BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

26/11/2005

Hasselt 2005: the first reactions

Now the 2005 Junior Eurovision Song Contest is over and the winner is known, the first reactions about Belarus' victory come in. During her press conference, which attracted massive attention of the international press, Kseniya expressed her admiration for her coach and invited everyone to visit Belarus, almost like a real Eurovision Song Contest winner!

In a short conversation with the contest's supervisor on behalf of the European Broadcasting Union, Svante Stockselius, he said he was happy with the quality of the show. When we asked about the problem with the scoreboard, which suddenly froze, he explained the situation: "The computer froze, which of course can happen. That's why we have a redundant system, in case the first system fails. It takes a minute to switch between these systems". He emphasized the televoting procedure went perfect.

The Romanian delegation, initially one of the big favourites for victory, also reacted on the result of the show; "It's a contest, and there can be only one winner", head of delegation Mioara Negescu said. "Alina is of course a little disappointed she didn't win, but she is happy to be in the top-5 of the contest. She was already dancing again backstage", she added.

Dutch Tess, who ended 7th in the contest, was confident with her result. "It felt great to be on that stage, with that awesome audience", she said. "And now I want to go to the afterparty!

First reactions of the press are diverse. Overall, the Belarussian victory is a "big surprise" for everyone.

Source:

http://www.esctoday.com/news/read/5213