Malta won't withdraw

Many rumours have been circulating on the Internet about the possible withdrawal of several countries for 2008, one of the most popular ones being Malta. However, the Maltese broadcaster has confirmed today that Malta will be present in Belgrade, despite having to start in the semi final of the Eurovision Song Contest for the second consecutive year.
Estonia, who have so far failed to qualify on every single occasion since the semi final was introduced, will also be playing in Belgrade, although ETV are considering their options for Eurolaul, the national final.
Montenegro, who failed to qualify in 2007 on their first attempt as an independent state, have also confirmed their presence in Serbia.
The continued participation of the Czech Republic, however, is more of a confusing matter. After coming last with only one point on their first ever participation, with one of the country's most successful bands, it is as yet unknown whether Czech broadcaster CT will be willing to finance another entry in 2008. However, while esctoday.com awaits confirmation from CT itself, the Czech Eurovision site is still being updated with Eurovision news in Czech, suggesting a continued interest.

Mihai Traistariu builds career

Mihai Traistariu hopes to work with famous producer Tommy Motolla, but the Romanian artist who finished 4th the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest is exploring all his options. That’s why he has also applied to take part in the L.A. Awards, and he is also currently participating in the international New Wave Festival where he is a finalist for that contest.
If anyone in Romania doubted Mihai Traistariu when he declared his intentions to succeed in the international arena, the singer is working to prove them wrong. He is taking many small - but steady - steps on his way to realizing his career dreams. Naturally his 4th place finish in Athens introduced him to a larger audience. Now, he is taking part in the New Wave Festival where he has qualified for the finals in Latvia with the highest score from the semi-final round. This exposure will only benefit him should he attempt to represent Romania in another Eurovision Song Contest.
However, Mihai has recently said that his biggest dream is to make a career overseas in the USA - although he had not tried to get in contact with any US-American managers until a very well-known producer from Portugal and a good friend of Tommy Motolla heard his song contest entry Tornerò during a shopping trip. The Portuguese producer contacted Mihai and suggested they record two songs for Motolla. These songs are finished, one of them is a duet with the famous female Romanian singer Nico (who also took part in various Romanian national finals) and now he is waiting for the producer to visit Romania: ”He will come in the 1st of July to listen to the songs and to find out the results. It’s a formality that has to be done”, Mihai declared.
The singer has also applied to take part in the L.A. Awards. Many prominent international singers like Fergie from the Black Eyed Peas and Anastacia first attracted notice at these awards.
Next week Mihai will be visiting Norway with his girlfriend, perhaps he's also looking for a little summer vacation.

Azerbaijan not joining after all

Despite earlier indications to the contrary, AzTV has in fact been denied active EBU membership at the EBU meeting on the 15th June 2007. This means that Azerbaijan cannot enter the Eurovision Song Contest in 2008 to be held in Belgrade, Serbia.
The EBU decided that AzTV was not seperate enough from the Azeri state, which is one of the requirements for active membership. However, Arzu Abdullayev of AzTV has confirmed that AzTV will apply again for active membership in January 2008, and if that application is successful, then Azerbaijan may debut as early as 2009.
esctoday.com is currently collecting information from active EBU members all over the European broadcasting area, and will bring you a full rundown on the status of each country's participation later this summer.

Hanna & Evridiki to support Evanescence

This year’s Eurovision Song Contest artists Hanna Pakarinen and Evridiki have been chosen to be the support act of the American alternative rock band Evanescence. The band will be performing tonight at Hartwall Arena in Helsinki, Finland and next Saturday, 23rd of June at Karaiskaki Football Field in Athens, Greece.
The successful American band Evanescence is currently on tour in Europe, promoting their second album The Open door. The 13-track album was released last October and in its first week of sales earned the first ranking on the Billboard 200 album chart. The band’s debut album Fallen sold almost 15 million copies worldwide and for 43 weeks got a position on the Billboard Top 10.
Evanescence perform tonight at the Hartwall Arena, in Helsinki, Finland, at 19:00 CET and Hanna Pakarinen, Finland’s representative at the 52nd Eurovision Song Contest will be the support act. The band will introduce for the first time their new guitar player and drummer, Troy McLawhorn and Will Hunt, who replace former John LeCompt and Rocky Gray.
Next Saturday 23rd of June another artist from this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, Evridiki, Cyprus' representative, together with Dimitris Korgialas will support the band at their concert in Athens, Greece. The event takes place at Karaiskaki Football Field.

20 June 2007...

New esccy site on 20 June 07 back...

Greece ... explore your sences!

Hellenic Republic - Ministry of Tourism - Greek National Tourism Organisation

In Greece, you are standing at crossroads of cultures, colours and civilisations, you feel the grandeur of history and the warmth of being at the southernmost part of Europe, you discover the evolutionary process of thought, influence and experience.
A country with a uniquely affluent historical past, inhabited by people gazing confidently and optimistically into the future.
A country that although statistically small, is huge in its diversity.
A landscape that has given us thousands of postcard images but remains incredibly vibrant and impossible to capture.
Greece is a country of beautiful contradictions, a constant journey in time, from the present to the past and back again.
Walk through the olive groves, through ancient sites. Move to clusters of sparsely inhabited islands. Roam from beaches to rocky mountains and explore the breathtaking scenery.
In Greece the fusion of images becomes more than imagery and turns into reality.
Explore your senses in Greece ...

More info in : http://www.gnto.gr/

The results of esc radio awards

The voting is closed and the results are online now

During the week June 1-7, the world-wide listeners of escradio.com had the chance to vote for their favourites from this year's Eurovision Song Contest in Helsinki. And here are the results:

- BEST SONG 2007 - "I Love You Mi Vida" (Spain) , written by Tony Sαnchez-Ohlsson, Rebeca Pous del Toro, Thomas G:son & Andreas Rickstrand, performed by D'Nash

- BEST FEMALE ARTIST 2007 - Magdi Rϊzsa (Hungary)

- Best MALE ARTIST 2007 - Kenan Dogulu (Turkey)

- Best GROUP 2007 - D'Nash (Spain)

Congratulations to all the winners!

For the complete results in all four categories please visit http://www.escradio.com/awards2007

The winners will be contacted and the awards will be handed over as soon as possible.