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INTERNATIONAL
JURY
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05
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AMAR
HODZIC
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BENEDEK FARKAS
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DOUWE REVELER
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ELENA LUNDQVIST
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ELIAS ANTONIADES
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USA
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Romania
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Netherlands
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Finland
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Cyprus
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Hello
Europe
and Hello World!
I'm Amar and I live in the
United States
, no worries
though, I'm originally from
Bosnia
so I truly have a
feel for what Eurovision is all about! I'm 19 years old but 10 years old
in the Eurovision community; 2005 was the year that I was first introduced
to this song contest and I was immediately captivated. Ever since that
first experience, I've been very musically inclined and have developed a
true feel for judging music and judging how audiences will respond to
certain songs and performances (even though I'm not the slightest bit
talented in producing music). I am very open minded with music, artists,
and performances and will take every genre into consideration equally and
fairly. I am definitely looking forward to seeing what this year brings
and I hope my critiques will be entertaining and accurate on the
scoreboard in May!
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I’m
married with a 4 year old child and live with my family in the city called
Targu Mures. As for my professional career I’m acting, I have finished
the
University
of
Theatre
and TV in
Cluj Napoca
,
Romania
and right now I’m
learning at the
University
of
Art
in Targu Mures, PhD in
acting. I performed from 2003 till now in more then 70 plays, musicals in
theatres (Hungarian National Theater Cluj Napoca, National Theater Targu
Mures, Romanian National Theater Cluj Napoca, Tomcsa
Sandor Theater
etc .).I also work sometime as model and I’m doing TV,
Radio works too. I’m a huge Eurovision fan from 1999 so I’m new guy
but I love it, enjoy it and watching it a lot. My point of view is always
to be objective and fair. I’m always watching the song and contender in
a package without watching from which country is the person and song. I
would love to see
Europe
does the same. Unfortunately not till now. I hope it will change.
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My
love of the Eurovision Song Contest spans more than 30 years and started
when I discovered a book that my Mom used to note all of the points
allocated on Eurovision night. My earliest
ESC
memory is watching the
1978 show and thinking how fantastic it was. Since then I have had the
great fortune of being able to attend several national finals as well as 9
actual Eurovisions - 1989, 2004, 2008 - 2014 (with front row seats in
Moscow
- an absolute highpoint
and unforgettable experience!!) This year in
Copenhagen
I was Delegation
Host for
Azerbaijan
which gave me the
opportunity to witness things from a very different perspective
which was fascinating.
Vienna
is just around
the corner and although the contest has grown and undergone many
changes its still as much fun as it always was.
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My
name is Elena, and I'm am 26 years old multi-geek.
I'm
born into a household where the eurovision song contest is a more
celebrated holiday than Christmas, so I haven't had much of a chance to
not be a fan of
ESC
. My first esc-memory is probably from early 90's when I
was looping the recording of Yugoslavia's entrance from -91,
"Brazil", driving people, mainly my mother, crazy. I tend to
like the entries that stand out one way or the other and I believe a good
show always reels in points. My favorite entries are Rock n' Roll Kids,
The voice and Hard Rock Halleluja (of course haha!)
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I'm
a big Eurovision follower since 1981 the year that my country
Cyprus
had its first
participation in the contest. I try to represent my country as a lyrics
writer 3 times and my songs past in the Cyprus Final live selections among
the 8 songs of each year in 1994, 1995 and 1996. Two of my songs
"Vradya Adiana" from 1994 & "Anteho" 1996
represented
Cyprus
in OGAE Second Chance.
In 1996 I was a member of the national Cypriot Jury that nominated 12
points to
Portugal
leaving
Greece
2nd.
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06
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07
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08
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09
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10
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FREDERICO
BRAGA
DE MATOS
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JOSE MORA
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MARK LAMB
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MELISSA BAYLY
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OCTAVIO RAMIREZ SANTANA
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Portugal
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Mexico
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Ireland
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Australia
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Spain
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Eurovision
was initially a family event, we watched the show enjoyed it together. In
1981 I got my first Eurovision LP and that year has become quite important
for me since it’s when I think I became ‘officially’ a fan. After
that, I remember cassette recording both the Festival da Canção and the
Eurovision Song Contest. A few years later I started recording them on VHS
and the passion became truly cemented.
