Past Event

Eurovision 2013 Malmo

17th May 2013 - 19th May 2013

Event Image

Presenter: Bella Union Events
Website: http://www.bellaunion.com.au
Event Duration: 120 minutes

For many people, the Eurovision Song Contest is nothing but a huge waste of time and money. They argue that the event doesn't deserve to exist at all, and point to the generic and repetitive songwriting, the flawed voting process that rewards bloc affiliations, the obvious over-reliance on novelty costumes, cheap sparkle and glitz, and the transparent efforts of many entrants to pander to the widest possible European audience.

To which we say: your point being?

Because the Eurovision Song Contest is brilliant. It's full of colour and joy, replete with eager performers stepping onto the world stage and giving it their all. The best of the winners are inspired - Sandie Shaw's "Puppet On A String", Abba's "Waterloo", Lordi's "Hard Rock Hallelujah", Loreen's "Euphoria" - but each year there are also great songs that miss out on the top prize, from Serbia's "Caroban" to Iceland's "Is It True?". And there are wonderfully daffy attempts to capture the imagination of the voting public - last year's brace of Russian grandmothers a case in point.

So at Bella Union we like to make a special night (or three) of it. We fire up the Bellavision big screen and tune in SBS, dress up, design and print our own voting forms, break out some special themed cocktails... why, we might even incorporate the occasional live performance into proceedings during the ad breaks. Party for everybody - dance!

This year, the event is being broadcast by SBS from Malmo in Sweden, helmed capably by Julia Zemiro and Sam Pang as ever. On the evenings of May 17 and 18, it's semifinals time, where some of the quirkiest nuggets are found (and often, sadly, eliminated); on Sunday May 19, it's the big one, as the 26 finalist countries perform.

Sure, you could watch it at home; it's right there on SBS. But you won't have anywhere near as much fun. Come down to Bella Union, drink, dance, cheer for your favourites, laugh at the superb nuttiness and embrace the madness that is Eurovision. Kanon!

FRIDAY 17th MAY
8.30PM    SBS Semi Final I broadcast - bar opens @ 5.30PM
Austria
Estonia
Slovenia
Croatia
Denmark
Russia
Ukraine
The Netherlands
Montenegro
Lithuania
Belarus
Moldova
Ireland
Cyprus
Belgium
Serbia

SATURDAY 18th MAY
7.30PM    SBS Semi Final II broadcast - bar opens @ 6.30PM
Latvia
San Marino
FYR Macedonia
Azerbaijan
Finland
Malta
Bulgaria
Iceland
Greece
Israel
Armenia
Hungary
Norway
Albania
Georgia
Switzerland
Romania

SUNDAY 19th MAY
7.30PM     SBS Grand Final broadcast - bar opens @ 6.30PM
Sweden
Germany
United Kingdom
France
Italy
Spain
... plus the 20 countries that get through the semis!