Lopez Blogs

Interesting Facts about Eurovision Song Contest

The Eurovision was first broadcast in colour in 1968 from London’s Royal Albert Hall. Cliff Richard came second, beaten by Spain by just one point.

The 2009 Eurovision was a lavish extravaganza with a budget of more than $42 million. (The Russians have been trying for a decade to get in on the action.) There was a live link-up with International Space Station during the final.

Despite the great PR,  the Russian hosts created quite a stir.  Before the competition even began, the Georgian entry was rejected because the title of its song made fun of Putin, rather an untimely jab at the Russian nose after the August war between the two countries.

What is even more surprising is that the Sweden entry was eliminated due to pressure from Russian diplomats.  Apparently, the Russian government was offended because the Swedish act featured dancing bears! 








Every day until May 8 I will be posting a music video of each one of the semi-finalists of the Eurovision Song Contest. On May 9, I will post the last three (my top favorites), Enjoy the videos!