Monday, June 4, 2012

Sweden welcomes you, Eurovision 2013!

WE WON!!! We actually won, Eurovision Song Contest 2012! Or actually, Loreen won! I can't be more thrilled for her, and for Sweden!

Loreen turned out to be popular all over Europe. All participating countries, except Italy, gave Sweden points. With 372 points, we were clear winners with 113 points down to the first runner-up. Loreen is the artist who has been awarded second most total points in Eurovision history, after Norwegian Alexander Rybak. However, she did succeed in braking a record, for being awarded more 12 points than any other artist before her.

With 259 points, Russia was voted as the first runner-up, which to me is a scandal! I had much more respect for the second runner-up, Serbia! As happy as I am over Sweden's success, I can't help but wonder what happened to our Scandinavian neighbors. Out of the 26 countries in the finale, Iceland finished 20, Denmark 23 and Norway 26! I didn't particularly care much for the Norwegian contribution, but they were by no means the worst!

So, what will happen next? Sweden will welcome all of Europe, and anyone else interested, on to our turf. Exactly which city turf is not yet decided. However, the dates are pretty much set and week 20 will be Eurovision week, with semi-finals May 14 and May 16. The Eurovision finale will be held on Saturday, May 18, 2013.

There are several factors to take under consideration when deciding which city get to host the finale. The first bet would be Stockholm, being the capitol city. However, as many times before, Gothenburg has been favored as the event city. Out of the four previous times Sweden has hosted Eurovision Song Contest, it has been held in Stockholm twice and Gothenburg and Malmö once respectively. There are also other, more unusual, factors to consider this time around. Over the same period, Stockholm is scheduled to host the Ice-hockey World Championship (May 3 - May 19). Meanwhile, in Gothenburg, 65 000 runners (and 200 000 spectators) are expected to participate in the worlds largest half marathon, on Saturday, the same Saturday as the Eurovision finale. Will these two events provide the Eurovision Song Contest with an even more spectacular backdrop, or will it deter the Eurovision Committee but creating too much pressure on the hotel and public transport capacities?

I wish I had more information to share, but I'll try to keep you updated. For now, I will wrap up this year's Eurovision coverage with a walk down memory lane. Enjoy!

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