Editorial: Less Than A Week To Go

So here we are- December 2010, and about to embark on yet another season of national finals. I must admit, it will be very weird to know three of the songs for next year’s contest by December 31st. We’re used to Albania selecting around Christmas, but with Romania and Switzerland added into the bargain it’s going to be very unusual indeed. Of course we have already heard the Finnish entry for next year, but will just have to wait until 12th February to see which one they pick. And we already know that Bosnia is sending Dino Merlin, Cyprus has picked Christos Mylordos, The 3J’s will represent The Netherlands, and that Lena really is going to sing for Germany again!

As I write, we are currently guaranteed of 25 national finals. Add in to that that the Lithuania, Poland, Serbia, Spain, and the United Kingdom will probably have one and it’s over 30. Armenia, Greece, Bulgaria, Georgia, Bosnia, Italy, Lithuania and Russia are yet to declare one way or the other, although in all likelihood at least one or two of them will probably have the public evolved in some way- so we could be looking at over 32 separate national finals- and that’s not including Hungary, Montenegro, and other possible returnees.

As always happens in a year when the Winter Olympics are held, everything gets pushed back, and last year was no different. Thinking back to 2009, we had around 10-12 of the songs by the end of January, whereas last year we seemed to be stuck on about seven well into February. So far for this year, everything seems to be gearing up for the 25th/26th/27th Febraury, with that being the deciding weekend for a fair few countries.

I must admit, it will be incredibly odd sitting in the Bodensee Arena this weekend watching a national final. This weekend will be 31 weeks to the day when Lena won, and just 24 weeks until the Düsseldorf final. Hopefully I will be able to get some good interviews, pictures, and videos from Kreuzlingen to be put on the site the morning after!

So, Europe, make the most of you last days of free time before the madness starts again! Stretching from 11th December until 12th March, we’ve got almost four months of national finals to look forward to.

Get ready for the ride!