Stefan Konrad Raab is a German entertainer, television host, television producer, and businessman. From 1999 to 2015, he hosted the late-night comedy talk show TV total on ProSieben. He also created a number of other television shows on the channel, such as Schlag den Raab and Bundesvision Song Contest.
Germany has officially participated in every Eurovision Song Contest since its inaugural edition in 1956, except in 1996 when its entry did not qualify past the audio-only pre-selection round, and consequently was not seen in the broadcast final and does not count as one of Germany's 67 appearances. No other country has been represented as many times. Along with France, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom, Germany is one of the "Big Five" countries that are automatically prequalified for the final, due to their participant broadcasters being the largest financial contributors to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). The final is broadcast in Germany on ARD's flagship channel, Das Erste.
Austria has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 56 times since its debut in 1957. The country has won twice, in 1966 and 2014, and such it holds the record for the longest gap between consecutive wins — 48 years. The Austrian participant broadcaster in the contest is Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF). Vienna was the host city on both of the occasions that the contest was held in Austria, in 1967 and 2015.
The Bundesvision Song Contest was a song competition held annually between the sixteen states of Germany. Created by German entertainer Stefan Raab and aired live on ProSieben, the show was loosely based on the Eurovision Song Contest, with slightly different rules aiming at promoting German-language music by requiring that at least 50% of each song's lyrics were performed in German.
The Eurovision Song Contest 2015 was the 60th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Vienna, Austria, following the country's victory at the 2014 contest with the song "Rise Like a Phoenix" by Conchita Wurst. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF), the contest was held at the Hall D of the Wiener Stadthalle and consisted of two semi-finals on 19 and 21 May, and a final on 23 May 2015. The three live shows were presented by Austrian television presenters Mirjam Weichselbraun, Alice Tumler and Arabella Kiesbauer, while the previous edition's winner Conchita Wurst acted as the green room host.
Germany participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 with the song "Standing Still" written by Steve Robson, Jamie Cullum and Wayne Hector. The song was performed by Roman Lob. The German entry for the 2012 contest in Baku, Azerbaijan was selected through the national final Unser Star für Baku, organised by the German broadcaster ARD in collaboration with Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR) and private broadcaster ProSieben. The national final featured 20 competing artists and consisted of five heats, a quarter-final, a semi-final and a final held in January and February 2012 2012. Contestants were selected to advance in the competition via public televote. Two contestants qualified to compete in the final where the winner was selected over two rounds of voting. "Standing Still" performed by Roman Lob was selected as the German entry for Baku after gaining 50.7% of the votes in the second round.
The Eurovision Song Contest 2014 was the 59th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Copenhagen, Denmark, following the country's victory at the 2013 contest with the song "Only Teardrops" by Emmelie de Forest. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR), the contest was held at B&W Hallerne, and consisted of two semi-finals on 6 and 8 May, and a final on 10 May 2014. The three live shows were presented by Danish television presenter Lise Rønne, musician Nikolaj Koppel and actor Pilou Asbæk.
Thomas Neuwirth is an Austrian singer and drag queen who is known for his stage persona Conchita Wurst. He came to international attention after winning the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 as Austria's entrant with the song "Rise Like a Phoenix". Neuwirth has stated that he is not a trans woman. He is gay, and has also described himself as a drag queen.
Austria participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 with the song "Rise Like a Phoenix", written by Charlie Mason, Joey Patulka, Ali Zuckowski and Julian Maas. The song was performed by Conchita Wurst, the drag stage persona of Tom Neuwirth, who had risen to fame after taking part in an Austrian talent show in 2011 and attempting to represent Austria at the Eurovision Song Contest 2012. In September 2013 the Austrian broadcaster Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF) announced that they had internally selected Wurst to compete at the 2014 contest in Copenhagen, Denmark, with her song presented to the public in March 2014.
