The preparations for the forthcoming Eurovision Song Contest scheduled to be held on the 22nd and 24th of May in Belgrade are now well and truly under way. Serbian newspaper Blic reports that 1,500 hotel rooms have been booked for the participants of the contest. Around 40 delegations are expected bringing along around 25 members each. In addition, there will be several hundred members of the press and a large number of fans fans.

Anja Rogljic from the Eurovision 2008 organization teamis reported to havetold Blic that the Belgrade Arena has successfully passed the test and been approved as the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest venue, and will be occupied for 50 days, thus being available from the 15th of April.

The rehearsels are set to start 12 days before the final.She has also commented that hotel rooms have already been booked for the participants, delegations, marketing team members and the representatives of the EBU. They are still awaiting hotel offers for the press reporters and Eurovision fans.

The Sava Centar in Belgrade has been proposed by RTS to host the press centre along with the Euroclub where parties will be held. The Sava Centar is situated in Novi Beograd and is not very far from the Beogradska Arena.RTS is still awaiting approval from the EBU for the Euroclub and Press Center to be hosted at the Sava Centar.

Svante Stockselius was in Belgrade last week along with a team from the EBU to oversee all the preparations for the forthcoming Eurovision Song Contest. RTS and the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 team presented their proposals, venues and suggestions to the EBU. esctoday.com will keep you updated with the latest news on the forthcoming Eurovision Song Contest in Belgrade.