Russia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008

Eurovision Song Contest 2008
Country  Russia
National selection
Selection process Evrovidenie 2008
Selection date(s) 9 March 2008
Selected entrant Dima Bilan
Selected song "Believe"
Finals performance
Semi-final result Qualified (3rd, 135 points)
Final result 1st, 272 points
Russia in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2007 • 2008 • 2009►

Russia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 in Belgrade, Serbia. The Russian entry was selected through a national final, Evrovidenie 2008 (Евровидение 2008) organised by the Russian broadcaster Rossiya Channel (RTR). Dima Bilan represented Russia with the song "Believe", which qualified from the first semi-final of the competition and won the contest, placing 1st in the final with 272 points.[1]

Evrovidenie 2008

For the 2008 Contest, Rossiya Channel (RTR) was responsible for the selection of the Russian entry, opting to organize a national final. On 8 December 2007, RTR announced a submission period for interested artists and composers to submit their entries from 15 December 2007 until the deadline on 1 February 2008.[2][3]

On 16 February 2008, RTR held a press conference to confirm details regarding the national selection. A jury panel was assembled to select 25 entries from the submissions to compete in the national final. RTR announced it would produce a documentary about the national final and that Muz-TV and Love Radio would follow the preparations of the participants through special diary presentations.[4] On 25 February 2008, RTR revealed the list of 25 entries that had been selected from 167 submissions.[5] Among the competitors were former Russian entrants Dima Bilan (2006) and Premyer-Ministr (2002). On 4 March 2008, an additional two entries were added to the 25 entries previously announced, with former Belarusian entrant Polina Smolova (2006) among them.[6] One of the contestants was future representative, Sergey Lazarev (2016).

Final

Dima Bilan performing at the Russian national final, Evrovidenie 2008

The Russian national final took place on 9 March 2008 at the Akademicheskiy Concert Hall in Moscow, hosted by Oxana Fedorova and Oskar Kuchera.[7] 27 songs competed and the winner was selected through a combination of televoting (50%) and jury voting (50%). 2007 Serbian entrant Marija Šerifović, 2008 Ukrainian entrant Ani Lorak and 2008 Belarusian entrant Ruslan Alekhno were the interval acts during the show. Dima Bilan was the winner with the song "Believe", earning top marks from both the public and the jury panel.[8] Bilan previously represented Russia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2006.

The jury panel was composed of Igor Krutoy, Sergey Arhipov, Maxim Fadeev, Gennady Gohstein and Vladimir Matetsky.[7]

Draw Artist Song Jury Televoting Points Place
1 A-Sortie "Colours of My Love" 17 16 33 11
2 Polina Smolova "Na rasstoyanii dykhanya" 12 12 24 16
3 Asılyar "Qarlığaçlar" 1 1 2 27
4 Zhenya Otradnaya "Porque amor" 25 25 50 3
5 Aero "Siberia" 3 4 7 24
6 Anna Mushak & project William "The Needle" 22 19 41 7
7 Nora Adam "Gotta Let It Go" 2 2 4 26
8 Natalia Terekhova "So Can You Tell Me" 6 6 12 22
9 Zhenya Rasskazova "Otpuskayu tebya" 19 21 40 8
10 Dima Bilan "Believe" 27 27 54 1
11 Helena Gorskaya "Always All Alone" 14 13 27 14
12 Aleksandr Panayotov "Crescent and Cross" 26 26 52 2
13 Pierre Narciss & Jam Sheriff "Who Am I Without Your Love" 8 8 16 20
14 Yulia Mikhalchik "Cold Fingers" 21 22 43 6
15 Granat "Another Side of Midnight" 11 10 21 18
16 Sabrina "Wreck" 10 9 19 19
17 BK! "Don't Break My Heart" 5 5 10 23
18 Aza Batayeva "It's No Dream" 7 7 14 21
19 Tamila Bloggy "Sny" 18 20 38 9
20 Premyer-Ministr "My - parallelniye miry" 20 18 38 9
21 Anatoly Alyoshin "One More Try" 13 11 24 16
22 Alexey Vorobyov "New Russian Kalinka" 23 23 46 5
23 Roman Bezhin "I'm Missing" 4 3 7 24
24 Sergey Lazarev "Flyer" 24 24 48 4
25 Natalia Astafyeva "Tri Luny" 15 14 29 13
26 Max Lorens & Satsura "Day nam dozhd'" 9 17 26 15
27 Olga Varvus "King of Seduction" 16 15 31 12

At Eurovision

Dima Bilan (centre) with Edvin Marton (left) and Evgeni Plushenko (right) at the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 in Belgrade

With changes to the format of the Eurovision Song Contest coming into effect in 2008, Russia was required to compete in one of two semi-finals in order to qualify to compete in the final. In the allocation draw on 28 January 2008, Russia was drawn to compete in the first semi-final on 20 May 2008.[9] On 17 March 2008 during the draw for running order, Russia was drawn to receive the third of three wildcards for the first semi-final, allowing the Russian head of delegation to select the starting position for the nation.[10] Russia chose to perform 18th in the first semifinal, following Romania and preceding Greece.

