Europe, get your dancing shoes ready: Glasgow is calling!

Glasgow, 3 September 2008 - Today, delegations from 14 broadcasters taking part in the 2008 Eurovision Dance Contest gathered in Glasgow, Scotland, to prepare for Saturday night's live show. Viewers from the 14 represented countries (complete list here)of these is available at ), as well as from Albania, Armenia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Belarus, Cyprus, Iceland, Israel, FYR Macedonia and Spain, are expected to tune in. The show will also be streamed live over the Internet via the official website – www.eurovisiondance.tv.

Kick-off press conference
All couples were introduced yesterday at a kick-off press conference at the BBC Scotland premises in Glasgow. Under the competition rules, the couples comprise one professional and one non-professional dancer, known in a field other than dance. The winning couple will be chosen by combining the votes of a professional jury and those of televoters in the participating countries.

During the show
During the show, each couple will perform for two minutes. Each performance is freestyle, but has to include (standard) ballroom or Latin elements, as well as a national flavor in terms of music, style or costumes. The show features couples from Austria, Azerbaijan, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Sweden, Ukraine and the United Kingdom.

Saturday night show sold out
With an estimated live audience of over 2,000 people in the arena, the Dance Contest, the second running since 2007, takes place on the 6th of September in Glasgow, Scotland, at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre (SECC). The show will be hosted by TV personalities Graham Norton and Claudia Winkleman, who also hosted the show in London in 2007. The new cast of the West End hit musical Carousel will be performing an exclusive medley as interval act. There has been a huge demand for tickets and the Saturday night live show has completely sold out. However, a  limited number of tickets may still be available at www.eurovisiondance.tv.

Eurovision TV is a brand of the EBU – the European Broadcasting Union. The Geneva-based EBU is the largest professional association of national broadcasters in the world. It serves 75 active members in 56 countries in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East together with 45 associate Members around the world.

The Eurovision Dance Contest is a European co-production organised by the EBU, hosted by its British Member, the BBC, and produced by two UK production companies, Splash Media and Sunset+Vine, with assistance from the International DanceSport Federation (IDSF).

The Eurovision Dance Contest is part of the Eurovision Family of Events. Other major events co-produced by the EBU and its Members are the Eurovision Song Contest and the Junior Eurovision Song Contest. More at: www.eurovision.tv.

For further information, please contact

Eurovision Family of Events Communications & PR Team:
Sietse Bakker, Manager Communications & PR
Tel: +372 712 0020
E-mail: sietse.bakker@eurovision.tv

Jarmo Siim, Communications & PR Officer, 
E-mail: jarmo.siim@eurovision.tv
High resolution, royalty free photo material is available at press.eurovisiondance.tv