Eurovision Song Contest 2008

The Eurovision Song Contest 2008 was the 53rd edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Belgrade, Serbia, following Marija Šerifović's win at the 2007 contest in Helsinki, Finland with the song "Molitva". It was the first time Serbia had hosted the contest - only 1 year after the country made its debut as an independent nation. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Radio Television of Serbia (RTS), the contest was held at the Belgrade Arena, and (for the first time) consisted of two semi-finals on 20 and 22 May, and the grand final on 24 May 2008. The three live shows were hosted by Jovana Janković and Željko Joksimović.[4] It was the first Eurovision Song Contest held in a former Yugoslav republic with the 1990 contest in Zagreb being held before the dissolution of the country.

Eurovision Song Contest 2008
Confluence of Sound
Dates
Semi-final 120 May 2008 (2008-05-20)
Semi-final 222 May 2008 (2008-05-22)
Grand final24 May 2008 (2008-05-24)
Host
VenueBelgrade Arena
Belgrade, Serbia
Presenter(s)
Directed bySven Stojanović
Executive supervisorSvante Stockselius
Executive producerSandra Šuša
Host broadcasterRadio Television of Serbia (RTS)
Opening act
Interval act
Websiteeurovision.tv/event/belgrade-2008
Participants
Number of entries43
Debuting countries
Returning countriesNone
Non-returning countries Austria
Vote
Voting systemEach country awarded 12, 10, 8–1 points to their 10 favourite songs.
Nul pointsNone
Winning song

Forty-three countries participated in the contest,[5] beating the record of forty-two set the year before.[6] Azerbaijan and San Marino[7] participated for the first time, while Austria did not return, mainly due to questions on the semi-final organisation, and the politicization of the contest.[8]

The winner was Russia with the song "Believe", performed by Dima Bilan who wrote it with Jim Beanz. This was Russia's first victory in the contest, and the third year finishing in the top three. Ukraine, Greece, Armenia and Norway rounded out the top five. Armenia achieved their best result to date in this edition. Of the "Big Four" countries Spain placed the highest, finishing sixteenth, while the United Kingdom ended up in last place for the second time in their Eurovision history, after 2003.

The official website, eurovision.tv, streamed national finals for this year's contest live on ESCTV for the first time.[9] Furthermore, for the first time the winner has been awarded an official winner's trophy of the Eurovision Song Contest. The trophy is a handmade piece of sandblasted glass in the shape of a 1950s microphone.[10][11]

Location

Belgrade Arena, Belgrade - host venue of the 2008 contest.

Venue

Serbia gained the right to host the Contest after Marija Šerifović won the 2007 Contest in Helsinki, Finland. Since Serbia was the winner of the preceding contest, the 2008 contest was subsequently held there. The Belgrade Arena in Belgrade was chosen as the venue for the contest,[12] and is among the largest indoor arenas in Europe, with a total capacity of 25,000 seats.

On 14 September 2007, the Mayor of Helsinki handed over the "Eurovision keys" to the Deputy of Belgrade. This ceremony is meant to be a tradition from the 2008 contest and onward, and the ring contains a key from every city that has ever hosted the competition.[13]

Potential change of location

Following the unilateral Kosovo declaration of independence from Serbia on 17 February 2008, which has resulted in protests and unrest across the country, the location of the event was considered to be changed.[14] Ukraine was considered an option since they came second in Eurovision Song Contest 2007. YLE were another option, as they hosted the previous year's competition in Helsinki, Finland.[15] Greece's Ellinikí Radiofonía Tileórasi (ERT) also offered the EBU to host the contest in Athens, Greece again.[16] It was later decided that the contest would stay in Belgrade, with the EBU giving support. RTS would gain a guarantee of safety and security from the government of Serbia for all visitors and participants of the contest.[14] The delegations of Albania, Croatia and Israel had special security.[17] In the end, the contest was held without any incidents.[14][17]

Visual design

Presenters Željko Joksimović and Jovana Janković during the first semi-final

RTS ran a competition that led to the creation of the 2008 Contest's branding, logo and the stage.[18] The theme of the Contest was based around the "confluence of sound". This was symbolic as Belgrade lies on the confluence of two European rivers, the Sava and Danube. The logo chosen, a treble clef, formed the graphical basis of the design created by Boris Miljković.[19]

The postcards in the first and second semi-final were based around the creation of the flag of the nation that was to perform next. Each post card had a short story related to each country and its people. During each postcard a short letter was displayed. All were in the national language of the artist's country, with the exception of the Serbian postcard, which consisted of "Welcome to Belgrade" and "Welcome to Serbia" in various languages and the Belgian postcard which was written in the constructed language the Belgian group performed in. The postcards were brought to an end by a stamp with this year's Eurovision logo.

