Eurovision’s Greatest Hits - Media Pack

As part of the European Broadcasting Union’s celebrations for the 60th anniversary of the Eurovision Song Contest, the BBC will be hosting a special concert showcasing some of the very best songs from the competition in Eurovision’s Greatest Hits, for broadcast on BBC One and countries across Europe and in Australia.

Published: 13 March 2015

London’s Eventim Apollo Hammersmith will roll out the red carpet for this special anniversary event, which will feature an array of iconic performances from throughout the Eurovision Song Contest’s colourful 60-year history. The UK’s Eurovision presenter Graham Norton and ESC 2013 host, Sweden’s Petra Mede, will co-host the show, which, as well as featuring a number of both classic and contemporary acts, will also feature surprise guests and a show-stopping finale performance.

The 15 acts performing on the night are:

Reigning Eurovision Song Contest Champion Conchita Wurst will sing Rise Like a Phoenix. Conchita went on to enjoy international superstardom following the most recent contest in Cophenhagen, Denmark, winning the competition with 290 points, giving Austria its first win since 1966.

Swedish pop group Herreys, who won the 1984 competition with the song Diggi-Loo Diggi-Ley will be reprising their famous Eurovision hit. Following the competition, Herreys became the bestselling pop group in Sweden in the Eighties and enjoyed enormous success touring and performing in excess of 300 live shows.

Natasha St-Pier, who represented France in the 2001 contest, will once again sing her power ballad Je n'ai que mon âme. Following the contest, as well as releasing new music, Natasha went on to become a coach in the second and third seasons of The Voice Belgique (The Voice Of Belgium).

Denmark’s Emmelie De Forest who came first in the 2013 Eurovision Song will be performing her winning song, Only Teardrops. Upon victory, Emmelie became the third contestant from Denmark to win the competition.

Lordi from Finland, who made history in 2006 by becoming the first, and to date, the only hard rock act to win the Eurovision Song Contest, will once again take to the stage to perform their winning song, Hard Rock Hallelujah.

1982 Eurovision Song Contest winner Nicole from Germany was just 17 years old when she led her country to victory in Harrogate, Yorkshire, and she will once again perform her song Ein Bißchen Frieden (A Little Peace). After the contest, the English language version of the song went on to become the 500th UK Singles Chart number one.

Johnny Logan, who is best known as ‘Mr Eurovision’ and the only performer to have won the Eurovision Song Contest three times - twice as a performer (1980 and 1987) and once as a songwriter in 1992 - will perform a medley of the winning songs he performed at the competition - What’s Another Year from 1980 and Hold Me Now from 1987.

Rosa López finished in seventh position in 2002 and she will pay homage to some of Spain’s most successful Eurovision hits, including her own Eurovision entry, Europe’s Living A Celebration. Following the contest, Rosa released a self-titled album, which went to number one and also gained a 5x Platinum status in Spain, selling over 500,000 units.

Anne-Marie David won the competition for Luxembourg in 1973 and will once again sing her winning song Tu Te Reconnaitras. Following the contest, Anne-Marie performed her winning song in eight languages - the English version Wonderful Dream reached Number 13 in the UK charts and the original version reached the Top 10 in Sweden, Netherlands among other countries.

Danish duo The Olsen Brothers finished first in 2000 and will sing their winning entry Fly On The Wings of Love.

Loreen won the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest with a total of 372 points. Loreen will be performing her song Euphoria which, following the competition, went on to reach No. 1 in the charts across Europe including Austria, Denmark, Germany, Poland and Loreen’s home country of Sweden.

The UK’s winning entry from 1976, Brotherhood Of Man, will perform their famous song Save Your Kisses For Me. Following the Eurovision Song Contest, the song became a major hit around the world, selling six million copies and made No.1 in many countries and returned the group to the US Charts.

Dima Bilan has represented Russia twice at in the competition – first in 2006 performing Never Let You Go, finishing second to Lordi, and then winning the contest in 2008 in Belgrade with the song Believe. Dima will perform a medley of both songs at the London concert.

Dana International represented Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 1998 in Birmingham and will take to the stage to perform Diva once again. Following the contest, Dana International released the winning song as a single in Europe and it became a hit, reaching number 11 in the UK charts and the top 10 in Sweden, Belgium, Finland, Ireland and the Netherlands.

The Norwegian pop duo Bobbysocks! won the Eurovision Song Contest 1985 and will once again sing their winning song La det swinge (Let it swing).

Eurovision’s Greatest Hits will be broadcast in the following countries: Australia - SBS, Austria - ORF, Belgium - VRT & RTBF, Bulgaria - BNT, Denmark - DR, Finland – YLE, France - France 2, Greece - NERIT, Iceland - RÚV, Ireland - RTÉ, Israel - IBA, Norway - NRK, Portugal - RTP, Romania - TVR, Russia - C1R, San Marino - SMRTV, Slovenia - RTVSLO, Sweden - SVT, Switzerland - SRF, Spain - RTVE, United Kingdom - BBC One & BBC Radio 2.

CM2

Q&A with presenters Graham Norton and Petra Mede

Are you looking forward to the 60th anniversary concert? Which acts are you looking forward to?

Petra: Yes it’s going to be a lot of fun. The songs are going to be great. I love the Olsen Brothers.

Graham: I do like the Olsen Brothers too. We have also got the cream of the newer ones like Conchita. I think going into the 60th year, Conchita was the perfect winner. She really captured the spirit of Eurovision. People love her.

Do you love the quirky acts?

Graham: It is great as a commentator when someone is a quirky or funny act!

Petra: You have to take it seriously. In Sweden, we take it very seriously. We have six weeks to decide who will represent us. Eurovision absorbs the whole country.

Tell us about your own first memories of Eurovision.

Graham: I remember Dana winning! They were the Irish Abba! She put Ireland on an international stage. It seemed amazing at the time. I remember Dana sitting in her little dress with a water stream and village on the set.

Petra: I was four years old when Abba won. I was at kindergarten and the whole place went crazy. When I was 11, I became a lot more aware of the world around me and I really took it to my heart.

Any particular acts that stand out for you, maybe for the wrong reasons?

Graham: Sometimes people think it is a good idea but then it falls foul! I remember a turkey act for Ireland. When you saw the turkey exposed on the stage, we did have a good laugh.

Graham, do you think the British take Eurovision seriously?

Graham: Yes I do. There is a great sense of national pride on the night. There is always outrage if we don’t get the vote but Eurovision has such a fun and great spirit to it all.

Are you pleased to be working together?

Petra: Yes I was very star struck when I met Graham! Swedish TV is very influenced by the British and so for me to be invited by the BBC is crazy but fantastic!

Graham: It will be a lot of fun and I like the fact it is a European event, rather than a London-based event. It’s nice to have someone on stage with me.

Do you think the UK will ever win?

Graham: Yes I do. Germany has won it and so yes, I do think we will. The great thing about Eurovision is you can never second-guess it!

Do you hope Eurovision will go on for many more years to come?

Graham: I can’t imagine life without it. What’s great about this concert is everyone is a winner. It has been a huge part of their lives.

Petra: I hope so. There are so few TV shows that gather so many people together. Eurovision is one of those shows where everyone has an opinion.

And finally, if you could swap lives with one of the acts for 24 hours, whom would you choose?

Graham: I wouldn’t mind being Dima Bilan!

Petra: I’d love to swap with Johnny Logan. He is a legend and I love his songs. They are beautiful.