News - Eurovision Day 5: Press conferences summary | Eurovision Song Contest News - 2010 Oslo, Norway 

Montenegro 
South African citizenship for a member of the Montenegro delegation

The second press-conference of the Montenegro delegation was a short one – the journalists managed to ask just one question. HOD opened the press-conference in fluent Russian: “I would like to thank you for a warm welcome in one of the most beautiful cities in the world”. Members of the delegation enjoy their stay in Moscow very much and in order to show that, they performed a piece of the world-famous song of Dschinghis Khan – “Moskau”. 

According to Andrea Demirovic, “the second rehearsal was much better than the first one”. The author of the song Ralph Siegel was also in the centre of attention. It is his nineteenth entry at the Eurovision Song Contest. Probably in recognition of his contribution to the contest history and development, the journalist from the Republic of South Africa gave to Mr. Siegel a certificate entitling the composer to apply for the citizenship of RSA any time.

Czech Republic 
Radoslav Banga wants to stay in Moscow

In the very beginning of press-conference the lead artist of the Czech band “Gypsy.cz” shared his impressions of Moscow. “It is excellent here in Moscow. I would just change the weather a bit. Moscow girls are unbelievable. I’ve decided to stay here. And I will live here happily to the end of my life”, said Radoslav.  One of the journalists asked whether the decision that Czech Republic would be represented by “Gypsy.cz” at the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest had drawn any objections in the artists’ homeland. “Xenophobia is a problem in our society, so not everybody liked this idea. But our people continue to fight for greater tolerance”, the artist answered.
 
Those who keep on top of the band’s activity paid attention to the fact that their musical style had changed. Radoslav explained that he was eager to give a new impulse to their work, and Romany motives give exactly what he is searching for. “If anybody wants to become a Romany, they should do it by all means. They should just open their heart and start singing Romany songs”.

Pop-art symbols are used by “Gypsy.cz” as a visual backdrop to their show. The video sequence was prepared by an artist from Netherlands. “I think he is simply in love with our song”, said Radoslav. “He managed to create an image that is very close to how I feel”

Belgium 
Patrick Ouchene: “The cat is back! “

The contestant from Belgium, Patrick Ouchene opened the press-conference with a song by Elvis Presley, so that the press-conference room was filled with genuine rock’n’roll. The comb which Patrick lost before the first press-conference was found, and Patrick demonstrated to the audience how his makes his Elvis hair.

The Belgian delegation sang high praise to the contestant from Turkey. It turned out that Hadise was born in Belgium and she is quite popular in this country. “We will surely attend the Turkish party at the Eurodom!” the Belgians said.

The artists are planning to go to all the possible parties and teach everyone how to dance rock’n’roll as well as they do. “We can give choreography lessons even in the hall of the Cosmos hotel”, the backing artist added. To the question how the show partner – the cat – was doing, Patrick answered: “It feels perfect! The cat is back!”

Belarus
“There is never too much ice-cream”

The second press-conference of Petr Elfimov at the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest was as popular as the first one. Artists’ team gave presents to all the attendees, and the journalists got special gifts for the best questions. To the question when they will run out of ice-cream, executive producer Anastasiya Tikhonovich answered that they had brought 36 thousand cones. Petr in his turn was worried that someone might get ill from eating so much ice-cream, but the reaction of the audience proved quite the opposite.  

Petr told the journalists of his promo-tour of the European countries: Turkey, Greece, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Moldova, Ukraine and shared impressions of the Turkish cuisine and eastern hospitality. “It was unforgettable”, said the artist. In one of the Turkish restaurants he even sang together with a local band.  

Petr is widely popular in his homeland: according to the representative of the Belarusian mass-media, young people buy up white leather trousers, the cult of which was introduced by Petr (he was wearing the same kind of trousers at today’s rehearsal).  Dima Koldun who represented Belarus at the 2007 Eurovision Song Contest and got the sixth place, came to support his compatriot this year.  In the end of press-conference members of the delegation reminded to the journalists of the Belarusian party in EURODOM in the evening.

Sweden
Malena Ernman back in Moscow

The press-conference of the Swedish delegation proved to be the shortest one this morning. Although Malena Ernman had to leave Moscow right after the first rehearsal to take care of few things, she managed to be right in time for the second rehearsal. “I was in Vienna, where I have a contract. Then I had to go to Stockholm. I was given one of the leading parts in a theatre play. According to the plot, my character dies during the play,” she said.

