Jump to content

Eurovision Song Contest 2003

Coordinates: 56°56′56″N 24°06′23″E / 56.94889°N 24.10639°E / 56.94889; 24.10639
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Eurovision 2003)

Eurovision Song Contest 2003
Magical Rendez-vous
Dates
Final24 May 2003 (2003-05-24)
Host
VenueSkonto Hall
Riga, Latvia
Presenter(s)
Directed bySven Stojanović
Executive supervisorSarah Yuen
Executive producerBrigita Rozenbrika
Host broadcasterLatvian Television (LTV)
Websiteeurovision.tv/event/riga-2003 Edit this at Wikidata
Participants
Number of entries26
Debuting countries Ukraine
Returning countries
Non-returning countries
  • A coloured map of the countries of EuropeBelgium in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003Italy in the Eurovision Song ContestNetherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003Switzerland in the Eurovision Song ContestGermany in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003Monaco in the Eurovision Song ContestLuxembourg in the Eurovision Song ContestSpain in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003Denmark in the Eurovision Song ContestFinland in the Eurovision Song ContestNorway in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003Portugal in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003Malta in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003Austria in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003France in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003Turkey in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003Morocco in the Eurovision Song ContestCyprus in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003Croatia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003Slovenia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003Slovakia in the Eurovision Song ContestHungary in the Eurovision Song ContestRomania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003Lithuania in the Eurovision Song ContestPoland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003Russia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003Macedonia in the Eurovision Song ContestLatvia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003Ukraine in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003
         Competing countries     Relegated countries unable to participate     Countries that participated in the past but not in 2003
Vote
Voting systemEach country awards 1–8, 10, and 12 points to their ten favourite songs
Winning song
2002 ← Eurovision Song Contest → 2004

The Eurovision Song Contest 2003 was the 48th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Riga, Latvia, following the country's victory at the 2002 contest with the song "I Wanna" by Marie N. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Latvijas Televīzija (LTV), the contest was held at the Skonto Hall on 24 May 2003. The contest was presented by last year's winner Marie N and former contestant Renārs Kaupers.[1]

Twenty-six countries participated in the contest, beating the record of twenty-five first set in 1993. It saw the return of Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway and Poland after having been relegated from competing the previous year. Portugal also returned to the contest after being absent the previous year, while Ukraine participated in the contest for the first time.[2] Denmark, Finland, Lithuania, Macedonia and Switzerland were relegated due to their poor results in 2002.

The winner was Turkey with the song "Everyway That I Can", performed by Sertab Erener who wrote it with Demir Demirkan. This was Turkey's first victory in the contest after 28 years of participation. Belgium, Russia, Norway and Sweden rounded out the top five. Further down the table, the United Kingdom achieved their worst result to date, finishing twenty-sixth (last place) with no points. However, they avoided relegation due to being one of the "Big Four" countries at the time.[3] The host country Latvia placed twenty-fourth (third from last) – this was the first time since 1995 that the host entry did not place in the top 10, and it was, overall, the worst result for a host entry since 1992.

This was the last contest to take place on one evening. The EBU revealed that it would be adding a semi-final show to the competition in order to accommodate the growing number of interested countries wishing to take part in the contest.[4] This was also the last contest in which a relegation system was used to determine which countries would participate in the following year's contest. As the Belgian entry was sung in an imaginary language, this was also the first time the contest featured a song with no parts performed in English or a language native to the country.

Location

[edit]
Skonto Hall, Riga – host venue of the 2003 contest.

On 22 August 2002, Latvian public broadcaster Latvijas Televīzija (LTV) announced that it had chosen the Skonto Hall in Riga as the host venue for the 2003 contest.

Latvia won the Eurovision Song Contest 2002 on 25 May 2002 in Tallinn, Estonia with the song “I Wanna” performed by Marie N. This was Latvia's first victory in the contest, which also carried the right for LTV to organise the 2003 contest. LTV initially had budgetary concerns with staging the contest. The chairman of the National Radio and Television Council Ojārs Rubenis stated that if the government presented no budget guarantees, the council, which owns shares in LTV, would vote against organising the contest. Rubenis elaborated that LTV was prepared to cover the creative side and broadcasting of the contest, but additional funds would be needed for infrastructure, hotels and other financial issues.

The Government of Latvia allotted 5.3 million for the event with a further 1.1 million being provided by the Riga City Council – covering the anticipated organisational costs for the contest.[5] A task force that included members from LTV, the National Radio and Television Council and state secretaries was formed to explicitly work on organisation of the contest and report on the estimated expenses.

Bidding phase

[edit]
Locations of the candidate cities: the chosen host city is marked in blue, while the eliminated cities are marked in red.

Three cities were considered as host city of the contest: Riga, Ventspils and Jūrmala.[6] LTV requested proposals from the three cities concerning how they plan to organise the contest. Riga City Council offered the Mežaparks Open-air Stage, Skonto Hall and the Ķīpsala International Exhibition Centre as potential venues for hosting the contest. Ventspils bid to host the contest at the Ventspils Olympic Centre with a pledge of support from city mayor Aivars Lembergs, who added that Ventspils could also provide two cruise ferries that could be used to accommodate up to 8,000 guests.[7] Jūrmala City Council offered the Dzintari Concert Hall with plans to expand and upgrade the facility and surrounding infrastructure.[6]

LTV's organisational task force later decided to proceed with the bids from Riga and Ventspils, eliminating Jūrmala and the Mežaparks Open-air Stage in Riga. On 15 June 2002, the EBU Reference Group decided in conjunction with the organisational task force in Latvia that Riga would host the 2003 contest with the venue option between the Skonto Hall and Ķīpsala International Exhibition Centre being decided upon by LTV.[8] LTV ultimately chose the Skonto Hall as the venue to stage the contest.

Key  †   Host venue  ‡  Shortlisted

City Venue
Jūrmala Dzintari Concert Hall
Riga Mežaparks Open-air Stage
Skonto Hall
Ķīpsala International Exhibition Centre ‡
Ventspils Ventspils Olympic Center

Participating countries

[edit]
Eurovision Song Contest 2003 – Participation summaries by country

Per the rules of the contest, twenty-six countries were allowed to participate in the event, a new record number of competing entries in a single edition.[9][10] Originally a total of twenty-five countries were scheduled to participate in the event, however Ukraine was added to the line-up shortly before the publication of the competing countries in November 2002, making its début appearance in the contest.[10][11] Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, and Portugal returned after being absent from the previous year's event, and competed alongside Ukraine, the "Big Four" largest contributing participating countries – France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom – and the remaining fifteen highest-scoring participating countries from the 2002 contest.[12][13] Having received the lowest scores in the 2002 contest, Denmark,[14] Finland,[15] Lithuania,[16] Macedonia,[17] and Switzerland[18] were subsequently relegated and were prevented from participating in this year's event.[9]

Twenty-four countries participated in the 2002 contest in Tallinn; of these, fourteen were expected to compete in 2003. The bottom ten in Tallinn would be relegated, to allow countries to compete for the first time.[19] In reality, only five countries were relegated – nineteen countries that entered in 2002 competed in Riga.[20] Originally, Serbia and Montenegro, Albania and Belarus had planned 2003 debuts, but the EBU's late changes to the relegation procedure meant that they could not compete.[21] The countries eventually made their debuts in 2004.

