Eurovision Song Contest's Greatest Hits (also known as Eurovision's Greatest Hits) was a live televisionconcert programme organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and produced by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Eurovision Song Contest. The concert took place on 31 March 2015 at the Hammersmith Apollo in Hammersmith, London. Guy Freeman was the executive producer and Geoff Posner the director, both of whom held the same positions as the last time the BBC hosted the Eurovision Song Contest in 1998. Simon Proctor was the senior producer and David Arch was the musical director for the concert. Tickets for the event went on sale at 10:15 (GMT) on 6 February 2015.
Graham Norton and Petra Mede hosted the event, which saw fifteen acts from thirteen countries performing their Eurovision entries from yesteryear. During the televised show, video montages from the Eurovision archives were shown in-between each live performance. The 2015 entry for the United Kingdom, "Still in Love with You" by Electro Velvet, was performed at the concert as the opening act, but never broadcast on the televised show. The 1994 interval act, Riverdance, was reprised as part of the anniversary celebrations.
Several countries confirmed that they would air the delayed broadcast of the concert on various dates that suited the broadcasters' schedules, including Australia, who would make its debut in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2015. The host broadcaster BBC and the Irish broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) simulcast the show on 3 April 2015, across BBC One and RTÉ 2. In turn, several countries chose not to broadcast the event, including Luxembourg, which had an act taking part.
It was announced on 22 October 2014 that the EBU had appointed the British broadcaster, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), to co-produce a special anniversary show to celebrate sixty years of the Eurovision Song Contest, similar to the show Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest which took place in 2005. The BBC's Entertainment department had been commissioned to host the 50th Anniversary show from the Royal Albert Hall in 2005 but this had to be declined as the BBC wouldn't commit to broadcasting the show. The details regarding the title of the show were unknown at the time the announcement was made.[3][4]
The EBU later issued the following statement regarding the 60th anniversary: "There are various exciting proposals from member broadcasters on the table to celebrate the 60th anniversary beyond the contest in May, which are currently in the final stages of being evaluated. A decision is expected shortly, so stay tuned!".[5] Edgar Böhm, executive producer of the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest said in an interview that the BBC had been chosen to host a special anniversary show.[6] Guy Freeman was appointed as executive producer for the event, assisted by Senior Producer Simon Proctor, the script was co-written by Edward af Sillén, Daniel Réhn, Christine Rose and Simon Proctor whilst the director was Geoff Posner, who had previously directed the Eurovision Song Contest 1998 in Birmingham.[1]
Presenters
Hosts Graham Norton and Petra Mede, during the show at the Hammersmith Apollo
Tickets for the anniversary concert went on sale from 10:15 (GMT) on 6 February 2015 via the BBC's Eurovision website and the Eurovision Song Contest's official website.[13]
Programme
The concert was recorded live on 31 March 2015 at the Hammersmith Apollo; allowing participating broadcasters the freedom to air the programme on a date and channel that was convenient for their broadcasting schedules.[14] Fifteen artists, representing thirteen countries, took part in the sixtieth anniversary gala event.[15] The first-ever winner of the contest Lys Assia (Switzerland 1956), appeared in the audience as a guest of honour. During the broadcast, video montages were shown prior to each entry, showing footage for that particular year's contest, ending with Eurovision Song Contest footage for the entry that was about to perform on stage. Recap montages of Eurovision entries over the last sixty years, were also broadcast in-between performances. These sometimes differed between the BBC and other broadcasts because of copyright clearance and were as follows:[16]
Fifteen Eurovision acts from thirteen countries participated in the anniversary concert.[15] Although there were originally fourteen acts confirmed by the BBC, it was later announced on 5 March 2015 that Norway's Bobbysocks would join the line-up increasing the total to fifteen.[21]Video montages were shown prior to each entry, showing footage for that particular year's contest, ending with Eurovision Song Contest footage for the entry that was about to perform on stage.[16]
As the show was not broadcast live, the participating broadcasters were able to broadcast the show on a date and channel that was convenient for their broadcasting schedules. Some broadcasters – such those in Austria and Sweden – recorded additional links and interviews in London for their viewers and these were used as previews for the main show.[14]
Commentators
The following broadcasters, listed in order of broadcasting dates, confirmed that they would broadcast the anniversary show.[15]
The broadcasters in the following countries, which had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest at least once, did not announce their plans on whether to broadcast the show.[15]
↑ Nylén, Susanne; Nikalsson, Ylva (8 February 2009). "Petra Mede fick ledas av scenen"[Petra Mede had to be led off the stage]. Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 23 October 2014.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
