[LMBTO] Eurovision 2017 Week 3 - Wildcards, Ins and Outs...

Now that is one impressive building!  Saint Sophia's Cathedral (Собор святої Софії) is the proposed landmark for the Red Carpet and Opening Ceremony of Eurovision 2017 and is a UNESCO World Heritage site.  This is no longer a site for religious services but is a secular museum of Ukraine's Christianity and it apparently showcases a lot of this nation's art, history and heritage.   The fact that we would have this backdrop for the start of the Contest was one of the latest bits of information to come from the NTU/EBU meeting about the forthcoming Contest in Kyiv.  That and the proposed venue for Euroclub:
Looks very plush, doesn't it?  If you want more information on the Parkovy Convention and Exhibition Centre, have a look at this review from SALT - National Restaurant Awards.  The only other Kyiv-related matters that has come to light over the past week is that the EBU don't think that the city needs any extra time to get ready and will meet the 9/11/13 May dates.  Nadja Burkhardt, EBU Event Supervisor, had indicated to ESC Daily that


This statement was referring to the potential clash between Eurovision and European Champions League and Europa League SF dates.  I suspect she is right that not many fans will be torn between these two events but there are still some nations who would show both and do not have the spare television channel capacity for that to happen.  Will this be a problem and lead to reduced viewing figures?  Will we just end up with certain nations being placed in a particular SF to avoid a televisual clash?  Something for another time I suspect but it does look more likely that the proposed dates aren't going to change...I hope so, as I have to put in for my 2017 annual leave soon!  As long as it's set in stone by October 7th...


The Ukrainian Wildcard process begins
No idea what this says but it is linked to the selection process that started a few days ago and one of the acts involved WILL be in the Ukrainian SF.  So far a couple of artists have been revealed as having submitted their entries - one of them has gone so far as to put up several, very similar looking entries:



That was Lyolya.  I could picture this in a NF and Lyolya ending up in Eurovision Beauty sometime...



And this is Alex Angel.  This guy was spotted by Roy D Hacksaw on his superb blog Eurovision Apocalypse, flagging up at least two of his entries but Alex has reliably informed me that he has five music videos that I believe he is submitting as wildcards.  They are all about 'love' (direct "from the horse's mouth", so it is his interpretation) but in a NSFW sort of way - the best listen is the track above, "Song For Lovers", but if scantily clad ladies gyrating around each other, on the floor or in Alex's lap aren't your thing, maybe you shouldn't watch.  I suppose I should have written that BEFORE the video...oh well, at least it's more soft rock (something that seems to work at Eurovision now) and the video clichés actually match the genre - I'm old enough to remember the videos of "Girls, Girls, Girls" by Mötley Crüe and the uncensored "Poison" by Alice Cooper and Alex's efforts are no worse than those.  I would say 'enjoy' his contributions whilst you can though because the chances of Alex making the Ukrainian NF are almost certainly nil.

If you are in the Ukraine or you are an IT geek and can change your PC/Mac IP address to look as though you are from there, you can access all the wildcard entries here and have one vote a day until mid January.  It also tells you how you can enter your own masterpieces - remember folks, Switzerland aren't having this kind of free-for-all this year...


More Nations say "YES!"
As we reached the first important date in the Eurovision year, that of nations putting in their official applications to enter the Contest in Kyiv, we also had a spate of countries flagging up that they were going and one of them even let on how they were going to select their representative.  That nation?  You want a bigger clue than Conchita?
After two years of first failure and then respectability, Austria are going down the internal route to see if they can unearth another RLAP.  Albania, Azerbaijan, Macedonia and Montenegro all confirmed their attendance in Ukraine but apart from assuming that Albania will use FiK 55 to select their artist (and Albanian version of the song, before it is butchered when converting to English), no one else indicated whether they will have NFs or not.  The real surprise this week was that Romania has submitted their application to appear in 2017 - this assumes that their debt with the EBU has been cleared and they can pay to go to Kyiv.  I am certain that most fans (like me) are delighted to see them back in the Eurovision fold but we have until October 10th to see if this actually happens - that's the latest Romania can withdraw without any financial penalty...

Two nations have definitely said no to 2017 though - Liechtenstein (nothing new there) and Slovakia (which is a shame seeing that Czechia has kept going and has finally reached the Final).  There has been a report today (26th September) by ESCape News that Turkey won't be participating in Kyiv but no-one else has confirmed so I will hang fire on any comments until that is 100% certain...


Fancy a trip to Iceland?
Söngvakeppnin is up and running again for this season with the Icelandic broadcaster RÚV announcing their SF and Final dates and locations of the shows.  Keep your diaries clear for one of the best NFs of the year in my opinion - just a shame that all dates clash with a certain Swedish show!  Iceland will be looking to break a two year losing streak as far as non-Final qualification is concerned - maybe singing in Icelandic might have tipped the odds in Greta's favour:



I hope that I have better luck with my favourites this coming season...



No to Nelly but Maybe to Krista?

Respect due for the nice way of saying "Thanks but no thanks" but I for one would have loved to have seen Nelly at Eurovision and not just in an interval 'pimp slot'!  Oh well, we can dream...

As for the indomitable Ms.Siegfrids, she's had a good week:

Now some fans are saying that this COULD be a prelude to Krista being involved in a selection process somehow, maybe Melodifestivalen?  Seeing this is a Swedish deal, the chances of it being that rather than UMK would be more likely - of course, this might have nothing at all to do with Eurovision but as a big fan of hers (Krista Siegfrids), I would be delighted to see her involved again (loving the last hashtag by the way!).  Maybe I'll ask her about it all at a certain event I am attending next weekend...
"What event is that, Martin?" I hear you all cry.  Well, I mentioned it at the end of my last blog post that I am going to Eurobash for the third consecutive year, my first at Manchester.  Friday 30th September through to Sunday 2nd October will be spent amongst other OGAE UK fans, enjoying the annual gathering, watching more intrepid souls perform their favourite songs for us and getting to listen to our three guests (Krista, Joe & Jake and Paddy O'Connell).  There might be another first for me this time (apart from the location)..