Last Saturday night at The Scala nightclub in London, the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 Winner�s Tour arrived for its UK leg of the tour. Party-goers enjoyed seven hours of the best hi-energy Eurovision music and appearances by past and present contestants including Dima Bilan, this year�s winner from Russia. Ani Lorak from Ukraine also made a special appearance just one week after finishing in second place in this year�s contest. This was the only time during the whole leg of the winner�s tour that first and second placed artists would appear together on the same bill.

Joining Dima and Ani onstage were 1981 UK Eurovision Song Contest winners Bucks Fizz, Sonia (second place finisher for the UK in 1993) and hostess for the evening Nicki French (the UK contestant from 2000). The best Eurovision and Schlager music was supplied by the Euro-Schlager specialist DJ Dave Simmons.

Nicki French proved to be the perfect hostess for the evening. She displayed natural enthusiasm for the contest and a great sense of fun and humour throughout the show. She certainly had no problem in whipping up the crowd into a frenzy throughout the evening. In true Eurovision tradition Nicki appeared in a different outfit every time she appeared on stage to announce an act, adding extra glamour to the proceedings. Much to the joy of the audience she also appeared on one occasion in her 2001 outfit. She was the first to perform on the stage with:

Don’t Play That Song Again
Hallelujah/ Beg Steal or Borrow/Boom Bang a Bang (Eurovision medley)

Next on stage was Sonia who gave her customarily strong vocal and energetic performance of:

Never Stop Me From Loving You
Hopelessly Devoted To You
Better The Devil You Know
I Am What I Am/ Don’t Leave Me This Way (medley)

Following on stage were Bucks Fizz comprised of Cheryl Baker, Mike Nolan and Shelly Preston, who performed a much longer set than their performance at the Eurovision Preview Party last April. They did a great job of entertaining the crowd with:

New Beginning
Camera Never Lies
Piece of the Action
I Hear Talk
Can’t Stand the Heat
Love The One Your With
Land Of Make Believe
Making Your Mind Up

After a short beak the winner of the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest, Dima Bilan appeared to perform:

Believe
Number One Fan

Dima acted like a true champion on stage as he enjoyed a huge reception from the audience made up of not only Eurovision fans but also a number of Russian fans who had come along to enjoy the evening. He spoke both in English and Russian to his fans and gave energetic performances of his two songs displaying strong live vocals. After this evening's performance there is no doubt about how proud he is to have won the Eurovision Song Contest and that he will became a strong ambassador for the contest.

Following Dima’s performance, Nicky French reappeared on stage for another collection of fun-filled, exuberant songs:

Total Eclipse Of The Heart
I Surrender
Don’t Play That Song Again

This was the perfect way to introduce Ani Lorak to the stage with her two backing dancers. She performed:

Simply The Best
Simile (a song from her English album)
It’s My Life
Shady Lady
Shady Lady (reprise)

There is no doubt that Ani enjoyed the biggest reception of the evening from the audience for her performance of Shady Lady. The crowd reaction was simply amazing. They sang along to every word of Shady Lady for which she received an enormous response. After this there was simply no way she would have been allowed to leave the building before reprising her song. Wearing the same silver outfit she wore seven days ago in the Eurovision Song Contest, she gave a breathtaking performance and provided outstanding live vocals. For the majority of the crowed Ani Lorak was certainly the highlight of an amazing night.

Yet again the Scale provided the perfect venue for one of the best Eurovision Song Contest parties ever seen in London. DJ Dave Simmons kept the crowd happy with past and present Eurovision and Schlager tunes played through out the night. To make the event extra special 10% of ticket sales will be donated to the Terrence Higgins Trust