I love Eurovision because it is great music, it is international
and cosmopolitan. And it is also great fun. Eurovision also means meeting
lots of wonderful people from across
Europe
and the world, some of whom I am proud to call friends.
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I've
been watching the contest since 2005, but I'm a collector of the nicest
songs since 50's. I have had the pleasure to attend live shows of my 2
favourite Eurovision superstars: Patricia Kaas and Anna Vissi. Someday I
hope I can attend the other of my favourite divas: Charlotte Perrelli.
Here in
Mexico
we can see the show
live due to the Television Española (TVE) signal and that is the big
event I cannot miss ever. Greetings from
Guadalajara
!
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Brought
up in Ireland, it has been lovely to see my home country win so often,
however as there is little chance of that happening again I have to be
contented with sobbing into my cocktail while watching the likes of Dustin
the Turkey and Jedward embarrass an entire country. Only Joking! I love
the contest and have been glued to it for over 40 years. Roll on Vienna
2015!
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I’m
am an Australian now living in
Dubai
since 2005. I’ve
been a fan of the
ESC
since 2002, where a
documentary on Estonia’s preparations for hosting the contest that year
piqued my interest, then after hearing Cyprus’ One give it their all
with “Gimme” I was totally hooked. I finally bit the bullet and
attended my first
ESC
in 2010, and the level
of hospitality and warmth that I felt from the Norwegians is
something I’ll never forget. I’ve been hooked ever since, having
attended 2011 and 2012 as an accredited fan, and being blessed with the
opportunity in 2013 as a member of the
San Marino
delegation. My
ultimate dream was of course fulfilled in 2014, as San Marino
qualified for the
final! My absolute favorite entries would be Kuula, Pokusaj,
Dschingis Khan and my favourite winner would have to be Johnny Logan’s
Hold Me Now.
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My
affection for the
ESC
started for as long as I remember. I
remember in 1977 I watched the contest together with my family with lot of
excitement and interest. I’ve to admit I’m a big
ESC
fan not
necessarily a fan of a specific country and each year I bet on the country
with the song that I like best, and this is no guarantee of success. I've
made many great friends through
ESC
travels and finally got to my first contest
in 2008 in
Belgrade
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14
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15
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PAUL CAMACHO
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PIA LUNDQVIST
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ROBERTO GIORGI
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ROY VAN
DER
MERWE
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SAMANTHA
ROSS
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Spain
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Finland
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Italy
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South
Africa
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USA
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Born
in
France
of an Irish mother and
a Spanish father, I was probably predestined to like everything 'European'
and so it went. The first Eurovision I remember is the 1990 edition in
Zagreb
and particularly
remember the French song from Joelle Ursull 'White and black blues' and I
since then did not miss any Eurovision song contests. Every year I cannot
wait to discover each song selected by every country entering the
competition. So best of luck to everyone again this year.
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I'm
50 years young and have been a Eurovision fan since 1964 when
Italy
won. (My mother told
me, that I had said about the Italian entry: That's the winner! I don't
remember it myself ....) Well at work they have give me vacation on the
"Eurovision week" cause they are tired listening to me & my
Eurovision talk around the clock.
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I'm
a huge Eurovision fan. I'm so happy that
Italy
, my country, is
taking part again these days. I was in Düsseldorf in 2011 for our
comeback and it was amazing to meet my friends all over
Europe
and to receive
many compliments for the brilliant, unexpected result. For me, it was even
better than a real victory. I grew up with the songs of Sandie Shaw, Séverine,
Vicky Leandros and of course, Abba, and
ESC
1977 was the
first I saw on television.
ESC
is an exciting, deep and involving
experience.
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As
a child I grew up without Eurovision as
South Africa
did not get TV until
1976 and of course it was not broadcast here. In the 70's as a child I did
hear some euro songs, usually the winners and those in English that made
our charts, like CONGRATULATIONS, PUPPET ON A STRING, WATERLOO, COME WHAT
MAY
, BEG STEAL OR
BORROW, SAVE YOUR KISSES FOR ME etc. Vicky Leandros was very popular
here and toured here, so COME WHAT
MAY
went to number one.
