News Xchange is an annual conference for the international broadcast news industry. The event is run on a not-for-profit basis and is underwritten by Eurovision, which runs the global Eurovision network as the operations department of the European Broadcasting Union. [1] Each year the event lasts for two days and is sponsored by a range of organizations involved in news broadcasting around the world.
The first News Xchange conference took place in 2002 in Ljubljana, Slovenia. [2] Since then the event has been held in different locations each year:
The main purpose of the event is the discussion of issues currently affecting broadcast journalists and editors around the world. News Xchange attracts contributions from prominent figures from the broadcast news industry as well as politicians, opinion formers and other important individuals. [19] [20] [21] [22]
The News Xchange conference (which has no 'E' at the start of Xchange) is distinct from Eurovision News Exchanges (with an 'E'); though the two are sometimes confused. Daily News Exchanges are organized by Eurovision on behalf of members of the European Broadcasting Union. News Xchange conference has no direct connection with these Exchanges and is open to all organizations and individuals involved in broadcast news.
The European Broadcasting Union is an alliance of public service media organisations whose countries are within the European Broadcasting Area (EBA) or who are members of the Council of Europe. As of 2022, it is made up of 112 member organizations from 55 countries, and 31 associate members from a further 20 countries. It was established in 1950, and had its administrative headquarters in Geneva and technical office in Brussels.
The Eurovision Song Contest 2003 was the 48th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Riga, Latvia, following the country's victory at the 2002 contest with the song "I Wanna" by Marie N. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Latvijas Televīzija (LTV), the contest was held at the Skonto Hall on 24 May 2003. The contest was presented by last year's winner Marie N and former contestant Renārs Kaupers.
The Eurovision Song Contest 1993 was the 38th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Millstreet, Ireland, following the country's victory at the 1992 contest with the song "Why Me?" by Linda Martin. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ), the contest was held at the Green Glens Arena on 15 May 1993 and was hosted by Irish TV-reporter Fionnuala Sweeney, marking the first time since the 1987 contest that just one presenter had hosted the contest.
The Eurovision Song Contest 2002 was the 47th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Tallinn, Estonia, following the country's victory at the 2001 contest with the song "Everybody" by Tanel Padar, Dave Benton and 2XL. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Eesti Televisioon (ETV), the contest was held at the Saku Suurhall on 25 May 2002. The contest was presented by Estonian opera singer Annely Peebo and actor Marko Matvere. It was the first Eurovision Song Contest held in one of the former Soviet republics.
Eurovision is a pan-European television telecommunications network owned and operated by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). It was founded 1954 in Geneva, Switzerland, and its first official transmission took place on 6 June 1954.
Slovenia has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest twenty-seven times since its debut in 1993, having hosted a qualification round in Ljubljana for seven countries due to the influx of new nations wishing to join the Eurovision Song Contest. Having only missed the event twice in 1994 and 2000 due to the relegation rule after a poor average score in the 1990s, Slovenia's best result is seventh position achieved on two occasions; in 1995 with "Prisluhni mi" performed by Darja Švajger and in 2001 with Nuša Derenda and "Energy". Since the introduction of the semi-finals in 2004, Slovenia has qualified for the final on seven occasions. As of 2022, Slovenia has not made it to the top ten since their seventh place finish in 2001, only making it to the thirteenth position in 2002 and 2011.
The Eurovision Song Contest 2007 was the 52nd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Helsinki, Finland, following the country's victory at the 2006 contest with the song "Hard Rock Hallelujah" by Lordi. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Yleisradio (Yle), the contest was held at the Hartwall Areena, and consisted of a semi-final on 10 May, and a final on 12 May 2007. The two live shows were presented by Finnish television presenter Jaana Pelkonen and musician and TV-host Mikko Leppilampi. In addition, Krisse Salminen acted as guest host in the green room, and reported from the crowds at the Senate Square.
The Eurovision Song Contest 2009 was the 54th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Moscow, Russia, following the country's victory at the 2008 contest with the song "Believe" by Dima Bilan. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Channel One (C1R), the contest was held at the Olimpiysky Arena, and consisted of two semi-finals on 12 and 14 May, and a final on 16 May 2009. The semi-finals were presented by Russian model Natalia Vodianova and television presenter Andrey Malahov, while the final was presented by Russian television presenter Ivan Urgant and former Russian contestant Alsou Abramova, becoming the first and as of 2022 only time that two different sets of presenters had hosted the semi-finals and finals.
