Moscow braced for Eurovision fever
Published 02 May, 2009, 21:08
With just ten days to go before Moscow hosts the 54th Eurovision Song Contest, the performers have started to arrive in the Russian capital. Rehearsals for the show start on Sunday.
Russia is staging the competition for the first time after Dima Bilan won last year’s event in Serbia.
Organisers have finished work at the Olympiyski Indoor Arena, which is hosting the competition. The venue has an impressive record at hosting major TV events in recent years, including the all-European tennis and basketball finals. For the Eurovision, it has been transformed into a giant concert hall.
An audience of some 25,000 will be crammed into the arena for what promises to be a spectacular show. Hundreds of millions across Europe and beyond will watch live on television.
But the competition is more than just one night. It takes place over a week, from May 10 to May 16.
The first semi-final will be held on May 12, with singers from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sweden, Israel, Belgium, Andorra, Czech Republic, Montenegro, Iceland, Armenia, Bulgaria, Portugal, Switzerland, Macedonia, Finland, Belarus, Turkey, Romania and Malta.
The second semi-final will be held on May 14. Singers from Slovenia, Denmark, Azerbaijan, Netherlands, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Serbia, Norway, Ukraine, Greece, Poland, Croatia, Estonia, Moldova, Cyprus, Ireland, Slovakia and Albany will fight for a place in the final.
Meanwhile, France, Germany, Spain, and the UK, as the co-founders, and Russia as the latest winner, have already secured their places in the final.
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