The Danish final was officially declared open at a party last night in Horsens States prison. The very untraditional location seemed to provide a looser atmosphere than normally seen at these parties; artists, politicians, DR crew and the press mingled freely � everyone was just there to have a great time.

It all started withthe witty invitation we received a few days ago. It set the mood of the event and gave us a goodidea of what to expect. Click here to read the invitation.

With many of these opening parties we have seen that the artists normally stick to themselves, that they take care of their voices and make sure not to run into a camera at a bad time, but the Danish opening party was very different. The whole atmosphere was very relaxed, probably due to the bizarre location and the fact that we were all in the same situation: we were in jail to serve a 4 hour sentence!

Right on arrival we were given a number to our cell. Your esctoday.com reporter was placed at the 4th floor with a great view to everything going on in the prison, but it became quite quickly clear that we had certain privileges the ordinary prisoners didn’t have: we could move wherever we wanted to, we didn’t have to ask permission to use the toilet, we had the doors to our cells open all the time and we had free access to the bar; something a few of the artists might have taken too much advantage of! But the atmosphere was very relaxed and when you talked to the participants it wasn’t like an interview press to singer; it was just a conversation between friends.

On the prison stage a rock band was playing, but several of the participants between those Jørgen Olsen and James Sampson decided to perform a few non-Eurovision songs to help. A fight between an inmate and a prison guard had been set up as extra entertainment.

Esctoday.com spoke to DQ alias Peter Andersen who had just been given a wildcard for the Danish final by winning the P3 group with a very big margin.

When asked when he found out about the wildcard victory Peter explained that he didn’t know it before anyone else: I heard it in the radio this morning, just like the rest of you. When I later saw the percentages it was totally insane. 60%, are you kidding – I am so proud!

Who did you concider to be your most dangerous competitor in the P3 group: Definitely Aud Wilken, I just love everything those girls write (the song writers Mette Mathiesen and Lise Cabble).

Peter also told us that right after the qualification heat in Aalborg he felt sure he would get a wildcard, but as he started to listen to the other songs again he also realised how tough it might be. He still believes he has a chance to win despite the fact that he already lost to 4 of the songs, but as he explains: I made a lot of mistakes in Aalborg actually and if I can avoid those this time it is not impossible. And besides, the viewing figures for the final is going to be a lot higher than for the semi-final so who knows what the extra viewers will think?

Is it going to be the same show as in Aalborg? Yes, but without mistakes, hopefully, hehe.

As Peter is a big fan of the Eurovision Song Contest we, of course, also asked him about his favourite song: Oh no, that is evil – it is so hard to answer because you can’t really compare the songs to each other over so many years. It would be fairer just to look at one decade at a time. If we take the 80’s for example there is Katja Ebstein’s Theater, a wonderful song. From Denmark there is Disco Tango from 79… ok, not quite the 80’s, but close enough and then of course there is Kirsten & Søren. (Denmark 1984, 1985 and 1988).

If we take the 90’s there is Fra Mols til Skagen (Denmark 1995) and then there is Immani’s Where are you from 1998 (United Kingdom’s entry that year) and there is also Chiara from 1998 (Malta’s entry that year). Hmm, maybe there is something with 1998, and me hehe.

Since it is you we are talking to maybe it would be better to ask what is your favourite dress from the Eurovision Song Contest? I can’t believe you asked me that, hehe. Let me see…. Peter starts to think and explains that he is going through all the images in his head… I think it would be Israel 2005.What adress -and in particular the train! But of course, she also has the body for it…

What if for example Ralph Siegel calls and says he has a song for you for to enter for another country – are you ready? It depends on the song. Of course I would prefer to represent Denmark in the Eurovision Song Contest, but if they do indeed have the right song then I would think about it.

What can we expect for Helsinki if you win the Danish final? I promise that I will make a show, which has never before been seen from Denmark, and I am sure my partner will make a fabulous dress. He is very creative.

Will we have versions in other languages? Oh yes, it will be out in all sorts of languages I can come up with, hehe.

Is it true that DR had no idea it was a drag show when your song was selected? Yes, when I came to my first meeting with DR they were really surprised. They were all like "eh, oh, hmm… "

When talking to Peter Andersen when he is not in a dress it hits you that you don’t actually notice if he is gay or straight and Peter himself also explains that a drag show doesn’t have to be gay: There are also many great straight drag shows. My sexuality is just my sexuality; it has nothing to do with the song or the performance.

Your esctoday.com reporter had to admit that she didn’t vote for DQ in the second qualification heat in Aalborg last Friday, but it helped Peter’s mood a bit when he heard that her mother did: Do you know what, I like your mom a lot!

When we ended our talk Peter added: Oh, I just love talking to Eurovision fans… and that was indeed what it was – a talk among fans.

Click here to see the pictures from this very unusual opening party held at Horsens States Prison.