According to RTS the stage represented native identities, history and modern themes, symbols and universally recognised messages. The confluence-themed stage also contained a large number of television and LCD display screens. The stage had settings for all new electronic possibilities including some movable parts of the stage.[20] It was designed by Chicago-based David Cushing.

The first semi-final was created around a city theme. The contest opened with a panorama of the city of Belgrade forming in the stage's background with two waves sliding down the stage to meet in the centre – at the confluence, the overall theme of the contest.

The second semi-final was based around the theme of water, which was enhanced by the look of the stage during the interval act where the water formed the main colours of the stage.

The grand final was based on the theme of the confluence. Construction of the stage lasted several days and was carried out by various teams from across Europe. Pyrotechnics were heavily used for the entries from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Finland, Germany, Turkey, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria and Switzerland. The stage received positive feedback from the media and fans describing it as "one of the best looking stages in the history of the competition".

Format

Aleksandar Josipović as part of the opening act of the second semi-final

At a press conference in Helsinki in May 2007, Svante Stockselius, executive supervisor of the Contest for the EBU, announced that the competition's format may be expanded to two semi-finals in 2008 or 2009.[21] On 28 September 2007 it was announced that the EBU had approved the plan of hosting two semi-finals in 2008.[22]

Based on research conducted by the EBU's tele-voting partner Digame, the semi-finalists were sorted into the two heats through the drawing of lots, which was seeded to keep countries that have a significant history of voting for each other apart. Each broadcaster had to broadcast the semi-final in which they took part, with the broadcasting of the other semi-final being optional. The draw for the semi-final allocation occurred in the City Assembly of Belgrade on Monday 28 January 2008 at 13:00 CET and was conducted by the hosts of the contest Jovana Janković and Željko Joksimović.

First, two envelopes with 'Semi-Final 1' and 'Semi-Final 2' were drawn. Then, three countries from each pot were chosen randomly to take part in the first semi-final and the other three in the second one. The country left in Pot 5 took part in the first envelope that is drawn. While, the country left in Pot 6 in the second one.[23]

The automatic grand finalist countries chose whether they would broadcast both semi-finals or just one, but viewers from these countries could only vote in one. From the draw conducted, it was decided which of the five grand finalist countries would broadcast and have voting rights in either of the events. The semi-finals were webcast live through Eurovision.tv.[24] The top nine songs from the televoting qualified for the grand final, and a tenth was determined by the back-up juries. Twenty-five songs competed in the grand final.[25]

Semi-final allocation

On 24 January 2008, all 38 countries in the semi-finals were separated into the following pots based on voting history and geographical location:

Pot 1 Pot 2 Pot 3 Pot 4 Pot 5 Pot 6

Running order

The draw to decide the running order of the songs in each semi-final and the grand final was conducted at the Heads of Delegation meeting on 17 March 2008.[26]

Participating countries

  Countries in the first semi-final
  Countries in the second semi-final
  Countries voting in the first semi-final
  Countries voting in the second semi-final

On 21 December 2007, the EBU confirmed that 43 countries would be present in Belgrade.[27] San Marino, as well as the newest EBU member, Azerbaijan, made its debut at the 2008 contest. Austria did not compete; its broadcaster, ORF, said "we've already seen in 2007 that it's not the quality of the song, but the country of origin that determines the decision."[8] Italy, which had not competed since 1997, and which would have been an automatic finalist, was again absent. Slovakia was absent due to budget problems.

The following countries competed in two semi-finals which were broadcast live on Tuesday 20 May and Thursday 22 May 2008. In addition to this, automatic grand finalists Germany and Spain exercised voting rights at the first semi-final. France, the United Kingdom and Serbia exercised voting rights at the second semi-final. Spain and France each broadcast only the semi-final in which they participated; Germany, Serbia and the UK screened both semi-finals (with Germany broadcasting on a delay).