South Africa
was also after
SWEDEN
the second country to
know of ABBA and in fact they had 4 number one hits here prior to winning EUROVISION
with
WATERLOO
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I
was invited to attend EUROVISION in
MUNICH
1983 (!) - My first
time at EUROVISION in the audience. Since 1993 I have never missed a
contest and since
Dublin
1995, I’ve had P accreditation, so attending the
run-up to EUROVISION. My taste is quite different from most but that
is what makes it so special - something for everyone! I am also very
active in the music business here, getting local singers to cover EURO
songs (almost 200 have now been covered directly because of me).
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"Living
in the
United States
, I didn't have the
luxury of growing up with Eurovision, as it's not shown on any channel
here (yet!). However, when I started attending university I learned more
and more about the
ESC
and quickly became an
addict. In 2009, I started my own blog (mostly to keep myself from talking
my family's ears off about it) and I still occasionally jot down my
thoughts at
ESC
Insider (http://escinsider.com/
). I'm also a contributing editor at
ESC
Insight (www.escinsight.com),
where I'm our lead interviewer (and spend time keeping Terry Vision in
check!), and I have also worked with the web team for JESC. I'll be
making my fifth trip to Eurovision this year, and I couldn't be more
excited! My favourite
ESC
entries are
"Madness of Love", "Na Inat", "Deli",
"Coming Home" (both Firelight's and Sjonni's Friends!),
"Same Heart", and "Pokusaj", and I've got a soft spot
in my heart for "Eläköön elämä". See you all in
Vienna
!"
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UNITED KINGDOM
JURY
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05
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ANDREW CROSS
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BRIAN GILBERT
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DANNY LYNCH
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DAVID ALLAN
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DAVID BRIDGMAN
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Stevenage
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Hertfordshire
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Glasgow
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Glasgow
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London
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I've
always loved other languages and have been watching the contest since as
far back as I remember but it was '
Amsterdam
' and 'Fantasiaa' in
the early 80's that really got me hooked. With no internet/satellite TV it
was a case of writing to the national TV stations to get the singles and
relying on friends and family to send video tapes of the national finals.
As for the contest itself, it was the one night the whole of
Europe
was 'together' in
spirit. I used to have synchronised video recording in 3 different parts
of the
UK
just in case of power
failure! Finally got to my first contest in 1996 in
Oslo
and more recently made
it to Düsseldorf and
Baku
.
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I
have been a fan of Eurovision since Sandie Shaw so I suppose that makes me
an ancient follower. I started to collect the record releases in the early
70's which added to the fun, I can remember when the old HMV in
Oxford Street
(
London
) actually had a
Eurovision singles section. The 70s would probably be my favourite
Euro decade as the contest was so massive in the
UK
at that time and even
the Songs for
Europe
and the preview shows
were big TV events. I was lucky enough to go to Eurovision throughout
the 90s and loved every minute of every one (don't think I could cope with
it now) but enjoy it just as much at home now.
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I’ve
been a fan of Eurovision for as long as I can remember, my first memory of
Eurovision is Bobbysocks winning in 1985, but I can’t remember much more
than their sparkly outfits! In 1992, my parents bought a new
VCR
and I recorded my
first Eurovision and from then onwards, my obsession grew and grew! I have
been attending Melodifestivalen every year since 2006, and I went to my
first Eurovision in Belgrade in 2008, and apart from missing 2009, I have
been every year since, working for one of the fan sites - interviewing
artists, dishing all the gossip and having fun – Eurovision fortnight is
my Christmas! My favourite Eurovision song ever is “Quand je te rêve”
by Céline Carzo (
Luxembourg
1990) and my
favourite
UK
entry is “Ooh
Ahh Just A Little Bit” by Gina G from 1996. I can't wait for the 2015
Eurovision season to begin!
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The
first contest I remember watching is 1969, so I am one of the “old
time” fans who remembers Laurita Valenzuela trying to make Clifford
Brown stop saying "cuatro ganadores". I have 2 new
Eurovision tattoos which I realise is somewhat nerdy. Eurovision has
changed so much over the years and is still good fun and interesting.
