<!— Text ads —>

City Event

Philipp Kirkorov's amazing birthday party....all the news here

Philipp Kirkorov's birthday party

Russia superstar, celebrity and performer Philipp Kirkorov celebrated his birthday in style last night at the exclusive club SUD Lisboa

Philipp Kirkorov's birthday party

ESCKAZ.com were invited as one of the few selected media to be on the gold dust guest list. Obviously this was always going to be a party that was not to be missed. Straight from the press centre to the club, we arrived to be greeted and welcomed by Philipp Kirkorov himself, resplendent a one of design by Dolce and Gabbana - looked great and not his age at all….but after all he is only 25 obviously

Attending the party were the delegations from Iceland, Bulgaria, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Greece, Cyprus, Moldova, San Marino, Norway and special guest Sergey Lazarev. We chatted with several of them and got got some some intimate moments in the beautiful surroundings overlooking the waterfront - an amazing spot in Lisbon

Philipp Kirkorov's birthday party

Philipp Kirkorov treated us all to complementary drinks as we arrived and gave several interviews to press and welcomed each of his guests in turn - cameras were flashing all the time, TV crews were tripping over each other to all get the most amazing shots.

Finally we were invited inside to listen to some heartfelt comments from Philipp, Alexander Ryback and Sergey Lazarev as well as Alexander performing with his violin. After this the whole party were treated to an amazing array of Portuguese Tapas - again complimentary from Philipp Kirkorov.

During the food and drink there were performances from Rui Drummond, Eurovision 2005, and we wish that one day he will appear on the Eurovision stage again. Afterwards EQUINOX (Bulgaria) performed, as did Aisel (Azerbaijan) and Sergey Lazarev (Russia 2016)

Once again and amazing party and all the ESCKAZ.com team would like to thank Philipp Kirkorov and his team for the outstanding party…

All footage and photography maybe found at this playlist and on this flickr album

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUj9YGQtlfgFrN_ak2NHBVS-vmPqXTBoo

Capucha & The Dowsers Society

Andy on Sun, 04/29/2018 - 13:37

Since Eurovision week is not only about Eurovision music, but also learning more about the culture of the hosting country - we have used our free evening to travel from Lisbon accross Tajo river to Barreiro city to attend concert of rock band The Dowsers Society in a quite unique setting of Associação Desenvolvimento Artes e Oficios - Center of Crafts and Arts. The support band was Capucha from Spain.

Sadly we have counted only 50 members of the audience at the concert, despite the very high quality music output of both band. Capucha offered mostly indie-alternative with blues-rock tendencies and their songs had a tendency to start slowly getting heavier to the end. All but one songs were in Spanish, with one song in English. Band also got a lot of memorabilia - caps, T-shirts etc. You can listen to them at: https://capucha.bandcamp.com/ and two clips below.

The Dowsers Society is quite interesting band with also blues, psychedelic and stoner influences and is practically on the world class level. The interaction with 3 members is perfect. The set has included 11 songs, few of them instrumentals and all in English. And they also brought their albums (7 Euros) and mediators (1 Euro) - the band also drawn few albums for fans attending the concert. Unfortunately we had to leave 1 song short to catch last ferry to Lisbon and got back to the city at 2am. You can watch few videos below and listen more at https://thedowserssociety.bandcamp.com/

Capucha & Dowsers Society in ADAO

Galina Scoda (Ultramarine Girls)

Andy on Fri, 05/12/2017 - 22:48

Some of Eurovision fans may remember Galina Scoda - participant of Moldovan 2008-2010 national preselections with such songs like "Your Own Vision", "Joc De Noroc" and "Actori".

Since 2010 Galina has moved to Ukraine, where she starred in various plays of Musical Theater "Comme il faut".

Since 2010 she sings in cover band "Some like it hot", which has in 2014 been renamed into "Ultramarine Girls"

This year, Scoda has completed in the Ukrainian version of The Voice.

Attempting to cover everything Eurovision related, ESCKAZ could not miss performance of Galina Scoda and Ultramarine Girls (Maria Sorokina, drums, Marta Kovalchuk, bass, Uliana Guda, keyboards). We were looking for suitable dates throughout the week and eventually managed to catch them in Solod enjoy bar.

Having a brief chat with Galina after the performance, we have let her know she is being missed in the Eurovision world and we would be happy to see her again running in the national preselection in Ukraine or Moldova. Hopefully, composers and producers pay attention to her fantastic abilities. Band's website: https://ultramarinegirlsband.com/

A Day with O.Torvald (Ukraine)

Andy on Wed, 05/10/2017 - 04:10

Today, representatives of Ukrainian and largest international press have been invited for a tour with O.Torvald band, which included visit to the "Barman Dictat", Arena City complex and Gulliver mall roof.

"Barman Dictat" (formerly 44 art club) is the location where O.Torvald gave their first ever performance in Kyiv, and still remains favourite stage of the band. Zhenya Galich and his team (who were sadly missing bass guitarist, who was sick) gave rendition of 3 songs including their most recent hit #nashilyudyvsyudy and shared with press members a few drinks.

Special guests were Bandura Style project (Yaroslav Jus and Maryna Krut) who after releasing their cover of Time yesterday were noticed by Zhenya this morning and immediately invited to Kyiv.

After a short walk we have reached location of 2005 Euroclub Arena City where band met with their fans, who, despite just a one hour notice, gathered in masses to meet their idols. Artists spoke with fans and made numerous signatures and selfies.