Results

Semi-final 1

  • The first semi-final was held on 20 May 2008.
  • Germany and Spain voted in this semi-final.
  • Pale turquoise denotes the entry chosen by the jury to go to the grand final.
Draw Country Artist Song Language[28] Place Points
01  Montenegro Stefan Filipović "Zauvijek volim te" (Заувијек волим те) Montenegrin 14 23
02  Israel Boaz Ma'uda "The Fire in Your Eyes" Hebrew, English 5 104
03  Estonia Kreisiraadio "Leto svet" Serbian, German, Finnish 18 8
04  Moldova Geta Burlacu "A Century of Love" English 12 36
05  San Marino Miodio "Complice" Italian 19 5
06  Belgium Ishtar "O Julissi" Imaginary 17 16
07  Azerbaijan Elnur and Samir "Day After Day" English 6 96
08  Slovenia Rebeka Dremelj "Vrag naj vzame" Slovene 11 36
09  Norway Maria Haukaas Storeng "Hold On Be Strong" English 4 106
10  Poland Isis Gee "For Life" English 10 42
11  Ireland Dustin the Turkey "Irelande Douze Pointe" English[lower-alpha 1] 15 22
12  Andorra Gisela "Casanova" English, Catalan 16 22
13  Bosnia and Herzegovina Laka "Pokušaj" Bosnian 9 72
14  Armenia Sirusho "Qélé, Qélé" (Քելե Քելե) English, Armenian 2 139
15  Netherlands Hind "Your Heart Belongs to Me" English 13 27
16  Finland Teräsbetoni "Missä miehet ratsastaa" Finnish 8 79
17  Romania Nico and Vlad "Pe-o margine de lume" Romanian, Italian 7 94
18  Russia Dima Bilan "Believe" English 3 135
19  Greece Kalomira "Secret Combination" English 1 156

Semi-final 2

  • The second semi-final was held on 22 May 2008
  • The United Kingdom, France and Serbia voted in this semi-final.
  • Pale turquoise denotes the entry chosen by the jury to go to the grand final.
Draw Country Artist Song Language[28] Place[29] Points
01  Iceland Euroband "This Is My Life" English 8 68
02  Sweden Charlotte Perrelli "Hero" English 12 54
03  Turkey Mor ve Ötesi "Deli" Turkish 7 85
04  Ukraine Ani Lorak "Shady Lady" English 1 152
05  Lithuania Jeronimas Milius "Nomads in the Night" English 16 30
06  Albania Olta Boka "Zemrën e lamë peng" Albanian 9 67
07   Switzerland Paolo Meneguzzi "Era stupendo" Italian 13 47
08  Czech Republic Tereza Kerndlová "Have Some Fun" English 18 9
09  Belarus Ruslan Alekhno "Hasta la Vista" English[lower-alpha 2] 17 27
10  Latvia Pirates of the Sea "Wolves of the Sea" English 6 86
11  Croatia Kraljevi ulice and 75 Cents "Romanca" Croatian 4 112
12  Bulgaria Deep Zone and Balthazar "DJ, Take Me Away" English 11 56
13  Denmark Simon Mathew "All Night Long" English 3 112
14  Georgia Diana Gurtskaya "Peace Will Come" English 5 107
15  Hungary Csézy "Candlelight" English, Hungarian 19 6
16  Malta Morena "Vodka" English[lower-alpha 3] 14 38
17  Cyprus Evdokia Kadi "Femme Fatale" Greek 15 36
18  Macedonia Tamara, Vrčak & Adrian "Let Me Love You" English 10 64
19  Portugal Vânia Fernandes "Senhora do mar (Negras águas)" Portuguese 2 120

Grand final

The grand finalists were:

  • the big four France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom
  • the host country Serbia
  • the top nine countries from the first semi-final plus one wildcard from the juries (marked in pale turquoise)
  • the top nine countries from the second semi-final plus one wildcard from the juries (marked in pale turquoise)

The grand final was held on 24 May 2008 and was won by Russia.