Getting immediate access to the music and artists is the main change due
to the internet. In the past I used to travel to
Scandinavia
to buy Eurovision
records as you couldn't even order them here.
I
tend to favour the underdog; eg: my two favourite
ESC
songs are
Yugoslavia
76 and Israel 2000 and
whatever I support will be sure to do badly. I’ve only twice predicted
the winner - 1980 and 2007. I find it strange to meet fans who know
little pre mid 90s and have never seen the older contests. I’d make them
sit an exam before they were allowed to join the fold. I live in
Glasgow
which is cold and damp
and I am a starving writer of depressing fiction that no one seems too
keen to publish.
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My
love affair with
Europe
’s finest song festival began with a chance sighting of
Brotherhood of Man in 1976. Maybe the flares swayed me. 1979 was the first
full contest I watched and I swore that night that the next time the
contest was in
Israel
, I'd be there. OK it
took twenty years but I made it! It was also the last one I went to.
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06
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07
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09
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10
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DAVID ELDER
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DEAN ASKER
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EDDIE DE SOUZA
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GARY SPEIRS
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JUDE HABIB
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Edinburgh
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Stratford-on-Avon
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London
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Brighton
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London
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My
ESC
card was marked
from a very young age. As a 5 year old I could be found lip-synching to Un
Banc, Un Arbre, Une Rue when it was played on the juke-box in my
parents’ café. I remember coming downstairs for a drink of water while
the 72 voting was on, and I remember sending Cilla a postcard asking Cliff
to sing “Come Back Billie-Joe” in 73. He didn’t. I watched the full
show in earnest in 74 and haven’t looked back since. In 84 and 85 I was
in the Scottish
SFE
juries and then
in 86 I joined Mr Speirs at TV Centre in
London
to be on the
UK
jury. We gave
Germany
12 points, and being
half-German, I was delighted! I’ve been accredited as a journalist at
every contest since
Zagreb
in 90, initially
writing for fan publications, but latterly covering the event for one of
Scotland
’s leading
newspapers.
Jerusalem
,
Riga
, Kyiv and
Moscow
were the best
experiences;
Copenhagen
01 – hands-down –
was the worst! My all time fave entry is Bem Bom by Doce from 82, and I
can often be found raising my hands, clapping and hey-ing at the
appropriate juncture. In real life I’m an HR Manager, have a charming
husband and two gorgeous pussies called Bunty and Baxter!
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My
first memory of Eurovision was when, at the age of 6, I fell asleep before
I knew if Rock Bottom has won the 1977 Contest. Of course it
didn’t and I was very disappointed about the
UK
’s second place the
next day. My passion was truly cemented in the 1980s, and when
Bobbysocks won. I was delighted. The first time I saw the Contest
live was in 1995, and I’ve been to 18 contests in total. Highlights
include the
UK
win in 1997, and
everything about 2003, 2007 and 2010. My favourite Eurovision entry
is Det’ Lige’ Det (
Denmark
1984), although Is It
True (Iceland 2009) runs a close second.
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My
first Eurovision memory was aged 4 seeing Bucks Fizz win and from that
moment onwards I was hooked. I've been to national finals in the UK ,
Norway , Denmark and of course, Melodifestivalen in
Sweden . 2013 was my first live
ESC
experience which was
amazing – can’t wait to go again. As a keen composer, I have written a
few songs and am just waiting for my big Eurovision break. My
favorite Eurovision entries are Amen (
Israel
1995), Je n'ai que mon
âme (France 2001) and Je ne sais quoi (Iceland 2010).
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I’m
a long time fan, proved by it being Abba's win in
Brighton
that hooked me in. A
proud Welshman from
Cardiff
, I now actually live
in
Brighton
and still love the
whole build-up to Eurovision week. I have made many great friends through
Eurovision travels and this makes the annual gathering a very special
time. I have had some great fun with the contest, with Vienna 2015
hopefully turning out to the 26th Contest I have travelled to! I was also
honoured to be a member of the UK Jury for
Bergen
(with David Elder) in
1986. I love the fact that Eurovision has taken me to places I may never
otherwise have visited, like
Riga
,
Tallinn
, Kyiv,
Belgrade
,
Baku
,
Istanbul
and
Moscow
! Oh, and not
forgetting little Millstreet… My amazing
Moscow
front-seat 3 seconds
of TV-fame certainly outed my
ESC
passion to lots of people who didn’t already
know… Best entries... BAILAR PEGADOS, TORNERO and KUULA among many
others. Here’s hoping the 60th Contest in 2015 wows us all!