Bilan was joined on stage by figure skater Evgeni Plushenko, who performed on a mobile ice rink placed on stage specifically for the Russian performance, and violinist Edvin Marton, who performed with a Stradivarius.[11] Russia qualified from the first semi-final, placing 3rd and scoring 135 points.[12] During the winners' press conference following the conclusion of the first semi-final broadcast, Russia was drawn to perform 24th in the final following Serbia and preceding Norway.[13] Russia won the 2008 Contest placing 1st and scoring 272 points. As the winning nation of the 2008 Contest and the host of the forthcoming contest, Russia pre-qualified to compete in the final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2009.

The first semi-final and final were broadcast on Rossiya 1, with commentary by Dmitriy Guberniyev and Olga Shelest. The voting spokesperson for Russia was Oxana Fedorova.

Points awarded to Russia

Points awarded to Russia (Semi-Final 1)[12]
12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points
  •  Armenia
  •  Israel
  •  Estonia
  •  Greece
  •  Azerbaijan
  •  Montenegro
  •  Norway
  •  Poland
  •  Romania
  •  Bosnia and Herzegovina
  •  Moldova
  •  Slovenia
  •  Finland
  •  Germany
5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point
  •  Spain
  •  Andorra
  •  Ireland
  •  Belgium
  •  Netherlands
Points awarded to Russia (Final)[1]
12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points
  •  Armenia
  •  Belarus
  •  Estonia
  •  Israel
  •  Latvia
  •  Lithuania
  •  Ukraine
  •  Finland
  •  Hungary
  •  Moldova
  •  Romania
  •  Serbia
  •  Azerbaijan
  •  Cyprus
  •  Georgia
  •  Malta
  •  Montenegro
  •  Czech Republic
  •  Germany
  •  Greece
  •  Slovenia
  •  Albania
  •  Bulgaria
  •  Croatia
  •  Macedonia
  •  Poland
  •  Portugal
5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point
  •  Andorra
  •  Ireland
  •  Norway
  •  Spain
  •  Turkey
  •  Bosnia and Herzegovina
  •  Belgium
  •  France
  •  Netherlands

Points awarded by Russia

Semi-final 1

Points awarded in the first semi-final:[12]

12 points Armenia
10 points Azerbaijan
8 points Israel
7 points Norway
6 points Greece
5 points Moldova
4 points Finland
3 points Poland
2 points Slovenia
1 point Romania

Final

Points awarded in the final:[1]

12 points Armenia
10 points Azerbaijan
8 points Ukraine
7 points Georgia
6 points Israel
5 points Norway
4 points Serbia
3 points Greece
2 points Turkey
1 point Croatia

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Eurovision Song Contest 2008 Final". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
  2. ↑ Kuipers, Michael (9 December 2007). "Russian national final on March 9th". ESCToday.com. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
  3. ↑ Klier, Marcus (10 December 2007). "Russia: more details on national final". ESCToday.com. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
  4. ↑ Floras, Stella (17 February 2008). "Russia: Details of the 2008 preselection announced". ESCToday.com. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
  5. ↑ Floras, Stella (25 February 2008). "Russia: List of finalists announced". ESCToday.com. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
  6. ↑ Krasilnikova, Anna (4 March 2008). "Russia: Was 25, now 27 national finalists". ESCToday.com. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
  7. 1 2 Mikheev, Andy. "Russia 2008". ESCKaz. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
  8. ↑ Krasilnikova, Anna (9 March 2008). "Russia: Dima Bilan returns to Eurovision". ESCToday.com. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
  9. ↑ Viniker, Barry (28 January 2008). "The Eurovision Song Contest semi final draw". ESCToday.com. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
  10. ↑ Klier, Marcus (17 March 2008). "Live: Eurovision 2008 - Draw of the running order". ESCToday.com. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
  11. ↑ Floras, Stella (21 March 2008). "Russia: Bilan's staging plans for Belgrade". ESCToday.com. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
  12. 1 2 3 "Eurovision Song Contest 2008 Semi-Final (1)". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
  13. ↑ Klier, Marcus (21 March 2008). "UPD Eurovision 2008: the results of the first semi final". ESCToday.com. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
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