Switzerland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with the song "The Last of Our Kind" written by Christina Maria Rieder, Mike James, Jeff Dawson and Warne Livesey. The song was performed by Rykka, which is the artistic name of singer Christina Maria Rieder. The Swiss entry for the 2016 contest in Stockholm, Sweden was selected through the national final ESC 2016 – die Entscheidungsshow, organised by the Swiss German speaking broadcaster Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (SRF) in collaboration with the other broadcasters part of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation. Artists that were interested in entering the Swiss national final had the opportunity to apply to one of three open selections with defined submission periods organised by SRF together with the Swiss-Romansh broadcaster Radiotelevisiun Svizra Rumantscha (RTR), the Swiss-French broadcaster Radio Télévision Suisse (RTS) and/or the Swiss-Italian broadcaster Radiotelevisione svizzera (RSI). A total of 19 entries were selected to advance to an "Expert Check" round; ten entries were selected from the SRF/RTR selection, six entries were selected from the RTS selection and three entries were selected from the RSI selection. The "Expert Check" was held on 6 December 2015 and involved four experts evaluating the live performances of the 19 entries and selecting six entries to advance to the televised national final—three artists and songs from the SRF/RTR candidates, two from the RTS candidates and one from the RSI candidates. The six finalists performed during the national final on 13 February 2016 where a combination of jury voting and public voting ultimately selected "The Last of Our Kind" performed by Rykka as the winner.
Austria originally planned to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 with the song "Alive" written by Vincent Bueno, David "Davey" Yang, Felix van Göns and Artur Aigner. The song was performed by Vincent Bueno. On 12 December 2019, the Austrian broadcaster Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF) announced that they had internally selected Vincent Bueno to compete at the 2020 contest in Rotterdam, Netherlands, while "Alive" was presented to the public on 5 March 2020.
Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light was a live television programme, organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and produced by the Dutch broadcasters NPO, NOS and AVROTROS. It replaced the Eurovision Song Contest 2020, which was planned to be held in Rotterdam, Netherlands, but was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sveriges 12:a was a one-off music competition in the Eurovision format, organised and broadcast by the Swedish broadcaster Sveriges Television (SVT). It served as an alternative for the Eurovision Song Contest 2020, which was planned to be held in Rotterdam, Netherlands, but was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Free European Song Contest is an international song competition, organised by the German television network ProSieben and the production company Brainpool TV, with participants representing primarily European countries. The contest is similar in format to the long-running Eurovision Song Contest: each participating country submits an original song to be performed on live television, then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the winner.
"Te Amo Mi Amor" is a song by German singer Sarah Lombardi. Written by Philippe Heithier and produced by Heithier and Innocent Ray, it was released on 15 May 2020 by Ariola Records as the lead single from Lombardi's upcoming fifth studio album Im Augenblick (2021). "Te Amo Mi Amor" served as Italy's entry for the Free European Song Contest 2020. On 16 May 2020, it finished 13th in the final voting, having earned a total of 37 points. On the charts, it reached number 11 on the German Singles Chart.
Austria participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 with the song "Amen" written by Tobias Carshey, Ashley Hicklin and Jonas Thander. The song was performed by Vincent Bueno. On 26 March 2020, the Austrian broadcaster Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF) announced that they had internally selected Vincent Bueno to compete at the 2021 contest in Rotterdam, the Netherlands after he was due to compete in the 2020 contest with "Alive" before the event's cancellation, while "Amen" was presented to the public on 10 March 2021.
The Free European Song Contest 2021 was the second edition of the Free European Song Contest, organised by the German television network ProSieben and the production company Raab TV.
Austria was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 with the song "We Will Rave", written by Anderz Wrethov, Jimmy Thörnfeldt, Julie Aagaard, and Thomas Stengaard, and performed by Kaleen. The Austrian participating broadcaster Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF) internally selected its entry for the contest. Kaleen was announced as the Austrian representative on 16 January 2024, whilst the selected song was presented on 1 March 2024.
Germany was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 with the song "Always on the Run", written by Greg Taro, Isaak Guderian, Kevin Lehr, and Leo Salminen, and performed by Isaak himself. The German participating broadcaster on behalf of ARD, Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR), organised the national final Eurovision Song Contest –Das deutsche Finale2024 in order to select their entry for the contest.
"Statues" is a 2021 single released by Scottish singer Amy Macdonald from her fifth studio album The Human Demands (2021). It was released in February 2021 as the albums fourth single via both Infectious Music and BMG, and was selected to represent Scotland at the Free European Song Contest 2021, finishing in fourth place with 77 points.
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