Experience the Eurovision Song Contest with Radio International

Radio International and ESCNEWS Radio & TV with Chat Room: Radio International is aired on their TV channel live every Wednesday where fans can join and see how we actually do Radio International and listen to the show while chatting with the other Eurovision fans joining the community.  But also you can watch there a re-run of the weekly edition of Radio International at various times on ESCNEWS Radio. Enjoy and tell your friends to join and be part of the Eurovision Radio International Community! Also become part of the Eurovision Radio International Facebook Group which accompanies the show and is available here. It contains lots of Eurovision News from the major Eurovision News Websites but also announcements. 

The Eurovision Song Contest with Eurovision Radio International - your music requests, comments and ideas: Eurovision Radio International never stops and is keen on keeping the music and news of the Eurovision Song Contest in the ears of the many fans that join the show each and every week via the usual means either on FM, Cable and also via PODCAST, Itunes, LISTEN AGAIN, live broadcast or Live Stream. You can also find Radio International (RTV Katwijk) on TuneIn. Please feel free to submit your comments, ideas and requests of Eurovision songs and Radio International is delighted to play your requests during the shows. Click on CONTACT to submit your request to the programme. You can also reach us on Twitter: @RadioInt

Hightlights of the show

Melodifestivalen 2016 - The Recap:  Melodifestivalen 2016 took place on Saturday 12 March 2016 in Stockholm's Friends Arena with 12 great artists selected out of the four Semi Finals and the Second Chance round. 30000 people in the Friends Arena. Gina Dirawi and William Spetz hosted the Grand Final of Melodifestivalen 2016. JP and Eric were on location and conducted interviews with all the artists, the hosts, previeous participants at Melodifestivalen and show producer Christer Bjoerkman. This and next week's edition of Radio International will be specials on Sweden's selection to the Eurovision Song Contest 2016. The complete result of Melodifestivalen 2016 can be viewed here. At this point Eurovision Radio International would like to congratulate the Winner of the Melodifestivalen 2016 Frans who will be representing Sweden at the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 on home ground with the song "If I were sorry".

 

Interview with Frans (Winner of Melodifestivalen 2016 and Sweden 2016): The Winner of Melodifestivalen 2016 is 17 year old Frans who won with the song "If I were sorry" and will with this represent Sweden at the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 in Stockholm on 14 May 2016 in the legendary Globen Arena. JP and Eric met Frans for an interview during the Welcome Reception in Stockholm's Town Hall on Wednesday before the Grand Final of Melodifestivalen 2016. Listen to the interview on this week's edition of Radio International.  You can also watch this interview on our YouTube Channel - click here

 

Interview with Oscar Zia (Melodifestivalen 2016, Number 2): It was his second appearance at Melodifestivalen. The first time Oscar Zia took part in Sweden's biggest Music Competition as lead vocalist was in 2014 with the song "Yes we can" that reached Number 8 in the Grand Final of Melodifestivalen 2014. In 2016 he returned to the show with the song "Human" which became the runner up after Frans. Eric and JP met and interviewed the singer at the first Press Conference on Thursday before the rehearsals started.   You can also watch this interview on our YouTube Channel - click here

 

Interview with Ace Wilder (Melodifestivalen 2016, Number 3):  She came second to Sanna Nielsen in Melodifestivalen 2014 with the song "Busy doing nothing". Ace Wilder returned to the contest with the song "Don't worry" with an amazing stage show, presence and also the song. At the end of the excited voting on Saturday night Ace Wilder's entry ranked at Number 3 after Oscar Zia and Frans. Eric and JP chatted with Ace during the Welcome Reception on her participation in Melodifestivalen and career development.  You can also watch this interview on our YouTube Channel - click here

 

Interview with Christer Björkman (Executive Producer of Melodifestivalen 2016): As a tradition, every year Radio International chats with the Executive Producer of Melodifestivalen - Christer Björkman. The current format of Melodifestivalen is a complete success and was inaugurated the first time I this way back in 2002 and has become the biggest national final of any Eurovision Song Contest country. Christer Björkman who himself represented Sweden at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1992 and also being member of the Reference Group of the Eurovision Song Contest is the Executive Producer of Melodifestivalen. Eric and JP chatted with Christer after the Grand Final of Melodifestivalen to get his assessment of the show.  You can also watch this interview on our YouTube Channel - click here

