Who will be at the London Preview Party?

Scott Fitzgerald UK entrant 1988.

London, United Kingdom - Apart from the 16 acts from this year's contest appearing at the seventh London Preview Party on Sunday 13th April, there will be two former winners of Europe's favourite Tv Show plus several former entrants from across Europe performing at the Café de Paris in the west end of London. Let's find out more about the guest line-up.

We are the winners

Headlining the guest list for the London Preview Party are Anne Marie David who won the contest in 1973 for Luxembourg with the song Tu Te Reconnaîtras, and Linda Martin who won the contest in 1992 for Ireland with the song Why Me?
Both artists have the distinction of twice appearing in the contest, Anne Marie David returned in 1979 to represent France with the song Je Suis L'Enfant Soleil, which finished in a highly respectable third place, whilst Linda Martin had previously finished a close second in 1984 for ireland with the song Terminal Three.

Watch our interview with Anne Marie David

Watch Linda Martin perform Why Me?

What if

Someone who came very close to joining that list of Eurovision winners, is Scott Fitzgerald, who finished in second place in 1988 for the United Kingdom with the song Go, finishing just one point behind Celine Dion from Switzerland.

Meet Scott Fitzgerald in our video

Flying the flag

Two other former entrants will also be appearing on the London stage, and no doubt offering their support to their fellow 2014 entrants. Sarbel who finished in seventh place in the 2007 contest for Greece with the song Yassou Maria and Marcin Mrozinski, who represented Poland in the 2010 contest with the song Legenda.

Watch Marcin Mronzinski perform Legenda

Friends in London

This is the seventh edition of the London Preview Party. It all started in 2008, and in 2010 the responsibility for the organisation was taken on by Russell Davies and Kabir Naidoo, with Roy Bennett joining the organising team in 2014, with Vasil Ivanov and Deian Yordanov taking on the website this year. They are assisted by numerous volunteers who help out in running the event, and supported by several sponsors, including escxtra.com.

In what way is the event different from Eurovision In Concert? "We like to showcase each artist, and give htem the opportunity to perform maybe two or three songs, to show their personality, and a chance to chat with the audience" says Russell Davies.
"The artists love being in the heart of London, and enjoy the intimate setting of the event" adds Russell "although this year we aim to offer a more glamorous location with the Café de Paris".
Russell does have his own favourite moment, and that was seeing Kaliopi on stage in 2012 performing Samo Ti, the song that failed to get past the pre qualifying round for F.Y.R Macedonian in 1996.
Last year the guest list included the eventual Eurovision Song Contest winner, Emmelie de Forest, as Russell recalls when she came off stage she said "I can't believe the audience was singing along to my song, they knew all the words". It was one of the sweetest moments for the team.
Will this year's Eurovision Song Contest winner be amongst the artists appearing at the London Preview Party? We will know in just one month's time on the 10th May!

Who would you like to see appear at the London Preview Party?

Former winners to appear at preview events

Anne Marie David 1973 winner

Europe - Two former winners of Europe's Favourite Tv Show are amongst the acts who are appearing at preview parties across Europe. Anne Marie David who won the contest for Luxembourg in 1973 has just been confirmed for the London Preview Party on the 13th April, whilst last year's winner Emmelie de Forest will be a special guest at Eurovision In Concert in Amsterdam on the 5th April.

The entries for the 2014 contest have been formally submitted, and the Semi-Finalists now know their position in the running order, and fans now wait patiently for the rehearsals to commence. In the meantime though, a number of preview events are taking place across Europe. Let's have a look at who is going to be appearing, when and where, over the next few weeks.

29th March: Riga, Latvia

For the first time in Riga, a Eurovision preview party will take place. The following countries from the 2014 contest will be appearing: Austria , Lithuania and Poland will perform their songs. As an opening act at the preview show will be the band PeR who represented Latvia at the Eurovision Song Contest last year.
The artists who are going to Eurovision preParty Riga 2014 will have an opportunity not only to sing in Riga, European Capital of Culture 2014, but to see Riga on the next day after the Concert, they will have a sightseeing tour of Riga for all the artists and journalists.
Eurovision preParty Riga 2014 concert will be streamed live on the internet on Latvian Public Media

