Help/FAQ
The IDSF (International DanceSport Federation) and the producers came up with the idea to create an international dance competition. Having taken it to the BBC, it was decided that it should be covered as a Eurovision programme. The Eurovision Dance Contest was then developed as collaboration between the producers and the EBU, using elements of the Eurovision Song Contest format.
Why did you decide to host the first and second Eurovision Dance Contests in the UK?
Splash Media and Sunset+Vine, the producers, took the idea to the BBC, who agreed to host the first two shows. The BBC has 50 years of Eurovision experience, having participated in the Eurovision Song Contest since 1957.
Where and when will the 2008 Eurovision Dance Contest take place?
The coverage of the Eurovision Dance Contest will come live from Glasgow, Scotland on 6 September 2008, from 21.00 CET (20.00 local time) to approximately 23.15 CET.
How did you choose Glasgow as the host city of the 2008 Eurovision Dance Contest?
To support cultural diversity, the BBC recommended taking the production outside of London, which both the Producers and the EBU happily supported.
What is different from last year's Eurovision Dance Contest?
Several changes are introduced this year, both in the event’s format and its production and coverage. First and foremost, as was planned at the outset, this year it has been mounted as a major public event at a big arena hall in the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre (SECC), with a live audience of over 2,000 people, bringing the event closer to the scale and ambition of its sister event, the Eurovision Song Contest. This year, the show will feature mixed couples only (see more details about professional dancers in a dedicated question below), performing a single freestyle dance, with recognized standard (/ballroom) or Latin moves and a national flavour touch (in music, choreography or costume, for example). In addition to the viewers around Europe casting their vote by televoting or SMS/text messaging (not available in all countries), an expert jury panel of 4 international IDSF adjudicators will also be used as professional judges, to determine the winners of the 2008 Eurovision Dance Contest.
Why are there only 15 countries taking part this year?
The aim when we started was to begin with 10 to 12 countries and to expand in subsequent years. However, the response rate was greater than anticipated and it proved difficult to turn away the additional countries interested in participating in the event. For logistical reasons a limitation on number of participants was established.
What are the 15 countries taking part?
The 2008 Eurovision Dance Contest will see couples representing Austria, Azerbaijan, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine and of course, the United Kingdom, as a Host Broadcaster.
Why are these 15 countries and broadcasters the ones to participate?
To ensure the success of the event, the EBU has invited participating broadcasters from member countries to take part, the EBU has invited participating broadcasters from member countries to take part. In several countries, where the EBU has more than one member, both have expressed interest. The final decision resulted from either an internal accord by the two broadcasters or by a draw, held by the EBU.
How many countries will broadcast the show?
The programme will be broadcast in the 15 actively participating countries. More EBU members will broadcast the show, having acquired a live or deferred broadcasting license as "passive participants" in the show. We will have a complete list closer to the event.
Why is the show hosted in two languages – English and French?
French and English are the official languages of the European Broadcasting Union. Traditionally, all Eurovision events are covered with these languages.
Who will be the first country to perform?
Sweden.
Who will be judging the competition?
A combination between the televotes of the viewers across all 15 countries and the votes of an expert jury of IDSF international judges will determine for the winning couple.
When can I vote?
You can start voting only after the last couple has performed its dance until the end of the 15-minute voting window. The hosts will announce when the voting starts and ends.
How can I vote?
Viewers can vote by telephone and in some countries (not in the UK) by sending a text message (SMS). Voting is only possible in countries actively participating in the show (represented by a dancing couple). Viewers cannot vote for the country they are calling or texting from. The numbers will be given during the live show.
Is the voting transparent?
Yes. All votes from all 15 countries will be centrally processed by our televoting partner Digame, under supervision of an independent auditor.
How do you respond to block voting? There were allegations of East vs. West voting in the Eurovision Song Contest.
The EBU, with its televoting partner, Digame, ensures that measures are in place to detect any irregularities in the voting procedure. Digame has already conducted over twelve Eurovision televotes and has not found any irregularities in these votes.
How do you ensure fair televoting?