 

Interview with Gina Dirawi and William Spetz (Hosts of Melodifestivalen 2016): 2016 was the first time that there were more co-hosts during the Semi Finals and Second Chance Round who together with the fixed host Gina Dirawi co-hosted the shows. We saw Sarah Dawn Finer, Petra Mede, Henrik Schyffert, Peter Jöback and Ola Salo (The Ark) as co-hosts during the Semi Finals and Second Chance Shows. Gina was assisted by Co-Host William Spetz during the Grand Final of Melodifestivalen 2016. Both Gina and 19 year old William were discoveredon YouTube. JP and Eric met the hosts during the Press Conference in front of the stage on Thursday during a rehearsal break in the Friends Arena.   You can also watch this interview on our YouTube Channel - click here

 

Eurovision Song Contest Spotlight - The National Final Season 2016: The National Selection Process of the songs that will represent their country at the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 is well under way. In the last quarter of 2015 Radio International went through the best picks of Sweden's National Final - The Melodifestivalen where our Eurovision Experts selected what they thought is the best songs per year. Sweden will host the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 in the Globen Arena of Stockholm next May with the Grand Final on the 14 May 2016 and the the Semi Finals on 10 & 12 May 2016, respectively. Like in previous years the Radio International Eurovision Experts will be assessing the National Finals 2016 live on Radio International.  Chris Poppe will be playing the winning songs from the National Finals or song announcements during the past seven days that will compete at the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 . Listen to the songs from Romania, Macedonia, Greece, Croatia, San Marino and Australia. 

Eurovision Under Cover:  This ever so popular feature on Radio International is David Mann's weekly edition of the Eurovision Cover Versions where David Mann from Eurovision Norwich will be intoducing some of the finest Eurovision Song Contest entries covered by other singers. Just be surprised. You will be hearing the actual song that has been on the Eurovision stage followed by the cover. Listeners are encouraged to send in their cover versions they came across over the years to share with the other fans tuning into the show. Alternatively, listeners can send in their request for a particular Eurovision covered song using this link. 

Eurovision Song Contest News: Nathan Waddell joins the team in the studio every week to bring you the news and the latest developments connected to the Eurovision Song Contest such as the National Finals or if it is music releases of Eurovision performers, special concerts, gossip, etc Nathan will have it all for us during the weekly edition of Radio International. He also takes a look at some statistics such as viewing figures in the various countries and more. Nathan is website editor with escxtra.com. In addition, Eurovision News is available on www.eurovision.tv, esctoday.com and escflashmalta.com (amongst others.

New Song Releases by Eurovision Artists:  Radio International is always keen to know how the careers of Eurovision performers develop after their performance at the event. The show is in collaboration with many Music Companies that supply Radio International with the latest songs of their signed up artists to bring the muisc closer to the fans. On a weekly basis Radio International receives songs which are being featured on the show.  

Eurovision Song Contest Calendar of Events: Check out a detailed listing of all events scheduled around Europe. If you hear of something we have not listed please drop us a line by clicking here and let us know. After Eurovision is before Eurovision and to bridge the Eurovision Gap many Eurovision Clubs will be holding their annual convention. But also all the National Final Details are being displayed in the Calendar. Make sure you frequently check it out. 

 

Upcoming Events - Highlights:

 

02 Apr 2016 (Sat) - Riga, Latvia

Eurovision Pre-Party 2016 - Swedish Style

 

09 Apr 2016 (Sat) - The Netherlands/Amsterdam

Eurovision in Concert at Melkweg (Tickets on sale from 04 Jan)

 

22 Apr 2016 (Fri) - United Kingdom/London

Eurofest at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern

 

 

Eurovision Quiz:  Scratch your heads and bite your nails at  our weekly Eurovision Song Contest Quiz. Good luck and win a copy of a past Eurovision Song Contest Final on DVD or a dip into the Eurovision Goodies Bag. All you have to do is to identify the five clips with Artist, Song, Country and Year. Send your answers via the website's CONTACTs form. As for the quiz answers, you have two weeks time to crack the quiz after Radio International was aired live. That gives the chance for the listeners who were not able to join us live on Wednesdays to participate in the quiz and the draw for the prize. Good Luck! Congratulations to Alexander Sanchez from Spain and Jan Wehner from Germany for winning the last two Eurovision Quizzes.