http://www.eurovision.tv/page/news Blogs by Nicola Allen | The Eurovision Family of Events en-uk copyright: 2010 EBU/EUR Sat, 11 Feb 2012 23:10:53 +0100 6ec6cc7ac650d18741df0245b60d46a9 http://www.eurovisionfamily.tv/user/Anixi17/blog/?id=117492 There's plenty to look forward to this weekend, if, like I, you follow the National Finals. On Saturday, we have Finals from Iceland, Norway and Hungary, plus semi's 2 of Sweden and Lithuania respectively. And then on the Sunday, it's the turn of the hosts Azerbaijan. I shall be watching ... Fri, 10 Feb 2012 22:42:22 +0100 e52753e7051cbcd5579f37e52947d1d0 http://www.eurovisionfamily.tv/user/Anixi17/blog/?id=116392 With the Maltese NF coming up on Saturday (with the semi tomorrow) I wanted to show you some footage I took of last years Maltese press conference in Dusseldorf. As usual, the Maltese were lots of fun and very enthusiastic about Eurovision - I'm hoping they win one year soon as I'd love to visit ... Thu, 02 Feb 2012 18:09:12 +0100 0afb7e297a257e774653745eaf357d71 http://www.eurovisionfamily.tv/user/Anixi17/blog/?id=115012 One of the German volunteers in Dusseldorf who I became friends with, sent me some photos of ESC fans on final night - and this guy in the photo just had me rolling on the floor with laughter. Brilliant, absolutely brilliant! :) LOVE the outfit! :) But does anyone know who he is? Or if ... Tue, 24 Jan 2012 22:41:58 +0100 2583a6dc998851a720313e424ae5298a http://www.eurovisionfamily.tv/user/Anixi17/blog/?id=113842 I was spoilt for choice last night. Thanks to time differences and the staggered times of the three semis, I was able to catch most of the Bulgarian songs, all of the Latvian ones, and then head for Iceland to enjoy their semi in full. What an evening! I love these Saturday evenings during ... Sun, 15 Jan 2012 18:51:32 +0100 152a2390fde2555affc68b35da8067ff http://www.eurovisionfamily.tv/user/Anixi17/blog/?id=82202 As ESC 2011 approaches, I thought it would be nice to post the link to my 2010 ESC photos here. So here are some of my best shots of the press conferences and dress rehearsals. Enjoy! :) http://www.flickr.com/photos/anixi17/ Mon, 25 Apr 2011 18:13:49 +0200 fee4980e2fc41ba3b9250954acc60669 http://www.eurovisionfamily.tv/user/Anixi17/blog/?id=81252 This time next week, I will NOT be writing a blog at 20 past midnight. ;) I will (hopefully) be far away in the Land of Nod, getting an early night as I have to leave the house at 6.30 a.m. on the Saturday on the start of my journey to Dusseldorf! I so enjoyed my travel to Norway by ferries and ... Sat, 23 Apr 2011 01:42:18 +0200 4eb522fc6d8b88a48e3eb36c820f074f http://www.eurovisionfamily.tv/user/Anixi17/blog/?id=79062 Rather than bore you with my own review of all the songs, I've played all the entries to my canaries, and observed their reactions, and here's their top 5... I have 5 boys and 4 girls, whose ages range from 8 years old (elderly) to 8 months old (teenage). Only male canaries sing, the girls can ... Sat, 16 Apr 2011 13:46:57 +0200 c70d117797628c211302ced5525382aa http://www.eurovisionfamily.tv/user/Anixi17/blog/?id=64902 The Portuguese NF unfolded last night in all it's 3 hour plus splendour, and what a show! Some highly competant artists with great voices, some not, the now obligatory song that has either "Portugal" or "Lisbon" in its title, a couple of schlagery songs (one of whom seemed to have nicked Edsillia ... Sun, 06 Mar 2011 16:02:20 +0100 40ca23c254f66ca3086b9ad6d223f1c2 http://www.eurovisionfamily.tv/user/Anixi17/blog/?id=54972 Finland - we now know the final lineup. Some great songs in there, and quite a varied mix, which is always good. Cardiant and Stala & Co have an instant "in your face" appeal, but I wonder if the Finns will this year go for something like the understated Da Da Dum by Paradise Oskar. It's