Draw Country Artist Song Language[28] Place Points
01  Romania Nico and Vlad "Pe-o margine de lume" Romanian, Italian 20 45
02  United Kingdom Andy Abraham "Even If" English 25 14
03  Albania Olta Boka "Zemrën e lamë peng" Albanian 17 55
04  Germany No Angels "Disappear" English 23 14
05  Armenia Sirusho "Qélé, Qélé" (Քելե Քելե) English, Armenian 4 199
06  Bosnia and Herzegovina Laka "Pokušaj" Bosnian 10 110
07  Israel Boaz Ma'uda "The Fire in Your Eyes" Hebrew, English 9 124
08  Finland Teräsbetoni "Missä miehet ratsastaa" Finnish 22 35
09  Croatia Kraljevi ulice and 75 Cents "Romanca" Croatian 21 44
10  Poland Isis Gee "For Life" English 24 14
11  Iceland Euroband "This Is My Life" English 14 64
12  Turkey Mor ve Ötesi "Deli" Turkish 7 138
13  Portugal Vânia Fernandes "Senhora do mar (Negras águas)" Portuguese 13 69
14  Latvia Pirates of the Sea "Wolves of the Sea" English 12 83
15  Sweden Charlotte Perrelli "Hero" English 18 47
16  Denmark Simon Mathew "All Night Long" English 15 60
17  Georgia Diana Gurtskaya "Peace Will Come" English 11 83
18  Ukraine Ani Lorak "Shady Lady" English 2 230
19  France Sébastien Tellier "Divine" English, French 19 47
20  Azerbaijan Elnur and Samir "Day After Day" English 8 132
21  Greece Kalomira "Secret Combination" English 3 218
22  Spain Rodolfo Chikilicuatre "Baila el Chiki-chiki" Spanish, English 16 55
23  Serbia Jelena Tomašević feat. Bora Dugić "Oro" (Оро) Serbian 6 160
24  Russia Dima Bilan "Believe" English 1 272
25  Norway Maria Haukaas Storeng "Hold On Be Strong" English 5 182

Voting during the grand final

The voting order and spokespersons during the grand final were as follows:[30]

  1.  United KingdomCarrie Grant[31]
    (UK representative in the 1983 Contest as part of Sweet Dreams)
  2.  Macedonia – Ognen Janeski[32]
  3.  Ukraine – Marysya Horobets
  4.  GermanyThomas Hermanns[33]
  5.  EstoniaSahlene[34]
    (Estonian representative in the 2002 Contest)
  6.  Bosnia and Herzegovina – Melina Garibović[35]
  7.  AlbaniaLeon Menkshi
  8.  Belgium – Sandrine van Handenhoven[36]
  9.  San Marino – Roberto Moretti
  10.  Latvia – Kristīne Virsnīte[37]
  11.  Bulgaria – Valentina Voykova
  12.  Serbia – Dušica Spasić[38]
  13.  Israel – Noa Barak-Weshler
  14.  Cyprus – Hristina Marouhou[39]
  15.  Moldova – Vitalie Rotaru
  16.  Iceland – Brynja Þorgeirsdóttir
  17.  FranceCyril Hanouna[40]
  18.  RomaniaAlina Sorescu
  19.  PortugalSabrina[41]
    (Portuguese representative in the 2007 Contest)
  20.  NorwayStian Barsnes Simonsen
    (Co-Presenter of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2004)
  21.  HungaryÉva Novodomszky
  22.  Andorra – Alfred Llahí
  23.  Poland – Radek Brzózka[42]
  24.  SloveniaPeter Poles[43]
  25.  Armenia – Hrachuhi Utmazyan
  26.  Czech Republic – Petra Šubrtová
  27.  Spain – Ainhoa Arbizu[44]
  28.  NetherlandsEsther Hart[45]
    (Dutch representative in the 2003 Contest)
  29.  Turkey – Meltem Ersan Yazgan[46]
  30.  MaltaMoira Delia[47]
    (Presenter of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2014)
  31.  IrelandNiamh Kavanagh[48]
    (Winner of the 1993 and representative in the 2010 Contest)
  32.   Switzerland – Cécile Bähler[49]
  33.  AzerbaijanLeyla Aliyeva[50]
    (Co-Presenter of the 2012 Contest)
  34.  Greece – Alexis Kostalas[51]
  35.  FinlandMikko Leppilampi[52]
    (Co-Presenter of the 2007 Contest)
  36.  CroatiaBarbara Kolar
  37.  SwedenBjörn Gustafsson[53]
  38.  BelarusOlga Barabanschikova
  39.  Lithuania - Rolandas Vilkončius
  40.  RussiaOxana Fedorova
  41.  Montenegro – Nina Radulović[38]
  42.  GeorgiaTika Patsatsia[54]
  43.  Denmark – Maria Montell