The 2003 contest was one of the few editions where no lead artists had previously competed as lead artists in past contests, although Slovenian representative Karmen had previously performed as a backing singer to Vili Resnik for Slovenia at the 1998 contest.[22]

Participants of the Eurovision Song Contest 2003[23][24]
Country Broadcaster Artist Song Language Songwriter(s)
 Austria ORF Alf Poier "Weil der Mensch zählt" German[a] Alf Poier
 Belgium RTBF Urban Trad "Sanomi" Imaginary Yves Barbieux
 Bosnia and Herzegovina PBSBiH Mija Martina "Ne brini" Croatian, English
  • Arjana Kunštek
  • Ines Prajo
 Croatia HRT Claudia Beni "Više nisam tvoja" Croatian, English Andrej Babić
 Cyprus CyBC Stelios Constantas "Feeling Alive" English Stelios Constantas
 Estonia ETV Ruffus "Eighties Coming Back" English Vaiko Eplik
 France France Télévisions Louisa Baïleche "Monts et merveilles" French Hocine Hallaf
 Germany NDR[b] Lou "Let's Get Happy" English
 Greece ERT Mando "Never Let You Go" English
 Iceland RÚV Birgitta "Open Your Heart" English
 Ireland RTÉ Mickey Harte "We've Got the World" English
  • Martin Brannigan
  • Keith Molloy
 Israel IBA Lior Narkis "Words for Love" Hebrew
  • Yossi Gispan
  • Yoni Ro'eh
 Latvia LTV F.L.Y. "Hello from Mars" English
 Malta PBS Lynn Chircop "To Dream Again" English
  • Cynthia Sammut
  • Alfred Zammit
 Netherlands NOS Esther Hart "One More Night" English
 Norway NRK Jostein Hasselgård "I'm Not Afraid to Move On" English
 Poland TVP Ich Troje "Keine GrenzenŻadnych granic" German, Polish, Russian
 Portugal RTP Rita Guerra "Deixa-me sonhar" Portuguese, English Paulo Martins
 Romania TVR Nicola "Don't Break My Heart" English
 Russia C1R t.A.T.u. "Ne ver', ne boysia" (Не верь, не бойся) Russian
 Slovenia RTVSLO Karmen "Nanana" English
 Spain TVE Beth "Dime" Spanish
  • Amaya Martínez
  • Jesús María Pérez
 Sweden SVT Fame "Give Me Your Love" English
  • Calle Kindbom
  • Carl Lösnitz
 Turkey TRT Sertab Erener "Everyway That I Can" English
 Ukraine NTU Olexandr "Hasta la vista" English
 United Kingdom BBC Jemini "Cry Baby" English Martin Isherwood

Format

[edit]

The EBU released the rules for the 2003 contest in November 2002, which detailed that twenty-six countries would participate, making it the largest number of participants to take part in the contest up to this point.[9] The rules also modified the eligibility criteria for entries, changing the date of release cut-off point for songs from 1 January 2003 to 1 October 2002. There was also a change in the tie-break rule, which would now resolve such a case in favour of the nation that received points from a higher number of countries rather than taking into account the number of top scores (12 points) received. The draw for running order was held on 29 November 2002 in Riga, hosted by Marie N and Renārs Kaupers, with the results being revealed during a delayed broadcast of the proceedings later that day.[26][27]

The official sponsors for the contest were Latvian mobile telecom provider Latvijas Mobilais Telefons and Latvian bank company Parex Banka.[28] LTV selected Latvia Tours as its official partner to provide lodging, travel and recreation for the contest delegations and other guests.[29] Riga City Council was also responsible for offering promotion and activities during the week preceding the contest.[30]

Full preparations for the 2003 contest began on 18 May 2003 at the Skonto Hall. There were rehearsals, press conferences and participants were also involved in an internet chat.[31] Two dress rehearsals were held on 23 May, in front of an estimated 12,000 people. The organisers of the contest held a press conference; one of the issues complained about was the lack of invitations for the after-party. The final dress rehearsal was held on 24 May, the day of the contest. A simulation of the voting procedure was also held, in which the presenters linked up with all twenty-six countries by satellite for the first time.[31]

On the day of the contest, bookmaker William Hill's odds placed Russia as joint favourites to win the contest with Spain. Ireland, Slovenia, Estonia, Norway and Iceland were behind in third, fourth and joint fifth respectively.[32] At the conclusion of the contest, favourites Russia placed third and Spain placed eighth, while outsiders Turkey (20-1) and Belgium (50-1) claimed the first and second places, respectively. Austria, at 100–1, were favourites to finish last, however, they scored their best result since 1989, placing sixth.[32]

An official compilation album, featuring all twenty-six competing entries from the contest, was released for the first time on the EMI/CMC label.[33]

Graphic design

[edit]

The design of the contest was built around the theme "Magical rendez-vous", which represented the meeting of the various European nations coming to Latvia and encountering Latvia's versatile landscapes.[34][11] LTV launched a competition in order to find the logo for the contest. At the close of the competition, high interest from the public translated into 204 logo submissions, which were ultimately judged by a jury panel consisting of Uldis-Ivars Grava (general director of LTV), Arvīds Babris (then executive producer of the contest), Ugis Brikmanis (director), Laimonis Šteinbergs (artist), Ingūna Rībena (architect), Arta Giga (LTV representative) and Juhan Paadam (EBU representative).[35] On 16 November 2002, LTV and the EBU presented the logo for the contest which was designed by the director of the Computer Graphics Department of LTV, Maris Kalve with further elaboration by LTV's chief artist Kristaps Skulte.[36] The logo was named upes, the Latvian word for rivers, and carried the slogan "All rivers flow toward the sea, all songs flow toward the Eurovision Song Contest".

The postcards shown between the entries were directed by Ugis Brikmanis and featured the artists competing at the contest interacting with Latvia's various landscapes: forests, rivers, lakes and towns. The postcards were recorded during the preceding week of the contest and ran behind schedule, leading to some postcards featuring only footage from the rehearsals and press conferences.[37]

The stage design was created by Aigars Ozoliņš and based on the concept called Planet Latvia.[38][39] The stage used several light and video effects and included an innovation new to the contest – a video screen stage floor that could be used to give each entry a unique look.[39] The green room where the delegations and competitors awaited the results of the contest was placed directly behind the stage and unveiled shortly before the voting portion of the show commenced, allowing the audience to see the representatives of the competing nations as they received points.[40] For the first time, the scoreboard automatically rearranged itself in descending order as each point was awarded, making it easier for the audience and television viewers to follow the exact progress of the competitors throughout the voting process.

