Dima Bilan, runner-up for Russia at the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest, starred alongside Ukrainian representative Tina Karol in a concert held last night in the 2005 contest venue, Palats Sportu.
Building on the popularity following his success for Russia in Athens, the concert was one of many dates in Dima's busy calendar in the lead-up to his new album release later this month. Only a few days previously, on the 2nd July, Dima was many thousands of kilometres away in Vladivostok, performing in the 146th birthday celebrations of the town. A day later the jetsetting singer had arrived in Khabarovsk for another crowd-pleasing date, before finally arriving in Kyiv. Joining him and Tina Karol on the bill at Palats Sportu was Ani Lorak, the Ukrainian star who made a bid to represent her country on home soil in 2005.
The new album Время – река (Time is a river) will be launched on 21st July in a special show entitled Замок-театр Димы Билана (The castle-theatre of Dima Bilan), directed by Fokas Evangelinos, the Greek behind Eurovision Song Contest performances by Sakis Rouvas (Greece 2004), Helena Paparizou (Greece 2005) and of course, Dima Bilan for Russia this year. The organisers promise that the launch will be one of the most prestigious events of the year.
Rare single release
Dima's Eurovision entry Never let you go saw a CD single release in his native Russia, an event which is by no means as commonplace as in Western European countries. Despite the unusual step, the single sold well, and even made sales outside Russia in countries such as Sweden and Greece – a first for any Russian entry at the song contest. The CD included fresh remixes of Never let you go, plus new video footage of the singer.
For more information about Dima's forthcoming tour dates, visit his official website at this link .