To finish the day, band and press members have climbed to the 34th floor of Gulliver mall - the 2nd highest building of Kyiv and got a great view on the city from there.

A Day with O.Torvald

A boat trip on the Dnipro river

Desiree on Mon, 05/08/2017 - 13:31

Today the Kyiv City State Administration organised a boat trip for the attending press the Dnipro. So this morning I went to the Kyiv River Port, just outside the metro station Poshtova Ploshcha (on the blue line, one stop from the Maidan Nezalezhnoshti metro station). It was very early in the morning, especially after last night's Red Carpet event and afterparty in the Euroclub, but I'm very glad I went as the weather was too good to stay in the hotel.

Already when I came out of the metro station I was treated with a beautiful view on the river. The Riverside station itself is also quite an impressive building, but it's currently being renovated so I haven't got a chance to see how it looks inside. Along the river and on the square you have some nice terraces so I can really recommend this spot for a drink and something to eat if you want to relax.

Kyiv City boat trip

It didn't take me long to find the pier from where the boat would leave. As soon as all the gathered press was on board, it was time to take off. First we went past the St. Nicholas Wondermaker on the Water Church, the only church on Europe to be on the water. A beautiful and incredibly small church. From the same place we also had a view on the much higher located St Andrew's Church. This is all situated on the right bank of the city.

Then we took a U-turn and got to see the earlier mentioned Riverside station from the bank, which has a very long Ukrainian flag on it. The backside it not as impressive as the front, but clearly recognizable.
Next we see a lot of green which is the Marinskiy Park where yesterday's red carpet took place.
Past that we see the Friendship of Nations Arch, for the occasion renamed as the Arch of Diversity. Behind it is the huge statue of a woman, the Motherland Monument that was built in 1981 and that you can almost see standing outside the International Exhibition Centre.

Kyiv City boat trip

Kyiv City boat trip

After another U-turn, this time around the Hidropark Island - which is more or less a huge relax area with beaches - nudist included - it didn't take long until we saw a very familiar few - the IEC and the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ - the church many of you will have seen in the press centre and that turns out to be only opened in 2011.

Kyiv City boat trip

Before heading to the press centre where the first dress rehearsal will start in a few minutes, it was time to enjoy the sun for a bit more on the riverside. Thanks to the organization of this boat trip that let us see a bit more of the city!

You can see all the photos here:

Kyiv boat trip

Greece Ambassador's Reception Party

ChrisB on Thu, 05/04/2017 - 22:53

Shortly after Demy had her second rehearsal on Thursday we went with the Greek delegation to the private home of the Greek ambassador in Kyiv, Vassilis Papadopoulos, who received Demy, her dancers, backing singers, and the rest of the Greek delegation to his private home for a welcome reception party.

First order of business was Demy meeting with the ambassador who was clearly proud to welcome her and her team to his private home. They had a quick chat and as it turned out, the ambassador's son goes to the same law school as Demy, and they even knew each other! What a coincidence.

Right after, the invited guests enjoyed the prepared buffet of appetizers and drinks, and a lot of Greek officials took the opportunity to take selfies with Demy, who kept up her good spirits despite surely having had an exhausting day of rehearsing in the arena.

We also had a chance to speak to Demy's team of backing singers, Paris Paraskevadis-Planets, Erasmia Markidi and Evgenia Liakou, all three of them have never performed on a Eurovision stage before, are excited and looking forward to their performance. The backing singers told us that today's rehearsal helped them a lot, as they got better and more confident with one run through after another.

We also had a chance to speak to Demy's make up artist, Roula Marinopoulou, who told us that the make up for Demy's Thursday rehearsal was right on point and that we shouldn't expect any changes in that department as they were really happy with how it looked on camera. At an event like this, you really get an idea of how many people are contributing to bring us the perfect three minutes on the eurovision stage.

The two dancers ,who will be performing with Demy on stage at Eurovision, Marcus Giakoumoglou and Iasonas 'Jason' Mandilas are very entertaining guys. They told us in case of the stage being too slippery and one of them falling down, they made an agreement for the other dancer to fall down as well, to have complete symmetry on stage. Staging director Fokas Evangelinos surely approves this, as symmetry on stage has always been a concept he liked playing around with in his eurovision entries.

If you want know more about Demy and her team hitting the stage on Tuesday's Semi-Final 1 make sure to check out our video and photo material from the event with a recorded video

Greek reception

Troitska square fan zone

ontario on Sun, 04/30/2017 - 16:01

Troyitskaya Square, one of the fan zones of the Eurovision Song Contest this year, has opened and represents basically the Operetta Theater program, which is situated very close to the location. It is planned that there will be performing the artists of the theater, as well as Ukrainian performers in particular and those who took part in the Ukrainian national selection in different years. The opening was held on April 30, and it will close on May 14. The fan zone itself is rather small, but its proximity to the city center and the Olympic stadium will be very convenient for residents and visitors of the city. There is a small playground for children's entertainment, as well as a fair with souvenirs.

Troyitska square

NK Eurovision winners charity event

Maxim_T on Wed, 05/04/2016 - 19:11

Today Nordiska Kompaniet trade center in Stockholm has made an exhibition in a windows of its store. It was dedicated to Swedish Eurovision winners and some of them have actually attended the event. NK has offered some charity items (basically photo prints and also giant silver boots) connected to ESC winners selling. All receved money will be sent to different funds like Unicef and Children Cancer fund.

NK Eurovision winners charity event