Times Square's Tonic hosts annual Melodifesitvalen party!

In what has become a NYC Eurovision tradition, Time Square's Tonic Bar hosted its annual Melodifestivalen viewing party!

More than 150 eager Eurovision fans, Swedes in NYC, and friends of, gathered on Saturday, 10 March, to watch together over some food, drinks and good company the final of the Swedish selection to Eurovision, aka, Melodifestivalen.

For many, Melodifestivalen is a mini Eurovision or the official kick off event for Eurovision season. 

After a close and nail biting votes for some, bookies favorite, Benjamin Ingrosso, ended up winning with Dance You Off. 

credit: Julio Moscoso 

credit: Julio Moscoso 

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VISAGE AND MATTHEWS ARE BACK! LOGO TV To Broadcast Eurovion Final On 12 May!

LOGO TV, Viacom’s LGBTQ+ channel, is confirmed to broadcast the final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 in Lisbon on 12 May. This will be the third consecutive year LOGO will air the show live.

American viewers can still watch the show on the eurovision.tv live stream or foreign tv channels that are available in the USA, such as Portugal’s RTP and Spain’s International RTVE.

LOGO also announced that last year’s commentators, Michelle Visage and Ross Matthews would be back this year to the commentary seat. Visage and Matthews are of course best known for their appearances on RuPaul’s Drag Race. Matthews has also recently increased his popularity on US cable tv primetime, after finishing close second on CBS’ first season of Celebrity Big Brother.

HOST COUNTRY BANS RUSSIAN ENTRANT OVER CRIMEA TOUR

As expected, host-country Ukraine announced earlier today, 22 March, that Russian entrant, Yulia Samoylova is banned  from entering the country for three years following her 2015 visit to annexed Crimea, violating local legislation. This obviously means, she won't be able to participate at the upcoming 62nd Eurovision Song Contest in Kiyv, this coming May. 

Samoylova admitted she  participated in a 2015 concert in Crimea to promote sport, just a  year after the peninsula was annexed by Russia. 

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), following this news, has released the following  statement: "It has been confirmed to the EBU that the Ukrainian authorities have issued a travel ban on the Russian artist chosen for the Eurovision Song Contest, Julia Samoylova, as she has been judged to have contravened Ukrainian law by entering Crimea in order to perform. We have to respect the local laws of the host country, however we are deeply disappointed in this decision as we feel it goes against both the spirit of the Contest, and the notion of inclusive that lies at the heart of its values. We will continue a dialogue with the Ukrainian authorities with the aim of ensuring that all artists can perform at the 62nd Eurovision Song Contest in Kyiv in May.".

Later on, the EBU suggested Julia would remain in Russia and perform via satellite, a much welcome compromise which unfortunately was rejected by both parties. 

We remain hopeful this situation is quickly resolved where all countries are allowed to participate and perform while respecting host country's law.

Host country to decide on Russian singer's participation

Just a couple of days, on Sunday, Russia announced that former X Factor star, Julia Samoylova, would  represent her country in Kiyv this year. Julia, who has been using a wheel-chair since childhood, is scheduled to  perform her entry "Flame Is Burning" during the second semi-final  on May 11th. However, shortly after the announcement it was host country Ukraine who is now trying to disqualify Julia's participation.  Ukraine said Monday that it may bar Julia from entering the country, on the grounds that she illegally toured Crimea after Russia annexed the peninsula back in 2014. The singer has confirmed  that she indeed sang in Crimea. 

Meanwhile, Mr. Jon Ola Sand, EBU's  Executive Supervisor of the Eurovision Song Contest, has stated in a press conference that “we fully respect and understand the laws of Ukraine, but from the point of European Broadcasting Union (EBU) we have no objections to the Russian delegation and do not see any violations on their part.”  Having said that, the EBU is giving the final decision to the Ukrainian government as to whether Julia can enter the country to compete in May and  "will respect it".  A final decision will be made in the next week or so. Stay tuned!

Bringing Eurovision Closer to YOU

Bringing Eurovision Closer to YOU

This site was launched in 2016 for followers of the Eurovision Song Contest around the Globe, outside of Europe and the participating countries with a focus on North America. Our mission is to bring this contest, one of the most watched televised shows in the world, closer to you, make it accessible and fun to everybody, and promote different styles of music as well as young and established artists competing in this competition. We believe music continues to bring people together especially from different cultures, and our goal is to celebrate this through Eurovision.