The national results from all participating countries are centrally collected by our televoting partner, Digame. Digame converts the votes into points, which are later announced by the national spokespeople selected by each participating broadcaster. This process is monitored by a neutral auditor. In case one of the spokespeople announces a result that does not correspond to the centrally-collected official one, the EBU Supervisor will immediately intervene, to correct the error.
Is there a link between the Eurovision Dance Contest, the Eurovision Song Contest and the Junior Eurovision Song Contest? Do changes in one competition affect the other?
Certain elements are common to all competitions, as they are all part of the Eurovision Family. All events that fall into the Eurovision Family are supervised by the EBU (Eurovision TV). The Eurovision Song Contest and Junior Eurovision Song Contest, however, are developed and produced by different teams than the one of the Eurovision Dance Contest.
How will the televoting results be announced?
As soon as the televoting lines close and the votes have been counted, a spokesperson from each participating country will announce the allocated 1 to 8, 10 and 12 points in ‘Eurovision style!’ After 30 minutes, the winner of the Eurovision Dance Contest will be proclaimed.
How were the couples selected to represent their individual countries?
The countries have selected their couples in a number of different ways, including national competitions organised by participating broadcasters or by selecting the winners of formatted entertainment shows. In some countries, the dancing couple has been invited by the national public broadcaster to take part in the Eurovision Dance Contest.
What is the policy on professional dancers vs. non-professional?
Each broadcaster may appoint one professional dancer and one non-professional dancer as it deems suitable, as long as the selection adheres to the competition rules. The rules state that the professional dancer must be a dancer who is accredited by the International DanceSport Federation (IDSF) for the Eurovision Dance Contest. Under the rules of the Eurovision Dance Contest, a professional dancer is the member of the couple whose full time activity is devoted to dancing and activities directly associated with dancing (teaching, choreography, exhibitions, competition, etc). Once the IDSF has accredited the professional dancer, the non-professional is automatically accredited to compete in the Eurovision Dance Contest. The non-professional dancers in the Eurovision Dance Contest couples are often celebrities in their own country, being, for example, actors or singers, with some dancing background. Selecting celebrities as the non-professionals is encouraged (to increase interest in the show), but not obligatory. Unlike other televised dance competitions, the Eurovision Dance Contest is not a dance learning platform.
What happens if there is a tie?
If two or more couples have received the same number of points from the jury and televoters at the end of the scoring, we will first check which received a higher score from the televoters, to determine the winner. If that does not resolve the tie, it is the country with the highest number of 12 point scores that wins. In case there is still a tie, then the highest number of 10 point scores will be counted and so forth, until the winner can be determined. In case even this exhaustive procedure will not solve the tie, both couples will be announced winners of the 2008 Eurovision Dance Contest.
How many dance routines do the couples perform during the competition?
Each couple performs one dance routine - a freestyle choreography with standard (/ballroom) and/or Latin recognized elements, in addition to national flavour ones (in music, choreography, costume, etc). Routines last up to 2 minutes.
Who are the hosts?
Graham Norton, one of the best known personalities on British television, who is a top BBC presenter since 2004, and Claudia Winkleman, host of the BBC’s "Strictly Comes Dancing's sister show "It Takes Two" on BBC Two.
Who are the entrants?
A list of the performing couples is available on our website.
Must the contestants have been born in the country that they represent?
No. At least one dancer from each couple must have a passport from or be a resident of the country they are representing.
Who announces the votes?
The Host will announce the jury's vote, while the national spokespeople will announce the televoting results (a list will be available on our website).
What happens if a couple has to drop out of the competition? Is there a back-up?
According to our protocol, in case a dancer is unable to perform, the production team, together with the EBU, will discuss the matter with the respective Head of Delegation, to asses the extent of the reason for the potential drop out. If it proves impossible for the couple to perform (either of the dancers), then this performance shall be skipped (with a proper official notice to all participating countries and during the show) but the viewers in the country in question will still vote and their spokesperson will read out their televote. Viewers in other countries will, of course, be unable to vote for any couple that has dropped out.
