With Alexander Rybak’ victory in Eurovision 2009 in Moscow, the next Eurovision Song Contest will be held in Norway.

The first two semi-finals of the 55th Eurovision Song Contest are scheduled on 18 and 20 May 2010, and the final is on 22 May 2010.

Today, 17 May, is a Day of national celebration and pride in Norway, and the country is celebrating twice.

The Prime Minister of Norway, Jens Stoltenberg, stated “It’s a great holiday”.

The crowds were coming out on the streets of Norway towns and villages all the night to celebrate their victory. Alexander Ryback is the third winner, after Bobbysocks in 1985 and Secret Garden in 1995, which brings the Eurovision Song Contest first prize to Norway.

The decision about a place of the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest will be made by the Norvegian national TV broadcaster NRK in the near future.

Odds are it will be Telenor Arena in Oslo.

Telenor Arena is a multi-use indoor stadium located at Fornebu in the municipality of Bærum, Norway. It will be used mostly for football matches and is the new home ground of the football club Stabæk, who played at Nadderud stadion from 1961 to 2008. The stadium was opened ahead of the 2009 season in Norwegian football.

In June 2008, the telecommunications company Telenor acquired the naming rights to the stadium in a deal lasting until 2018. Prior to this, the stadium was known informally as Fornebu Arena, and while still in the concept stages as Blue Dream Arena. It is also referred to by supporters as Hangar’n (the hangar in English), as the stadium resembles a hangar and is located on the premises of the former main airport of Oslo.

The structure will be a single-tiered bowl attached to a seven-storey building on one side containing retail space, restaurants and bars for the premium-priced seats, executive boxes, and offices. As originally planned, the stadium was to have a retractable roof, but due to the high costs involved it was decided that there would instead be a fixed roof covering both the stands and the pitch. For football matches and other sporting events the total capacity will be approximately 15,600, whereas for concerts it will be up to 23,000.

The Fornebu Arena project has its origins in Stabæk’s rapid ascent from the lower divisions of Norwegian football to the top division in the first half of the 1990s. Although several improvements have been made to their current home ground Nadderud stadion since then, including the construction a new main stand in 1996, it remains severely lacking in facilities, and does not meet national requirements for hosting football matches at the highest level. After initially seeking to buy and redevelop Nadderud, which is owned by the municipality, the club started to work towards moving to a new stadium elsewhere in Bærum instead.

In 1999 the club settled on Fornebu, the site of a large urban development project. Lengthy negotiations between the club, the municipality and the area’s main developer came to an end in 2005 and the plans gained final approval on 21 June 2006. Demolition of existing structures on site began on 17 February 2007 and construction began shortly after.

The project has an estimated cost of 585 million NOK.

The first match played at the stadium was a pre-season friendly between Stabæk and IFK Göteborg on 24 January 2009, which ended in a goalless draw. This was followed by a sold-out AC/DC concert on 18 February, the first concert on the European leg of the their Black Ice World Tour. Trond Olsen of Rosenborg became the first player to score a goal at Telenor Arena as Rosenborg defeated Stabæk 1–0 in another pre-season friendly, on 27 February.

The stadium was officially opened on 8 March 2009 with a “Charity Shield”-style match between league champions Stabæk and cup champions Vålerenga, which ended in a 3–1 win for Stabæk. Daniel Nannskog scored the first ever Stabæk goal at Telenor Arena in the 19th minute of the game. The net proceeds of the match were donated to UNICEF.

(Wikipedia)

Elena Gheorghe Likes to be Sexy, and what Eurovision Contestants Do in their Spare Time

Ivan Toporischev, Moscow, exclusively for Eurovision Mania

Elena Gheorghe likes to be sexy. In her interview she said that she is very glad that people like her appearance, but she thinks that her voice is much more important than her body.

When the Romanian singer was asked to tell about her first rehearsal, she answered that it was rather difficult, and they had to make some changes in their act. She hopes that everything will be alright by the next rehearsal, and their performance will be superb.

The journalist also asked Elena what she thinks about her status as the hottest Eurovision singer, and the fact that her song is thought to be the sexiest song at Eurovision 2009.  Elena told that it is very flattering, because a lot of people tell her that they like her and her song very much. However, she added that her voice is much more important, and that she hopes that if people really like her, they will vote for her. Elena got to Moscow on a private plane, and told that her flight was very quiet and pleasant, so she could sleep without any problems.