Bosnia and Herzegovina made their début at the Eurovision Song Contest 1993 in Millstreet, Ireland. Fazla represented Bosnia and Herzegovina with the song "Sva bol svijeta". The lyrics of the song describe the Bosnian War occurring at that time in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which gripped the entire country at the time. They finished in 16th place with 27 points.
Croatia entered the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time as an independent country in 1993. The country's first entry was by Put with the song "Don't Ever Cry".
The Eurovision Young Musicians 2010 was the fifteenth edition of the Eurovision Young Musicians, held at the Rathausplatz in Vienna, Austria on 14 May 2010. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF), musicians from seven countries participated in the televised final. This was the third time that the competition was held on an open-air stage and was the beginning of the annual Vienna Festival. Austria and broadcaster ORF previously hosted the contest in 1990, 1998, 2006 and 2008.
Slovenia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 with the song "No One" written by Matjaž Vlašič and Urša Vlašič. The song was performed by Maja Keuc. Slovenian broadcaster Radiotelevizija Slovenija organised the national final EMA 2011 in order to select the Slovenian entry for the 2011 contest in Düsseldorf, Germany. Ten entries competed in the national final where the winner was selected over two rounds of voting. In the first round, the top two entries were selected by a three-member jury panel. In the second round, "Vanilija" performed by Maja Keuc was selected as the winner entirely by a public vote. The song was later translated from Slovene to English for the Eurovision Song Contest and was titled "No One".
The Eurovision Young Musicians 2012 was the sixteenth edition of the Eurovision Young Musicians, held at the Rathausplatz in Vienna, Austria on 11 May 2012. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF), musicians from seven countries participated in the televised final. This was the fourth time that the competition was held on an open-air stage and during the annual Vienna Festival. Austria and broadcaster ORF previously hosted the contest in 1990, 1998, 2006, 2008 and 2010.
The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2014 was the 12th edition of the annual Junior Eurovision Song Contest, and took place, for the first time, in Malta. This was the third time that the contest was hosted by the previous year's winning country. Maltese national broadcaster PBS was the host broadcaster for the event. The final took place on 15 November 2014 and was in the Malta Shipbuilding in Marsa, near Valletta. Moira Delia, a Maltese television personality, hosted the show, marking the first time in Junior Eurovision history that there was only one presenter of the show.
The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2015 was the thirteenth edition of the annual Junior Eurovision Song Contest, and took place, for the first time, in Bulgaria. The Bulgarian national broadcaster BNT was the host broadcaster for the event. The final took place on 21 November 2015 and was held at the Arena Armeec in Sofia. Poli Genova, a Bulgarian singer and former representative of Bulgaria in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011, hosted the show. A total of seventeen countries participated, with Australia and Ireland making their debuts. Albania and Macedonia returned after being absent since the 2012 and 2013 contests, respectively. Croatia and Cyprus withdrew after returning in the 2014 edition, while Sweden withdrew for the first time since 2008.
The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2016 was the fourteenth edition of the annual Junior Eurovision Song Contest, which took place at the Mediterranean Conference Centre, in Valletta, Malta. This was the second time that Malta have hosted the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, their first being in 2014. Jon Ola Sand was appointed as the Executive Supervisor for the 2016 Junior Eurovision Song Contest, following the dismissal of the former supervisor, Vladislav Yakovlev.
The Eurovision Song Contest 2020 was planned to be the 65th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It would have taken place in Rotterdam, Netherlands, following the country's victory at the 2019 contest with the song "Arcade" by Duncan Laurence. The contest was cancelled on 18 March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, making the first time in the contest's 64-year history that an edition was not held.
The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2022 is set to be the 20th edition of the annual Junior Eurovision Song Contest. It is set to take place in Yerevan, Armenia on 11 December 2022, following the country's victory at the 2021 contest with the song "Qami Qami" by Maléna. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Public Television Company of Armenia (AMPTV), the contest will be held at the Karen Demirchyan Sports and Concerts Complex. This will be the second time that Armenia hosts the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, the first being in 2011.