National host broadcaster

[edit]

Initially, Arvīds Babris, head of the Latvian delegation at the 2002 contest, was appointed as executive producer for the contest, however, after production fell behind schedule and the EBU applied pressure upon LTV, he was dismissed and Brigita Rozenbrika took over the position, receiving additional support from the Swedish broadcaster Sveriges Television (SVT) and Estonian broadcaster Eesti Televisioon (ETV).[11][41][42] SVT was also the technical producer of the contest for the second year running with Sven Stojanović as director and the Swedish lighting company Spectra+ contracted for the contest.[43][44]

Voting system

[edit]

The EBU reintroduced televoting as an obligatory voting mode in all participating countries, which awarded 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10 and 12 points to their ten favourite songs, in ascending order. Countries voted in the same order as they had performed. Bosnia and Herzegovina and Russia were granted an exception to holding a televote as they cited that their telecommunications penetration was less than 80%.[45][9] Polish broadcaster Telewizja Polska opted to use only SMS-voting.[46] In the televoting/smsvoting household shall not be permitted to vote more than three times.[9] All other countries planned to use a televote. Due to a technical issue, Ireland used results from their back-up jury instead of televoting.[47] This contest was also the first to introduce a computer-generated scoreboard which rearranged itself in order as the points were awarded. Broadcasters were required to assemble back-up juries that consisted of eight voting members, with age and gender equally distributed, in the case of televote failure on the night of the competition.[9] Four members of the jury had to be members of the general public and the other four members had to be music professionals.[9]

Future changes in contest format

[edit]

With the increased number of potential participating countries, the EBU began to review the format of the contest with potential changes being considered such as adding extra evenings for the show, holding a regional pre-selection, or putting a limit to number of participating countries by increasing the entrance fee. On 29 January 2003, the EBU unveiled a two-night system for the contest in 2004: a semi-final would be held before a grand final. The "Big Four", along with the top ten from the 2003 contest, would automatically qualify for the 2004 final.[48] The format change eliminated the relegation system, allowing all countries to send an artist and song to the contest. The fourteen eventual countries from the 2003 contest that qualified to compete directly in the 2004 final were Turkey, Belgium, Russia, Norway, Sweden, Austria, Poland, Spain, Iceland, Romania, Ireland, Germany, France and the United Kingdom. All other countries would have to compete in the semi-final for ten remaining spots in the final.

Contest overview

[edit]

The contest featured special guests that communicated with the hosts via satellite: Lys Assia, winner of the 1956 contest greeted the hosts and spectators from Nicosia, Elton John spoke to the presenters live from the Life Ball in Vienna and one astronaut and one cosmonaut—Ed Lu and Yuri Malenchenko—gave their greetings from the International Space Station.[49][50][51] The interval act for the contest was a short film directed by Anna Viduleja that featured a sequence of performances by Latvian post-folklore group Iļģi, Renārs Kaupers' band Brainstorm, Marie N and piano player Raimonds Pauls.[52]

The UK's result was their worst-ever at Eurovision; by contrast, Turkey's win was their first. Alf Poier's sixth place was Austria's best result for fourteen years, Poland's seventh place was their best in nine, and Romania's tenth place was one place behind their best-ever. Belgium's second place was their first top-five finish in seventeen years, while Spain's eighth place (tied with Iceland's, which was its best result since 1999) was their third top-ten finish in 2 years, but Latvia's third-from-bottom finish was their worst result in four attempts; it was also the worst placing for a host country since 1992, until 2015 when host country Austria received 'nul points' and came second to last (Germany also received 'nul points' but because of the running order Austria placed ahead of them).

  Winner
Results of the Eurovision Song Contest 2003[53]
R/O Country Artist Song Points Place
1  Iceland Birgitta "Open Your Heart" 81 8
2  Austria Alf Poier "Weil der Mensch zählt" 101 6
3  Ireland Mickey Harte "We've Got the World" 53 11
4  Turkey Sertab Erener "Everyway That I Can" 167 1
5  Malta Lynn Chircop "To Dream Again" 4 25
6  Bosnia and Herzegovina Mija Martina "Ne brini" 27 16
7  Portugal Rita Guerra "Deixa-me sonhar" 13 22
8  Croatia Claudia Beni "Više nisam tvoja" 29 15
9  Cyprus Stelios Constantas "Feeling Alive" 15 20
10  Germany Lou "Let's Get Happy" 53 11
11  Russia t.A.T.u. "Ne ver', ne boysia" 164 3
12  Spain Beth "Dime" 81 8
13  Israel Lior Narkis "Words for Love" 17 19
14  Netherlands Esther Hart "One More Night" 45 13
15  United Kingdom Jemini "Cry Baby" 0 26
16  Ukraine Olexandr "Hasta la vista" 30 14
17  Greece Mando "Never Let You Go" 25 17
18  Norway Jostein Hasselgård "I'm Not Afraid to Move On" 123 4
19  France Louisa Baïleche "Monts et merveilles" 19 18
20  Poland Ich Troje "Keine GrenzenŻadnych granic" 90 7
21  Latvia F.L.Y. "Hello from Mars" 5 24
22  Belgium Urban Trad "Sanomi" 165 2
23  Estonia Ruffus "Eighties Coming Back" 14 21
24  Romania Nicola "Don't Break My Heart" 73 10
25  Sweden Fame "Give Me Your Love" 107 5
26  Slovenia Karmen "Nanana" 7 23

Spokespersons

[edit]

The voting order in the 2003 contest was the order in which the countries had been drawn to perform. The spokespersons for each country were:

  1.  Iceland – Eva María Jónsdóttir
  2.  Austria – Dodo Roscic [de]
  3.  Ireland – Pamela Flood
  4.  Turkey – Meltem Ersan Yazgan[54]
  5.  Malta – Sharon Borg[55]
  6.  Bosnia and Herzegovina – Ana Vilenica [hr]
  7.  Portugal – Helena Ramos [pt]
  8.  Croatia – Davor Meštrović [hr]
  9.  Cyprus – Loukas Hamatsos
  10.  Germany – Axel Bulthaupt
  11.  Russia – Yana Churikova
  12.  Spain – Anne Igartiburu
  13.  Israel – Michal Zo'aretz [he]
  14.  Netherlands – Marlayne
  15.  United Kingdom – Lorraine Kelly
  16.  Ukraine – Lyudmyla Hariv[56]
  17.  Greece – Alexis Kostalas [el][57]
  18.  Norway – Roald Øyen
  19.  France – Sandrine François
  20.  Poland – Maciej Orłoś [pl]
  21.  Latvia – Ģirts Līcis[58]
  22.  Belgium – Corinne Boulangier [fr]
  23.  Estonia – Ines
  24.  Romania – Leonard Miron
  25.  Sweden – Kattis Ahlström[59]
  26.  Slovenia – Peter Poles

