Let's be honest, guys... It's more of a television spectacle and political funfest.

Since it's Stockholm this year, cue all the Ikea jokes.

Thanks, Eurovision tag on Tumblr.

Probably going to do multiple posts at once, so sorry guys... D:

So... Links for the contest in general

Official ESC website: http://www.eurovision.tv/page/timeline
Use the website to view participating countries, participate in forums, and livestream National Finals, Semi-Finals and Grand Finals.

Eurovision YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/eurovision/featured
Use to livestream the contest, watch interviews and stay updated on competing artists.

Probably one of the better Eurovision blogs I've come across: http://wiwibloggs.com/
Basically updates, reviews... Sometimes celebrity gossip, but I usually ignore those.

Stockholm 2016 things:

Semi-Final draw and unveiling of the logo and motto of this year's contest: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Pcc4Mnppyk

It's pretty long, so I'll just give you guys the run-down of what happened...

AUTOMATIC QUALIFIERS (UK, Spain, France, Italy and Germany (Big 5 countries), and Sweden (last year's winner)) AND VOTING:
Sweden: votes in Semi-Final 1
France: votes in Semi-Final 1
Germany: votes in Semi-Final 2
Italy: votes in Semi-Final 2
Spain: votes in Semi-Final 1
UK: votes in Semi-Final 2

SEMI-FINAL 1 ALLOCATION (18 acts in total)*:
First half:
Croatia
Finland
Moldova
Armenia
Greece
Hungary
Russia
The Netherlands
San Marino

Second half:
Azerbaijan
Cyprus
Malta
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Estonia
Czech Republic
Montenegro
Iceland
Austria

SEMI-FINAL 2 ALLOCATION (19 acts in total)*:
First half:
Latvia
Belarus
Ireland
Switzerland
FYR Macedonia
Australia
Lithuania
Poland
Israel
Serbia

Second half:
Albania
Bulgaria
Denmark
Georgia
Romania
Slovenia
Norway
Ukraine
Belgium

*The actual running order hasn't been decided yet. I'd imagine the producers doing that in a few months' time.


--
CONFIRMED SONGS SO FAR:

Albania*: Eneda Tarifa -Perralle (Fairytale): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnBXUIqZjXQ
*Let's be honest... Albania always changes up their acts

Belarus: Alexander Ivanov (Ivan) -Help You Fly: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYJV1I7Y49k

Belgium: Laura Tesoro -What's the Pressure: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFnCRaV06UM

Ireland: Nicky Byrne -Sunlight: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5Pbnb7Y6AU


I'll probably post updates when I hear about them...

>>7 MORE CONFIRMED SONGS:

Malta: Ira Losco -Chameleon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6OxWBEg0M0

Spain: Barei -Say Yay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAtfAPjnPcE

--
Anyways, just listened to the shortlist of songs Georgia's chosen act, Young Georgian Lolitaz, might do for Stockholm. The actual song would be chosen via public vote, but what do you guys think the best choice would be?

I'd say that my favourite might be Midnight Gold, but then again, the selection is pretty decent (for Eurovision standards). Really do appreciate the 90's indie rock feel.

Midnight Gold: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1wwpUTlyE8
Weagree: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odujKuu_LPM
Sugar and Milk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLESIl3Uqw0
Right of Wrong: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8y7j8xj9zg
Pain in Heart: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9ma0bA6vP0

(Meme because it's the truth)

XD

>>7

So, guise, all 43 songs have been realised and are able to be viewed by the public... pretty much meaning that I'll be listing them all down here. Oh boy.

Fingers crossed that no one decides to remix or change up their entry last minute. That would suck.

Probably guaranteed that I'm going to screw up somewhere with the coding, so if something's wrong, yeah... soz guys.

---
ALL ENTRIES FOR EUROVISION 2016

Albania: Eneda Tarifa -Fairytale

Armenia: Iveta Mukuchyan -LoveWave

Australia: Dami Im -Sound of Silence

Austria: ZOE -Loin d'ici

Azerbaijan: Samra -Miracle

Belarus: IVAN -Help You Fly

Belgium: Laura Tesoro -What's The Pressure

Bosnia and Herzegovina: Dalal & Deen feat. Ana Rucner and Jala -Ljubav Je

Bulgaria: Poli Genova -If Love Was A Crime

Cyprus: Minus One -Alter Ego

Croatia: Nina Kraljic -Lighthouse

Czech Republic: Gabriela Guncikova

Denmark: Lighthouse X -Soldiers Of Love

Estonia: Juri Pootsmann -Play

Finland: Sandhja -Sing It Away

France: Amir -J'ai cherche

Georgia: Nika Kocharov and Young Georgian Lolitaz -Midnight Gold

Germany: Jamie-Lee -Ghost

Hungary: Freddie -Pioneer

Iceland: Greta Salome -Hear Them Calling

Ireland: Nicky Byrne -Sunlight

Israel: Hovi Star -Made of Stars

Italy: Francesca Michielin -No Degree of Separation

Latvia: Justs -Heartbeat

Lithuania: Donny Montell -I've Been Waiting For This Night

Macedonia: Kaliopi -Dona

Malta: Ira Losco -Walk on Water

Moldova: Falling Stars

Montenegro: Highway -The Real Thing

The Netherlands: Douwe Bob -Slow Down

Norway: Agnete -Icebreaker

Poland: Michal Szap -Color Of Your Life

Romania: Ovidiu Anton -Moment Of Silence

Russia: Sergey Lazarev -You Are The Only One

San Marino: Serhat -I Didn't Know

Serbia: ZAA Sanja Vucic -Goodbye

Slovenia: ManuElla -Blue and Red

Spain: Barei -Say Yay!

Sweden: Frans -If I Were Sorry

Switzerland: Rykka -The Last Of Our Kind

Ukraine: Jamala -1944

United Kingdom: Joe and Jake -You're Not Alone

>>7>>10 HOLY FUCK I FORGOT GREECE! D':

Greece: Argo -Utopian Land