OMG - I was at the 40th and the 50th too - too old! lol
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Now
I wouldn't consider myself a superfan like other people on the Jury. I
wouldn't be able to reel off who came number 4 in any particular year or
know every word of every winning song...in their national language. But
I've loved Eurovision since I was 6 years old. The music & event makes
me happy - it's as simple as that.
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15
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MATT
MEYER
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NICO PITTORTOU
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PAUL JORDAN
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SALLY-
ANN
FAWCETT
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TRISTAN WHITE
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Essex
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London
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London
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London
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London
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Eurovision
began for me with the contest in 1990 when I was 13 and it was the 'them
and us' aspect that appealed to me. I became a 'proper' fan of the contest
in 1993 mainly due to 'Our Sonia' singing, but I very quickly appreciated
(and enjoyed) hearing so many languages. As I know (British) Sign
Language, I hope to see this featured a bit more in the future.
Confession time - I have only been to one contest itself, that being the
one held in 2000 in Sweeeeden and do hope to go again one day; it was
great to experience the atmosphere and meet up with some of my overseas
friends.
My
favourite all-times are very hard to pinpoint but I would say "I
evighet" from
Norway
1996 is right near the
top and as for the
UK
favourite... it's
Pearl
and Teddy from '59!
Whatever my comments are about the songs, I wish them all the best of luck
as it's not their fault I might not like a song but it'll be a proud
moment for them to represent their country.
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I've
been a Eurovision lover since the age of four. I have been attending the
contest itself since 2004 in
Istanbul
and since then have
also become very greatly interested in the various national finals, which
in turn lead me to create the Second Cherry Song Contest along with two
friends of mine, which has become an annual event and is going from
strength to strength.
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I’ve
been a fan of the contest since I was a child. One of my earliest memories
was sitting crying after Sonia lost in 1993 and my dad catching me,
thinking I was upset about Match of the Day! I’ve attended Eurovision
since 2000 and love the fact that it’s taken me to places that I might
not have visited otherwise. In 2011 I published my PhD, The Eurovision
Song Contest:
Nation
Building
and Nation Branding in
Estonia
and
Ukraine
which I wrote at the
University
of
Glasgow
. I’ve been
interviewed about my work by
BBC
World and was on the More4 documentary The Secret
History of Eurovision. I love all things Estonian and tend to be biased
towards them so you have been warned!
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Hi!
I'm Sally-Ann Fawcett, from
London
, and I had the
privilege of co-founding the very first Eurovision Song Contest fan club
in the
UK
in 1987. We held a
small gathering in my former home town of
Scarborough
, and year by year saw
a huge increase in number of members - all of whom had suffered, like me -
"The only
ESC
fan in the world" syndrome. I co-hosted the Network
Song Contest with David Elder on a number of occasions, and credit the fan
club with quite literally changing my life, introducing me to people who
have become my best and closest friends. I'm delighted to be part of the
2015 jury and it may be my last appearance, because if the
UK
wins I will die
with joy on the spot!
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I
have been following the Eurovision Song Contest since 1979, when I was
just 8 years old, but it was the 1980 song contest, and TELEX in
particular, that made a lasting impression on me, and since then the
contest has become somewhat of an obsession. I lived in Spain until 1989,
when I came to London to go to University, where my Eurovision parties
became legendary: I would hold a crazy drinking game where I would make
fifty litres of sangría and each person represented a different country
and would have to be forced to drink cups of sangría during their
three-minute song, and then drink every time "their" country got
points. I held these parties until about 2005 when I realised that carpets
were actually quite nice things to keep clean. I watch as many of the
national finals as possible and am quite proud -- and simultaneously
ashamed -- at the fact that I managed to watch almost all 41 Azerbaijani
shows in 2011, so by the time I finally got to see Ell & Nikki lift
the trophy live in Düsseldorf I felt almost as though they were part of
the family.
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