Detailed voting results

[edit]
Detailed voting results of the Eurovision Song Contest 2003[60][61]
Voting procedure used:
  100% televoting
  100% jury vote
Total score
Iceland
Austria
Ireland
Turkey
Malta
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Portugal
Croatia
Cyprus
Germany
Russia
Spain
Israel
Netherlands
United Kingdom
Ukraine
Greece
Norway
France
Poland
Latvia
Belgium
Estonia
Romania
Sweden
Slovenia
Contestants
Iceland 81 7 8 12 6 5 1 6 4 12 1 1 3 3 1 7 4
Austria 101 10 6 5 10 5 4 2 8 8 8 2 8 4 2 6 6 7
Ireland 53 2 5 5 7 4 7 12 1 6 1 1 2
Turkey 167 3 12 4 12 8 10 8 10 3 7 12 7 2 7 10 10 2 12 10 8 10
Malta 4 3 1
Bosnia and Herzegovina 27 7 12 8
Portugal 13 2 2 3 6
Croatia 29 5 6 3 6 1 8
Cyprus 15 2 1 12
Germany 53 8 1 4 3 7 4 2 4 5 2 2 1 10
Russia 164 4 8 10 1 3 4 12 10 8 6 10 1 12 10 2 7 4 12 7 12 7 2 12
Spain 81 6 2 12 7 6 6 12 5 5 10 5 4 1
Israel 17 5 1 3 8
Netherlands 45 5 7 2 10 2 1 5 8 5
United Kingdom 0
Ukraine 30 8 4 10 5 3
Greece 25 1 4 12 5 1 2
Norway 123 12 2 12 6 5 7 4 3 7 6 7 3 6 7 6 10 3 12 5
France 19 8 2 3 6
Poland 90 10 10 12 5 4 2 8 6 4 5 8 5 4 4 3
Latvia 5 5
Belgium 165 7 4 10 7 10 6 3 6 3 12 8 10 5 10 8 3 12 12 10 8 8 3
Estonia 14 1 8 2 3
Romania 73 6 1 7 1 2 4 12 10 6 6 4 1 4 8 1
Sweden 107 5 3 8 1 3 2 1 3 7 5 3 10 5 7 2 7 6 4 7 12 6
Slovenia 7 4 3

12 points

[edit]

Below is a summary of all 12 points in the final:

N. Contestant Nation(s) giving 12 points
5  Russia  Croatia,  Estonia,  Latvia,  Slovenia,  Ukraine
4  Turkey  Austria,  Belgium,  Bosnia and Herzegovina,  Netherlands
3  Norway  Iceland,  Ireland,  Sweden
 Belgium  France,  Poland,  Spain
2  Iceland  Malta,  Norway
 Spain  Israel,  Portugal
1  Bosnia and Herzegovina  Turkey
 Cyprus  Greece
 Greece  Cyprus
 Ireland  United Kingdom
 Poland  Germany
 Romania  Russia
 Sweden  Romania

Broadcasts

[edit]

Each participating broadcaster was required to relay live and in full the contest via television. Non-participating EBU member broadcasters were also able to relay the contest as "passive participants"; any passive countries wishing to participate in the following year's event were also required to provide a live broadcast of the contest or a deferred broadcast within 24 hours.[9] Broadcasters were able to send commentators to provide coverage of the contest in their own native language and to relay information about the artists and songs to their viewers. Known details on the broadcasts in each country, including the specific broadcasting stations and commentators, are shown in the tables below. Broadcasters in 42 countries were reported to have broadcast the event live or deferred, including broadcasters in Albania, Armenia, Australia, Belarus, Puerto Rico, Serbia and Montenegro and the United States.[62][63][64]

Broadcasters and commentators in participating countries[62]
Country Broadcaster Channel(s) Commentator(s) Ref(s)
 Austria ORF ORF 1 Andi Knoll [65][66]
 Belgium RTBF La Une, RTBF Sat Jean-Pierre Hautier [67][68]
VRT TV1 André Vermeulen and Anja Daems [69][70]
 Croatia HRT HRT 1 Daniela Trbović [hr] [71][72]
 Cyprus CyBC RIK Ena [73]
 Estonia ETV Marko Reikop [74]
 France France Télévisions France 3 Laurent Ruquier and Isabelle Mergault [67]
 Germany ARD Das Erste Peter Urban [65][75]
 Greece ERT ET1 Dafni Bokota [76]
ERA 1 Nikos Triboulidis
 Iceland RÚV Sjónvarpið Gísli Marteinn Baldursson [77]
Rás 2
 Ireland RTÉ RTÉ One Marty Whelan and Phil Coulter [78]
 Latvia LTV LTV1 Kārlis Streips [lv] [79]
 Malta PBS TVM John Bundy [80]
 Netherlands NPO Nederland 2 Willem van Beusekom [69][81]
Radio 2
 Norway NRK NRK1 Jostein Pedersen [82]
NRK P1
 Poland TVP TVP1 Artur Orzech [83][84]
 Portugal RTP RTP1 Margarida Mercês de Melo [pt] [85][86]
 Romania TVR TVR 1 [87]
 Russia Channel One Yuriy Aksyuta [ru] and Yelena Batinova [ru] [88][89]
 Slovenia RTVSLO SLO 2 [sl] Andrea F [90]
 Spain TVE La Primera, TVE Internacional José Luis Uribarri [67][91]
 Sweden SVT SVT1 Pekka Heino [92]
SR SR P4 Carolina Norén and Björn Kjellman [93]
 Turkey TRT TRT 1, TRT Int Bülend Özveren [54]
 Ukraine NTU Pershyi Natsionalnyi Dmytro Kryzhanivskyi [56][94]
 United Kingdom BBC BBC One, BBC Prime Terry Wogan [82][95]
BBC Radio 2 Ken Bruce [96]
Broadcasters and commentators in non-participating countries[62]
Country Broadcaster Channel(s) Commentator(s) Ref(s)
 Andorra RTVA ATV Meri Picart [ca] and Albert Roig [97]
 Australia SBS SBS TV[c] Des Mangan [98][99]
 Belarus BTRC Belarus-1 Ales Kruglyakov and Tatyana Yakusheva [100][101]
 Denmark DR DR1 Jørgen de Mylius [82][102]
 Falkland Islands BFBS BFBS 1,[d] BFBS Radio 2 [103][104]
 Finland YLE YLE TV2 Maria Guzenina and Asko Murtomäki [fi] [105]
YLE FST Thomas Lundin [sv] [106]
YLE Radio Suomi [107]
YLE Radio Vega [108]
 Italy GAY.tv Fabio Canino and Paolo Quilici [109]
 Lithuania LRT LTV Darius Užkuraitis [lt] [110][111]
  Switzerland SRG SSR SF 2 Roman Kilchsperger [de] [65][67]
TSR 1 Jean-Marc Richard and Alain Morisod
TSI 1 Daniele Rauseo

Incidents

[edit]

Organisational issues

[edit]