“Although you are very busy now, I’ve heard that you are smiling and joking during rehearsals. You are always in good mood. What’s your secret?” one of the journalists wondered. “I always try to stay positive, and I never get too tense about things,” Malena answered.

Before the national finals in Sweden there was a general opinion among the press that the opera diva would not be a favourite at the contest. “I am still astonished by the fact that I went on to sing at the Eurovision”, the singer admitted. “I’m so happy to be here at this year’s contest”.

Slovakia
Nela and Kamil to get married? 

The Slovak duo had to come out on top of as many as 170 rivals back in the national qualifying rounds to get to this year’s contest. According to a Slovak spokesman,  Nela’s story is similar to that of Cinderella. At the age of 8 she made her first singing debut; and by 14 she became a professional singer. Currently, Nela is very popular in her country, she plays in musicals and stars in TV shows.

Unlike Nela, it took her partner Kamil Mikulcik some time to carve out his singing career. At the age of 18 he wrote music for a theatre play. The producer of the show saw his talent and offered him a role instead of an actor who had fallen ill.  Nela and Kamil became such good friends during the rehearsals, that today Nela jokingly declared their intention to get married next month. “As for Kamil, he doesn’t know about it yet,” she said. “He’s got a girl-friend,” she added. “That’s not a problem for me,” Kamil replied, reaping laughter and applause in the audience.

When asked about what they think of the new rules for the contest, the duo said that the rules fully comply with the contest’s traditions. Actually, they will make the grading even more objective. The journalists wondered what the duo had been doing over the past couple of weeks. Nela and Kamil replied that they had had enough time to record an English version of their song. “As for other languages, we are going to release the lyrics, when we win!” Kamil added.

Andorra
 “We are on best of terms with Spain”

At the second Andorran press-conference it became obvious that Susanne Georgi is now feeling absolutely at home at the Contest. She was at ease with the host and even kissed him as if he were her best friend.  Susanna said that she likes it in Moscow: “Yesterday, I even bought a famous Russian doll with a girl’s face,” she said. “It’s called Matryoshka,” the host corrected her. The Andorran artist also had the opportunity to sample Russian cuisine, and she enjoyed it at lot.

When asked which country she supports, she said that she would be supporting Denmark since she had been born in that country. “If I don’t win, I hope that Denmark will have better luck”.

The delegation mentioned that some journalists reported Susanne to hold a grudge against the Spanish contestant. The Andorran delegation, however, denied any negative feelings towards their competitors. “There is no enmity between us and Spain. We are on very good terms. Soraya is one of the strongest contestants here in Moscow. It’s a shame there are such rumours spread”, said the head of delegation Maria Creu Rosell Nicholas.

Switzerland
“We do not care about grades”

The Swiss Lovebugs are having an excellent time in Moscow. “It’s a wonderful city!” said Stephan Wagner, one of the lead artists, to the press. They spend their free time rehearsing and putting final touches upon their show. At their second rehearsal today, they had to pick one out of three image backdrops for their stage set. Their choice will be kept secret until the semi-finals.
 
Asked by the press what they expect from the contest, the Lovebugs said that they don’t think of grades, they just want to do their best at the show.

Their song The Highest Heights is not so much about love. It’s more about one’s fear to stumble and to make a mistake. The band has been active for about 15 years now, so they know it’s firsthand that it’s very important to have close friends around you. “We are like one big family, we love each other and only rarely have fights.” 

Asked by the press to what degree their lifestyle corresponds to the popular  perception of a rock band, they admitted that ten years ago they had lived like ‘real rockers’ with everything that went with it: booze, arguments and brawls. “But now we’ve mellowed a bit. It’s too expensive to crush walls in hotels, after all,” Stephan said.

Turkey
Press-conference to the sound of tambourines

The Turkish delegation turned their second meeting with the press into a real show by presenting the journalists with tambourines and treating them with Turkish delights before the event started.

Inspired by the cordial welcome, the journalists showered the singer questions. First of all, they asked whether Hadise was ever invited to represent Belgium. “Though I was born in Belgium,” she said, “I am Turkish. I’ve done much for Belgium, but now it’s my turn to do something for Turkey”.

The press was also keen to know more about the accident during the rehearsal when one of the performers had to be carried off the stage on a stretcher. Hadise thanked the journalists for caring and said that the artist had lost consciousness due to a sharp drop in blood pressure. Now, the girl is feeling just fine and there is no reason for concern, she added.