What do the winning couple win?
A Trophy and the ultimate honour of being the best couple in Europe. Unlike the Eurovision Song Contest, the winning country is not automatically designated as the host of next year.
Who are the commentators in the show?
Each broadcaster designates the two commentators, according to the competition rules. A complete list will be available closer to the event.
Why are countries represented by more than one commentator?
To allow the viewers at home to make their decision based on professional criteria as well, each broadcaster will use more than one commentator: one is from the entertainment field, and the second is an IDSF-accredited expert in the world of ballroom/Latin dance.
What is the structure for the show?
Live coverage of the event will broadcast from 21.00 CET to 23.15 CET (or 20.00 to 22.15, local UK time) on Saturday, 6 September 2007. It has a running time of 2 hours and 15 minutes and will comprise of one freestyle dancing round (after which viewers can vote for the favourite couple), an interval act and the voting announcement block.
What is the interval act of the show?
The interval act will be announced closer to the event.
Who are the producers of the show?
The show is produced by two UK production companies, Splash Media and Sunset+Vine. While working in BBC Entertainment, Jane Lush and Fenia Vardanis who jointly manage Splash Media, were the two main creators of the BBC's internationally renowned and highly successful format "Strictly Come Dancing", while Sunset+Vine is the UK’s biggest sports producer and is a world leader in sports programme production and international advertiser supplied programming, producing over 2000 hours of television every year. who jointly manage Splash Media, were the two main creators of the BBC's internationally renowned and highly successful format
What is the International DanceSport Federation (IDSF)? What is its role in the show?
The IDSF has 84 National Member Federations on five continents. 57 of these Federations are recognised by their National Olympic Committees. IDSF represents more than 4 million athletes. IDSF Representative, Richard Bunn, has brought forward the idea for an international dance competition, which was then developed by the producers together with the EBU's Eurovision competition format elements into the Eurovision Dance Contest.
What is the European Broadcasting Union (EBU)?
The EBU is the world’s largest professional association of national public service broadcasters. Serving its members from its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, it co-ordinates technical co-operation, stimulates co-productions, and operates the Eurovision and Euroradio networks that transmit tens of thousands of news items, programmes and concerts every year.
What is Eurovision?
Eurovision, a brand of the EBU, is the EBU's operational distribution service, and is the world's largest provider of international transmission services of live sports and news events. Eurovision TV, the EBU's Television department, is responsible for all initiatives related to programming in various genres, in form of co-productions, collection programmes, format development, special/live events, and cross-media, among others. The Eurovision Song Contest is one of the biggest of over 70 co-productions under the auspices of Eurovision TV.
Is there an official website for the competition?
The official website is www.eurovisiondance.tv, in which you can find the latest information about the show, the performers (including their biographies and photographs), the production and other dance related material.
When will the next Eurovision Dance Contest take place?
The next Eurovision Dance Contest is planned for 2009. The participating broadcasters have been invited by the EBU to participate in a tender to host the show and mount the public event. More details will be available closer to the end of the year.
What will happen after 2009?
Just like its older sister, the Eurovision Song Contest, we plan to have the show up and running for many years to come. The exact procedure will be reviewed by the producers and the EBU after the show.
Are there sponsors for the show? How is the show financed?
As a Eurovision event, it is financed by contributions shared by the show's participants (user-paid programme), with the major part being contributed by the Host Broadcaster, the BBC. There are no European broadcast sponsors for this edition.
Can I attend the live show?
Yes. Tickets for the 2008 Eurovision Dance Contest will be sold through the website www.secctickets.com. A message on the front page of EurovisionDance.tv will notify you about the starting date of the ticket sales.
For press only
How can press interview candidates?
Please contact the Head of Delegation of the respective EBU Member broadcaster directly.
Where can the press watch the live show?
Accredited media representatives will have the opportunity to watch the live show on screen at the press centre premises, closely to the SECC.
How do I obtain a press accreditation?
Press accreditation requests can be forwarded to the Head of Delegation of the respective EBU Member broadcaster.