In January 2003, German news magazine Der Spiegel reported that Riga was suffering from serious financial problems that could lead to a breach of contract so the contest might need to be moved to another city.[112] Ilona Bērziņa, spokesperson of LTV, denied that potential financial issues the city council of Riga may be facing would interrupt the organisation of the contest.[113] In February 2003, The Baltic Times reported that a committee of Riga municipality rejected the proposal to withdraw the funds it pledged in support of organising the contest.[114]

In March 2003, Danish newspaper B.T. published an article based on accusations that the EBU television director Bjørn Erichsen made in reference to LTV suffering from organisational chaos which could result in the removal of Latvia's hosting duties since they were running behind schedule.[115] The general director of LTV, Uldis-Ivars Grava, replied, saying: "A few weeks ago, the EBU's legal director, Werner Rumphorst, was in Riga, and I spent an entire day with him and with the former general director of the Danish broadcaster DR, Bjørn Erichsen. We talked about co-operation and about programme exchanges, and neither of them said a single word that would indicate any doubts, lack of trust or accusation."[116] Ingrida Smite, head of press for the Eurovision Song Contest 2003, reaffirmed that the contest would take place in Riga despite reports to the contrary.[116]

Controversies surrounding Russian band t.A.T.u.

[edit]

Upon the selection of the Russian artists t.A.T.u., the duo gave an interview to German tabloid Bild in March 2003 where they claimed that they would win the contest without a doubt and criticised the German entrant Lou calling her a witch with duo member Julia Volkova (also referring to Germany's 2002 entrant) stating, "In Russia we nurse blind and old people, but we don't send them to the Grand Prix. This must be different in Germany."[117] Lou later responded to the comments stating, "I don't know whether bitching, fighting and boozing kids are the right representatives for such a beautiful country as Russia."

t.A.T.u.'s first rehearsal dominated proceedings on 20 May—the band were supposed to rehearse the day before, but had turned up a day late, claiming that Julia Volkova was suffering from a sore throat.[118] The group were booed by journalists during their press conference where they complained about the production's poor lighting and stage. EBU supervisor Sarah Yuen said "They are the bad girls of pop… we shouldn’t have expected them to come here and be nice and pleasant."[119] The EBU had originally planned to have a pre-recorded performance of the Russian entry ready to substitute during the live broadcast in case the duo performed a lesbian publicity stunt on stage, which they deemed inappropriate for a family entertainment show.[120] The EBU later stated that the performance would be broadcast live without any interruption.[121][122]

Russian complaint against Irish vote

[edit]

After the contest, Russian broadcaster Channel One complained that Irish broadcaster RTÉ had used a back-up jury, and that it had cost them victory. A statement by Channel One said "Considering [the] insignificant difference in points between the first and third places, there are grounds to believe that the contest results could be much different for Russia."[123][124] On the night of the competition, the voting polls operated by Irish telecommunications company Eircom suffered a delay in delivering the results on time, which prompted RTÉ to use the votes of the back-up jury instead.[47] The EBU cleared RTÉ of any potential wrongdoing after an investigation on the matter and stated that the rules concerning substituting the back-up jury in place of the televote were correctly applied.[47] RTÉ later published the unused results of the televote, which showed that had the jury not been used, Turkey would still have won, and Ireland's voting "partners", the United Kingdom, would still have no points. Russia did not receive any points from the televote, however, since Belgium only received 2 points from the Irish televote as opposed to 10 points awarded by the Irish jury, Russia would have placed second.[125]

Other awards

[edit]

Marcel Bezençon Awards

[edit]

For the second year, the Marcel Bezençon Awards, organised by Sweden's then-Head of Delegation and 1992 representative Christer Björkman, and 1984 winner Richard Herrey, honoured songs in the contest.[126] The awards were divided into three categories: the Artistic Award, the Fan Award, and the Press Award.[127] The Fan Award was decided by the combined votes from members of OGAE, an organisation consisting of a network of over 40 Eurovision Song Contest fan clubs across Europe and beyond.[128][129]

Category Country Song Performer(s) Songwriter(s)
Artistic Award  Netherlands "One More Night" Esther Hart
Fan Award  Spain "Dime" Beth
  • Jesús María Pérez
  • Amaya Martínez
Press Award  Turkey "Everyway That I Can" Sertab Erener

Official album

[edit]
Cover art of the official album

Eurovision Song Contest: Riga 2003 was the official compilation album of the 2003 contest, put together by the European Broadcasting Union and released by CMC International on 19 May 2003. The album featured all 26 songs that entered in the 2003 contest.[130]

Charts

[edit]
Chart (2003) Peak
position
German Compilation Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[131] 3

