The Eurovision Song Contest hits London’s West End one night only next week.
Stars of London’s prestigious theatres will join in competition for the charity gala, West End Eurovision 2013 next Thursday 23 May.
During the show, which is now in its sixth year, cast members from each of ten West End shows including Viva Forever, Mamma Mia, We Will Rock You, Phantom of the Opera and A Chorus Line, must perform a fully-choreographed version of a past entry to the Eurovision Song Contest. The entry each cast performs must not have appeared before at West End Eurovision, and must be preceded by a specially filmed video ident, as in the Eurovision Song Contest itself. The entries are then judged by a panel of celebrity professionals, which in the past has included Frances Ruffelle, Javine Hylton, Cheryl Baker of Bucks Fizz and Sally Ann Trippett of Bardo, all of whom have represented the UK at the Eurovision Song Contest. This year’s celebrity panel is to include TV astrologer and former Strictly Come Dancing contestant, Russell Grant, and singers, Sinitta, Jodie Prenger and Kerry Ellis.
Last year’s West End Eurovision was won by the cast of Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street, and their leading man, Michael Ball. The winning song was Michael’s very own One step out of time, which came second when the Eurovision Song Contest was held in Malmö, 1992.
You can see a video of the winning performance here –
The event is presented by TheatreMad, the theatre producing part of entertainment industry charity, The Make a Difference Trust. The charity brings together audiences and entertainers to raise funds for the support of men and women living with HIV, AIDS and other long-term, chronic conditions. Director of TheatreMad, Steven Inman, told the press: This amazing one-off show gets bigger and better every year, but is only possible because of the incredible support we receive from the theatre community for our work. This year we saw the number of people living with HIV in the UK hit 100,000, with 1 in 4 unaware of their status. Events like this help us to make a real difference in thousands of people’s lives.
Tickets for the show, which is to be held at the Dominion Theatre at 11.30pm next Thursday, 23 May, start at £25. For more information, please see the website here