5th April: Amsterdam, Netherlands

Eurovision In Concert is Europe's biggest preview party, and this year takes place for the sixth time in Amsterdam. Last year a record 25 countries were represented at the event, and this year already 20 countries have confirmed their appearance at the Melkweg venue in the city centre,
So far, the following countries from the 2014 contest wll be appearing: Albania, Armenia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Denmark, France, FYR Macedonia, Greece, Lithuania, Malta, Montenegro, Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Spain, Switzerland, Ukraine and United Kingdom.
Special guests will be Frizzle Sizzle who represented the Netherlands in 1986 with the song Alles Heeft Ritme and Emmelie de Forest who won the 2013 contest for Denmark with the song Only Teardrops.
The concert will be hosted by Sandra Reemer, (who represented the Netherlands in 1972, 1976 and 1979) and Cornald Maas.
Such is the popularity of the event that tickets are already sold out. Eurovision.tv will have a team there to cover the event.

13th April: London, United Kingdom

The London Preview Party is now in its seventh year, and this time is moving to a new, larger, venue at the Café De Paris in the heart of London's theatre district.
So far the following acts from the 2014 contest will be performing: Armenia, Austria, FYR Macedonia, Latvia, Malta, Montenegro, Poland, Portugal, San Marino, Spain and Switzerland.
Special guests will be Anne Marie David who won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1973 for Luxembourg with the song Tu Te Reconnaitras, and was third in the 1979 competition for France, At the London event she will also perform Wonderful Dream the English version of her winning song for the British fans, as well as signing copies of the book "Songs For Europe - The United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest - Volume Two - The 1970s". Also appearing is Scott Fitzgerald who represented the United Kingdom in 1988 with the song Go, coming a very close second by just one point behind Switzerland.
The party will be hosted by Nicki French (who represented the United Kingdom in 2000) and Paddy O'Connell.
Tickets are still available for the London Preview Party. Eurovision.tv will have a team there to cover the event.

Watch Anne Marie David

Did You Know?

• Preview videos of the entries first appeared in time for the 1971 edition of Europe's Favourite TV Show. Prior to this it was rare for viewers to see any entries outside their own country.
• Strict rules were enforced regarding the previews. For many years all participating countries were obliged to screen the previews on their national television channels. They weren't allowed to broadcast them in one programme, and had to be shown in at least two separate programmes.
• There were also restrictions on the earliest and latest dates they could be broadcast. In that first year of previews in 1971, the previews of Ireland and Malta were only shown in black and white, as colour television wasn't established in those countries yet. In fact the very first colour broadcast in Ireland was the 1971 Eurovision Song Contest, which was staged in Dublin.
• Nowadays broadcasters aren't obliged to broadcast the preview videos on their networks, but with the changing technology, fans have various ways of watching the preview videos, including watching them all here on Eurovision.tv!

Do You Know?

Do you know of any other preview parties taking place across Europe which feature artists from this year's contest appearing? Let us know at Eurovision.tv.

How do you like to watch the previews of this year's entries?

London Preview Party returns for 2014

Café de Paris, the venue for this year's London Eurovision Preview Party.

London, United Kingdom - It has been announced by the organisers that the London Eurovision Preview Party is back for 2014 with a brand new venue, the swanky Café de Paris on Leicester Square in the heart of the UK capital.

For the 7th year in row, the London Eurovision Preview Party is back, so put the date in your calendar: Sunday, 13th April.
The organisers have also announced a brand new venue: the stylish Café de Paris located right in the heart of London's West End district, just off Leicester Square.
The event is one of a number of preview concerts that take place all over the continent, where artists from many of the participant nations travel to London to perform for fans and the press. For the last few years a team from Eurovision.tv have attended the party, as have other media outlets including the BBC.
The event is usually presented by self-confessed Eurovision Song Contest fan and previous UK entrant, Nicki French and broadcaster and former BBC commentator, Paddy O'Connell.

Tickets on sale soon

The event organisers have announced that pre-sale of tickets for Twitter members will be announced today, so visit their account @LDNEurovision to keep up to date on ticket news, and of course who will be participating.

Previous years

As mentioned above, Eurovision.tv has attended the London Eurovision Preview Party religiously for the past few years, so why don't you take a look at some of our footage from 2013 and 2012, including interviews below:
2013

 

 

2012

 

Are you going to attend?