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Specifically Styrian, a Southern Bavarian dialect
  2. ^ On behalf of the German public broadcasting consortium ARD[25]
  3. ^ Deferred broadcast on 25 May at 20:30 AEST (10:30 UTC)[98]
  4. ^ Deferred broadcast at 21:00 (FKT)[103]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Bakker, Sietse (1 December 2002). "Renars Kaupers and Marie N hosts 2003 show". ESCToday.com. Archived from the original on 21 October 2020. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  2. ^ Bakker, Sietse (27 November 2002). "EBU released list of participant for 2003". ESCToday.com. Archived from the original on 4 December 2020. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  3. ^ "UK act hits Eurovision low". BBC News. BBC News. 25 May 2003. Archived from the original on 26 August 2021. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  4. ^ Barak, Itamar (22 May 2003). "EBU press conference about the contest's future". ESCToday.com. Archived from the original on 22 May 2021. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  5. ^ "Vēstulē noliedz Eirovīzijas finansu problēmas" (in Latvian). Delfi. 31 January 2003. Archived from the original on 27 September 2020. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
  6. ^ a b "Dzintaru koncertzāles pārbūve Eirovīzijas rīkošanai izmaksātu trīs miljonus latu" (in Latvian). TVNET. 6 June 2002. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
  7. ^ Lēvalde, Vēsma (3 June 2002). "Ventspils dome vēlas Eirovīzijas rīkošanu Ventspilī (papildināts)" (in Latvian). db.lv. Archived from the original on 3 November 2018. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
  8. ^ "Eirovīzija izmaksās 4,7 vai 5,5 miljonus latu" (in Latvian). TVNET. 2 July 2002. Archived from the original on 3 November 2016. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h "Rules of the 48th Eurovision Song Contest (2003)" (PDF). European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 August 2003. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  10. ^ a b "Record 26 countries to compete in 2003 Song Contest" (Press release). European Broadcasting Union. 18 November 2002. Archived from the original on 4 July 2004. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  11. ^ a b c "The end of a decade: Riga 2003". European Broadcasting Union. 24 December 2009. Archived from the original on 2 August 2017. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  12. ^ "Remember the three way thriller of 2003?". European Broadcasting Union. 24 May 2014. Archived from the original on 13 May 2018. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  13. ^ O'Connor, John Kennedy (2010). The Eurovision Song Contest: The Official History (2nd ed.). London, United Kingdom: Carlton Books. pp. 172–175. ISBN 978-1-84732-521-1.
  14. ^ O'Connor, John Kennedy (2010). The Eurovision Song Contest: The Official History (2nd ed.). London, United Kingdom: Carlton Books. pp. 168–171. ISBN 978-1-84732-521-1.
  15. ^ "From 'Pump-Pump' to 'Cha Cha Cha': Finland's vibrant Eurovision history". European Broadcasting Union. 9 August 2003. Archived from the original on 9 August 2023. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  16. ^ Andžej (10 October 2017). "A brief history of Lithuania in Eurovision Song Contest | Eurodiena.lt – Eurovizija. Konkurso dienoraštis". Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  17. ^ "Се огласи МРТ: Македонија нема да учествува на Евровизија 2023" [MRT announced: Macedonia will not participate in Eurovision 2023]. Muzika24 (in Macedonian). 14 October 2022. Archived from the original on 29 March 2024. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  18. ^ "Swiss dropped from Eurovision line-up". SWI swissinfo. 27 May 2002. Archived from the original on 29 March 2024. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  19. ^ Sietse Bakker (25 May 2002). Latvia won the 47th Eurovision Song Contest. ESCToday. Retrieved on 23 March 2008.
  20. ^ Sietse Bakker. EBU released list of participant for 2003. ESCToday. Retrieved on 23 March 2008.
  21. ^ Sietse Bakker. No new countries at next Eurovision Song Contest. ESCToday. Retrieved on 23 March 2008.
  22. ^ "Slovenia : Karmen Stavec talks to Eurovision.tv". European Broadcasting Union. 30 January 2009. Archived from the original on 22 September 2020. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  23. ^ "Participants of Riga 2003". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 21 March 2023. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  24. ^ "2003 – 48th edition". diggiloo.net. Archived from the original on 22 March 2022. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  25. ^ "Alle deutschen ESC-Acts und ihre Titel" [All German ESC acts and their songs]. www.eurovision.de (in German). ARD. Archived from the original on 12 June 2023. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
  26. ^ Bakker, Sietse (28 November 2002). "Draw to be made public Friday 17:00 CET". ESCToday.com. Archived from the original on 7 November 2020. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  27. ^ Sietse Bakker (1 December 2002). Draw of running order finally available. ESCToday. Retrieved on 23 March 2008.
  28. ^ Bakker, Sietse (30 November 2002). "Latvijas Mobilais and Parex sponsor 2003 contest". ESCToday.com. Archived from the original on 9 November 2020. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  29. ^ Bakker, Sietse (27 November 2002). "Latvia Tours selected as cooperation partner". ESCToday.com. Archived from the original on 29 October 2020. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  30. ^ Medinika, Aija (25 March 2002). "The preparation for Eurovision Song Contest 2003". ESCToday.com. Archived from the original on 29 October 2020. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  31. ^ a b "Event". Archived from the original on 2 June 2003. Retrieved 27 February 2017.. Eurovision.tv. Retrieved on 22 March 2008.
  32. ^ a b Bakker, Sietse (24 May 2003). "William Hill: update of the betting figures!". ESCToday.com. Archived from the original on 27 October 2020. Retrieved 22 March 2008.
  33. ^ "Eurovision Song Contest Riga 2003: CD available now". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 24 June 2003. Retrieved 24 March 2008.
  34. ^ Bakker, Sietse (26 November 2002). "Eurovision 2003 theme will be rendez-vous". ESCToday.com. Archived from the original on 1 November 2020. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  35. ^ Medinika, Aija (27 November 2002). "204 logo propositions for ESC 2003". ESCToday.com. Archived from the original on 31 October 2020. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
  36. ^ Bakker, Sietse (27 November 2002). "Logo for Eurovision 2003 selected". ESCToday.com. Archived from the original on 30 October 2020. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
  37. ^ Jordan, Paul (11 January 2013). "What's Another Year? Ten Years On From Riga". ESCInsight. Archived from the original on 23 January 2021. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  38. ^ Bakker, Sietse (27 March 2003). "Eurovision Song Contest 2003 on Planet Latvia". ESCToday.com. Archived from the original on 30 October 2020. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  39. ^ a b Barak, Itamar (7 May 2003). "Magical encounter on the Eurovision stage". ESCToday.com. Archived from the original on 31 October 2020. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  40. ^ Kübar, Remi (7 February 2003). "Details revealed about the stage in May". ESCToday.com. Archived from the original on 9 November 2020. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  41. ^ Bakker, Sietse (28 November 2002). "Arvids Babris will produce the contest in Latvia". ESCToday.com. Archived from the original on 26 October 2020. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  42. ^ Barak, Itamar (18 March 2003). "Riga 2003: A new executive producer". ESCToday.com. Archived from the original on 2 November 2020. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  43. ^ Opheim, Bjørn Erik (13 December 2002). "SVT to produce 2003 Eurovision Song Contest". ESCToday.com. Archived from the original on 1 November 2020. Retrieved 21 March 2008.