Scoreboards

Semi-final 1

Voting procedure used:
  100% Televoting
  100% Jury vote
Televoting Results
Total score
Montenegro
Israel
Estonia
Moldova
San Marino
Belgium
Azerbaijan
Slovenia
Norway
Poland
Ireland
Andorra
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Armenia
Netherlands
Finland
Romania
Russia
Greece
Germany
Spain
Contestants
Montenegro 2311012
Israel 10452710410475761068544
Estonia 817
Moldova 3655161054
San Marino 523
Belgium 16610
Azerbaijan 963541051058324571078
Slovenia 36102212104122
Norway 106468371727810485124712
Poland 42103212123153
Ireland 22137412121
Andorra 224311112
Bosnia and Herzegovina 721216412123787
Armenia 139610258125312236124512121010
Netherlands 271382733
Finland 7921284236561214626
Romania 94812666653765311838
Russia 13581210738788447122681065
Greece 156775412101284610581083126127

12 points

Below is a summary of all 12 points in the first semi-final:

N.ContestantVoting nation
5ArmeniaBelgium, Greece, Netherlands, Poland, Russia
4GreeceAzerbaijan, Germany, Romania, San Marino
3Bosnia and HerzegovinaMontenegro, Norway, Slovenia
2
RussiaArmenia, Israel
FinlandAndorra, Estonia
1
AndorraSpain
MontenegroBosnia and Herzegovina
NorwayFinland
PolandIreland
RomaniaMoldova

Semi-final 2

Voting procedure used:
  100% Televoting
Televoting Results
Total score
Iceland
Sweden
Turkey
Ukraine
Lithuania
Albania
Switzerland
Czech Republic
Belarus
Latvia
Croatia
Bulgaria
Denmark
Georgia
Hungary
Malta
Cyprus
Macedonia
Portugal
France
Serbia
United Kingdom
Contestants
Iceland6810312541210751584
Sweden5482313121743136
Turkey85651273785481010
Ukraine15263127112126712712881061238
Lithuania3012108
Albania67178310151012253
Switzerland47105512717
Czech Republic91215
Belarus27106542
Latvia8678212566166641025
Croatia1124457536377638106106210
Bulgaria56566122113287165
Denmark11212124845104832312453841
Georgia1072110121081010421012277
Hungary6114
Malta38386443442
Cyprus36422825112
Macedonia64277841210212
Portugal120105846127838576331267

12 points

Below is a summary of all 12 points in the second semi-final:

N.ContestantVoting nation
6UkraineBelarus, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Georgia, Portugal, Turkey
3DenmarkHungary, Iceland, Sweden
2
GeorgiaCyprus, Ukraine
MacedoniaCroatia, Serbia
PortugalFrance, Switzerland
1
AlbaniaMacedonia
CyprusUnited Kingdom
LatviaLithuania
LithuaniaLatvia
SwedenDenmark
SwitzerlandMalta
TurkeyAlbania

Grand final

Voting procedure used:
  100% Televoting
  100% Jury vote
Televoting Results
Total score
United Kingdom
Macedonia
Ukraine
Germany
Estonia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Albania
Belgium
San Marino
Latvia
Bulgaria
Serbia
Israel
Cyprus
Moldova
Iceland
France
Romania
Portugal
Norway
Hungary
Andorra
Poland
Slovenia
Armenia
Czech Republic
Spain
Netherlands
Turkey
Malta
Ireland
Switzerland
Azerbaijan
Greece
Finland
Croatia
Sweden
Belarus
Lithuania
Russia
Montenegro
Georgia
Denmark
Contestants
Romania451631244123
United Kingdom1468
Albania55121341811087
Germany14122
Armenia19917662128858102112412512101210122712112
Bosnia and Herzegovina11055122101017627361210102
Israel12453545102726663353631718243653
Finland3510174427
Croatia44212105313823121
Poland14410
Iceland6462478467812
Turkey138874108101045108251061243264
Portugal6934651681085103
Latvia83107482327124310326
Sweden4723211371112518
Denmark60332712512224152
Georgia8385827311044544657
Ukraine2305443811076106753126610258781061063710684107
France47263813142485
Azerbaijan13281017433821277110212387107
Greece2181232121712812108512431288368536724565123643
Spain55114451012134811
Serbia16010812545127767412368112251061412
Russia272612712463126101281011065105671275158587106121288
Norway18276827276147510524187642375212112545510
Vertically, the table is ordered by appearance in the grand final. Horizontally, the table is ordered by voting order.

