Whilst there is no news about Germany's Eurovision Song Contest representative Max, who is currently preparing for his A-levels, viewers of German television can look forward to some highlights in preparation for the big event. And those who are not going to travel to Istanbul will have the opportunity to enjoy the Eurovision Song Contest on a big movie screen instead!
Welcome Europe!
Heartfully welcoming the ten new countries to the European Union, the televised gala Welcome Europe! on 30 April will feature musical performances of the acceding countries' top stars, including Brainstorm (Latvian Eurovision entry of 2000, pictured above) and this year's Estonian entry Neikoso. The celebrations will take place in Berlin, Warsaw and Malta; the show is a co-production of German ZDF, Polish TVP and Maltese PBS.
Eurovision Night
Get your VCR ready for NDR's big Eurovision Night on 8 May. From 23:30 CET, all 36 entries of 2004 will be portrayed, followed by a rerun of the German national final from 1980, Ein Lied für Den Haag, featuring Ralph Siegel and his legendary finger puppets at the piano (1:00 CET)! An airing of the Eurovision Song Contest from 1957, the first ever recorded one, rounds up the night (starting at 2:30 CET). One day earlier, on 7 May, 23:00 CET, German broadcaster ARD will show the best scenes of nearly 50 contest in their special Wunder gibt es immer wieder.
Eurovision Song Contest going to the movies
For those who are not going to travel to Istanbul and are not planning their own Eurovision party, there is the opportunity to watch the big event on a really big screen. In 25 German cities, the Eurovision Song Contest will be shown at a local multiplex cinema. Free movie tickets can be won at a quiz on NDR's website.