not the ... Mon, 31 Jan 2011 15:00:32 +0100 19ef726e96b8eb033091e4ac3105bada http://www.eurovisionfamily.tv/user/Anixi17/blog/?id=54282 Dreadful news, this time from Latvia. I never thought within the space of just over a week, I would be paying tribute to another young and talented singer/songwriter closely connected with Eurovision, and who also has a song in his country's national final this year. RIP, Martins Freimanis. ... Fri, 28 Jan 2011 14:28:55 +0100 84a7fac01a0a2ce65f29de5120eb2b72 http://www.eurovisionfamily.tv/user/Anixi17/blog/?id=53412 Condolences to his family and friends at this sad time. He will live on through his music, which brought pleasure to many, including myself. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNpquyHc4Lo Wed, 19 Jan 2011 12:29:54 +0100 8435558feb3519cc526ca50715af8b5b http://www.eurovisionfamily.tv/user/Anixi17/blog/?id=52432 Happy New Year to all the Eurovision family on here, and here's to Eurovision 2011! I've never been to Germany before, so I'm excited and looking forward to experiencing Eurovision there. :) I'm sure Germany will put on a great show and welcome all the fans. :) In celebration of the host ... Sun, 02 Jan 2011 17:05:38 +0100 dc1c65905c8c3bc9d4c5733b5ea39764 http://www.eurovisionfamily.tv/user/Anixi17/blog/?id=51502 Phew. After four hours of trying and not giving up, I finally got a ticket. So happy. :) Dusseldorf, here I come! :) Sun, 12 Dec 2010 16:39:36 +0100 ef4589889f5b8bf0a3b60cb82cf2fd84 http://www.eurovisionfamily.tv/user/Anixi17/blog/?id=48362 Here's my footage of it - tremendous stage! I don't know why so many people moaned about it and said Moscow's was better - sure, Moscow had the monitors, but for me they detracted from the actual performances and the songs. Oslo's stage was simple and effective, and it worked, showing off the ... Wed, 01 Sep 2010 20:01:38 +0200 4cfa19f2bce7e12f62706f3351dfc2bd http://www.eurovisionfamily.tv/user/Anixi17/blog/?id=48332 Here's some of the first Bosnian press conference footage I took, where Vuki is singing. :) He came across as a really nice guy. :) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0XM7N4Mr9k Tue, 31 Aug 2010 17:38:14 +0200 b422965b536ca9f20ba1a9f38ec80b41 http://www.eurovisionfamily.tv/user/Anixi17/blog/?id=48132 Just popped in to share with you the footage I took of the UK's song at the final - I really enjoyed watching the stage as a whole, with the lightboxes, rather than all the camera editing shown on the tv. I thought the lightboxes looked rather ... Sat, 21 Aug 2010 00:25:38 +0200 b4841ca7b509435875baed7b7929d590 http://www.eurovisionfamily.tv/user/Anixi17/blog/?id=46872 The Serbian party at Gamle Logen on a hot May evening. Crammed into this beautiful old (I don't know how old) ballroom sort of place. Crammed up against the stage in the mosh pit for over an hour as Goran Bregovic did a set. He with his guitar, a hugely skilled drummer, six brass instruments, ... Tue, 20 Jul 2010 23:58:20 +0200 37f55adb0fc2aa33ea193869d06545c5 http://www.eurovisionfamily.tv/user/Anixi17/blog/?id=46862 Just seen on Ebay that someone's sold the Macedonian promo cd for over £300... Nothing against the Macedonian song, I loved it (until I saw the stage act) - but someone paid more than £300 for a cd? Sure, there's collectors out there, and one collectors meat is another collectors poison, I ... Tue, 20 Jul 2010 23:24:41 +0200 a5902fa38e050089d783d21a3a83bfe0 http://www.eurovisionfamily.tv/user/Anixi17/blog/?id=46352 Well, I'm sure this is going to bore some of the community here, but I'm not one of those who can constantly list their Top Tens, or read inane comments like "Safura iz well fit" a hundred times over. For me, ESC is a hugely intense bubble to be in for two weeks, especially if I go to the event, ... Sat, 10 Jul 2010 02:32:06 +0200 