12 points

Below is a summary of all 12 points in the grand final:

N.ContestantVoting nation
8ArmeniaBelgium, Czech Republic, France, Georgia, Greece, Netherlands, Poland, Russia
7RussiaArmenia, Belarus, Estonia, Israel, Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine
6GreeceAlbania, Cyprus, Germany, Romania, San Marino, United Kingdom
4SerbiaBosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Slovenia, Switzerland
2 AzerbaijanHungary, Turkey
Bosnia and HerzegovinaCroatia, Serbia
DenmarkIceland, Norway
NorwayFinland, Sweden
RomaniaMoldova, Spain
1 AlbaniaMacedonia
GermanyBulgaria
IcelandDenmark
LatviaIreland
SpainAndorra
SwedenMalta
TurkeyAzerbaijan
UkrainePortugal

Other Awards

Marcel Bezençon Awards

The Marcel Bezençon Awards were first handed out during the Eurovision Song Contest 2002 in Tallinn, Estonia honoring the best competing songs in the grand final. Founded by Christer Björkman (Sweden's representative in the 1992 Eurovision Song Contest and current Head of Delegation for Sweden) and Richard Herrey (member of the Herreys, Eurovision Song Contest 1984 winner from Sweden), the awards are named after the creator of the annual competition, Marcel Bezençon.[55] For the only time, the awards were divided into 4 categories; Press Award; Poplight Fan Award; Artistic Award; and Composer Award.[56]

Category Country Song Performer(s) Composer(s) Final result Points
Artists Award
(Voted by previous winners)
 Ukraine "Shady Lady" Ani Lorak Philipp Kirkorov, Dimitris Kontopoulos
Karen Kavaleryan
2nd 230
Composer Award  Romania "Pe-o margine de lume" Nico and Vlad Andrei Tudor
Andreea Andrei, Adina Şuteu
20th 45
Poplight Fan Award
(voted by fans on the Swedish website poplight.se)[57]
 Armenia "Qélé, Qélé" Sirusho H.A. Der-Hovagimian
Sirusho
4th 199
Press Award  Portugal "Senhora do mar (Negras águas)" Vânia Fernandes Andrej Babić
Carlos Coelho
13th 69

OGAE

Organisation Générale des Amateurs de l'Eurovision (more commonly known as OGAE) is an international organisation that was founded in 1984 in Savonlinna, Finland by Jari-Pekka Koikkalainen.[58] The organisation consists of a network of 40 Eurovision Song Contest fan clubs across Europe and beyond, and is a non-governmental, non-political, and non-profitable company.[59] In what has become an annual tradition for the OGAE fan clubs, a voting poll was opened allowing members from different clubs around the world to vote for their favourite songs of the 2008 contest. Below is the top five overall results, after all the votes had been cast.[60]

Country Song Performer(s) Composer(s) OGAE result Eurovision Ranking
 Sweden "Hero" Charlotte Perrelli Bobby Ljunggren, Fredrik Kempe 308 18th
  Switzerland "Era stupendo" Paolo Meneguzzi Paolo Meneguzzi, Mattias Brånn, Vincenzo Incenzo 216 13th in semi-final
 Serbia "Oro" Jelena Tomašević feat. Bora Dugić Željko Joksimović, Dejan Ivanović 178 6th
 Iceland "This Is My Life" Eurobandið Örlygur Smári, Paul Oscar, Peter Fenner 145 14th
 Norway "Hold On Be Strong" Maria Haukaas Storeng Mira Craig 145 5th

Barbara Dex Award

The Barbara Dex Award has been annually awarded by the fan website House of Eurovision since 1997, and is a humorous award given to the worst dressed artist each year in the contest. It is named after the Belgian artist, Barbara Dex, who came last in the 1993 contest, in which she wore her own self designed dress.

Country Song Performer(s) Composer(s)
 Andorra "Casanova" Gisela Jordi Cubino

Broadcasting

Semi-finals broadcasts

As stated above, a country only has to broadcast the grand final and the semi-final when it is one of the competitors or voters. The United Kingdom,[61] San Marino, Greece, Croatia,[62] Ireland, Germany,[63] the Netherlands,[64] Norway,[65] Malta,[66] Serbia,[67] Finland,[68] Bosnia and Herzegovina,[69] Denmark,[70] Portugal,[71] Cyprus,[72] Israel,[73] Estonia,[34] Turkey,[74] Latvia,[75] Slovenia,[76] Russia,[77] Ukraine,[78] Lithuania, the Czech Republic,[79] Andorra,[80] Albania,[81] Bulgaria, Iceland,[82] Sweden,[83] Romania[84] and Australia confirmed they would broadcast both semi-finals (some in delay and some live).

