Eurovision Bonanza, 19/04/2024

RTL Today - The Lisa Burke Show

From soft diplomacy to block voting, Luxembourg's last entrant in 1993 to Tali, this show is full of Eurovision fun & folklore before the big day in May!
Eurovision!
We’re almost there!
Eurovision 2024 will take place in Malmö, Sweden, on 11 May with semi-finals on 7 and 9 May. It is the third time that Malmö has hosted the Eurovision Song Contest following 1992 and 2013 editions, and the seventh for Sweden. It’s happening in Sweden of course because of Loreen’s win in Liverpool in 2023.
Tali Golergant, the artist representing Luxembourg, will be performing in the first of the two semi-finals. The ‘big five’ (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK) are pre-qualified for the Grand Final.
The Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) is the single biggest event to bring Europeans (and a global audience) together. It was even sponsored by the European Commission for some time. More people vote in this competition than the European elections. It is a strong tool of cultural diplomacy.
Dr. Dean Vuletic has given the Eurovision Song Contest deep academic analysis. He designed the world’s first university course on Eurovision, which he taught at New York University. Whilst a researcher at the University of Vienna, he researched and wrote the first-ever scholarly book on the history of Eurovision, Postwar Europe and the Eurovision Song Contest. He currently teaches at the University of Luxembourg, amongst other roles. You can find Dean’s commentaries, interviews and op-eds across global media. Dr. Vuletic can also be seen featured in films such as ‘When Franco Stole Eurovision’ and ‘Eurovision: Secrets and Scandals’, amongst others.
The competition has been in existence since 1956, and Luxembourg will be taking part for the first time since 1993 when Jimmy Martin performed. Jimmy talks about performing in Millstreet, County Cork, and the changes to Eurovision since that time. Jimmy was already an established rock musician before Eurovision and has continued to make that his career.
The BBC used the phrase ‘United by Music’ and that’s now been taken as an official slogan for the contest going forward. The Eurovision Lights serve as the theme art which is meant to conceptualise the northern lights and sound equalizers.
And 37 public broadcasters will be present.
Eric Lehmann is Head of the Luxembourgish Delegation and has attended the ESC since 1998. Eric talks about building the necessary team to support Luxembourg’s re-entry to the Eurovision Song Contest, and the pre-selection process through the Luxembourg Song Contest. Part of the team Eric had to build around Tali includes hair & make-up. And in that position is the very talented Luca de Michèle who has worked on many fashion shows around the world.
Roger Saurfeld has attended Eurovision since 2000 and is one of the organisers for the Eurovision Previews such as that in Bissen on 19 April where all the Luxembourg Song Contest candidates will perform their entries with money donated to the LUkraine asbl.
Rafaela Teixeira, or Rafa Ela, one of the eight finalists of the Luxembourg Song Contest, talks about the family built through the competition process and her own music writing as a form of connection with others and to her own life experiences.
Let us know your thoughts on all things Eurovision! Will you be watching? Who’s your first choice? Do you believe Eurovision can be a cultural force for political good?
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