1771f61383d9ddedadf87bca7fb1336d http://www.eurovisionfamily.tv/user/Anixi17/blog/?id=46272 of the Dutch getting through to the World Cup Final...Here's a pic of Sieneke which I took at the dress rehearsal! Wed, 07 Jul 2010 00:02:24 +0200 9b11f3f01a471e1b95926fc6e03cb760 http://www.eurovisionfamily.tv/user/Anixi17/blog/?id=46262 This time of Romania at the semi dress rehearsal. I was in the second row and believe me, those flames were HOT! Tue, 06 Jul 2010 23:38:17 +0200 74d62c44d367abfe5a87db5242744762 http://www.eurovisionfamily.tv/user/Anixi17/blog/?id=45672 I thought the Georgian song was staged beautifully, and she had a tremendous voice, as she showed at the press conferences. :) Sun, 20 Jun 2010 21:15:51 +0200 53eb1df24b5e0efcb1f22f5d28d0fb57 http://www.eurovisionfamily.tv/user/Anixi17/blog/?id=45662 So here's one of Aloysha for you. :) Sun, 20 Jun 2010 21:08:13 +0200 8b024876bab1cb3793250d624fa6fe86 http://www.eurovisionfamily.tv/user/Anixi17/blog/?id=45652 ...For giving me Fan accreditation this year. :) I had the time of my life, and enjoyed every moment of my two weeks out there. And I hope I was a good ambassador for the UK as a ESC fan. :) Josh was simply a lovely guy, and I wish him the best of luck for the future, and I hope he enjoyed his ... Sun, 20 Jun 2010 20:59:05 +0200 60704811ff698b3b9f752c5b1841e821 http://www.eurovisionfamily.tv/user/Anixi17/blog/?id=45102 I'm home. :) Very tired, but very happy, as it was one of the best holidays I'd ever had. :) I still have a lot to process in my head (if you know what I mean) so bit by bit, I'll come out with some memories/other stuff to you all as it gets processed in my head, also am getting on the case with ... Wed, 09 Jun 2010 16:43:09 +0200 2b9044095674d4b51a5f1976813f2e44 http://www.eurovisionfamily.tv/user/Anixi17/blog/?id=26582 Apart from Eurovision, of course! I've just received my Oslo Guide 2010 through the post this morning and it's an invaluable little booklet with a handy map, information on many hotels, restaurants and places of interest as well as telling you what bus you need in order to get to certain ... Thu, 15 Apr 2010 12:14:01 +0200 75819609690e321b06f52cb817c2a490 http://www.eurovisionfamily.tv/user/Anixi17/blog/?id=23222 "It's the worst contest EVER." "It's a really bad year." This is what I keep reading on messageboards in ESCworld. So many fans nowadays seem so judgemental and instantly dismissive from behind their computers, and I find that rather sad. I don't think it's a bad year at all - it's a fun, ... Sat, 27 Mar 2010 18:08:55 +0100 9c56c739c61c0264ac743c78aec7d474 http://www.eurovisionfamily.tv/user/Anixi17/blog/?id=21412 It's my birthday tomorrow... And today I found that the UK have granted me accreditation! Two weeks in Oslo, and I'm lucky enough to have tickets and accreditation - it's going to be fantastic! :) I can't stop smiling. :) So thank you, BBC, for giving me accreditation! You're the best! :) ... Tue, 16 Mar 2010 16:37:05 +0100 c82ba4cf09c610e7444590549d114a81 http://www.eurovisionfamily.tv/user/Anixi17/blog/?id=17282 So, I've heard some of the other songs in various NF's, and here's my wish-list. :) BULGARIA - Can't make up my mind between Angel si ti and Ostani, both are beautiful, and I have a special fondness for Bulgarian entries, ever since the first one. ARMENIA - Eva Rivas - "Apricot Stone" - this ... Sat, 13 Feb 2010 19:12:37 +0100 24d2fde41d896d169eb24c78894a2617 http://www.eurovisionfamily.tv/user/Anixi17/blog/?id=17072 My profile pic. :) It's an image of Apollo with his blackbird, and is dated several hundred years BC. I really felt some common link with the pic, as I too have a tame blackbird who lives in my garden. I have given him the unimaginative name of Blackie, and he is a real character! Sometimes ... Thu, 11 Feb 2010 10:41:20 +0100