 In reply to a question from an Azeri journalist, Hadise promised to give a concert in Baku (capital of Azerbaijan): “I’d really like to do it. There are a lot of good-looking men over there, and I’ve got a lot of nice songs for them,” she added. However, the exact date for the concert is not known yet.

It transpired during the press-conference that Hadise is going to release another two of her albums fairly soon. One of them will be in Turkish, the other one in English; the latter scheduled for release just two weeks from now. “This is the record time for me!  But I don’t want to stop at that, I want to go on growing professionally.”

Hadise finished her press-conference by asking the journalists to play the tambourines they were given to the song she was singing.

Israel
Israeli singers work for peace

The second press-conference of the Israeli delegation has proved to be the most emotional one. The conference hall was packed with journalists and flag-waving fans, who had come to greet their favorite singers.

Mira Awad and Noa opened the event by singing a song from their new album scheduled for European release on the May, 11 2009.

According to the Israeli delegation, the second rehearsal had been more successful than the first one. “Now that we’ve resolved some problems with the light and cameras, we can convey the real spirit of our song,” they said.

The journalists were amazed at the fact that both performers were going to be dressed in black while singing a song about hope. “One shouldn’t be biased against black colour and put their faith in the common stereotype that white is good and black is bad. In our case, black is the colour of hope. Besides, it looks better on TV screen. And we are just ordinary girls who want to look good,” said Noa with a smile.

A music expert from Oxford inquired why the band had decided to present such a politically charged song. Noa responded that she has been working for peace throughout her singing career: “I have a chance to be in the centre of attention, so I should use it to work for peace”.

Bulgaria
Bulgaria called on journalists not to make drama of nothing

The Bulgarian delegation has been the highest of the ones in Eurovision 2009. At the second press conference  the dancers were up on stilts. The singer Krassimir Avramov was a little tired. He explains this by the fact that the second repetition was very successful and fruitful.

During his free time the Bulgarian delegation walks on Moscow. Krassimir has not visited Moscow in more than a decade: "Moscow has become a very modern city. I spent a few hours admiring the streets. "

When the conversation turned into that a member of the Bulgarian team would have been in an accident in the previous rehearsal, Krassimir dispelled the rumours. He assured the journalists that all is well with him and his team, just one of the dancers walking on stilts had had a small problem. Krassimir has urged journalists not to give free rein to their imagination and make a mountain of a molehill.

Regarding his plans after the competition, Avramov said he hopes to go on tour to different countries around the world. The singer said he loves chocolate and eats it in large quantities despite its harmful influence on the body. Before a concert the singer is trying to eat less.

Iceland
The Icelandic singer sings in Russian

The press conference was opened by the impressions on the second repetition. Johanna loved the sound and in her opinion she is well prepared to its manifestation.
One of the journalists noted that "for a singer who is only eighteen years old it is a very beautiful event, and asked if it is not easier for Johanna rehearse without the final dress. The singer said that this is the costume to help him get into the role of the character and "feel better the soul and spirit of the song."

Johanna will sing the song Is it you in English and journalists wanted to know about what are the differences from the Icelandic version. The composer explained that the song was written 6 years ago in London. It has been already translated into several languages, and after the press conference Johanna sung a capella in a Russian version. In the words of the chorus have been transformed from "Is it you" into "I do not sleep (Nyet splu ya)" into Russian. 

FYR Macedonia
“We are not here to compete”

At their second press-conference, the Macedonian band shared their impressions of the first several days they had spent in Moscow. The artists made a tour of the city; they went to a Moscow café and met with Russian girls. Stephan Phillipovski bought a Russian hat to take away with him as a souvenir. Besides, it transpired that they spend their free time in the company of the Maltese team.

The Macedonians do not mind the fact this year’s winner will be elected by both viewers and a jury. “It doesn’t really matter who casts their vote. Once the song is there, you can’t change it. The guys will just do their very best to get the highest score”, one of the team members Maya Balevska explained. 

The journalists wondered how the twins had elected the lead singer. It turned out that Martin, the band’s backing singer, prefers to play the guitar whereas Stephan likes singing.  He even receives a classical vocal training. 

When asked about the secret of their success, Stephan said: “You simply ought to be honest with others and yourself and not to become swell-headed.”

The singer wrapped up the press-conference by thanking all of their fans for encouragement. He said that they did not have any rivals in Moscow since they had not come here to compete, but “to do their very best to give others an idea of themselves and their country”.