  44. ^ "Spectra+ lands third Eurovision contract". Live Design. 17 April 2003. Archived from the original on 31 May 2009. Retrieved 21 March 2008.
  45. ^ "Turkish delight at Eurovision win". BBC News. BBC News. 24 May 2003. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  46. ^ Medinika, Aija (24 May 2003). "Poland will use SMS-voting only". ESCToday.com. Archived from the original on 29 October 2020. Retrieved 23 March 2008.
  47. ^ a b c Rodrigues, André (20 June 2003). "EBU approves use back-up jury of Irish television". ESCToday.com. Archived from the original on 18 September 2020. Retrieved 20 November 2013.
  48. ^ Bakker, Sietse (29 January 2003). "EBU confirms new Eurovision Song Contest format". ESCToday.com. Archived from the original on 9 November 2020. Retrieved 20 November 2013.
  49. ^ Bakker, Sietse (1 December 2008). "Artists and fan sites campaign on World AIDS Day". Eurovision.tv. Archived from the original on 3 November 2016. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
  50. ^ Bakker, Sietse (21 May 2008). "1956 winner Lys Assia: "It will go on!"". Eurovision.tv. Archived from the original on 1 February 2014. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
  51. ^ Tarm, Michael (2003). "Turks beat back Russia and Belgium to win; Baltics and Britain bomb". City Paper. Archived from the original on 3 March 2007. Retrieved 22 March 2008.
  52. ^ "Eirovīzijas veidotāji pārcēlušies uz 'Skonto' halli" (in Latvian). Delfi. 6 May 2003. Archived from the original on 30 October 2020. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
  53. ^ "Final of Riga 2003". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 7 April 2021. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  54. ^ a b "48. Eurovision Şarkı Yarışması". Cumhuriyet (in Turkish). Istanbul, Turkey. 24 May 2003. p. 16. Archived from the original on 21 December 2022. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  55. ^ [1] Archived January 24, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
  56. ^ a b Polishchuk, Tetyana (21 May 2003). "'Yevrobachennya' — hotovnistʹ № 1". The Day (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 6 March 2019. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  57. ^ "Αλέξης Κωστάλας: Δείτε πού τον εντοπίσαμε μετά από καιρό!". Gossip-tv.gr (in Greek). 19 February 2010. Archived from the original on 30 August 2022. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  58. ^ Bakker, Sietse (22 May 2003). "Girts Licis: press conferences and Latvian votes". ESCToday. Archived from the original on 24 February 2020. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
  59. ^ Thorsson, Leif; Verhage, Martin (2006). Melodifestivalen genom tiderna : de svenska uttagningarna och internationella finalerna (in Swedish). Stockholm: Premium Publishing. pp. 312–313. ISBN 91-89136-29-2.
  60. ^ "Results of the Final of Riga 2003". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 7 April 2021. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  61. ^ "Eurovision Song Contest 2003 – Scoreboard". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
  62. ^ a b c "Eurovision Song Contest 2003". European Broadcasting Union. 10 April 2003. Archived from the original on 27 August 2003. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  63. ^ Opheim, Bjørn Erik (22 February 2003). "50th Anniversary won't affect annual Eurovision". ESCToday. Archived from the original on 4 December 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  64. ^ Barak, Itamar (22 May 2003). "EBU press conference about the contest's future". ESCToday. Archived from the original on 4 December 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  65. ^ a b c "TV/Radio Samstag". Freiburger Nachrichten [de] (in German). Fribourg, Switzerland. 24 May 2003. p. 9. Archived from the original on 24 May 2024. Retrieved 8 December 2022 – via e-newspaperarchives.ch.
  66. ^ "Andreas Knoll" (in German). ORF. Archived from the original on 14 April 2017. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  67. ^ a b c d "Samedi 24 mai". TV8 (in French). Zofingen, Switzerland: Ringier. 22 May 2003. pp. 23–30. Archived from the original on 14 October 2023. Retrieved 8 December 2022 – via Scriptorium Digital Library.
  68. ^ Van Roey, Laurent (24 May 2003). "L'acteur t.A.T.u.". Le Soir (in French). Brussels, Belgium. Archived from the original on 8 December 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  69. ^ a b "Radio & Televisie Zaterdag". Leidsch Dagblad. Leiden, Netherlands. 24 May 2003. p. 34. Archived from the original on 14 October 2023. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  70. ^ "Eén and La Une present Eurovision coverage - ESCToday.com". ESCToday. 10 May 2005. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  71. ^ "TV program – Subota, 24. svibnja – HRT 1" [TV program – Saturday, 24 May – HRT 1]. Glas Podravine (in Croatian). Koprivnica, Croatia. 23 May 2003. p. 26. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  72. ^ "Pjesmice eurovizije" [Eurovision songs]. Feral Tribune (in Croatian). Split, Croatia. 31 May 2003. Archived from the original on 28 April 2024. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
  73. ^ "Τηλεορασεις" [Television]. Charavgi (in Greek). Nicosia, Cyprus. 24 May 2003. p. 16. Archived from the original on 24 May 2024. Retrieved 5 March 2024 – via Press and Information Office [el].
  74. ^ "ETV 2003 | ajalugu | Ülevaade Eesti Televisiooni tegemistest aastal 2003". Eesti Televisioon. 31 December 2009. Archived from the original on 6 August 2020. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  75. ^ "www.grandprix2003.de: NDR berichtet im Internet live aus Kiel und Riga; Jetzt: Songs hören, Tickets gewinnen 17" (Press release) (in German). Norddeutscher Rundfunk. 10 February 2003. Archived from the original on 3 August 2021. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  76. ^ "Τετάρτη 26 Φεβρουαρίου ο ελληνικός διαγωνισμός" [Wednesday 26 February the Greek competition] (in Greek). Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 16 February 2003. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  77. ^ "Laugardagur 24. maí" [Saturday 24 May]. DV (in Icelandic). Reykjavík, Iceland. 24 May 2003. p. 62. Retrieved 8 December 2022 – via Timarit.is.
  78. ^ "Count-down to Eurovision in Latvia". RTÉ. 23 May 2003. Archived from the original on 8 December 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  79. ^ Šaitere, Tekla (22 May 2003). "www.eurovision.tv". Diena (in Latvian). Riga, Latvia. Archived from the original on 8 December 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  80. ^ Massa, Adriana (23 May 2003). "Lynn's dress rehearsal goes well". Times of Malta. Birkirkara, Malta. Archived from the original on 8 December 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  81. ^ De Vos, Ronald (31 May 2003). "Toch trots op 'onze' Esther Hart". Leidsch Dagblad. Leiden, Netherlands. p. 14. Archived from the original on 24 May 2024. Retrieved 16 January 2003.
  82. ^ a b c "Radio & TV – lørdag 24. mai". Telemarksavisa. Skien, Norway. 24 May 2003. pp. 78–80. Archived from the original on 24 May 2024. Retrieved 8 December 2022 – via National Library of Norway.
  83. ^ "Telewizja – programy TV Sobota" [Television – Saturday TV programmes]. Dziennik Bałtycki (in Polish). Gdańsk, Poland. 24–25 May 2003. p. 19. Retrieved 21 September 2024 – via Baltic Digital Library [pl].
  84. ^ "Turcja, nie Polska zwycięzcą Eurowizji 2003". Onet.pl (in Polish). 25 May 2003. Archived from the original on 8 December 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  85. ^ "Television & Radio Programmes". Anglo-Portuguese News. Lisbon, Portugal. 22 May 2003. p. 6. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
  86. ^ "Eurovisão: Concorrência de leste". Correio da Manhã (in Portuguese). 19 May 2003. Archived from the original on 8 December 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  87. ^ "Sâmbătă, 24 mai 2003" [Saturday, 24 May 2003] (PDF). Adevărul de Arad [ro] (in Romanian). Arad, Romania. 24 May 2003. p. 4. Retrieved 6 September 2024 – via Biblioteca Județeană "Alexandru D. Xenopol" Arad [ro].