International broadcasts

 Australia
Although Australia was not eligible to enter, the contest was broadcast on SBS. The first semi-final was broadcast on Friday 23 May at 19:30 local time, with the second semi-final on Saturday 24 May 2008 at 19:30 local time, and the Final on Sunday 25 May 2008 at 19:30 local time,[85] amongst a weekend of Eurovision-themed programming.[86] SBS local host Julia Zemiro provided introductory and concluding segments with SBS otherwise broadcasting the BBC's coverage and commentary.[87] In recent years the contest has been one of SBS's highest-rating programmes in terms of viewer numbers.[88] The grand final rated well for SBS with 427,000 viewers tuning in for the grand final with 421,000 for the second semi-final and 272,000 for the first semi-final.[89]
 Austria
In Austria, ORF broadcast the contest live and received high TV ratings. However, it did not broadcast the semi-finals on 20 and 22 May, which Austrians were able to watch on German television via ARD stations instead.[90]
 Italy
No Italian broadcaster proper showed the contest, but San Marinese SMRTV, which broadcast live the full event on both TV and radio, is available in some parts of Italy: Romagna (and a small part of Emilia, including Bologna), northern Marche, and southern Veneto, including Venice.[91]
 Worldwide
A live broadcast of the Eurovision Song Contest was available worldwide via satellite through European streams such as TVRi, ERT World, ARMTV, TVE Internacional, TRT International, TVP Polonia, RTP Internacional, RTS Sat and SVT Europa. The official Eurovision Song Contest website also provided a live stream without commentary via the peer to peer medium Octoshape.

High-definition broadcasts

RTS broadcast the event in 1080i high-definition (HD) and 5.1 Surround Sound. The new high-definition television system was in place at the Belgrade Arena by April 2008.[92] This is the second year that the event was broadcast live in HD. BBC HD broadcast the contest in High Definition in the United Kingdom. Swedish broadcaster SVT broadcast both the semi-final and the grand final on their HD-channel SVT HD. Lithuanian broadcaster LRT broadcast both the semi-final and the grand final in 1080i high-definition (HD) on their channel LTV. The same occurred on Swiss HD channel HD suisse; on this channel viewers were able to choose the language of the commentary while viewing a semi-final or grand final of the Eurovision Song Contest. However, all other countries broadcast the show only in standard definition, and the event will only be available to buy on a standard-definition DVD; it will not be released on HD-DVD or Blu-ray Disc.

Returning artists

Artist Country Previous year(s)
Roberto Meloni (part of Pirates of the Sea)  Latvia 2007 (part of Bonaparti.lv)
Dima Bilan  Russia 2006
Gisela  Andorra 2002 (Backing vocalist and Dancer for Rosa and Spain)
Charlotte Perrelli  Sweden 1999 (winner, as Charlotte Nilsson)

Commentators

Most countries sent commentators to Belgrade or commentated from their own country, in order to add insight to the participants and, if necessary, provide voting information.

Participating countries

The commentators of the 43 participating countries are as follows:

Country SF1 / SF2 / Final Commentator(s)
 Albania All Leon Menkshi (TVSH)
 Andorra All Meri Picart (RTVA)
Josep Lluís Trabal (RTVA)
 Armenia All Felix Khacatryan
Hrachuhi Utmazyan
 Azerbaijan All Isa Melikov (İctimai Televiziya və Radio Yayımları Şirkəti)
Hüsniyyə Məhərrəmova (İctimai Televiziya və Radio Yayımları Şirkəti)
 Belarus All Denis Kurian (Belarus 1)
Alexander Tikhanovich (Belarus 1)
 Belgium[93][94] All Jean-Pierre Hautier (French, La Une)
Jean-Louis Lahaye (French, La Une)
Patrick Duhamel (French, La Première)
Corinne Boulangier (French, La Première)
Bart Peeters (Dutch, één)
André Vermeulen (Dutch, één)
Michel Follet (Dutch, Radio 2)
Sven Pichal (Dutch, Radio 2)
 Bosnia and Herzegovina[95] All Dejan Kukrić (BHT1)
 Bulgaria All Elena Rosberg
Georgi Kushvaliev
 Croatia[96] All Duško Čurlić
 Cyprus[97] All Melina Karageorgiou (RIK 1)
 Czech Republic[98] All Kateřina Kristelová (ČT1)
 Denmark[99] All Nikolaj Molbech (DR1)
 Estonia[34] All Marko Reikop
 Finland[100] All Jaana Pelkonen (Finnish, YLE TV2)
Mikko Peltola (Finnish, YLE TV2)
Asko Murtomäki (Finnish, YLE TV2)
Sanna Kojo (Finnish, YLE Radio Suomi)
Jorma Hietamäki (Finnish, YLE Radio Suomi)
Thomas Lundin (Swedish, YLE FST5)
 France SF2 Peggy Olmi (France 4)
Yann Renoard (France 4)
Final Jean-Paul Gaultier (France 3)
Julien Lepers (France 3)
François Kevorkian (France Bleu)
 Georgia All Bibi Kvachadze
 Germany[101] All Peter Urban (Das Erste)[102]
Tim Frühling (Hessischer Rundfunk)[103]
Thomas Mohr (NDR 2)[104]
 Greece[105] All Maggira Sisters (NET)
Maria Kozakou (Second Programme)[106]
 Hungary[107] SF2 & Final Gábor Gundel-Takács (M1)
 Iceland[108] All Sigmar Guðmundsson (Sjónvarpið)
 Ireland[109][110] All Marty Whelan (RTÉ One)[111][112]
All Larry Gogan (RTÉ Radio 1)[113]
 Israel All No commentator
 Latvia All Kārlis Streips
 Lithuania All Darius Užkuraitis
 Macedonia All Milanka Rašik
 Malta[114] All Eileen Montesin
 Moldova All Lucia Danu
Vitalie Rotaru
 Montenegro All Dražen Bauković (TVCG2)
Tamara Ivanković (TVCG2)
 Netherlands[115] All Cornald Maas (Nederland 1)
 Norway[116] All Hanne Hoftun (NRK1)
Per Sundnes (NRK1)
 Poland[117] All Artur Orzech (TVP1)
 Portugal[118] All Isabel Angelino (RTP1)
 Romania All Andreea Demirgian (TVR1)
Leonard Miron (TVR1)
 Russia SF1 & Final Dmitry Guberniev(Rossiya 1)
Olga Shelest (Rossiya 1)
 San Marino All Gigi Restivo (SMRTV)
Lia Fiorio (SMRTV)
 Serbia[119] All Dragan Ilić (RTS1)
Mladen Popović (RTS1)
 Slovenia[120] All Andrej Hofer
 Spain[121] SF1 & Final José Luis Uribarri (La 1)
 Sweden[122][123] Final Carl Bildt (guest) (SVT1)
All Kristian Luuk and (SVT1)
Josef Sterzenbach (SVT1)
Carolina Norén (SR P3)[124]
  Switzerland[49][125] German Patrick Hässig (First Semi-Final) and Sven Epiney (Second Semi-Final and Final) (SF zwei)
French Jean-Marc Richard & Nicolas Tanner (TSR 1)
Italian Sandy Altermatt (RSI La 2)
 Turkey[126] All Bülend Özveren (TRT 1)
 Ukraine All Timur Miroshnychenko (First National TV Channel)
 United Kingdom[127][128] Semi-Finals Paddy O'Connell (BBC Three)
Caroline Flack (BBC Three)
Final Terry Wogan (BBC One)
Ken Bruce (BBC Radio 2)
Non-participating countries

The commentators of the non-participating countries are:

Country SF1/SF2/Final Commentator(s)
Australia[88] All Julia Zemiro (SBS)
 Austria[129] Final Andi Knoll (ORF2)

Official album

Eurovision Song Contest: Belgrade 2008
Compilation album by
Released12 May 2008
GenrePop
Length
  • 62:49 (CD 1)
  • 66:10 (CD 2)
LabelEMI, CMC
Eurovision Song Contest chronology
Eurovision Song Contest: Helsinki 2007
(2007)
Eurovision Song Contest: Belgrade 2008
(2008)
Eurovision Song Contest: Moscow 2009
(2009)

Eurovision Song Contest: Belgrade 2008 was the official compilation album of the 2008 Contest, put together by the European Broadcasting Union and released by EMI Records and CMC International on 12 May 2008.The album featured all 43 songs that entered in the 2008 contest, including the semi-finalists that failed to qualify into the grand final.[130]

Charts

Chart (2008) Peak
position
German Compilation Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[131] 5

Notes

  1. "Irelande Douze Pointe" is mostly sung in English; it also includes words and phrases in French, German, Italian and Spanish.
  2. "Hasta la Vista" is sung in English; it also contains Spanish.
  3. "Vodka" is sung in English; it also includes one phrase in Russian.

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