Egypt, Dana Gas report new well success in onshore Nile Delta    Sudan's ambassador to Egypt holds reconstruction talks on with Arab League    UK pay settlements stagnant amid inflation surge    Egyptian pound opens flat on July 23    Egypt's current account gap narrows, but overall BoP records deficit    Egypt hosts international neurosurgery conference to drive medical innovation    World Bank proposes Egypt join new global health initiative    Egypt, India discuss expanding industrial, investment partnerships    Egypt's EDA discusses Johnson & Johnson's plans to expand investment in local pharmaceutical sector    I won't trade my identity to please market: Douzi    Egypt welcomes 25-nation statement urging end to Gaza war    Egypt, Senegal sign pharma MoU to unify regulatory standards    Famine kills more Gaza children as Israel tightens siege amid global outrage    Kuwait's Crown Prince, Egyptian minister discuss strengthening cooperation    Egyptian Drug Authority discusses plans for joint pharmaceutical plant in Zambia    Egypt's FM seeks deeper economic, security ties on five-nation West Africa tour    Two militants killed in foiled plot to revive 'Hasm' operations: Interior ministry    Egypt, Somalia discuss closer environmental cooperation    Egypt foils terrorist plot, kills two militants linked to Hasm group    Giza Pyramids' interior lighting updated with new LED system    Egypt's EHA, Huawei discuss enhanced digital health    Foreign, housing ministers discuss Egypt's role in African development push    Korea Culture Week in Egypt to blend K-Pop with traditional arts    Egypt, Uruguay eager to expand trade across key sectors    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Three ancient rock-cut tombs discovered in Aswan    Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Egypt's Irrigation Minister urges scientific cooperation to tackle water scarcity    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    Egypt's Democratic Generation Party Evaluates 84 Candidates Ahead of Parliamentary Vote    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Salvador Sobral of Portugal wins 2017 Eurovision Song Contest
Published in Daily News Egypt on 14 - 05 - 2017

In musically strong year, a no-frills song by a brother and sister team was the clear favorite. This marks the first time Portugal has won the competition."We live in a world of disposable music," said Portugal's Salvador Sobral after being announced the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest at the end of the event on Saturday night in Kyiv. "This is a vote for people who actually mean something with their music. Music is not fireworks, music is feeling, so let's try to do this and bring music back."
Then the singer took to the stage again, joined by his sister Luisa, who had composed the melancholic, fado-laced chanson "Amar Pelos Dois" ("For the Both of Us") about a hopeless and selfless love.
Authenticity and sincerity are Sobral's trademarks, and for both juries and TV audiences, there was no escaping his charm.
Notwithstanding the polished Eurovision show, where nothing is left to chance, he made every performance sound spontaneous and different. For health reasons he had missed part of the rehearsal schedule: Sobral, who is awaiting a heart transplant, cannot travel for more than two weeks' time without his medical team.
First for Portugal
In over six decades of the Eurovision Song Contest, this is Portugal's first win. Sobral's 758 points were a clear lead over the 615 of Bulgaria, followed in a considerable margin by Moldova (374 points), Belgium (363), Sweden (344) and – the clear favorite in the weeks before – Italy (334 points).
The songs exhibited a range of styles. Bulgaria's entry was an absolutely poised 17-year-old Kristian Kostov with a very mature voice. Moldova's SunStroke Project delivered a fun dance number that generated smiles and dancing, while Belgium's Blanche sang a minimalist song laced with melancholy. Sweden's Robin Bengtsson showed a bit too much polish in his smooth dance number, and the ostensibly unconquerable Italy, which might have won any other year, faced too much stiff competition in 2017.
As in previous years, there was much regional voting, with countries frequently awarding their points to neighboring lands. Yet across the continent, many juries awarded their top points to Portugal. Sobral established a lead from the beginning, and was never challenged as the votes came in – first, country by country in the jury voting, and later, when the combined television votes were announced.
Notable in the evening was the disturbance created by a streaker, apparently wearing only an Australian flag and momentarily seen on television disturbing the performance of Ukrainian singer Ruslana while the vote tallies were awaited.
With six points, Germany finished second-to-last, followed only by Spain. Levina's performance was solid, yet unemotional, and her song all-too-safe and so calculated to win that the result was the opposite.
Three of the six points were awarded by the Irish jury, the other three by television audiences.
Fun and seriousness
Altogether, 42 nations vied this time for top honors at the grand final of the world's biggest entertainment show, broadcast to an estimated television audience of 200 million.
Hosted by three young men – Oleksandr Skichko, Timur Miroshnychenko and Volodymyr Ostapchuk – in the kind of English that can be understood across the continent, the show was bare-bones, despite ongoing controversy in Ukraine over the cost of the event.
The effects in the musical productions were of typically high standard, however: a gigantic LED screen creating spellbinding visual spaces, showers of sparks falling from the heights and pyrotechnic columns surging from below.
In in Kyiv itself, security was clearly paramount. At the press conference a day before the final, the Ukraine band's frontman thanked "the men who are fighting for our security in the east," reminding visitors that the country is at war. "Freedom is Our Religion" is the message of a huge banner on Maidan Square near the Eurovision fan zone, while a billboard on Independence Square listed nine Ukrainian soldiers killed this month.
In the biggest ESC scandal in memory, Russia boycotted the contest after a controversial ban on its singer, Yulia Samoylova, and both Russia and Ukraine now face EBU sanctions for politicizing the event.
But across the broad Dnipro River in Kyiv's exhibition center seating 9,000, there was only fun, celebration and unity. The world's biggest entertainment show continues its unique blend of quirkiness and glamour, spectacle and sometimes even high musicality with a cross-generational appeal.


Clic here to read the story from its source.