  88. ^ "Organizatory konkursa «Yevrovideniye-2003» obeshchayut nezabyvayemoye shou" Организаторы конкурса «Евровидение-2003» обещают незабываемое шоу. Channel One Russia. 24 May 2003. Archived from the original on 11 May 2017. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  89. ^ "Subbota, 24 maya" Суббота, 24 мая (PDF). Argumenty i Fakty (in Russian). Moscow, Russia. p. 14. Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 December 2022. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  90. ^ Šinik, Gorazd (23 May 2003). "Prosim, ne zaspite pred televizorjem" (PDF). Gorenjski glas (in Slovenian). p. 32. Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 December 2022. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  91. ^ "Televisión". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). Barcelona, Spain. 24 May 2003. p. 8. Archived from the original on 24 July 2023. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  92. ^ "TV & Radio i dag" [TV & Radio today]. Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). Stockholm, Sweden. 24 May 2003. p. 52.
  93. ^ "Radioprogram 24 maj 2003" [Radio program 24 May 2003]. Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). Stockholm, Sweden. 24 May 2003. p. 51.
  94. ^ "Subota, 24 travnya" Субота, 24 травня. Nove Zhyttia (in Ukrainian). 17 May 2003. Archived from the original on 8 December 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  95. ^ "The Eurovision Song Contest – BBC One". Radio Times. 24 May 2003. Archived from the original on 4 February 2023. Retrieved 8 December 2022 – via BBC Genome Project.
  96. ^ "Eurovision Song Contest – BBC Radio 2". Radio Times. 24 May 2003. Archived from the original on 4 February 2023. Retrieved 8 December 2022 – via BBC Genome Project.
  97. ^ "ATV Eurovisio". Ràdio i Televisió d'Andorra. 9 October 2003. Archived from the original on 10 December 2003. Retrieved 23 November 2013.
  98. ^ a b "TV Torres News". Torres News. Thursday Island, Queensland, Australia. 23 May 2003. p. 4. Archived from the original on 14 October 2023. Retrieved 8 December 2022 – via Trove.
  99. ^ "Lesbian kiss could be Russia's Waterloo". The Sydney Morning Herald. 24 May 2003. Archived from the original on 16 November 2018. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  100. ^ "Teleprogramma na 19.05 – 25.05" Телепрограмма на 19.05 – 25.05 (PDF). Belorusskaya Delovaya Gazeta (in Russian). 16 May 2003. p. 9. Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 December 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  101. ^ "BT pokazhet nam 'Yevrovideniye-2003'" БТ покажет нам «Евровидение-2003». Komsomolskaya Pravda (in Russian). 24 May 2003. Archived from the original on 4 December 2013. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  102. ^ "Alle tiders programoversigter – Lørdag den 24. maj 2003" [All-time programme overviews – Saturday 24th May 2003]. DR. Archived from the original on 13 May 2024. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
  103. ^ a b "Your BFBS Television programmes" (PDF). Penguin News. Stanley, Falkland Islands. 24 May 2003. Retrieved 25 September 2024 – via Jane Cameron National Archives.
  104. ^ "BFBS Radio 2" (PDF). Penguin News. Stanley, Falkland Islands. 24 May 2003. Retrieved 25 October 2024 – via Jane Cameron National Archives.
  105. ^ "TV2". Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). 24 May 2003. Archived from the original on 7 November 2022. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  106. ^ "Ohjelman tiedot : RITVA-tietokanta" (in Finnish). Archived from the original on 14 October 2023. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
  107. ^ "Radio Suomi". Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). 24 May 2003. Archived from the original on 7 November 2022. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  108. ^ "Radio Vega". Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). 24 May 2003. Archived from the original on 7 November 2022. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  109. ^ "L'Eurofestival più gay" (in Italian). GAY.tv. 23 May 2003. Archived from the original on 8 December 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  110. ^ "Sobota 24. V" [Saturday 24th May] (PDF). Kurier Wileński (in Polish). 23–25 May 2000. p. 10. Retrieved 11 June 2024 – via Polonijna Biblioteka Cyfrowa.
  111. ^ Meškinytė, Adelė. "'Eurovizijos' balsas D.Užkuraitis: smagi atsiradimo konkurse istorija ir atsakymas, ką išties mano apie šou". 15min (in Lithuanian). Archived from the original on 3 December 2022. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
  112. ^ Rau, Oliver (28 January 2003). "Financial problems in Riga". ESCToday.com. Archived from the original on 23 September 2020. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  113. ^ Bakker, Sietse (29 January 2003). "LTV: 'Eurovision Song Contest not in danger'". ESCToday.com. Archived from the original on 31 October 2020. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  114. ^ Barak, Itamar (2 February 2003). "Riga municipality won't cut Eurovision budget". ESCToday.com. Archived from the original on 31 October 2020. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  115. ^ Ringby, Daniel (15 March 2003). "Danish newspaper writes about LTV's chaos". ESCToday.com. Archived from the original on 18 September 2020. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  116. ^ a b Bakker, Sietse (16 March 2003). "LTV: "Eurovision will take place in Riga!"". ESCToday.com. Archived from the original on 18 September 2020. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  117. ^ "Grand-Prix sensation: t.A.T.u. participate against Lou*. ("Blind" - Germany)". 19 March 2003. Archived from the original on 3 December 2020. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  118. ^ "Eurovision row over Tatu". BBC News. 21 May 2003. Archived from the original on 26 October 2020. Retrieved 22 March 2008.
  119. ^ "tATu plan to take Eurovision by storm". BreakingNews.ie. 23 May 2003. Archived from the original on 16 November 2018. Retrieved 22 March 2008.
  120. ^ "Tatu Lesbian Stunt Feared (SkyNews)". 22 May 2003. Archived from the original on 3 December 2020. Retrieved 20 November 2013.
  121. ^ Rau, Oliver (24 May 2003). "t.A.T.u.'s performance will not be interrupted". ESCToday.com. Archived from the original on 18 September 2020. Retrieved 20 November 2013.
  122. ^ "Eurovision to Brave All with Live t.A.T.u. Show (Reuters)". 25 May 2003. Archived from the original on 3 December 2020. Retrieved 20 November 2013.
  123. ^ Walsh, Nick Paton (30 May 2003). "Vote switch 'stole Tatu's Eurovision win'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 15 March 2021. Retrieved 20 November 2013.
  124. ^ "Russia launches Eurovision appeal". BBC News. 29 May 2003. Archived from the original on 27 February 2021. Retrieved 20 November 2013.
  125. ^ Bakker, Sietse (27 June 2003). "Irish televoting results finally announced". ESCToday.com. Archived from the original on 23 September 2020. Retrieved 22 March 2008.
  126. ^ "Marcel Bezençon Award - an introduction". Poplight. Archived from the original on 17 October 2013. Retrieved 2 June 2009.
  127. ^ "Marcel Bezençon Awards–Eurovision Song Contest". eurovision.tv. July 2019. Archived from the original on 16 July 2019. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
  128. ^ OGAE (15 June 2012). "Eurovision Fanclub Network". ogae.net. OGAE. Archived from the original on 19 April 2013. Retrieved 15 June 2012.
  129. ^ "Klubi-info: Mikä ihmeen OGAE?" [The club info: What on Earth is OGAE?] (in Finnish). OGAE Finland. 5 June 2012. Archived from the original on 27 January 2012. Retrieved 17 June 2012.
  130. ^ "Eurovision Song Contest: Riga 2003". amazon.co.uk. Amazon. Archived from the original on 29 April 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2014. Product details: released 19 May 2003
  131. ^ "Eurovision Song Contest 2003". Offiziellecharts.de. GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
[edit]

56°56′56″N 24°06′23″E / 56.94889°N 24.10639°E / 56.94889; 24.10639