The other Eurovision singers are also busy making their acts perfect. However, despite the intensive rehearsal schedule, they try to have a bit of rest and get acquainted with the Russian capital.

The Greek singer Sakis Rouvas did not know that he has a lot of fans in Russia; they even have created his fan-club. But when he knew about it, he managed to find some time to meet his fans and go for a walk with them.

The Eurovision contestants’ life is not easy. They spend a lot of time rehearsing their acts, and can hardly have any rest. However, some of them still find time and energy for other things.

The Danish singer Brinck wanted to play football. The fact is that in his childhood he could not make up his mind and decide what to choose: acting on the stage or playing in the football field. And that football match was a remarkable illustration of his sportive past and musical present.

Yohanna from Iceland asked to show her the ancient Russia. She wanted to see everything: wooden houses, traditional way of life and old Russian dresses. And she had her personal reason for that. The refrain of her song is in Russian. And that excursion was a good chance for her to understand her act and her image better, although she does not understand all the words that she is singing in her song.

Alexander Rybak

The Norwegian contestant – Alexander Rybak – speaks Russian without any accent, because he was born in Belarus. He was born in Minsk, and when he was 5, his family moved to Norway. Last time he was in Moscow 5 years ago. And his participation in Eurovision 2009 is full of good signs and hints. For example, the Eurovision Semi-Finals are going to take place on the 12th and 14th of May. The Eurovision Final will happen on the 16th of May. And Alexander has his birthday on the 13th of May. And that is not all. His mom is celebrating her 50th birthday on the 17th of May. And the day after the Norwegians are celebrating their Independence Day.

Petr Elfimov and Alexander Rybak Support Each Other

Pictures: Natalia Gubernatorova, mk.ru

Kirkorov Comes to Meet Alexander Rybak, Journalists Laugh until they Cry at Intars Busulis’s Press Conference

Ivan Toporischev, Moscow, exclusively for Eurovision Mania
Intars Busulis from Latvia opened the press conference that started yesterday, early in the morning. Intars answered questions in a very easy manner and told that he always behaves like this. He also added that he has some masks but he does not show them because he just does not need them. All that he needs is his natural charisma.

The cheerful climate created by the Latvian singer was further backed up by the Serbian musicians. They started to improvise straightway in the press conference room. Marco – a member of the Serbian group – has already acted at Eurovision. Last year he represented Montenegro as a song writer. He said that he likes the German song, because it sounds like something very amusing from the 90-s. Marco also likes Norway, as well as Montenegro, Slovenia, Bosnia, and Armenia.

Lidia Kopania, a Polish singer, confessed that initially she wanted to be a doctor. However, if she really were a doctor, she could hardly come to Eurovision. Lidia also remarked that she is not going to astonish the audience with open clothes and half-naked body, as it sometimes happens at Eurovision. Her act is full of good mood and encourages people not to be afraid of any changes in their lives.

When Alexander Rybak started to rehearse his act, there were so many people in the room that one could have thought that ordinary viewers were allowed to come in. These people were Eurovision staff members and journalists who came to watch the first rehearsal of the young Norwegian singer.

Alexander Rybak

Alexander Rybak. Photo (c) iBoy71

At the press conference it became obvious that not only bookmakers think that Rybak is going to win the Contest, but journalists too. Alexander did not try to conceal his joy when he heard all these compliments. He spoke to the journalists in English, and even in Russian. However, Dmitriy Shepelev, who administered the press conference, had to help Alexander with his Russian. Although Alexander Rybak was born in Belarus, most of his life he has spent in Norway.

After the press conference, Alexander gave an interview. When the journalist told that at the press conference people were laughing until they cried, Alexander said: “I hope they were laughing WITH me, and not AT me”. No doubt, they were laughing WITH Alexander.

“It is very good that the journalists here are so benevolent. Eurovision is a great thing. Everybody stops thinking about wars. Some people try to bring politics into it, but it is not right. The main thing here is music. I have a lot of free time and I want to meet Russian people. I have already met Kirkorov. Yesterday I watched a TV program about him and was thinking what a nice person he is, and here he comes and says that he is my fan”.

“Kirkorov came to “Olimpiyski” especially to meet you.” – “Really? Thank you!”

After 11 years of absence Slovakia has come back to Eurovision. The Slovaks insisted on Eurovision broadcasting in their country, because they believe that Eurovision is an integral part of European culture.

The Danish singer Brinck was the last one to rehearse his performance. In his song, called “Believe again”, he tries to convince us that we should always believe in love.